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COMPLETE   WORKS  5^/ 

OF  THE 

Most  Rey.  John  Hughes,  D.D.f  ^ 


ARCHBISHOP   OF  NEW  YORK. 


COMFRISINa  HIS 


SERMONS,  LETTERS,  LECTURES, 
SPEECHES,  ETC. 

CartMIg  C0m]jiU&  ixm  \\t  best  ^uxm, 

AND    EDITED    BY 

LAWRENCE  KEHOE. 
VOL.  II. 


NEW   YORK: 
LAWRENCE  KEHOE,   7  BEEKMAN  STREET; 

LONDON:  RICHARDSON  &  SON,  26  PATERNOSTER  ROW; 
9  CAPEL  STREET,  DUBLIN;  AND  DERBY. 

SAN    FEASCISCO  :    MICHAEL   FLOOD. 

1865. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  tlie  year  1S64. 

BY  LAWEENCE  KEHOE, 

Id  the  Clorli's  Office  of  tlie  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  Soutiiorn  District  of 

New  Tori;. 


EDWARD    O.    JENKINS, 

6TEKB0TTPEB   A   PBINTKR, 

No.  20  North  William  Street. 


CONTENTS  OF  VOLUME  II. 


INTRODUCTION :  paor 

The  Life  and  Times  of  Archbishop  Hdohes — A  Lecturk  bt  Et.  Rkv.  J.  R. 

Baylet,  D.  D.,  Bishop  of  Newark i-xiv 

THE  TEMPORAL  POWER  OF  THE  POPE : 

Circular  Letter  on  the  Accession  of  Pius  IX 9 

The  Present  Position  of  Pius  IX— a  Sermon  Preached  in  St.  Patrick's  Cathe- 
dral, Sunday,  January  7,  1849 11 

ClKCULAR  IN  regard  TO  COLLECTION  FOR  PlUS   IX 21 

First  Letter  in  Reply  to  Hon.  Horace  Greeley 22 

Second  "  "  "  24 

Sermon  on  the  occasion  of  the  Collection  for  the  Pope,  July  1,  1849 28 

The  Pope's  Return  to  Rome  :  a  Sermon  preached  in  St.  Patrick's  Cathedral, 

May  12,  1850 80 

Pastoral  Letter  of  the  Most  Rev.  Archbishop  and  Suffragan  Bishops  of  the 

Province  of  New  York 86 

An  Answer  to  those  who  would  despoil  the  Pope  of  his  Temporal  Power 48 

The  Popes  and  their  Temporal  Power  in  the  States  of  the  Church  :  a  Sermon 

preached  in  St.  Patrick's  Cathedral,  July  1,  1860. 58 

LECTURES: 

The  Church  and  the  World,  since  the  Election  of  Pius  IX.  to  the  Chair  of 

Saint  Peter  , 69 

The  Decline  of  Protestantism,  and  its  Causes 87 

The  Present  Condition  and  Prospects  of  the  Catholic  Churoh  in  thk  United 

States 122 

Life  and  Times  of  O'Connell 182 

The  Relation  between  the  Civil  and  Religious  Duties  of  the  Catholio  Citizen  144 
St.  Patrick 148 

SERMONS : 

Sermon  on  the  Festival  of  St.  Patrick,  1835 158 

on  the  Feast  of  SS.  Peter  and  Paul,  1851 169 

ON  St.  Patrick,  1852 174 

AT  Dedication  of  St.  Patrick's  Church,  Fort  Hamilton,  New  York 179 

in  St.  Francis  Xavier's  Church 185 

at  the  Opening  of  the  First  National  Council 191 

at  the  Dedication  of  St.  Francis  Seraph's  Church,  N.  Y 198 

at  the  Consecration  of  St.  John's  Church,  Philadelphia 203 

at  the  Laying  of  the  Corner-stone  of  the  Church  of  St.  Mary,  Star 

OF  THE  Sea,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y 207 

AT  THE  Consecration  of  the  Bishops  of  Brooklyn,  Newark,  and  Bur- 

WNOTON 211 


4  .  CONTENTS. 

PAOK 

Sebmon  on  his  Eetcrn  fbom  Cuba 219 

"     AT  THE  Dedication  of  St.  Stephen's  Chuech,  New  Yobk 223 

"     AT  THE  Opening  of  the  First  Provincial  Council 228 

"     on  THE  Triumphs  of  the  Church 236 

"     AT  THE  Dedication  of  St.  Mary,  Star  of  the  Sea,  Brooklyn 247 

"     AT  the  Consecration  of  the  Cathedral,  St.  Johns,  N.  F 251 

"     on  Laying  the  Corner-stone  of  the  new  St.  Patrick's  Cathedral 263 

"  ON  THE  Occasion  of  the  Collection  for  the  American  College  in  Rome.  271 

"     ON  THE  Silence  of  Christ  before  his  Accusers 275 

"     on  Laying  the  Cobneb-stone  of  the  Paulist  Church 284 

*'      ON  the  Unity,  Univebsality,  and  Visibility  of  the  Chubch 287 

"     at  the  Dedication  of  St.  Aloysius'  Church,  Washington 293 

"     ON  the  Last  Words  of  Our  Saviour 301 

"     AT  the  Dedication  of  St.  Joseph's  Chubch,  Albany,  New  York 308 

"     on  the  Great  Commandment  of  the  Law 31G 

"     ON  Reason  and  Faith 326 

"     ON  the  Visibility  of  the  Chubch 882 

"     AT  THE  Meeting  of  the  Second  Pbovincial  Council 343 

"     AT  THE  Opening  of  St.  Michael's  Church 354 

"  on  Laying  the  Cobneb-stone  of  the  new  Catholic  University,  Dublin,  858 

"     on  the  Civil  War 368 

LETTERS: 

Contbovkrsy  with  Db.  Delancey  on  the  Emancipation  of  the  Catholics  of  Ire- 
land   374 

De.  Delancey's  Reply 375 

Lettebs  to  Db.  Delancey 878 

"Infallibility  of  the  Chubch — Fibst  Article  on  Rev.  Mr.  Mason's  Sebmon 888 

Second  Article S94 

Ten  Letters  to  Rev.  Mr.  Mason  on  the  Infallibility  of  the  Chubch "99 

The  Conversion  of  the  Dodge  Family 454 

To  THE  LkoPOLDINE  SOCIETY 459 

One  Letter  to  the  Hon.  Horace  Gbeeley 464 

The  Cuban  Pihates 470 

•Catholic  and  Protestant  Chabities 478 

The  Madiai  Affair — Controversy  with  Gen.  Cass 476 

Reply  to  Gen.  Cass  in  Self-vindication 485 

Refutation  of  a  malicious  Article  published  in  the  N.  Y.  Daily  Times 508 

Letter  to  Bishop  Lynch,  of  Chableston,  S.  C 513 

Cobbespondence  with  the  City  Inspector 520 

Visit  to  Ireland — Interview  with  the  Committee  of  the  National  Brotherhood  526 

The  Address  of  the  "  Nationalists" > 529 

The  Deputation  from  Nenagh,  and  otheb  Topics  that  have  been  discussed  in 

Ibeland  as  its  Sequel 531 

Lettee  to  Secketary  Sewabd  in  Refebence  to  his  Mission  to  Eubope 689 

A  NEW  Ecclesiastical  Seminaey  foe  the  Province  of  New  York 542 

The  Conscription — The  Riots 544 

THE  CHURCH  PROPERTY  CONTROVERSY : 

-  Introduction 549 

Redemption  of  St.  Peter's  Church — Sermon 568 

The  Thcstees  of  St.  Louis'  Church,  Buffalo,  and  Mb.  Putnam's  Chubch  Pbop- 

eety  Bill , .' 578 

Mobe  of  the  Difficulties  of  St.  Louis'  Chubch,  Buffalo 583 

Review  of  Senatoe  Bbooks'  Speech 589 

-Do  Catholics,  as  such,  meddle  in  Poutics  ? 593 


CONTENTS,  6 

FAQE 

Second  Letter  in  Answer  to  Senator  Brooks 507 

Third        "  "  "  600 

Fourth      "  "  "  602 

Fifth         "  "  "  606 

Sixth        "  "  " 611 

Seventh    "  "  »  618 

A  Card  to  the  Public 619 

To  the  Public 620 

MISCELLANEOUS : 

Answer  to  Objections,  under  the  Title  of  "  Protestantism  and  Popert,"  uade 

BV  an  Anonymous  Writer 638 

A  Review  of  Bishop  Onderdonk's  Charge  on  the  Eule  of  Faith 667 

Letter  to  the  Association  fob  the  Propagation  of  the  Faith 684 

Eefl:ections  and  Suggestions  on  the  Catholic  Press  in  the  United  States 686 

Pastoral  Letters,  etc 702 

Speech  at  Liverpool 728 

"      AT  the  Astor  House  Banquet 734 

"      AT  THE  Meeting  for  the  Irish  University 742 

"      a,bout  the  Nebraska  Irish  Colony 751 

"      IN  Charleston,  St.  Patrick's  Day,  1860 756 

"      IN  Dublin,  in  1862 759 

"  "         before  Young  Men's  Society 762 

"      IN  Cork,  on  Education,  etc 770 

APPENDIX : 

The  Knglish  and  American  Press  and  the  Eoman  Government 776 

"  The  Communion  of  Saints" — A  Sermon 779 

Ebply  to  an  Address  from  the  Catholics  of  Halifax 785 

Introduction  to  Religion  in  Society ■. 787 

Speech  at  the  Meeting  for  the  Independence  of  Ireland 790 

Tirc  Question  of  Ireland 793 

Christmas  Vesper  Hymn 796 


INTRODUCTION. 


*  The  substance  of  a  Discourse  on  the  Life  and  Character  of  the 
Most  Rev.  Archbishop  Hughes,  delivered  in  St.  JBHdgeVs  Churchy 
Neio  York,  February  28th,  1864,  6y  the  Bight  Eev.  James 
Roosevelt  Bayley,  D.  D.,  Bishop  of  N'ewark. 


In  speaking  of  the  lamented  Archbishop  of 

New  York,  I  do  not  intend  to  make  a  formal  eulogy,  much  less  to 
attempt  a  full  and  complete  picture  of  his  life  and  character.  To  do 
this  as  it  should  be  done,  would  need  more  eloquent  lips  than  mine 
and  a  broader  canvass.  Still,  as  I  was  united  to  him  for  many  years 
as  his  confidential  secretary,  and,  I  may  be  permitted  to  add,  as  his 
intimate  friend,  I  have  thought  that  it  would  interest  you,  if  in  a 
simple  familiar  way  I  were  to  tell  you  what  I  knew  of  him,  and  his 
labors  for  the  Church  of  God.  The  memory  of  such  a  man  should 
not  be  permitted  to  die  out  amongst  us;  and  all  these  various  ap- 
preciations which  have  been,  or  will  be  made,  will  help  to  bring  out 
his  character  and  services  to  religion  more  fully,  and  aid  us  to  form 
a  correct,  enduring,  and  instructive  remembrance  of  him. 

The  Most  Reverend  Archbishop  Hughes  was,  it  may  be  said, 
without  any  exaggeration,  an  extraordinary  man.  His  name  will 
always  occupy  a  high  place  in  the  list  of  eminent  men  whom  Ireland 
has  given  with  such  rich  profusion  to  the  service  of  the  Church  and 
of  the  State  in  every  part  of  the  world.  Of  him,  it  may  be  said, 
though  not  in  the  sense  in  which  the  poet  wrote  the  words,  that  he 
was  "  born  to  greatness."  He  would  have  been  a  distinguished  man 
anywhere,  and  under  any  circumstances.  No  proscription  of  caste 
or  weight  of  penal  laws  could  ever  have  kept  him  down.  He  had 
a  natural  force  and  energy  of  character  which  would  have  manifested 

*  The  copy  of  the  following  able  and  instructive  lecture  has  been  kindly 
furnished  the  editor  by  the  Eight  Keverend  author. — Editob. 


n  INTKODUCTTON. 

itself  in  spite  of  every  obstacle.  God  had  given  him  a  clear  and 
powerfnl  intellect,  in  a  sound  and  vigorous  body,  and  he  could  not 
but  exert  it.  He  did  not  owe  his  position  and  eminence  to  any 
adventitious  circumstances.  His  whole  course  may  be  said  to  have 
been  against  wind  and  tide,  and  his  headway  was  owing  to  the 
power  within  him.  He  Avas  not  what  is  called  a  learned  man,  nor  a 
laborious  student,  in  the  ordinary  sense  of  the  word.  He  had  de- 
veloped and  improved  his  natural  talents  by  careful  study  at  one 
period  of  his  life,  ar}d  had  laid  a  broad  and  solid  foundation  of 
general  knowledge;  but  the  superstructure  he  built  upon,  from  time 
to  time,  was  not  so  much  the  result  of  study  asof  thouglit,  not  built 
up  with  materials  quarried  from  other  men's  minds,  but  liewn  out 
of  his  own  strong  intellect.  He  needed  the  occasion,  the  excite- 
ment of  actual  collision,  to  bring  him  out  fully ;  and  I  have  often 
thought  that  he  M'ould  have  been  a  much  greater  man,  as  the  world 
counts  greatness,  would  have  made  a  deeper  mark,  and  built  up 
a  more  enduring  fame,  at  other  times  and  under  other  circum- 
stances than  those  in  which  he  was  placed.  He  would,  for  instance, 
have  made  a  great  lawyer — not  of  the  black-letter  sort,  but  at  the 
■bar,  before  a  jury.  His  appearance,  his  manner,  his  courage,  his  quick 
insight  into  character,  his  readiness  in  seizing  the  strong  points  of  a 
case  and  making  the  most  of  them,  his  felicity  of  expression,  his  power 
of  sarcasm,  Avould  have  made  him  irresistible.  He  would  have  made 
also  a  great  statesman,  if  he  had  been  trained  for  it,  and  had  had 
that  opportunity  for  the  exercise  of  real  statesmanship  which  is 
afforded  in  other  countries,  but,  unfortunately  for  us,  not  in  our  own. 
He  was  capable  of  forming  the  wisest  and  most  comprehensive  plans 
for  the  true  interests  of  a  nation,  of  urging  them  with  talent,  of 
overcoming  opposition,  and  of  carrying  them  out  with  an  energy 
and  a  courage  which  nothing  could  withstand.  Or  as  a  prelate  of  the 
Church,  he  was  fitted  to  have  been  one  of  the  old  Prince-Prelates 
or  Cardinal-Statesmen  of  past  times ;  where  he  would  have  had 
broad  ground  to  stand  upon,  and  great  national  or  religious  principles 
to  defend  or  interests  to  carry  out,  and  under  such  circumstances  he 
might  have  become  a  Richelieu  or  a  Ximenes. 

I  have  not  had  many  opportunities  of  becoming  acquainted  with 
the  great  men  of  the  world  ;  I  have  met  with  some,  it  is  true,  who 
were  recognized  as  such  in  their  day  and  generation,  and  I  have 
heard  them  talk — but  I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  I  have 
never  met  with  any  one  who,  in  conversation,  impressed  me  so  much 
with  native  vigor  of  intellect,  and  clearness  and  comprehensiveness 
of  ideas,  as  Archbishop  Hughes.    Dr.  Johnson's  observation  in  re- 


INTRODUCTION.  l^f 

gard  to  Edmund  Buvke,  that  "  if  a  man  were  to  go  by  chance  under 
a  shed  with  Burke  to  shun  a  shower,  he  would  say,  '  this  is  an  ex; 
traordinary  man,'  "  was  true  of  him.  When  I  was  his  secretary  ray 
office  comnmnicated  with  his  sitting-room,  and  when  fatigued  with 
work  he  would  sometimes  come  into  my  room,  and  enter  into  con- 
versation (most  of  which,  as  you  may  well  suppose,  was  on  one 
side),  and  I  have  often  regretted  since  that  I  did  not  make  some 
record  of  observations  on  men  and  things,  which  often  struck  me  by 
their  vigor  and  originality. 

But  for  whatever,  or  whenever,  he  might  have  been  best  fitted  by 
his  natural  character  and  endowments,  his  lot  was  cast  in  this  time 
and  country,  and  under  circumstances  with  which  most  of  you  are 
acquainted. 

He  was  born  in  Ireland  in  1798,*  the  year  of  the  Rebellion,  as  it 
is  called,  of  the  United  Irishmen,  and  which,  like  most  rebellions  of 
this  sort,  only  gave  an  excuse  to  the  oppressor  to  tighten  the  chains. 
He  came  to  this  country  when  quite  young,  and  commenced  and 
finished  his  humanities  and  studies  for  the  priesthood  at  Mount  St. 
Mary's  College,  near  Emmettsburg,  in  Maryland,  under  the  auspices 
of  its  founder  and  president,  the  Rev.  John  Dubois,  who  preceded 
him  in  the  Diocese  of  Xew  York,  and  the  Rev.  Father  Brute,  who 
was  his  master  in  theology,  and  for  both  of  whom  h.e  retained 
through  life  the  highest  veneration.  Many  men  of  remarkable 
ability,  who  have  attained  to  great  eminence  afterwards,  have  given 
but  slight  indications  of  the  divine  spark  within  them  during  the 
time  of  their  college  studies.  In  his  case  it  manifested  itself  from 
the  beginning  of  his  course.  All  who  were  associated  with  him, 
either  as  teachers  or  fellow-students,  recognized  his  talents  and  pre- 
dicted his  future  greatness.  In  college  debates  and  oratiorrs  and 
college  squibs,  he  exhibited  the  same  cleverness  and  facility  of  ex.- 
pression,  and  occasional  sharpness,  which  distinguished  him  in  after- 
life. But  many  a  sharp  boy  in  college,  who  has  stood  at  the  head 
of  his  classes,  and  taken  the  highest  honors,  has  done  nothing  after- 
wards. It  was  not  so  with  him.  His  whole  after-life  answered  to 
its  early  promise.  When  he  was  in  deacon's  orders,  his  bishop,  Dr. 
Conwell,  of  Philadelphia,  came  to  the  college,  and  having  heard 
him  preach  before  the  seminarians,  was  so  much  pleased  with  him 
that  he  took  him  with  him  on  a  visitation  of  the  diocese.  At  the 
first  parish  they  came  to,  the  bishop  told  Mr.  Hughes  to  preach. 

*  This  was  his  own  impression,  but  I  understand  that  he  was  mistaken,  and 
that  in  reality  he  was  born  the  previous  year. 


IV  INTRODUCTION. 

He  accordingly,  after  the  administration  of  Confirmation,  preached  a 
sermon  which  he  had  carefully  prepared.  The  old  bishop  was  still 
more  delighted  with  him,  and  when  they  came  to  the  next  station 
told  him  to  preach  again.  Mr.  Hughes,  judging  very  wisely  that 
■what  was  good  in  one  place  would  be  equally  good  at  another, 
preached  the  same  discourse,  and  so  on  at  the  third  and  fourth  place. 
"  Why,"  said  the  old  bishop,  "  you  are  just  like  a  cuckoo,  you  have 
only  one  note."  But  he  was  no  cuckoo,  as  the  world,  and  especially 
those  who  entered  the  lists  of  controversy  with  him,  soon  found  out. 
As  soon  as  he  was  ordained  a  priest,  and  stationed  in  Philadelphia 
(after  having  been  for  a  few  weeks  in  a  country  mission),  he  was 
immediately  recognized  as  a  no  ordinary  man.  The  church  where 
he  officiated  was  crowded,  Sunday  after  Sunday,  with  Catholics  and 
Protestants  who  came  to  hear  him  preach. 

It  was  not  that  good  preaching  was  a  novelty  amongst  them. 
At  that  time,  and  for  several  years  previous,  Philadelphia  had 
been  blessed  with  services,  and  had  listened  to  the  instructions  of 
several  distinguished  clergymen — amongst  others,  of  Fathers  Hurley, 
and  Harrold,  and  Ryan.  Father  Harrold  in  particular  was  one  of 
the  most  accomplished  pulpit  orators  we  have  ever  had  in  this 
country.  But  there  was  a  freshness,  a  vigor,  and  a  ring  about  the 
sermons  of  this  young  priest,  that  left  no  doubt  as  to  the  genuine- 
ness of  the  metal  that  was  in  him. 

But  he  had  other  duties  to  perform  besides  preaching.  For  years 
he  labored  faithfully  as  a  missionary  priest  in  a  large  city — instruct- 
ing the  ignorant,  receiving  converts,  visiting  the  sick  and  the  poor, 
and  shrinking  from  no  amount  of  work.  Besides  this,  the  bishop 
made  him  his  secretary,  and  in  some  sense  his  right-hand  man.  It 
was  a  difficult  position  for  a  young  man,  and  particulai'ly  in  the  then 
condition  of  things  in  Philadelphia.  The  waves  of  the  miserable 
Hogan  excitement  were  still  knocking  things  about.  Not  the  least 
difficult  matter  was  to  manage  the  old  bishop  himself  He  was  now 
very  old,  and  like  most  old  men,  and  old  bishops  perhaps  in  particular, 
he  was  cranky  and  obstinate.  But  the  young  pilot  had  a  sharp  eye, 
and  a  steady  hand,  and  a  firm  will,  and  he  won  golden  opinions  for 
the  prudence  and  dexterity  with  which  he  managed  matters,  and 
kept  the  ship  off  of  the  rocks,  and  there  were  plenty  of  them.  Soon 
every  one  in  Philadelphia  came  to  look  upon  him  as  their  representa- 
tive man  and  champion — their  ckcus  et  presidium;  and  just  then  they 
had  need  of  a  champion.  I  have  alluded  to  the  Hogan  schism,  as 
it  was  called ;  although  it  never  came  to  that — except,  at  any  rate, 
for  a  very  short  time,  and  on  a  small  scale.     Still  it  was  no  slight 


INTRODUCTION.  V 

matter,  either  in  itself  or  its  consequences.  It  was,  in  fact,  a  dread- 
ful example  of  how  much  evil  a  bad,  unscrupulous  man,  with  a  pre- 
possessing exterior  and  a  ready  tongue,  may  do  when  he  sets  to 
work  and  finds  circumstances  favorable  for  a  conflagration, — for 
much  depends  upon  such  cii'cumstances.  It  is  with  these  schism  and 
trouble  makers  as  with  certain  pestilential  diseases — bad  as  they  are 
in  themselves,  they  need  a  nucleus  of  infection  to  act  upon  before 
they  can  do  much  harm  ;  and  upon  the  circumstance  whether  this 
nucleus  be  larger  or  smaller  depends  whether  it  shall  desolate  a 
particular  province  or  spread  over  the  face  of  the  earth  :  and  in  the 
moral  order,  whether  the  mischief-maker  shall  be  known  as  a  Hogan 
or  a  Luther.  Not  that  I  would  compare  Hogan  with  Luther,  except 
as  you  compare  little  things  with  great.  Luther,  in  his  order,  was 
a  second  Lucifer,  and  came  as  near  to  the  great  author  of  all  evil 
as  it  is  possible  for  a  bad  spirit,  confined  in  the  body,  to  approach 
a  fallen  archangel.  Hogan  was,  after  all,  but  a  little  devil ;  and 
when  one  studies  his  character  and  abilities  by  the  light  of  his 
writings,  his  pamphlets,  and  discourses,  the  wonder  is  how  he  should 
have  made  so  much  noise  and  done  so  much  harm.  It  only  shows, 
as  I  have  said,  that  these  things  depend,  not  so  much  on  the  prime 
mover  as  on  the  materials  upon  which  he  acts ;  just  as  the  extent 
and  destructiveness  of  a  conflagration  does  not  depend  so  much  on 
the  size  of  the  spark  which  kindles  it  as  upon  the  inflammable  nature 
of  the  objects  which  surround  it.  The  dreadful  day  of  judgment 
will  alone  reveal  all  the  sin  that  was  committed,  and  the  amount  of 
evil  of  which  he  was  the  guilty  cause,  of  disunion  in  families,  of 
sacrilege,  and  of  apostasy.  The  violence  of  the  tempest  had  passed 
away  when  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hughes  came  to  Philadelphia ;  still  there 
were  plenty  of  the  disturbed  elements  at  work  to  call  for  the  ex- 
ercise of  great  prudence  and  discretion.  The  whole  Catholic  com- 
munity had  become  involved  in  the  quarrel ;  and  what  is  more  strange, 
large  numbers  of  Protestants  were  mixed  up  with  it,  and  accordingly 
as  they  sided  with  authority  or  insubordination  were  known  as 
Bishopites  or  Hoganites,  Afterwards  the  unfortunate  differences 
between  the  Bishop  and  Father  Harrold  came  to  increase  the  evil. 
The  Rev.  Mr.  Hughes'  place  was,  of  course,  at  the  side  of  the  bishop, 
but  this  exposed  him  necessarily  to  the  hostility  and  misrepresenta- 
tions of  the  opposite  party.  He  was,  however,  so  careful  in  his 
words  and  conduct,  so  calm  and  cool  in  the  midst  of  the  angry  ex- 
citement on  both  sides,  that  his  presence  acted  like  oil  upon  the 
Avaves,  and  was  most  efficient  in  finally  restoring  order  and  tranquil- 
lity.    What  he  saw  and  experienced  during  this  period,  however. 


X 


^1  INTEODUCTION. 

made  a  deep  impression  on  him,  and  exercised  a  great  influence  over 
his  future  course  of  conduct.  He  noticed  immediately  that  although 
Hogan  had  been  ostensibly  the  cause  of  the  trouble,  yet  the  evil  lay 
much  deej^er  than  the  disappointed  ambition  of  a  M'eak  and  silly 
man,  though  that  man  was  unfortunately  a  priest.  Wicked  and 
unscrupulous,  as  he  undoubtedly  was,  he  would  soon  have  been 
brought  down  to  his  proper  level,  which  was  a  very  low  one,  if  he 
had  not  been  surrounded  by  a  body  of  scheming  laymen,  who, 
whilst  they  seemed  to  be  led  by  him,  were  in  fact  using  him  as  their 
tool.  This  was  made  evident  by  the  manner  in  which  they  per- 
severed in  their  course,  after  he  had  fallen  overboard.  It  was  the 
palmy  days  of  Avhat  was  called  the  trustee-system,  when  men  who 
had  little  or  nothing  of  Catholicity  about  them,  except  the  name, 
thrust  themselves  into  the  management  of  ecclesiastical  affairs,  and 
dictated  alike  to  bishops,  priests,  and  people.  It  was  the  same  spirit, 
acting  on  a  smaller  theatre,  which  had  been  at  the  bottom  of  the 
old  contests  between  the  Popes  and  the  Emperors.  The  favorite 
maxim  of  the  school  is,  "  Let  the  clergy  confine  their  attention  to  the 
spirituals,  and  we  Avill  manage  the  temporals."  And  they  did 
manage  the  temporals,  in  a  manner  often  which  showed  that  the 
spiritual  had  very  little  to  do  with  them  or  their  conduct.  Then 
were  seen  priests  appointed  pastors  of  congregations,  without  the 
consent,  and  often  against  the  positive  prohibition,  of  the  bishop ; 
suspended  priests  receiving  large  salaries  for  doing  nothing,  and  tlie 
regularly  appointed  pastor  receiving  none;  and  even  bishops  in- 
formed by  these  faithful  guardians  of  the  ecclesiastical  revenues,  in 
the  eloquent  language  of  the  day, -that  if  they  would  not  do  so  and 
so,  and  appoint  such  and  such  persons,  "  their  grub  would  be 
stopped."  It  was,  of  course,  impossible  in  such  a  state  of  things  for 
a  bishop  properly  to  perform  the  duties  of  his  holy  office,  or  enforce 
ecclesiastical  discipline.  The  clear  mind  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hughes 
immediately  took  in  all  the  evils  of  the  system  as  soon  as  he  was 
brought  in  contact  with  it. 

In  examining  the  papers  of  the  late  Bishop  Brute,  I  came  across  a 
letter,  written  to  him  about  this  time  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hughes, 
in  which,  after  stating  that  a  truce  had  been  brought  about  by  the 
apostasy  of  Hogan  (who,  whilst  his  friends  were  fighting  for  what 
they  called  his  rights,  took  it  into  his  head  to  go  to  the  devil,  body 
and  soul),  and  by  some  yielding  on  the  part  of  the  Bishop,  he  tells 
his  old  instructor  that  all  this  is  but  salving  over  the  difficulty,  and 
that  things  will  never  be  right  until  the  whole  system  be  cut  up  by 
the  roots.     We  will  find  that  when  the  opportunity  came  for  him  to 


y 


ISTKODUCnON.  VU 

act,    he  had  not  forgotten  the  lesson  which  he  had   learned    in 
Philadelphia.    ^ 

But  although  peace,  after  a  certain  fashion,  was  restored  between 
the  ecclesiastical  authorities  and  the  trustees  of  St.  Mary's  Church, 
war  was  declared  against  the  Catholics  from  another  quarter.    The 
author  of  all  evil,  not  satisfied  with  the  sin  committed  and  mis- 
chief caused  by  the  Hogan  affair,  saw  fit  to  stir  up  against  them  an 
outburst  of  Protestant  fanaticism.     The  drab-coated  descendants  of 
William  Penn,  though  not  over-tolerant  in  matters  of  legislation, 
were  disposed  to  live  in  harmony  with  those  of  their  fellow-citizens 
who  had  no  sympathy  with  their  peculiar  religious  tenets.     But  the 
population  of  Philadelphia  had  been  largely  augmented  from  other 
sources,  especially  from  Xew  England ;  and  there  was  no  want  of 
material  for  a  crusade  against  the  Catholic  Church.    The  Presbyte- 
rians, in  particular  (the  *'  Presby-tyrants,"  as  Coleridge  used  to  call 
them),  were  always  ready  for  this  sort  of  work.    According  to  their 
usual  tactics  on  such  occasions,  a  number  of  their  ablest  preachers 
were  instructed  to  administer  to  their  congregations  for  a  number 
of  successive  Sundays,  good  large  doses  of  anti-Popery,  prepared  ac- 
cording to  the  most  approved  receipts.     When  they  had  thus  stirred 
up  the  bile  of  the  community,  and  got  it  into  a  proper  state  of  bit- 
terness and  uncharitableness,  they  prepared  for  the  grand  assault. 
The  Goliah  whom  they  chose  for  their  champion  in  this  holy  war, 
was  the  Rev.  Dr.  Breckinridge,  a  Presbyterian  clergyman  of  consid- 
erable abihty,  and  who  enjoyed  a  high  reputation  amongst  them  as 
a  preacher  and  a  controversialist.    Like  his  prototype,  he  marched  up 
and  down  some  forty  days,  flinging  defiance  at  the  Romanists,  as  he 
politely  named  them.     To  do  him  justice,  he  seems  to  have  been 
sincere  in  his  hatred  and  opposition  to  the  Catholic  Church ;  and  his 
orreat  zeal  asrainst  it  was  not  much  to  be  wondered  at,  if  it  was  not 
more  "  according  to  knowledge"  than  that  of  most  of  his  brethren 
in  the  ministry.     To  give  you  an  example  of  how  well  they  were  ac- 
quainted with  the  Cathohc  doctrine  and  practice,  I  will  relate  a  cir- 
cumstance which  I  heard  from  the  mouth  of  the  Archbishop  himself. 
One  day,  when  walking  along  the  streets  of  Philadelphia,  he  passed 
by  a  Presbyterian  Church ;  and  seeing  the  door  open,  and  people 
passing  in  and  out,  he  was  informed,  on  inquiry,  that  the  General 
Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  was  then    in  session.    He 
thought  he  would  go  in  for  a  moment,  and  see  how  they  conducted 
matters.     When  he  entered,  a  committee  was  making  a  report  upon 
a  question  which  had  been  submitted  to  them  in  regard  to  the  validity 
of  Catholic  baptism.     You  may  well  imagine  his  surprise  when  he 


VIU  INTRODUCTION. 

heard  the  chairman  of  the  committee  gravely  declare  tliat  they  had 
unanimously  decided  against  the  validity  of  baptism^  as  administered 
in  the  Catholic  Church,  chiefly  for  two  reasons:  first,  because  the 
Catholic  priests  baptized  in  Latin^ — as  if  infants  were  not  quite  as 
well  acquainted  with,  this  language  as  any  other;  the  second,  be- 
cause they  baptize  icith  oil*  If  such  was  the  ignorance  or  bad  faith 
of  the  ministers,  you  cannot  much  wonder  at  the  ignorance  and  in- 
temperate zeal  of  the  people. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Breckinridge  made  so  much  noise,  preached  so  vio- 
lently against  Popery  and  Papists,  and  seemed  so  confident  that 
every  thing  he  said  was  true,  that  the  big  jury,  as  it  has  been  called 
out  of , doors,  who.  are  always  very  wise  in  regard  to  things  they 
know  nothing  about,  began  to  imagine  that  the  old  Church  had  not 
a  leg  to  stand  on,  and  tliat  Catliolics  were  hardly  fit  to  live  amongst 
decent  people  (the  citizens  of  Philadelphin,  for  instance).  Things 
were  carried  so  far,  that  at  last  it  became  absolutely  necessary  to 
take  the  bull  by  the  horns,  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hughes  did  it  in  this 
case  most  eiFectually.  He  took  up  the  challenge  which  Mi-.  Breck- 
inridge had  so  defiantly  made.  They  had  two  controversies.  The 
first  by  letter,  on  the  claims  of  Catholicity  and  Protestantism,  as 
representing  God's  revelation  of  his  will  through  Jesus  Clirist ;  the 
second  was  an  oral  one,  as  to  whether  the  Catholic  or  Presbyterian 
Churches  were  more  favorable  to  civil  and  religious  liberty.  They 
were  both  published  afterwards;  and  we  are  able  to  judge  dispas- 
sionately, not  only  of  the  weight  and  force  of  the  arguments,  but  of 
the  intellectual  character  of  the  two  men.  It  is  impossible,  I  think, 
for  any  one  to  read  them  over  without  admitting  that  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Hughes  not  only  had  the  best  of  the  argument,  but  that  he  was 
much  the  ablest  man  of  the  two.  In  the  oral  controversy  in  particu- 
lar, which,  although  rewritten,  still  smacks  of  vim  voce  debate,  he 
was  greatly  superior.f  In  this  style  of  controversy  he  had  also  a 
great  advantage  over  his  opponent  in  his  perfect  coolness  and  self- 
control.  He  never  lost  his  temper  for  a  moment,  either  when  listen- 
ing to  or  saying  the  most  severe  things.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Breckin- 
ridge lost  his  several  times  ;  and  whilst  tlius  excited,  uttered  words 

*  Since  I  delivered  this  lecture,  I  find  that  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hughes  relates  the 
above  circumstance  in  one  of  his  letters  to  Mr.  Breckinridge.  The  Doctor  in  his 
letter  in  reply  makes  no  allusion  to  it. — Controversy,  p.  70  ;  ed.  of  1862. 

f  It  is  to  be  regretted  that,  owing  to  negligence  and  bad  faith  on  the  part  of 
the  reporter,  these  lectures  do  not  appear  as  they  were  delivered.  I  have  been 
told  by  those  who  were  present  at  the  debate,  that  they  give  often  but  a  faint 
idea  of  the  vigor  and  raciness  of  the  original.    He  was  in  his  element  here. 


INTRODUCTION.  IX 

which  he  no  doubt  regretted  afterwards,  and  which  called  forth 
marks  of  disapprobation,  even  trom  the  Protestant  portion  of  the 
audience. 

Whilst  I  am  upon  this  subject,  I  would  make  a  remark  which  is 
not  entirely  out  of  place.  We  are  constantly  told,  as  you  all  know, 
that  the  Catholic  Church  belongs  to  a  past  age  of  darkness  and  super- 
stition— that,  like  the  bats,  she  cannot  bear  the  light — and  that  no 
one  who  was  not  a  little  cracked  in  the  head,  would  dare  to  come 
forward,  in  the  full  blaze  of  this  blessed  nineteenth  century,  to  defend 
its  doctrines  or  practices — and  that  when  any  one  is  found  bold  or 
foolish  enough  to  do  so,  it  must  fare  with  him  somewhat  as  it  did 
with  the  famous  Don  Quixote  in  his  attack  on  the  windmills. 
Now,  it  is  rather  a  curious  comment  on  this  popular  Protestant 
theory,  that  in  all  cases  of  controversy  such  as  the  one  we  are  speak- 
ing ofi  they  have  been  handed  down  to  us,  printed  and  reprinted, 
not  by  Protestants  but  by  Catholics — from  the  time,  I  was  going  to 
say,  of  Justin  Martyr  and  Tryphon  the  Jew,  but  that  would  be 
going  back  too  far, — from  the  time  of  Bossuet  and  Claude  to  the 
last  controvei-sy  of  the  sort;  Bossuet  and  Claude;  Bossuet  and 
Leibnitz ;  Milner  and  Sturges — where,  by  the  by,  the  bishop  gave 
the  prebendary  such  a  cudgelling  that  the  English  Government  had 
to  interfere  to  take  him  off;  Pope  and  Maguire  ;  Purcell  and  Camp- 
bell ;  Hughes  and  Breckinridge  ;  all  published  and  republished,  as 
I  have  said,  by  Catholics, — if  there  was  ever  a  Protestant  edition 
of  them  (where  both  sides  were  fairly  given),  I  have  never  heard 
of  it.* 

But  to  retmn  to  the  subject  before  us.  The  ability  which  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Hughes  had  manifested  in  this  controversy  added  greatly 
to  his  reputation.  It  was  of  great  benefit  to  the  Catholic  religion, 
and,  to  a  certain  extent,  broke  through  the  wall  of  prejudice  which 
surrounded  us  on  every  side.  People  found  out  that  the  old  religion 
had  two  good  legs  to  stand  on,  and  was  able  to  say  more  for  itself 
than  their  minister  could  satisfactorily  answer.  Several  persons 
were  led  by  it  to  the  Catholic  Church,  some  of  them  of  high  social 
position ;  and  it  did  not  a  little  to  remedy  the  evils  which  had  been 
caused  by  Hogan.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Hughes  himself  was  elected  a 
member  of  the  Wistar  Club,  and  of  different  literary  societies,  and 
welcomed  in  the  social  gatherings  of  the  most  distinguished  men  in 
Philadelphia.     No  one  was  surprised  when  a  short  time  afterwards 

*  Since  stating  the  above,  I  have  heard  that  there  has  been  an  edition  of 
Purcell  and  Campbell's  controversy  published  by  Protestants. 


X  rNTEODUCTION. 

he  was  created  a  bishop,  and  appointed  coadjutor  to  the  venerable 
Bishop  Dubois,  of  New  York,  his  early  patron  and  friend  at  Mount 
St.  Mary's.  Many  who  are  present  here  to- night  will  remember  the 
joy  with  which  the  Catholics  of  New  York  lieard  of  his  appointment, 
and  the  warmth  with  which  they  welcomed  him  amongst  them. 
The  first  thought,  probably,  that  went  through  the  minds  of  large 
numbers  who  filed  by  the  catafalque  the  other  day  at  the  Cathedral 
to  take  a  farewell  look,  was  of  the  contrast,  Avhen  twenty-six  years 
before,  on  the  same  day  and  same  hour,  and  on  the  same  spot,*  he 
rose  up,  after  having  been  consecrated,  to  bestow  his  first  episcopal 
benediction,  and  presented  to  the  eager  eyes  of  the  multitude  there 
assembled  a  full  view  of  that  noble  face,  every  line  of  which  was 
marked  with  intelligence  and  energy ;  and  when  eveiy  Catholic 
heart  warmed  with  love  and  admiration  towards  their  then  com- 
paratively young,  but  already  distinguished  bishop.  He  had  not 
come  any  too  soon.  The  long  and  useful  life  of  Bishop  Dubois, 
whose  name  should  never  be  pronounced  by  any  Catholic  in  this 
country  without  a  feeling  of  respect  and  veneration,  was  drawing  to 
its  close.  Within  a  few  days,  I  think,  after  the  consecration  of  his 
coadjutor,  he  had  a  stroke  of  paralysis,  which,  while  it  weakened 
still  more  his  already  enfeebled  body,  also  clouded  his  mind  ;  and 
Bishop  Hughes  was  obliged  to  take  upon  himself  the  administration 
of  the  diocese.  Speaking  to  you  who  were  his  diocesans,  it  is  not 
necessary  to  say  that  he  did  it  with  a  vigor  and  ability  that  made 
itself  felt.  A  circumstance  comes  into  ray  mind  which  occurred 
about  this  time,  and  which,  though  trivial  in  itself,  bears  upon  my 
subject.  Negotiations  had  been  entered  into  for  the  purchase  of 
the  Rose-Hill  Farm,  at  Fordham,  and  theestablishmentof  a  college. 
Although  it  was  not  necessary  that  Bishop  Dubois  should  be  informed 
of  it,  yet,  out  of  feelings  of  delicacy  towards  the  good  old  man,  and 
for  fear  that  hearing  of  it  from  some  other  source,  he  might  feel 
hurt  at  not  having  been  consulted,  the  Very  Rev.  Mr.  Starrs,  Avho 
had  been  ordained  by  him,  and  to  whom  he  was  much  attached,  was 
sent  to  break  the  matter  to  him.  To  veil  the  seeming  slight,  he 
adroitly  put  it  on  the  ground  of  policy.  "  It  was  better,  you  see, 
bishop,  for  him  to  appear  in  the  matter  than  for  you  :  he  has  just 
come  here,  and  is  not  known."  "  Ah !"  says  the  old  gentleman, 
thinking  probably  of  the  clever  energetic  college  student  of  days 
gone  by,  "  but  they  will  knoto  him .'"     And  he  was  soon  known, 

*  Owing  to  enlargement  of  the  Cathedral,  the  catafalque  was  exactly  over 
the  spot  where  he  had  been  consecrated. 


INTRODUCTION.  XI 

not  only  by  the  clergy  and  people  of  his  own  diocese,  and  of  the 
country,  but  by  the  whole  community,  and,  to  a  certain  extent, 
throughout  the  world,  as  a  zealous  and  faithful  bishop,  an  eloquent 
preacher,  an  able  controversialist,  and  a  courageous  asserter  and 
defender  of  the  rights  of  Catholics  and  of  the  Catholic  Church. 
From  that  moment  until  he  died,  or  rather  until  disease  had  weak- 
ened his  body,  and,  to  a  certain  extent,  his  mind,  he  was  a  pillar  of 
strength  to  us.  We  never  know  the  value  of  such  men  until  they 
are  gone,  and  time  alone  will  tell  all  the  good  he  has  done  for  us, 
and  all  the  debt  of  gratitude  we  owe  to  him.  His  career  as  Bishop 
and  Archbishop  of  New  York  is  matter  for  a  book,  and  not  for  a 
lecture. 

One  of  the  first  acts  of  his  administration  was  the  destruction,  or 
rather,  I  might  call  it,  the  purgation  of  the  trustee-system.  For  the 
system  itself  is  not  inherently  bad,  and  rightly  understood,  and 
carried  out  in  accordance  with  the  principles  of  the  Chuich,  it  may 
be  productive  of  the  greatest  advantages.  It  was  the  erroneous 
views  and  false  principles  which  had  been  grafted  on  to  it,  that  made 
it  bad,  and  caused  it  at  last  to  become  so  odious.  When  he  arrived 
in  New  York  he  found  the  good  old  bishop,  we  might  say,  literally 
besieged  in  his  own  house,  and  tied  up  hand  and  foot  by  it.  But 
Bishop  Hughes  was  not  the  man  to  stand  a  siege,  nor  to  be  tied  up 
any  length  of  time  by  any  thing  that  was  wrong  and  false  in  itself. 
His  experience  in  Philadelphia  had  taught  him  the  exact  nature  and 
extent  of  the  evil.  He  had  now  the  power  to  grapple  with  it,  and 
you  may  be  certain  that  he  made  short  work  with  it.  His  first 
thunderbolt  against  it  was  a  short  but  earnest  pastoral  letter, 
signed  by  Bishop  Dubois,  but  written  by  himself.  This  was  followed 
up 'by  a  meeting  of  the  parishioners  of  the  Cathedral  in  the  school- 
house,  where  he  made  an  application  of  the  principles  laid  down  in 
the  pastoral ;  and  with  the  election  for  trustees  which  followed,  the 
siege  was  raised,  the  shackles  were  taken  off,  and  ecclesiastical 
authority  was  free,  for  the  future,  to  govern  according  to  the  laws 
and  principles  of  the  Catholic  Church.  Those  only  who  have  care- 
fully studied  the  history  of  the  Church  can  form  any  idea  of  the 
amount  of  undeveloped  evil  that  lay  hid  within  that  system  of  un- 
controlled lay-administratioa  of  ecclesiastical  pi'operty,  and  which 
partially  exhibited  itself  at  Charleston,  S.  C,  at  Richmond,  Va.,  in 
Philadelphia,  and  more  slightly,  but  still  bad  enough,  here  in  New 
York.  The  whole  future  of  the  Church  in  this  country  would  have 
been  paralyzed,  if  it -had  been  allowed  fully  to  establish  itself; 
and,  to  my  mind,  the  most  important  act  of  Archbishop  Hughes'  life 


Xll  INTBODUCTION. 

— the  one  most  beneficial  to  religion — was  his  thus  bringing  the 
whole  Catholic  community  to  correct  ideas  and  right  principles  on 
this  most  important  subject. 

But  time  would  fail  me,  if  I  were  to  attempt  to  go  into  tlie  details 
of  a  busy  administration  of  twenty-six  years.  It  would  be  as  if  I 
should  undertake  to  cover  these  walls  with  a  series  of  historical  paint- 
ings in  an  hour.  As  I  have  said,  they  are  matters  for  a  volume,  not  for  a 
lecture — of  letters  written  ;  of  speeches  made;  of  controversies  car- 
ried on;  of  churches  built;  of  institutions  of  learning,  and  piety,  and 
charity  founded.  I  might  tell  of  his  conduct,  and,  to  a  certain  ex- 
tent, of  his  thoughts  and  feelings,  at  the  time  of  the  native  American 
riots  in  1844,  when,  with  a  pen  worthy  of  Junius,  he  pilloried,  if  I 
may  use  such  an  expression,  those  miserable  men  who,  under  the 
cloak  of  patriotism  ("so  often,"  as  Dr.  Johnson  said  of  it,  "the  last 
refuge  of  a  scoundrel"),  were  engaged  in  perverting  and  poisoning 
public  opinion ;  and  when,  by  his  wise  and  courageous  counsels,  he 
braced  up  and  directed  the  timid  and  frightened  minds  of  those  in 
authority,  and  thus  prevented,  as  I  have  reason  know,  bloodshed 
and  anarchy,  and  perhaps  the  destruction  of  the  city  itself.  I  might 
speak  of  his  controversy  with  Kirwan ;  of  those  short,  but  admira- 
ble letters,  in  which  he  not  only  tore  off  the  mask  from  his  adver- 
sary, but,  as  it  were,  took  his  scalp  with  it ; — as  admirable  a  piece  of 
crushing  cross-examination  as  ever  was  put  into  print,  and  which 
alone  was  sufficient  to  prove  what  I  have  asserted,  that  he  would 
have  made  a  great  forensic  lawyer.  I  might  recall  to  your  minds 
that  wonderful  debate,  as  it  might  be  called,  on  the  school  question, 
■when  single-handed,  aivd  on  the  moment,  he  answered  and  demol- 
ished a  "whole  row  of  picked  opponents  in  a  speech  four  hoars  in 
length,  taken  down  in  short-hand,  and  printed  without  correction  or 
revision,  and  reads  now  with  its  close  logic  and  peculiar  felicity  of 
imagery  and  expression  as  if  it  had  been  carefully  prepared  in  the 
quiet  leisure  of  his  study. 

But  I  may  not  dwell  upon  these  and  many  similar  incidents  in  his 
episcopal  career,  interesting  as  it  would  be  to  recall  them  to  your 
minds  ;  nor  is  it  necessary,  in  order  to  complete,  in  some  measure, 
my  poor  and  imperfect  picture  of  this  great  prelate,  that  I  should  at- 
tempt to  describe  his  personal  appearantie,  so  familiar  to  you  all : 
his  well-built,  and,  until  disease  had  set  its  mark  upon  it,  vigorous 
frame;  his  large  and  finely-formed  head ;_ his  noble  and  expressive 
features,  all  so  indicative  of  the  man  and  of  his  character,  that  one 
who  had  never  seen  him  could  have  picked  him  out  in  a  crowd  of 
ten  thousand  persons.     He  was  generally  regarded  as  a  severe  man, 


INTRODUCTION.  XHI 

pi(ili:il)ly  Oil  account  of  a  certain  caustic  tone  in  his  controversial 
Avii lings:  but  he  was  not  so;  his  heart  was  kind  and  affectionate, 
and  liis  feelings  were  easily  moved.  His  conversation  was  free  from 
any  tinge  of  bitterness  or  uncharitableness ;  he  always  spoke  kindly 
of  those  with  whom  he  had  had  his  severest  controversies.  Some  of 
his  warmest  personal  friends  were  Protestants ;  for  he  never  allowed 
liis  strong  religious  convictions  to  interfere  with  the  amenities  of  so- 
cial intercourse.  His  manners  were  very  pleasing,  composed,  and  dig- 
nified, as  became  his  exalted  station — with  a  natural  ease  about  them 
which  was  often  remarked  by  those  who  met  him  in  society.  By 
those  who  did  not  know  him,  he  was  supposed  to  be  fond  of  political 
intrigue ;  in  fact,  a  wire-puller  and  politician.  If  any  such  were 
here  to-night,  they  would  be  surprised  to  hear  me  say,  who  did  know 
him,  that  he  was  nothing  of  the  sort.  The  only  time  he  ever  inter- 
fered flie  least  in  politics,  was  in  regard  to  the  school  question  ;  and 
that,  openly  and  above-board,  solely  with  reference  to  that  import- 
ant matter,  and  without  any  connection  with  either  of  the  so-called 
23arties.  In  fact,  he  had  no  great  love  for  those  who  are  called  poli- 
ticians, and  cannot  be  said  to  have  belonged  to  any  political  party. 
The  only  time  he  ever  voted,  I  have  heard  him  say,  was  once  hi 
Philadelphia,  for  Henry  Clay ;  and  I  do  not  believe  that,  with  the 
exception  of  the  school  question  already  alluded  to,  he  ever  influ- 
enced, directly  or  indirectly,  the  vote  of  a  single  individual. 

But,  although  he  was  no  politician,  he  was  a  sincere  patriot ;  not 
of  the  modern  shoddy  sort,  but  of  the  old  hei-oic  pattern.  He  loved 
the  country  that  gave  him  birth  with  a  warm  affection ;  and  no  one 
knew  the  history  of  its  wrongs,  and  felt  them  more  than  he  did.  I 
remember  well  the  feeling  with  which  he  described  to  me,  on  his 
return  from  Europe  in  1848,  his  visit  to  the  place  where  he  had  passed 
his  earliest  days,  the  beautiful  valley  of  Erigle  Truagh,  in  Monaghan  ; 
the  pleasure  with  which  he  had  visited  every  familiar  spot  of  his 
childhood,  and  the  kindness  with  which  he  had  been  welcomed  by 
his  old  neighbors  and  school-fellows,  Protestants  as  well  as  Catholics. 
And,  as  he  loved  the  old  country  of  his  birth,  so  he  loved  the  new 
country  of  his  adoption.  He  rejoiced  at  its  greatness  and  prosperity, 
and  mourned  over  its  misfortunes  with  an  attachment  to  it  as  heart- 
felt and  sincere  as  ever  burned  in  the  breast  of  George  Washington 
himself.  He  was  too  well  acquainted  w'ith  human  nature  and  the 
history  of  States  to  regard  our  late  unhappy  civil  war  as  a  moment- 
ary or  passing  shock ;  and  I  have  no  doubt  that  his  deep  anxiety 
for  the  future  of  our  country  had  a  very  serious  effect  upon  his  al- 
Ifcady  declining  health.     There  are  some,  perhaps,  listening  to  me, 


XIV  INTRODUCTION. 

who  wondered  at  and  regretted  his  taking  sides  in  any  manner  with 
the  Administration  ;  but  his  words  at  home,  and  liis  efforts  abroad 
(which  were  more  successful,  as  I  liave  reason  to  believe,  than  even 
he  supposed),  were  given,  not  from  any  motives  of  private  friend- 
ship, or  any  sympathy  with  what  may  be  regarded  the  distinctive 
principles  of  the  party  in  power,  but  solely  from  a  pure  and  disinter- 
ested desire  to  do  all  that  was  in  his  power,  as  an  American  citizen 
and  patriot,  and  I  may  add  also,  as  a  bishop,  to  preserve  the  Union 
of  the  States,  and  to  ward  off  any  new  complications  arising  from 
foreign  interference,  which  would  make  the  final  settlement  more 
difficult. 

There  are  some  other  matters  of  this  sort  which  I  would  like  to 
speak  of,  because  they  have  been  misunderstood,  and  in  some  cases 
misrepresented ;  but  I  will  not  detain  you  any  longer. 

To  sum  up  all  in  one  word — he  whose  death  we  lament,  was  a 
wise  and  energetic  man,  a  sincere  patriot,  a  good  Christian,  a  faith- 
ful priest,  and  a  great  bishop.  "  Sacerdos  magrnus  qui  in  diehus  siiis 
placidt  Deo,  et  inventus  est  justusP  But  God  has  taken  him  to 
Himself;  and  all  that  remains  for  us,  is  to  cherish  his  memory — to 
imitate  his  virtues — to  remember  his  precepts, — as  faithful  and  obe- 
dient children  of  that  Holy  Catholic  Church  which  he  loved  so 
much,  and  for  which  he  labored  so  zealously. 


THE 

WORKS  OF  ARCHBISHOP  HUGHES. 


CIRCULAR  LETTER  ON  THE  ACCESSION  OP 
PIUS  IX. 


JOHN,  by  the  grace  of  God,  and  the  appointment  of  the  Holy  See, 
Bishop  of  New- York,  to  the  Reverend  Clergy  of  the  Diocese, 
health  and  benediction. 

We  have  had  the  consolation,  venerable  and  dearly  beloved 
Brethren,  to  receive  at  length  the  Apostolical  Letter  of  our  Holy 
Father  Pope  Pius  IX.,  proclaiming  to  the  Catholic  world,  on  the 
occasion  of  his  elevation  to  the  chair  of  the  Prince  of  the  Apostles, 
a  plenary  Indulgence  in  form  of  Jubilee ;  and  calling  upon  all  the 
faithful  to  unite  with  him  in  one  common  prayer,  beseeching  the 
Father  of  Mercies  and  the  Giver  of  all  good  gifts  graciously  to 
extend  to  himself  and  to  the  universal  Church,  His  divine  aid  and 
protection.  We  hasten,  accordingly,  to  communicate  to  you  these 
welcome  tidings,  that  you,  in  turn,  may  announce  them  without 
delay  to  your  respective  flocks,  and  all  may  be  made  sharers  in  the 
joy  with  which  our  own  heart  is  filled.  Having  already  addressed 
a  Pastoral  Letter  both  to  yourselves  and  to  our  beloved  children  of 
the  Laity,  at  the  commencement  of  this  holy  season  of  Lent,  and 
having  tlien  taken  occasion  to  urge,  with  all  the  earnestness  in  our 
power,  the  great  importance  of  profiting  by  these  days  of  grace  and 
salvation,  the  urgent  necessity  of  seeking  immediate  reconciliation 
with  God  by  a  sincere  repentance  for  all  past  sins,  and  by  an  amend- 
ment of  life,  we  do  not  now  conceive  it  necessary  to  repeat  these 
our  earnest  admonitions,  but  rather  intrust  it,  venerable  Brethren, 
to  your  own  zeal  and  piety,  to  beseech  and  exhort  to  the  same  end 
with  renewed  earnestness  and  fervor ;  now  especially  that  the  voice 
of  the  Chief  Pa.stor  calls  upon  us,  that  all  may  hasten  to  correspond 
with  his  pious  wishes,  that  we  may  prepare  to  approach  the  throne 
of  grace  with  pure  hearts  and  with  clean  hands,  and  may  receive 
into  our  bosoms  an  abundant  share  of  those  spiritual  favors  which 


10  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

out  of  the  overflowing  treasures  of  the  Church  are  now  dispensed  to 
the  faithful  of  Jesus  Christ  by  his  own  Vicegerent  upon  earth,  with 
Apostolic  power  and  Apostolic  liberality. 

The  time  prescribed  for  gaining  the  Indulgence  is  limited  by  the 
Holy  Father  to  three  weeks.  We  direct,  therefore,  that  in  this 
Diocese  the  Jubilee  shall  commence  on  the  third  Sunday  of  Lent, 
and  be  continued  until  Palm  Sunday,  inclusively.  We  authorize, 
liowever,  any  of  the  Pastors  not  residing  in  the  city  of  New- York, 
or  its  immediate  vicinity,  who,  on  account  of  their  peculiar  position 
or  duties,  may  find  the  period  above  named  either  too  early  or  likely 
to  be  attended  with  serious  inconveniences,  to  designate  for  tlieir 
congregations  any  other  three  weeks  between  the  aforesaid  third 
Sunday  of  Lent  and  Pentecost  Sunday,  inclusively.  The  coiidltiotis 
required  to  be  performed  within  the  time  appointed  are  the  follow- 
ing:— 1.  To  confess  their  sins  with  sincere  compunction  of  heart, 
and  reverently  receive  the  most  holy  Sacrament  of  the  Eucharist. 
2.  To  visit  twice,  three  Churches,  or  where  this  is  inconvenient  or 
impracticable,  to  visit  one,  and  there  pray  for  some  time  with  devo- 
tion. 3.  To  fast  on  the  Wednesday,  Friday,  and  Saturday,  during 
one  of  the  weeks  of  the  Jubilee.  4.  To  give  alms,  each  one  accord- 
ing to  his  devotion. 

We  designate,  as  the  three  Churches  to  be  visited  in  this  city, 
our  Cathedral  Church  of  St.  Patrick,  St.  Peter's,  and  Transfigu- 
ration. Persons  absent  on  journeys  may  obtain  the  indulgence  by 
complying  with  the  same  conditions  on  their  return. 

Those  who,  from  infirmity  or  sickness,  or  any  other  sufficient 
cause,  are  unable  to  perform  the  works  of  piety  above  specified, 
may  be  made  partakers  of  the  same  advantages  by  performing  such 
other  exercises  of  piety  as,  according  to  your  own  prudence,  in  view 
of  the  particular  case,  you  may  judge  proper  to  appoint. 

Children  who  have  not  yet  made  their  first  communion  may  be 
dispensed  from  the  <;ondition  of  receiving  the  Blessed  Eucharist. 
You  are  likewise  empowered  to  absolve,  even  in  cases  at  other  times 
reserved  to  the  Bishop. 

We  would  earnestly  recommend,  as  the  objects  most  deserving 
the  charitable  offerings  of  the  faithful  diu-ing  these  days  of  mercy, 
the  suffering  and  famishing  poor  of  Ireland.  We  are  all  of  one  ac- 
cord in  recognizing  the  sacredness  and  paramount  importance  of 
their  claims.  Next  to  these  we  would  suggest  to  the  faithful  within 
the  city  the  Institution  for  the  protection  of  destitute  females,  to  be 
placed  under  the  charge  of  the  Sisters  of  Mercy,  of  which  we  spoke 
to  you  at  length  in  our  last  Pastoral  Letter. 

And  now,  venerable  and  beloved  Brethren,  we  commit  this  holy 
cause  to  your  zealous  keeping,  and  we  suppliantly  invoke  the  great 
Shepherd  of  souls  to  guide  and  enlighten  you,  to  purify  your  own 
hearts  from  every  stain  of  sin,  to  inflame  your  breasts  with  the  fire 
of  divine  charity,  to  vouchsafe  to  your  lips  words  of  persuasive  truth 
and  heavenly  wisdom,  to  grant  you  fortitude  and  strength  for  the 
faithful  discharge  of  the  onerous  duties  now  imposed  upon  you,  to 


rius  IX. 


^t 


crown  your  labors  with  an  abundant  harvest,  and  may  His  blessing 
descend  upon  you,  and  abide  with  you  forever. 

Given  at  New- York,  this  3d  day  of  March,  1847. 

»!■<  JOHX,  Bishop  of  New-York. 
By  order  of  the  Rt.  Rev,  Bishop. 

J.  R.  Bayley,  Secretary. 


THE  PRESENT  POSITION  OF  PIUS  IX., 

A   SERMON   PREACHED    IN    ST.  PATRICK'S  CATHEDRAL,  SUNDAY, 
JANUARY  7th,  1849,  BY  RT.  REV.  JOHN  HUGHES,  D.D. 

I  am  about  to  read  as  the  subject  of  the  remarks  which  I  intend 
to  offer,  the  entire  12th  Chapter  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles. 

[The  Bishop  read  the  chapter  specified.] 

There  are  times,  my  beloved  brethren,  in  the  history  of  the 
Christian  Church,  when  men  are  so  agitated  and  disturbed  by  the 
developments  of  human  passions  and  of  human  projects  on  the  earth, 
that  it  is  necessary  or  expedient  at  least,  for  those  who  believe,  to 
return  to  the  recollection  of  first  principles.  The  utility  of  this  will 
be  found  in  the  fact  that  principles  are  eternal  and  immutable, 
whereas  all  that  is  not  principle,  is  necessarily  subject  to  the  vicis- 
situdes of  times  and  of  circumstances.  But  recently,  we  Catholics 
exulted,  perhaps  wnth  a  presumptuous  joy,  at  the  apparent  favor 
with  which  this  world  seemed  to  regai'd  our  religion  and  our  doc- 
trine, and  with  the  correction  of  its  own  judgment,  with  which  it 
began  to  review  our  history.  At  the  same  time,  every  breeze  from 
the  East  brought  with  it  tidings  of  accessions  to  the  fold  of  Christ — 
and  accessions  not  from  the  class  tliat  are  least  esteemed  in  this 
world,  but  accessions  from  the  ranks  of  the  elevated,  of  the  educa- 
ted, of  tlie  powerful,  of  the  noble.  Even  now  we  can  enumerate, 
within  a  period  of  but  a  few  years,  about  one  hundred,  formerly 
Protestant  clergymen  of  the  most  distinguished  character,  even  be- 
fore their  change,  who  have  relinquished  the  fortunes  of  this  world, 
and  have  attached  themselves  to  the  poverty  of  the  Catholic  Cross. 

We,  perhaps,  took  complacency  in  these  events,  and  we  supposed 
that  God  was  about  to  open  to  His  Church  a  certain  glorious  career 
of  prosperity,  and  that  from  this  time  forward,  she  and  her  doctrines 
would  be  the  rallying  points  of  perplexed  minds,  around  which  the 
heterogeneous  systems  should  ultimately  congregate,  and  from  her 
should  derive  a  new  and  necessary  principle  of  life  for  the  world 
that  is  and  the  world  that  is  to  come.  We  do  not  say  that  tliese 
things  are  about  to  cease ;  but  in  the  midst  of  this  feeling,  tidings 
have  reached  us  that  the  supreme  pastor  of  the  Church  of  (^od  on 
earth,  the  Pontiff,  whose  accession  to  the  Papal  throne  has  been 
hailed,  not  merely  by  Catholics,  but  by  Protestants,  by  all  tlie  civil- 
ized nations  of  the  earth,  so  to  speak — the  Pontiff  who,  for  the  first 


ili  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

time,  it  is  said — said  falsely,  however — undertook  to  con<Mliate  the 
truths  of  religion  with  the  best  interests  of  human  liberty — the 
Pontiff  who  was  supposed  to  seize  the  favorable  moment,  the  turn- 
ing tide,  as  it  were,  in  the  history  of  human  civilization,  and  who 
placed  himself  in  the  front  of  the  movement — the  Pontiff  who  began 
his  reign  by  enlarging  the  freedom  of  his  people,  and  opening  the 
prison  doors  of  political  captivity ;  who  struck  the  fetters  from  the 
innocent,  because  it  was  his  duty,  and  from  the  guilty,  because  it 
was  his  inclination — that  this  same  Pontiff  is  himself  now  a  fugitive — 
that  this  same  people,  and,  be  it  known,  one  of  those  whom  he  re- 
leased from  the  dungeons  of  a  political  captivity  among  the  foremost 
of  them,  have  driven  him  from  the  sepulchre  of  St.  Peter,  and  have 
there  established  their  own  sacrilegious  watch. 

There  is  nothing  very  new  in  this ;  for  it  is  not  the  first  time  the 
Popes  have  been  expelled  from  the  capital  of  the  Christian  world. 
For  the  Christian,  there  is  nothing  extraordinary;  for  it  is  quite 
probable  that  the  same  persons  that  professed  adherence  to  Christ 
when  he  was  on  earth,  and  received  benefits  from  Him,  were  found 
swelling  the  chorus  of  the  mob  that  cried  out  "Crucify  him,  crucify 
him."  And  again,  the  chaptei>)f  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  which  I 
have  read,  teaches,  not  by  the  phraseology  simply,  but  by  the  fact 
which  is  recorded  there,  that  although  God  may  permit  a  sacrilegious 
world  to  lay  its  hands  upon  the  supreme  of  His  anointed  order.  He 
reserves  to  Himself  the  power  of  setting  at  naught  both  their  pur- 
poses and  their  means  for  accomplishing  them. 

No,  Christian,  Catholic  brethren,  there  is  no  reason  why  we 
should  be  dismayed  at  these  events.  On  the  contrary,  I  might  say, 
if  there  has  been  a  moment  in  modern  times  when  the  Catholics 
might  feel  a  certain  species  of  pride,  it  should  be  at  the  moment 
which  presents  the  supreme  pastor  of  the  Church  in  an  attitude  so 
glorious  as  that  now  occupied  by  Pope  Pius  IX.  For,  be  it  observed 
that  the  crime  attributed  to  his  predecessors  by  the  wicked  was  a 
certain  species  of  enmity  to  the  progress  of  liberty.  They  were 
looked  upon  as  obstacles,  impediments  in  the  way  of  progression. 
He,  on  the  contrary,  was  hailed  with  acclamations  by  this  same 
world,  as  one  who  reversed  the  policy  of  the  Holy  See,  and  adopted 
the  principles  of  freedom.  He  made  his  people  free — comparatively, 
at  least ;  he  threw  open  the  doors  of  the  prisons  of  his  State  ;  and, 
by  way  of  showing  the  recompense  which  a  good  man  may  expect 
from  a  wicked  world,  the  fetters  which  he  struck  from  the  liands  of 
others  they  themselves  were  the  first  to  fasten  upon  his  own.  Tlie 
result  is  no  fault  of  the  Pope,  therefore.  Let  that  world  which  is 
so  clamorous  for  freedom,  account  for  it.  Tlie  opinion  of  all  sober- 
minded  and  reflecting  men  will  be  opposed  to  this  wicked  persecu- 
tion. That  their  cause  has  been  injured ;  that  even  the  ardent 
friends  of  Liberty  will  shrink  back  affrighted  at  the  excesses  that 
have  been  perpetrated  in  its  name,  is  sure.  And  if  tyrants  shall 
again  combine  to  crush  this  young  monster — as  it  seems  to  develope 
itself  as  a  monster — there  need  be  no  surprise ;  for  according  to  the 


nus  IX.  •         13 

laws  of  human  nature  its  conduct  on  this  occasion  is  calculated  to 
lead  to  no  other  possible  result. 

But  for  us,  beloved  brethren,  it  is  a  consolation  to  know  that  this 
people  shall  not  succeed  against  the  Lord's  anointed.  And  the 
reason  of  this  is,  that  whenever  God  appoints  to  any  situation  of 
life.  He  always  gives  the  grace  and  the  means  to  the  appointed  to 
accomplish  the  duties  of  that  situation  ;  that  what  God  has  instituted, 
what  He  has  commanded,  what  He  has  established,  and  established 
for  an  eternal  duration,  He  will  never  abandon.  And  since  we  know 
that  St.  Peter  liimself  and  his  successors,  as  heirs  of  the  office  to 
which  he  was  appointed — that  St.  Peter,  in  the  first  instance,  is  pro- 
nounced by  the  Saviour  of  men  as  the  rock  on  which  He  should 
build  His  Church,  against  which  the  gates  of  hell  should  not  pre- 
vail— we  have  there,  to  counterbalance  the  wickedness  of  the  world, 
the  eternal  veracity  of  the  living  God ;  and  now  the  question  will 
be  between  the  strength  of  the  sacrilegious  usurpers  and  the  God  of 
Heaven.  If  all  other  means  fail,  we  Jiave  faith  to  believe  that  to- 
day, as  in  the  day  of  Petei",  God  will  send  an  angel,  and  that  angel 
will  be  found  in  two  offices,  one  securing  liberty  to  the  head  of  the 
Church,  and  the  other  striking  wifh  the  judgment  of  vengeance 
those  who  have  attempted  to  deprive  him  of  it.  There  are  those 
among  you,  perhaps,  who  are  old  enough  to  remember,  in  the  first 
French  Revolution,  under  what  was  called  the  Republic,  the  cap- 
tivity of  Pius  VI.,  how  he  was  seized  and  carried  away,  and  died  in 
captivity  ;  liow  his  successor,  Pius  VII.,  was  elected,  not  on  the  soil 
of  the  Roman  States,  but  in  exile  and  banishment ;  and  how  he  in 
his  turn  was  carried  away.  Like  Peter  in  the  prisons  of  Herod,  so 
was  he  in  the  apartments  of  Fontainbleau — under  guards  and  under 
sentinels,  although  his  master,  or  at  least  the  master  of  his  liberty, 
affected  the  greatest  friendship  towards  him. 

We  have  seen  these  things.  We  remember  an  anecdote  which 
^\•ill  illustrate  at  once  much  of  what  we  have  to  say  upon  the  sub- 
ject. Tlie  Emperor  of  that  great  power  which  grew  out  of  the 
French  Republic  cheiished  as  a  liivorite  policy  the  idea  of  bringing 
the  Pope  to  reside  in  his  dominions — appointing  him  the  most 
splendid  establishment  and  income,  far  greater  than  that  which  the 
poverty  of  the  Pontifical  States  could  afford ;  for  the  Emperor  was 
a  politician,  as  well  as  a  warrior  and  conqueror,  and  he  understood 
perfectly  well,  according  to  his  mode  of  calculation,  how  important 
it  would  be  to  have  under  his  control  the  voice  and  the  pen  of  that 
feeble  old  man  whom  the  Christian  world  venerated  as  the  first  and 
chief  of  its  pastors.  He  thought  to  break  down  the  spirit  of  the 
Pope  in  prison ;  he  thought  to  weary  him  out,  and  to  obtain  his 
consent,  finally.  On  one  occasion,  to  test  how  far  his  experiment 
was  successful,  he  sent  one  of  his  secretaries  to  him  with  a  message, 
which  he  had  too  much  sagacity  to  allow  the  Secretary  to  under- 
stand, viz. :  That  he  sent  his  best  respects  to  the  Holy  Father,  to 
inquire  about  his  health,  and  to  know  particularly  if  there  was  any 
thing  which  his  Majesty  could  do  to  gratify  him  and  to  render  his 


14  ARCHBISHOP  HUGHES. 

situation  more  comfortable.  The  Pope  understood,  though  the 
Secretary  did  not,  and  replied  in  the  hinguage  Vv'hich  belongs  to 
Popes  and  will  always  belong  to  them,  showing  that  they  are  above 
Emperors,  above  Kings,  above  Pi-csidents,  above  all  human  power. 
His  reply  was:  "Say  to  his  Majesty  how  grateful  I  am  that  he 
should  have  time  to  remember  a  poor  old  man  in  prison ;  and,  as 
for  my  wants,  say  also  that  I  have  none.  My  cassock,  indeed,  is 
wearing  out,  and,  if  I  had  the  means  at  hand,  I  might  beguile  the 
hours  of  my  solitude  by  repairing  it."  As  the  Secretary  did  not 
understand  the  pith  or  purport  of  the  message,  so,  naturally,  he 
could  not  comprehend  the  meaning  and  fulness  of.  the  reply.  After 
repeating  to  his  Majesty  what  he  had  heard,  he  went  about,  saying, 
"  What  can  you  do  with  an  old  man  like  that  ?  he  does  not  under- 
stand his  interest."  Truly  nothing  could  be  done  with  him.  He  is 
a  man  unconnected  with  this  world,  except  in  his  relations  to  tlie 
Papal  States,  over  which  he  exercised  temporal  powers.  He  is  des- 
tined for  another  purpose.  He  is  a  man  not  descended  from  a  long 
line  of  illustrious  royal  ancestry,  nor  about  to  transmit  power  to  his 
posterity.  He  is  a  solitary  man,  raised  up  by  his  own  merit  as 
human  judgment  supposes,  bifk  always  by  the  Providence  of  God, 
to  fulfil  a  station  which  God  has  appointed,  of  which  God  i^  the 
guardian,  of  which  God  is  the  avenger  when  that  station  is  outraged 
by  sacrilegious  violence.  Why,  in  a  little,  as  it  were,  in  the  very 
next  verse  of  the  same  chapter,  how  greatly  does  the  scene  change, 
and  just  as  the  angel  struck  Herod,  so  also  that  splendid  Imperial 
Majesty,  which  astonished  the  world  by  his  conquests  and  by  his 
policy,  was  prostrated,  was  compelled  to  change  the  din  of  war,  the 
glory  of  victory,  and  the  splendor  of  empire,  for  a  solitary,  comfort- 
less dwelling-place  on  a  barren  rock.  And  if  he  expired,  ^\■e  trust 
it  was  in  sentiments  far  dift'erent  from  those  which  accompanied  the 
last  moments  of  the  Jewish  tyrant ;  for  we  know  that  that  same 
Pope  survived  to  send  the  messengers  of  religion  to  console  the 
dying  Emperor,  as  he  languished  far  removed  from  the  scenes  ot 
his  former  earthly  greatness.  At  the  time  when  the  Pope  was  a 
captive,  who  could  have  foreseen  this  ?  I  would  take  occa.sion  to 
request  that  you  should  Avrite  down  the  name  of  Pope  Pius  IX., 
and  the  events  of  the  closing  months  of  1848,  and  the  names  of  the 
parties  who  have  taken  the  lead  against  the  head  of  the  Church. 
Write  them  down,  and  wait  till  you  see  how  God  will  disj)ose  ot 
one  side  and  of  the  other ;  and  how  well  he  will  order  and  direct 
and  bring  out  of  this  the  vindication  of  His  eternal  promise. 

Naturally,  my  beloved  brethren,  all  men  cherish  the  love  of 
lil^erty.  It  is  an  impulse,  it  is  a  need  of  our  nature ;  but  at  the 
same  time  we  may  not,  in  treating  of  a  subject  like  that,  indulge 
ideas  which  belong  to  the  world  of  possibility  and  of  theory.  We 
must  take  mankind  as  mankind  is;  and  all  experience  goes  to  estab- 
lish one  fact,  that  mankind  is,  now  at  least,  a  fallen  race — that  from 
the  period  when  man  refused  obedience  to  his  God,  he  forfeited 
liberty,  and  that  he  is  never  again  to  enjoy  it,  except  in  a  degree. 


PIUS  IX.  15 

more  or  less,  according  to  circumstances.  You  perceive,  on  all 
sides,  if  you  read  history — you  perceive  in  the  State,  and  under 
every  form  of  government,  that  the  greatest  friends  of  liberty,  the 
apostles,  the  would-be  martyrs  of  liberty,  when  they  are  themselves 
under  the  authority  of  others,  scarcely  reach  the  acquisition  of  the 
power  which  tempted  their  ambition  until  they,  in  their  turn,  be- 
come tyrants,  and  oppress  sometimes  even  their  own  colleagues  and 
those  who  depended  upon  them.  This  is  the  history  of  mankind. 
Therefore,  there  is  no  use  in  speaking  of  liberty,  as  it  might  be  in 
a  world  of  angels.  Liberty  must  be  such  as  man,  in  his  present 
condition,  is  competent  to  ;  and,  in  that  case,  I  see  but  one  division. 
I  see  throughout  the  world,  wherever  there  is  any  thing  approaching 
to  civilization,  but  two  classes ;  one,  the  few  called  the  Sovereign — 
the  other,  the  subject.  Now,  when  I  say  Sovereign,  I  do  not  dis- 
tinguish between  President  and  Emperor.  I  speak  of  the  person 
who  exercises  the  supreme  power  of  the  State,  and  I  sjDeak  of  those 
who  recognize  that  power  as  subjects. 

The  question  then  is :  Has  it  been  in  the  order  of  Almighty  God — 
has  it  been,  as  far  as  we  may  enter  into  the  investigation  of  the 
case,  the  purpose  of  the  Divine  Saviour,  in  such  a  world  as  this,  a 
world  of  evil,  into  which,  as  a  world  of  evil,  God  cast  forth  His  doc- 
trine and  His  Church — whether  in  such  a  world  as  this  is,  it  is  con- 
sistent with  the  purposes  of  Providence  that  the  Chief  Pastor  of  His 
Church  should  be  a  subject  ?  If  we  take  our  first  inference  from 
the  testimony  of  history,  we  shall  see  apparently  that  this  was  not 
the  intention  of  the  Divine  Saviour,  for  freedom  is  essential  to  the 
Pope.  It  is  desirable  for  all  men  ;  it  is  an  essential  for  the  Supreme 
Pontiff  of  the  Catholic  Church — and  so  much  so  that,  from  the  mo- 
ment he  has  fallen  under  the  power  of  any  human  Sovereign,  from 
that  moment,  either  he  does  not  act  in  his  capacity  of  Pontiff,  or  he 
gives  notice  of  the  coei'cion  ;  or  even  if  he  does  not  that,  coercion,,, 
if  it  had  been  employed,  is  proclaimed  the  moment  he  gains  his 
liberty. 

The  present  Sovereign  Pontiff  is  the  two  hundred  and  fifty-ninth 
from  St.  Peter,  and  you  will  see,  from  the  beginning,  God  so  or- 
dained by  His  providence,  and  by  inspiring  them  with  a  spirit  which 
■would  be  free  and  has  been  free,  that  He  never  permitted  them  to 
discharge  the  functions  of  their  elevated  office  under  the  suspicion 
of  being  forced  thereto  by  human  authority.  Look  at  them  ttirough 
the  first  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  of  the  Christian  era.  Here 
you  will  find  that  nearly  all  have  been  maityrs ;  but  during  their 
martyrdom,  when  they  dared  not  appeal  to  Paganism  and  its  sacri- 
legious judges,  who  only  waited  their  appearance  to  consign  them 
to  the  scaffold,  where  did  they  seek  liberty  ?  In  the  catacombs  of 
Rome  and  the  wild  places  and  caves  of  the  earth — the  mountains 
and  the  solitudes  ;  but  wherever  they  were,  always  maintaining  free- 
dom. And  whenever  by  accident  that  freedom  was  abridged,  then 
they  considered  that  life — that  their  life — was  no  longer  worth  pre- 
sei'ving  when  it  was  no  longer  useful  to  the  Church,  and  they  sealed 


16  AKCIIBISHOP   HUGHES. 

their  testimony  by  surrendering  it.  Afterwards  do  you  not  perceive 
how  God  so  disposed  that  the  Popes  should  acquire  freedom  from 
human  authority  witliout  any  plan  or  design  of  their  own  ?  Who 
that  is  familiar  with  the  decline  of  the  Roman  Empire  will  not  per- 
ceive something  providential  in  the  fact  that,  without  claiming  to 
be  sovereigns,  the  force  of  circumstances  compelled  them,  little  by 
little,  to  assume  the  sovereignty  of  a  small  province  in  the  Italian 
Peninsula  ? 

In  the  first  instance,  when  Constantine  and  his  successors,  so  en- 
grossed in  the  petty,  dark-minded,  and  tyrannical  intrigues  of  their 
Eastern  Court,  and  so  be-troubled  with  the  theological  discussions 
in  which  they  so  impiously  took  part,  so  absorbed  and  so  enervated 
by  the  luxuriousness  of  their  lives,  left  the  Italians,  as  it  were,  a  prey 
to  the  invasions  of  their  barbarian  enemies — under  these  circum- 
stances how  often  do  we  find  the  Pope  writing  to  the  Emperor,  be- 
seeching him  to  send  troops  for  their  defence — these  troops  never 
sent — finally,  the  barbarians  themselves  taking  possession  of  the 
fairest  provinces  of  that  Western  Empire,  and  even  they.  Pagans  or 
only  half  Christians — for  many  of  them  were  Arian  heretics — even 
they  always  abstaining  Avith  a  certain  species  of  reverence,  and  never 
presuming  to  fix  their  sovereign  residence  within  the  walls  of  eternal 
Rome.  They,  in  their  turn,  were  put  down,  and  that  province  over 
which  the  Popes  had  acquired,  by  their  paternal  care,  by  their  zeal 
and  exertions  to  supply  the  defects  of  government — in  a  word,  by 
their  influence — that  province  which  they  had  thus  already  acquired, 
the  great  conqueror  of  the  eighth  century,  Charlemagne,  conferred 
by  an  outward  title  which  is  called  a  gift ;  but,  in  point  of  fact,  it 
was  only  a  restoration,  and  his  successors  speak  of  it  in  that  light. 

This  took  place  one  thousand  and  forty-eight  years  ago.  From 
that  time  the  Pope  has  been  the  Sovereign  of  that  hmited  province, 
the  Patrimony  of  St.  Peter,  so  called;  and  during  the  ages  that  have 
intervened,  while,  if  you  look  over  the  map  of  Europe,  you  Avill  find 
that  there  has  not  been  a  sovereignty  that  has  not  added  to  its  do- 
minions by  cruelty,  treachery,  and  fraud — how  did  it  happen  that 
the  dominions  of  the  Pontifical  States  ai-e  as  limited  to-day  as  they 
■were  the  day  they  were  first  given  ?  How  does  it  happen,  that 
they  who  possessed  universal  power,  even  over  kings,  did  not  take 
advantage  of  this  to  extend  the  sphere  of  their  temporal  sway? 
The  reason  is  that  the  Popes  have  never  been  actuated  by  the  am- 
bition of  universal  dominion  in  temporal  matters,  as  has  been  so 
frequently  charged  upon  them.  They  are  ignorant,  profoundly  ig- 
norant, who  charge  them  with  it.  In  his  dominions  the  Pope  has 
been  a  Sovereign  ;  he  has  been  cherished  by  his  people  as  a  flither. 
If  there  has  been  a  fault  in  his  government  it  has  been  the  fault  of 
leniency  and  mercy,  and  the  want  of  harsh  policy.  There,  in  a 
word,  that  government  has  subsisted  during  a  period  longer,  and 
is  now  older  than  any  other  monarchy  in  this  world.  It  is  not 
essential  that  the  Pope  should  be  Sovereign  of  Rome,  but  it  is 
essential  that  between  the  two  conditions,  the  one  of  Subject  and 


pros  IX.  17 

the  other  of  Sovereign,  the  Pope,  the  head  of  Christendom,  shall 
be  free ;  that  is  to  say,  he  shall  be  so  placed  that  he  shall  be  subject 
to  no  man,  be  he  King  or  President. 

If  they  tell  you,  again,  that  the  Popes  have  meddled  with  the 
peace  of  nations  throughout  the  world  ;  that  they  have  disturbed 
the  rule  of  Governments ;  I  say  in  reply  that  they  are  profoundly 
ignorant ;  that  Popes  have  never  done  such  things,  except  as  con- 
sequents of  the  office  which  God  appointed  them  to  fill.  What  is 
the  explanation  of  this  ?  It  is  exceedingly  simple  :  it  is,  that  by 
religion  Europe  was  civilized  ;  that  it  owes  all  its  civilization  to  the 
Catholic  Church.  You  see  that  in  Africa,  along  the  coast  of  the 
Mediterranean,  in  which  there  was  a  beginning  and  progessive 
civilization  so  long  as  the  people  remained  connected  with  Rome ; 
the  moment  that  that  union  was  interrupted,  barbarism  settled  down 
upon  the  land  ;  and  you  will  find  from  that  period  to  this  there  has 
been  no  increase  of  civilization. 

The  Barbarians  of  the  North,  who  settled  on  the  ruins  of  the 
Roman  Empire,  came  under  the  divine  laws  of  the  Church,  and  by 
her  divine  influences  were  civilized.  This  is  a  preliminary  remark 
you  must  never  forget ;  it  is  the  key  and  explanation  of  what  men 
ascribe  to  the  ambition  of  the  Church.  They  were  bound,  therefore, 
to  observe  the  laws  of  the  Church,  and  the  Pope  was  the  appointed 
executor  of  those  laws.  If,  therefore,  not  to  enlarge  upon  a  subject 
which  is  so  ample,  you  will  allow  me  to  concentrate  into  one  or  two 
points  the  causes  of  all  these  troubles,  I  can  enumerate  them : — The  first 
and  greatest  cause  has  been  the  licentiousness  of  the  secular  Princes, 
even  though  members  of  the  Church  and  professed  Catholics  ;  yet 
having  ample  power,  according  to  the  secular  order  iu  the  State, 
they  bore  with  impatience  another  jDower  in  the  world  that  put  re- 
straints and  limits  upon  their  bad  passions.  It  was  no  easy  matter 
to  introduce  among  such  a  people,  and  especially  among  such  a  rude 
order  of  sovereignty,  the  single  law  which  is  the  foundation  of  all 
Jhat  is  elegant,  pure,  and  refined  in  human  society — the  sanctity  of 
marriage.  You  will  find  that  a  vast  number  of  these  questions  re- 
solve themselves  into  that,  and  that  those  monarchs  found  it  exceed- 
ingly irksome  that  they  should  be  held  to  the  law  that  bound  their 
subjects.  I  need  not  assert  this ;  I  suggest  it,  and  appeal  to  every 
page  of  history  whether  it  is  not  found  just.  To  prevent  the  mon- 
arch from  divorcing  his  wife ;  to  jDrevent  unlawful  alliances,  and  ta 
protect  the  sanctity  of  holy  marriage,  was  the  difficult  task  of  the 
sovereign  Pontiff.  We  know  instances  in  which  the  authority  of 
the  Pope  has  been  assailed  precisely  on  this  ground ;  we  know,  ia 
modern  times,  the  instance  of  that  proud  and  sacrilegious  monarch 
of  England,  who  arrogated  to  himself  the  authority  of  the  Holy  See 
and  constituted  himself  head  of  a  Church;  we  can  see  in  his  history 
before  that  event,  and  in  his  unbounded  licentiousness  afterwards^ 
how  great  a  relief  it  was  for  him  to  have  cast  off  the  restraint  of  the 
authority  of  the  Pope. 

Again,  we  see  in  Germany  the  patriarch  of  the  Reformatioa  so- 
Vol.  II.— 2 


18  ABCHBISHOP   HUGHE8. 

called,  in  his  commentary  on  Genesis,  flattering  the  Princes  by- 
teaching  that  whereas  Polygamy  was  practised  by  the  patriarchs, 
the  divine  law  neither  commended  nor  forbade  it,  and  that  upon 
that  subject  he  had  nothing  to  say.  We  know  that  the  same  indi- 
vidual, having  cast  off  the  authority  of  the  Pope,  granted  to  the 
Landgrave  of  Hesse  the  authority  to  marry  a  second  wife,  the  first 
being  alive,  and  live  with  both  at  the  same  time.  These  were  causes 
of  the  hatred  to  the  authority  of  the  Pope,  among  those  petty  sove- 
reigns who  occupied  the  provinces  of  the  once  great  but  now  fallen 
power  of  Rome,  in  existence  long  before  the  time  of  the  so-called 
Reformation,  for  it  was  a  part  of  his  office  to  recognize  no  difference, 
where  the  law  of  God  was  concerned,  between  the  peasant  and  the 
prince  who  ruled  over  him.  Another  cause  was  the  correction  of 
scandals  among  the  clergy,  for  in  this  also  the  divine  authority  of 
the  Holy  Father  necessarily  came  in  conflict  with  the  perverted 
human  passions.  The  fallen  priest  and  the  unworthy  bishop  have 
often  been  found  to  raise  their  voice  and  throw  the  weight  of  their 
influence  in  the  secular  scale  against  the  very  Church  that  had  in- 
vested them  with  character  and  authority. 

Again,  another  cause  was  the  efforts  of  the  Pope  to  check  the 
tyranny  of  kings ;  and  it  is  singular  that  at  a  period  when  the 
people  is  the  sovereign,  when  every  thing  is  for  the  people,  that  the 
people  themselves  should  forget  that  in  former  times  they  had  no 
friend  but  the  Pope.  There  was  no  giant  strong  enough  to  wrestle 
•with  the  tyrants  of  the  world  except  the  giant  successor  of  St.  Peter. 
He  was  the  preserver  for  them  of  the  only  remnants  of  liberty  which 
they  enjoyed,  and  out  of  which  they  might  have  developed  a  more 
perfect  system.  These  have  been  the  causes,  in  many  instances,  of 
quarrels  between  Popes  and  Sovereigns.  And  here  again,  whether 
you  regard  the  Church  of  God  as  a  divine  institution,  or  whether 
you  regard  the  offices  of  humanity  which  have  been  fulfilled  by  the 
Popes  of  Rome,  you  will  perceive  that  liberty  for  the  Pope  is  essen- 
tial as  the  atmosphere  of  life.  How  could  he  have  made  tyrants 
tremble  on  their  thrones  if  he  had  been  their  subject  and  in  their 
power  ?  How  could  he  have  vindicated  the  law  of  God  ?  How 
could  he  have  raised  the  standard  of  judgment?  How  could  he 
have  cheered  the  poor  themselves,  either  in  the  patience  of  endur- 
ance or  the  lawfulness  of  resistance,  if  he  himself  had  been  one  of 
the  poor  and  subject  to  the  crouching  influences  of  this  world's 
tyranny  ? 

Now,  ray  brethren,  we  have  no  anxiety  on  this  subject.  All  his- 
tory goes  to  show  that  whenever  the  Father  of  the  Faithful — the 
first  and  supreme  Bishop  of  the  Catholic  Church — has  been  invaded, 
whenever  his  person  has  been  violated  by  outrage,  whenever  his 
liberty  has  been  abridged  by  the  temporal  powers  of  this  world, 
God,  as  it  Avere  by  a  glance  of  His  watchfid  eye,  has  so  ordered  that 
the  Pope's  very  enemies  sometimes  have  been  made  instruments  for 
restoring  him  to  that  freedom  so  essential  to  the  functions  of  his 
office.     He  will  manifest  His  watchfulness  now,  as  He  did  once  be- 


PIUS  IX.  19 

fore.  I  have  faith  to  believe  that  He  will  send  His  angel,  if  not  in 
material,  yet  in  an  efficient  mode,  to  work  the  deliverance  of  the 
supreme  Pontiff  of  the  Catholic  Church.  He  will  manifest  His 
watchfulness  now.  You  will  observe  how  singularly  it  is  noted  that 
no  physical  agency  was  necessary  to  break  the  chain  from  the  hands 
of  St,  Peter — no  human  arm  was  required  to  throw  open  the  iron 
gate,  so  that  he  should  have  the  liberty  of  motion — so  that,  where 
the  liberty  of  the  Pope  is  required,  even  inanimate  things  of  this 
earth  shall  become  instruments  in  securing  him  in  the  discharge  of 
his  office. 

I  do  not  say  that  it  is  necessary  for  the  Pope  that  he  should  be  a 
Sovereign,  but  it  is  necessary  for  Christianity  that  he  should  be  free, 
and  if  there  is  no  choice  except  between  sovereign  and  vassal,  then 
must  he  be  a  sovereign.  I  do  not  say  that  his  dignity  and  his  office 
depend  in  the  least  upon  his  being  the  chief  of  the  Papal  States.  I 
know  that  the  Church,  that  the  faithful  of  the  Catholic  world,  will 
recognize  him  if  he  be  a  wanderer  upon  the  Apennines.  I  know  all 
that,  and  for  his  part  it  would  be  an  immense  relief  to  be  released 
from  his  temporal  charge ;  but  it  is  necessary  for  Christendom  that 
he  should  be  free,  and  if  there  be  no  middle  state  between  a  subject 
and  a  secular  sovereign,  then  I  say  that  for  him  to  be  a  sovereign 
is  necessary.  God  will  mark  by  His  intervention  or  by  an  angel 
unseen  of  men  the  workings  of  His  providence,  and  you  will  see 
how  the  designs  of  wicked  men  who  have  invaded  the  authority  f».nd 
place  of  the  Pope  shall  be  brought  to  naught.  He  will  be  restored 
by  agencies  altogether  beyond  the  order  and  calculations  of  the 
foolish  politicians  who  affect  now  to  govern  the  world.  In  short, 
my  beloved  brethren,  that  idea  of  liberty,  where  there  has  been  no 
previous  training  to  the  knowledge  of  what  it  means,  no  preparation 
for  its  enjoyment,  has  become  a  nuisance.  You  perceive  that  it  has 
become  the  watchword  all  over  Eui'ope;  and  its  abuses  by  thftr> op- 
pressed multitudes  just  brought  out  of  restraint  are  such,  accoi'ding 
to  all  the  laws  of  human  nature  as  human  nature  is,  as  justilies  the 
reaction  to  which  we  are  to  be  consigned  for  another  cycle  of  time. 
Even  among  ourselves  there  is  nothing  more  common  than  to  hear 
the  inexperienced,  the  young,  and  the  ardent  enamored,  as  it  were, 
with  the  opportunity  of  making  speeches  about  liberty.  We  enjoy 
it ;  we  possess  it,  as  much  as  it  is  possible  for  men  to  possess  it  on 
earth  ;  and  in  all  the  calculations  of  this  school  they  make  only  one 
mistake — they  make  no  account  of  God,  who  rules  this  world,  nor  of 
the  providence  of  God.  They  know  the  abuses  of  authority,  and  in- 
stead of  correcting  the  abuses,  as  wise  men  would  wish  to  do,  they 
destroy  authority  altogether ;  and  when  they  have  destroyed  human 
authority,  they  are  just  as  ready  to  attack  Divine  authority,  if  the 
thing  were  possible.  There  is  a  demonaic  spirit  that  animates  a 
portion  of  them,  that  would  make  war  upon  God  himself  O,  my 
brethren  !  let  us  remember  that  these  are  the  agitations  of  passions 
and  human  events !  Ofttimes  the  chastisement  of  vice  occurs  by  its 
own  instrumentality.     God  allows  and  directs  all  these  things  in  a 


20  AKCHBISnOP  HUGHES. 

mysterious  manner  towards  the  end  wliicli  He  has  pointed  out,  and 
which  they  will  attain  most  assuredly.  Let  us  understand,  while  we 
are  the  advocates  of  liberty,  that  it  is  not  liberty  in  the  abstract,  but 
liberty  with  the  belief  of  a  God — liberty  within  the  laws  which  God 
has  appointed  for  our  government.  As  for  us,  the  whole  history  of 
the  Church  is  calculated  to  remove  from  our  minds  the  slightest 
fear.  Even  in  our  own  times  we  have  seen  events  like  this.  But 
because  it  had  not  happened  before  for  some  ages,  when  Pius  VI. 
was  carried  into  captivity  the  enemies  of  the  Church  of  Christ  set  to 
interpret  the  Apocalypse,  the  prophecies,  and  the  mystic  number, 
believing  that  they  were  about  to  be  fulfilled  according  to  their  no- 
tions of  interpretations;  yet  most  of  them  lived  to  see  the  triumpli. 
of  the  Church,  or  the  events  which  prognosticated  her  triumph  on 
earth.  We  sympathize  with  our  Holy  Father,  and  the  Church 
throughout  the  world  ought,  as  in  the  times  of  Peter,  to  offer 
prayers  continually  to  God  for  him.  We  feel  for  him  as  an  indi- 
vidual, but  we  have  not  the  slightest  apprehension  of  injury  to  the 
office  which  he  discharges,  and  of  which  he  is  so  illustrious  and  glo- 
rious an  occupant.  If  necessary,  the  Church  has  resources.  There 
is  no  sovei'eign  on  earth  that  counts  so  many  subjects  as  Pius 
IX.,  independent  of  those  petty  States  of  Rome,  Two  hundred 
millions  of  men  cherish  him  in  their  hearts,  all  of  whom  direct  their 
best  wishes  towards  his  sacred  person,  all  of  whom  regard  in  him 
the  representative  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  authority  delegated  to 
him  by  St.  Peter.  My  bi-ethren,  I  know  that  I  can  speak  for  you 
and  for  that  portion  of  the  Church  over  which,  though  unworthy, 
the  providence  of  God  has  placed  me.  Sooner  than  we  should  see 
him  subject  to  any  Sovereign,  or  President,  or  petty  Prince,  or 
King,  we  should  have  recourse  to  the  old  institution,  and  Peter- 
pence  from  every  point  of  the  compass  would  constitute  a  treasury 
to  raise  him  above  that  subjection,  even  though  he  should  occupy 
an  island  in  the  Mediterranean  Sea  a  single  square  mile  in  extent. 

And  now.  Christian  brethren,  we  have  no  apprehensions.  It  is 
the  nature  of  revolutions  to  stir  up  tranquil  waters,  and  oftentimes 
to  bring  the  dregs  to  the  surface.  It  will  require  time  for  the  dregs 
to  work  themselves  off;  so  in  all  countries,  with  regard  to  those 
restless  spirits  truly  insignificant  in  themselves,  but  who,  being 
caught  up  by  agitation  of  the  time,  just  as  straws  are  carried  aloft 
by  the  whirlwind,  come  to  think  they  are  actually  a  part  of  the 
tempest  by  which  they  have  been  elevated.  Now,  good  Christian 
friends,  especially  in  reference  to  the  Holy  Father,  whose  expulsion, 
for  I  cannot  call  it  otherwise,  from  the  capital  of  which  he  was  sov- 
ereign, from  the  chair  of  his  predecessors,  and  from  the  see  of 
which  he  M'as  Bishop,  the  subject  has  called  forth  our  sympathy, 
and  if  I  have  dwelt  upon  it  to-day,  you  will  bear  me  evidence  that 
it  is  the  first  time  in  eleven  years  that  I  have  introduced  matters  of 
this  kind  into  the  pulpit  of  the  Catholic  Church ;  but  I  have  done  so 
designedly,  to  increase  your  information,  to  throw  you  in  the  direc- 
tion of  strengthening  your  minds  against  the  appearance  of  the 


PIUS  IX.  21 

threatening  aspects  of  events.  Knowing  that  the  existence  of  the 
Pope,  as  the  successor  of  St.  Peter,  and  that  the  attributes  of  free- 
dom necessary  to  his  discharging  the  duties  of  his  office  shall  never 
be  wanting,  knowing  that  all  rest  under  the  vicissitudes  of  time  and 
place,  and  that  all  these  circumstances  are  in  their  nature  change- 
able, and  that  God  will  change  them,  and  also  that  the  eternal  prin- 
ciples of  Divine  truth  and  the  eternal  pron*ise  of  God  to  St.  Peter — 
these  have  stood,  stand  now,  and  will  stand  till  the  consummation 
of  the  world,  and  the  Church  shall  have  accomplished  fully,  univer- 
sally, and  finally,  the  purposes  of  her  Divine  institution. 


COLLECTION  FOR  THE  POPE. 

CIRCULAR    TO  THE  CLERGY   OF  NEW-YORK. 


Episcopal  Residexce,       | 


New-York,  June  20th,  1849. 

Reverend  Sir — You  are  aware  that  the  Fathers  of  the  late  Pro- 
vincial Council  have  appointed  the  Sunday  within  the  Octave  of  the 
Feast  of  SS.  Peter  and  Paul  as  the  day  on  which  a  collection  is  to 
be  taken  up  in  all  the  Churches  of  the  United  States,  for  the  tem- 
porary relief  of  our  Most  Holy  Father,  Pope  Pius  IX. — not  less 
glorious  under  the  afflictions  which  the  evils  of  the  times  have 
heaped  upon  him,  than  when  he  was  greeted  by  the  universal  ho- 
sannas  alike  of  the  foes  and  of  the  friends  of  God's  holy  Church,  of 
which  he  is  the  Supreme  Pastor  upon  earth.  The  foes  of  that 
Church  have  betrayed  him,  or  at  least  fallen  away  from  their  pro- 
fessions in  regard  to  his  sacred  person.  Now,  therefore,  is  the  time 
for  his  children,  or  rather  the  children  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  to 
stand  by  their  revered  and  venerated  Father,  and  by  their  prayers 
and  by  their  offerings  to  console  his  heart  with  the  evidence  of  their 
filial  attachment,  and  inviolable  constancy  to  the  holy  and  immortal 
See  of  Peter.  The  sacrilegious  invaders  of  his  rights  may  profane 
the  apostolic  shrines  of  Rome — may  melt  the  sacred  vessels  for  their 
nefarious  purposes — may  strip  the  temples  of  the  living  God  of  the  orna- 
ments with  which  the  piety  of  our  ancestors  in  the  Faith  had  adorned 
them,  but  tliey  will  never  be  able  to  sever  the  divine  bond  of  Catholic 
faith  and  suojection  which  binds  us  indissolubly  to  the  Chair  of  Peter. 
God,  in  His  inscrutable  providence,  may  permit  those  sacrilegious 
men  to  invade  with  apparent  success  for  a  time  the  rights  of  His 
appointed  representative  on  earth.  But  it  will  be  for  a  time  only, 
and  after  that  He  will  use  in  the  might  of  His  wisdom,  and  employ 
the  folly  of  their  own  devices  to  scatter  them  to  the  ends  of  the 
earth,  and  to  vindicate  His  consoling  promise  that  the  gates  of  hell 
shall  never  prevail  against  that  Church  which  he  built  upon  the  rock 
of  Peter.  In  the  mean  time  the  children  of  the  Church  are  numerous 
enough  to  see  that  his  enemies  shall  not  have  the  power  to  humble 


22  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

the  Sovereign  Pontiff  to  the  extent  of  actual  destitution,  or  want  of 
means  necessary  to  carry  on  the  numerous  offices  of  his  most  holy 
and  most  exalted  station. 

We  direct  you  to  explain  these  things  to  the  faithful  people  of 
your  charge,  and  to  read  this  our  Pastoral  Letter  from  the  pulpit  at 
each  of  the  Masses  in  your  church  on  next  Sunday.  Exhort  them 
to  be  prepared  to  contribute  on  the  Sunday  following  such  an  amount 
as  the  Catholic  faith  and  the  ability  of  each  will  prompt  and  enable 
him  to  offer  for  the  general  purpose  of  a  collection  to  relieve  the 
present  wants  of  our  Holy  Father.  You  will,  during  the  subsequent 
week,  remit  the  amount  contributed  by  your  congregation  to  us,  or 
to  our  Secretary,  that  it  may  be  forwarded  to  the  Most  Rev,  Arch- 
bishop of  Baltimore,  to  be  by  him  remitted,  with  similar  collections 
from  the  other  dioceses  of  the  United  States,  to  the  illustrious  and 
glorious  exile  at  Gaeta,  Pius  IX. 

We  have  the  pleasing  confidence  that  the  Diocese  of  New- York 
will  not  appear  to  disadvantage  in  comparison  with  the  zeal,  and 
liberality,  and  Catholic  devotedness  to  the  Holy  See,  of  our  brethren 
throughout  the  country.  We  leave  it  to  the  discretion  of  each 
Pastor  to  adopt  such  means  as  his  good  judgment  may  suggest  as 
to  the  manner  of  accomplishing  the  object  here  presented,  requiring 
only  that  it  shall  be  attended  to  in  all  the  Churches  of  the  Diocese 
on  the  day  specified. 

•!••  John  Hughes,  Bishop  of  New- York. 

By  order  of  the  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop. 

J.  Roosevelt  Bayley,  Secretary. 


LETTER  FROM   BISHOP  HUGHES   IN  REPLY  TO 
HON.  HORACE  GREELEy. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Courier  and  Enquirer  : 

I  beg  leave  to  complain,  through  your  widely  circulated  paper,  of 
the  injustice  done  me  by  the  Hon.  Horace  Greeley,  or  his  agent,  by 
Avhom  I  am  repi-esented  as  directing  a  collection  to  be  taken  up  in 
the  Catholic  churches  of  this  diocese,  for  the  relief  and  support  of 
Pius  IX.  in  his  present  struggle  against  the  Roman-  Republic.  The 
words  marked  in  italics  are  Mr.  Greeley's  own.  The  idea  which 
they  express  has  not  entered  into  my  mind.  The  collection  is  for 
the  relief  and  support  of  the  Pope.  Here  the  sentence  closes ;  but 
the  editor  of  the  TVihune,,  without  either  authority  or  foundation, 
alleges  that  it  is  to  support  the  Pope  in  his  present  struggle  against 
the  Roman  Republic. 

Mr.  Greeley  has  heretofore  professed  good-will  towards  his  Ca- 
tholic fellow-citizens,  with  what  sincerity  the  unwarranted  issue  im- 
plied by  his  imaginary  contest  between  the  Pope  and  the  Roman 
Republic  sufficiently  indicates.     The  collection  to  be  made  in  all  the 


PIUS  rx.  28 

churches  of  the  United  States  on  next  Sunday  is  simply  to  relieve 
the  present  wants  of  the  Supreme  Bishop  of  the  Catholic  people. 
If  Pius  IX.  had  been  a  tyrant,  or  had  been  opposed  to  the  progress 
of  rational  liberty  and  social  amelioration,  the  Catholics,  of  this 
country  at  least,  would  not  have  sympathized  so  deeply  in  the  mis- 
fortunes brought  upon  him  by  his  own  goodness  and  the  ingratitude 
of  the  very  people  whose  condition  he  so  cheerfully  undertook  to 
improve. 

In  the  earlier  period  of  his  government,  the  voices  of  Catholics 
were  drowned  in  the  universal  shout  of  approbation  from  liberal 
men  of  every  creed  and  every  country.  Even  Mr.  Greeley  himself 
acknowledged  it  as  an  honor  to  have  drawn  up  the  address  to  Pius 
IX.,  which  went  forth  from  this  city,  representing,  as  far  as  might 
be,  tlie  sentiments  with  which  the  entire  American  people  regarded 
the  newly  elected  Pontiff.  Neither  was  the  editor  of  the  Tribune 
sparing  of  those  courteous  phrases  towards  his  Holiness,  such  as 
"  venerable  Father,"  which  marked  the  amiable  benevolence  of  the 
writer's  character,  whilst  to  the  uninitiated  they  sounded  strange 
enough  from  the  lips  of  a  Protestant  and  of  a  Republican.  Indeed, 
if  I  mistake  not,  he  was  censured  by  some  portions  of  the  press  for 
using  such  language  towards  the  "  Man  of  Sin."  But  enthusiasm 
ruled  the  hour  at  the  Tabernacle,  and  while  Mr.  Greeley  read  the 
address,  it  sounded  in  the  ears  of  the  enraptured  multitude  like  the 
voice  of  the  nightingale  proceeding  from  the  throat  of  the  dove — 
so  liberal,  so  gentle,  so  benevolent  were  the  strains  of  that  memor- 
able address. 

Pius  IX.  is  the  same  man  now  that  he  was  then ;  nor  is  it  probable 
that  in  reality  Mr.  Greeley  has  undergone  any  change. 

Yet  the  very  men  from  whose  hands  Pius  IX.  removed  the  fetters 
of  imprisonment,  and  who  have  manifested  their  gratitude  by  plot- 
ting against  his  position,  if  not  his  life,  have  become  Mr.  Greeley's 
heroes  and  favorites.  They  wield  the  stiletto,  and  sacrifice  by  assas- 
sination the  human  victims  who  are  to  propitiate  the  goddess  of 
Young  Liberty  in  Italy.  For  these  atrocities  Mr,  Greeley  has  no 
language  of  horror  or  denunciation.  A  revolution  has  indeed  taken 
place,  but  there  is  no  evidence  that  it  is  the  work  of  the  Roman 
people ;  whilst  it  is  certain  that  to  a  great  extent  those  who  have 
taken  part  in  it  are  strangers  to  Rome,  who  found  other  parts  of 
Italy  and  of  continental  Europe  unwilling  to  receive  or  to  retain 
them.  They  have  succeeded  in  expelling  the  Government  which 
had  given  them  hospitality.  They  have  established,  according  to 
what  I  regard  as  the  truest  accounts,  a  reign  of  terror  over  the 
Roman  people,  which  they  call  a  government.  They  have  broken 
and  burned  the  can-iages  of  the  Cardinals,  as  if  that  were  heroism. 
They  have  plundered  the  churches — they  have  extorted  money  from 
the  people — they  have  almost  legalized  assassination,  wherever 
their  authority  prevailed.  And  this  is  the  phalanx  recognized  by 
Mr.  Greeley  as  the  Roman  Republic.  Yet  no  ambassador  from 
foreign  countries  has  recognized  such  a  republic,  except  it  be  the 


24  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

female  plenipotentiary  who  furnishes  the  Tribune  with  diplomatic 
correspondence. 

In  conclusion,  I  beg  leave  to  assure  Mr.  Greeley  that  the  Pope 
and  the  Cardinals  and  Secretaries  who  have  to  attend  to  the  various 
matters  of  a  Church  spread  throughout  the  world  are,  like  other 
men,  under  the  necessity  of  having  something  to  eat  and  something 
wherewith  to  be  clothed.  And  that  for  these  pui-poses  the  Catholics 
of  this  country  mean  to  lay  their  offerings,  with  profound  venera- 
tion, at  the  feet  of  his  Holiness  Pius  IX. 

►I*  JoHX  Hughes,  Bishop  of  New- York. 
June  25,  1849. 


SECOND  LETTER   IN  REPLY  TO  HON.  HORACE 

GREELEY. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Courier  and  Enquirer: 

Mr.  Greeley  has  copied  ray  last  communication  into  the  Tribune^ 
and  accompanied  its  publication  with  two  or  three  columns  of  his 
own  remarks ;  so  far,  let  the  matter  pass.  He  retracts  the  charge 
by  which  he  represented  me  as  raising  for  the  purpose  of  war 
against  the  Roman  Republic,  the  temporary  relief  which  the  Catho- 
lics of  this  country  are  about  to  present  to  Pius  IX.  in  testimony  of 
their  deep  sympathy  for  his  present  trials,  and  of  profound  venera- 
tion for  his  supreme  office  and  his  sacred  person.  But,  stiangely 
enough,  Mr.  Greeley,  after  having  withdrawn  the  charge,  as  an  ex- 
plicit statement^  reiterates  it,  in  a  series  of  insinuations  which  I  barely 
notice,  but  to  which  I  cannot  reply.  For  instance: — He  wants  to 
know  what  security  we  have  that  the  Pope  will  not  apply  to  the 
purposes  of  State  the  money  which  may  be  sent  in  the  spirit  of  Ca- 
tholic reverence  for  the  supreme  head  of  the  Church,  in  his  tem- 
porary embarrassment.  I  answer,  that  we.  Catholics,  who  propose 
to  make  the  offering,  have  not,  and  do  not  desire,  any  security  on 
the  subject.  When  Mr.  Greeley  made,  Avith  other  citizens,  his  gen- 
erous offering  for  the  starving  Irish,  with  the  view  of  enabling  them 
to  beat  off  death  for  a  period,  he  did  not  seek  any  security  that  the 
offering  should  not,  by  possibility,  pass  into  the  hands  of  the  land- 
lords, or  become  the  very  pay  of  the  exterminators  of  those  cabins, 
which  Nvere,  even  during  the  famine,  oftentimes  levelled  to  earth, 
around  their  faint  and  dying  inmates. 

He  complains  that  I  did  not  send  my  communication  to  the  Tri- 
bune ;  and  in  this  he  may  be  right,  and  I  may  have  been  wrong. 
He  has  ever  been  obliging,  and,  as  I  thought,  fair,  whenever  I  had 
occasion  to  call  on  him  in  reference  to  any  public  matter.  But  feel- 
ing dee[)ly,  as  I  did,  the  invasion  of  my  rights  and  the  injustice  done 
me  in  the  perversion  of  my  circular,  as  complained  of,  I  did  not  see 
how  I  could,  in  the  communication  addressed  to  you,  preserve  the 


PIUS  IX.  25 

freedom  of  my  pen,  Avithout  overtaxing  Mr.  Greeley's  courtesy,  if  I 
had  asked  him  to  publish  my  remarks  on  himself  in  the  columns  of 
his  own  papei'.  He  has  copied  my  communication,  as  I  have  just 
mentioned,  and  published  it  with  his  own  remarks,  in  the  Tribune  ; 
and  if  I  had  control  of  a  newspaper,  I  should  reciprocate  his  fairness 
by  publishing  what  he  has  written  in  reply. 

I  do  not  intend  to  review  either  his  premises  or  conclusions  in 
detail.  I  will  state  briefly  that,  in  my  opinion,  many  of  them  are 
unsound  in  morals,  unwarranted  in  logic,  and  unsafe  in  their  appli- 
cation to  the  social  and  civil  state  of  any  country  on  the  earth.  Of 
course,  then,  I  dissent  from  nine-tenths  of  his  conclusions,  while  I 
am  willing  they  should  pass  with  his  readers  for  what  they  are 
worth. 

It  is  known  to  all  men  that  Pope  Pius  IX.  was  willing  to  throw 
the  whole  weight  of  his  name  and  character  in  favor  of  ameliorating 
the  condition  of  the  down-trodden  and  oppressed  peoples  of  Europe. 
In  the  goodness  of  his  heart  and  in  the  simplicity  of  his  nature  he 
imagined,  no  doubt,  that  the  men  who  shouted  their  applause  from 
all  parts  of  the  world,  approving  of  his  principles  in  this  matter, 
meant,  as  he  meant,  to  favor  genuine  liberty; — that  is,  liberty  tem- 
pered by  moderation,  order,  reason,  gradual  progress,  and  the  in- 
creasing capacity  of  nations  to  comprehend  its  duties^  as  well  as  to 
appreciate  its  high  privileges.  Recent  events  have  proved  that  he 
mistook  the  character  of  his  liberal  followers  everywhere,  but  espe- 
cially in  his  own  States.  There  they  chanted  the  hymn  of  Pius 
IX. — surrounded  the  confiding  Pontifij  and  while  they  still  kept 
chanting  his  hymn,  were  driving  him  by  concert  to  the  precipice  of 
ruin,  as  they  supposed,  dreaming  that  prosperity  would  come  to 
Italy  as  soon  as  they  had  pressed  him  over  its  brink.  In  other 
countries,  too,  the  admirers  of  that  period  were  sufliciently  noisy, 
and,  as  professing  friends,  sufficiently  unnatural.  I  shall  never  for- 
get the  eulogies  pronounced  on  him  in  the  New  York  Tabernacle. 
i  too  was  present,  a  silent  though  not  a  thoughtless  spectator.  I 
loved  the  Holy  Father  that  night,  not  only  because  he  was  Pope, 
but  also  because  he  was  liberal  and  a  friend  of  freedom.  To-day  I 
love  him  more  still.  Mr,  Greeley  admits  that  he  is  now  the  same 
man  that  he  then  was,  and  explains  the  tergiversation  o^  his,  political 
admirers  by  telling  us  that  the  "Pope's  condition  is  changed." 
Alas,  that  "■  condition"  should  have  such  power  to  eflect  principle 
among  honorable  men ! 

As  to  the  contest  Avhich  is  now  going  on  between  the  Roman 
government  de  facto  and  those  opposed  to  it,  neither  Mr.  Greeley's 
opinion  nor  mine  is  likely  to  affect  its  issue.  In  that  contest  the 
governments  of  France,  Naples,  Austria,  and  Spain,  not  to  speak  of 
other  European  States,  are  each  and  all  intriguing  and  working  for 
themselves.  Even  should  they  restore  the  Pope,  I  do  not  see  that 
he  will  owe  them  any  special  debt  of  gratitude.  In  the  mean  time 
he  is  in  exile,  without  means,  so  far  as  we  know,  for  his  own  sup- 
port, or  that  of  his  cardinals  and  secretaries,  by  whom  his  spiritual 


26  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

intercourse  with  the  Catholic  world  demands  that  he  should  be 
assisted  and  surrounded.  I  am  quite  well  aware  that  the  absolute 
States  of  Europe  will  not  allow  him  or  his  attendants  to  want  the 
necessaries  of  life.  But  I  can  well  imagine  how  the  good  heart  of 
such  a  man  may  be  supposed  to  sink,  if  in  offering  their  aid  they 
should  be  ungenerous  enough  to  remind  him  of  the  hollow  treachery 
of  men  who  professed,  like  himselfj  liberal  principles — who  flooded 
the  newspapers  with  his  praises  when  he  did  not  require  their  sym- 
pathy or  support — who  .prepared  him  as  a  devoted  offering,  decora- 
ted with  fillets  and  garlands,  for  sacrifices — who  first  cheered,  and 
then  drove  him  to  the  foot  of  the  altar  of  immolation,  and  became 
desperate  when  he  had  the  good  fortune  to  pass  with  his  life  from 
their  hands  and  from  his  own  country.  They  could  say  to  him  in 
the  language  of  Mr.  Greeley,  Oh  how  changed  is  your  condition  ! 
Where  are  those  devoted  friends  of  human  freedom  for  whom  you 
lifted  up  your  voice,  and  shook  the  thrones  of  Europe  f  Where  are 
the  men  of  public  jneetings  and  addresses  ?  Where  are  the  men 
for  whose  cause  you  have  incurred  exile  and  banishment  from  your 
throne,  and  from  the  country  of  your  birth  f  Have  they  ever  sent 
you  enough  to  tnaintain  your  household  for  a  single  day  ?  Who, 
then,  are  your  friends.  Most  Holy  Father,  in  the  hour  of  yourneed  ? 
Is  it  not  WE,  who  are  denounced  as  the  despots  of  the  world?  Will 
it  be  too  nncch  to  expect  that  your  Holiness  will  henceforward  side 
with  us,  and  frown  on  that  pretended  love  of  liberty,  i?i  the  name  of 
which  you  have  been  frst  flattered,  then  betrayed,  and  then — not 
only  forsaken,  but  denounced?  What  would  Mr.  Greeley  have  to 
reply  to  all  this  ? 

No,  no — we  Catholics  and  freemen  of  America  will  not  allow  the 
ministers  of  absolute  courts  to  stamp,  in  the  presence  of  Pius  IX., 
the  brow  of  true  freedom  with  the  brand  of  this  reproach.  We  will 
cheer  him  up  by  our  sympathy,  we  will  supply  him,  to  some  extent, 
with  the  means  of  support.  We  shall  not  consent  that  any  temporal 
government,  either  republican  or  monarchical,  shall  dare  to  claim 
him  as  its  vassal  or  dependent.  He  belongs  to  the  Catholic  Church 
and  to  the  human  race ;  and,  in  the  name  of  freedom,  as  well  as  of 
religion,  the  Catholics  of  this  country  will  present  their  offerings  to 
maintain  his  independence. 

Mr.  Greeley  assumes  that  the  Roman  States  are  perfectly  well  gov- 
erned, tranquil,  and  happy.  Would  that  it  were  so !  But  was  not 
Rossi  assassinated  ?  Were  not  four  priests  murdered  even  the  other 
day,  and  their  bodies  cast  into  the  Tiber  ?  Are  not  the  chalices  and 
sacred  vessels  seized  on  the  altar,  and  melted  down  by  the  demagogues 
who  exercise  their  sway  of  usurpation  ?  Are  not  the  temples  of  re- 
ligion stripped  of  their  ornaments  by  the  same  hands  ?  Are  they  not 
plundering  Rome  of  every  monument  of  art  for  which  they  can  obtain 
a  buyer,  even  at  the  vilest  price  ?  Are  not  the  citizens  who  have  any 
means  crushed  to  the  earth  by  the  extortion  of  money  in  the  name  of 
the  government  ?  Were  not  the  priests  of  a  single  church  robbed 
of  ten  thousand  dollars,  imposed  as  a  fine  for  refusing  to  chant  Te 


PIUS  IX.  27 

Deum  at  tlie  bitlding  of  men,  of  whom  it  is  doubtful  whether  they 
believe  in  God  or  not  ?  If  most  of  these  things  are  not  true,  the 
New  York  Tribune  is  not  to  be  relied  on  as  regards  Roman  affairs. 
Neither  is  Miss  Fuller,  its  correspondent,  to  be  believed.  And  this 
is  Mr.  Greeley's  happy,  tranquil,  prosperous  "Roman  Republiu." 

I  am  often  surprised  to  see  even  educated  men  in  this  country 
allowing  the  briglitest  page  of  its  history  to  be  tarnished  by  admit- 
ting into  comparison  with  the  American  Revolution  the  principles 
and  the  men  of  petty  and  abortive  revolutions  in  Europe.  The 
men  of  the  Revolution  in  this  country  took  up  arms,  not  to  over- 
throw an  old  government,  but  to  resist  a  neio  tyranny.  They  re- 
sisted that  tyranny  with  success ;  and  when  the  battle  was  over,  they 
■were  an  independent  nation.  Their  cause  was  just  in  the  sight  of 
Heaven  and  man.  Heaven  blessed  them  in  sustaining  it.  They 
were  Avise  in  council ;  they  were  brave  in  the  field  ;  they  were 
honorable,  high-minded  men  everywhere ;  they  did  no  act  to  tar- 
nish the  justice  of  their  cause — no  act  of  which  their  proudest  pos- 
terity need  be  ashamed.  There  was  no  assassin  among  them.  They 
hated  whatever  was  dishonorable  ;  they  despised  a  lie  and  its  ut- 
terer ;  in  short,  they  were  gentlemen  as  well  as  patriots.  The  troops 
walked  sometimes  barefoot  on  the  snow  ;  but  they  committed  no  sac- 
rilege ;  they  plundered  no  churches ;  they  respected  the  rights  of 
property,  both  public  and  private.  And  I  ask,  in  the  name  of  in- 
sulted freedom,  whether  the  murderers  of  Rossi,  and  of  the  other 
victims  of  the  Roman  Revolution,  are  to  be  admitted,  or  rather  ele- 
vated by  Americans,  to  any  species  of  comparative  equality  with  the 
untarnished  names  of  Franklin,  Washington,  Hancock,  and  their 
noble  associates  ?  Though  not  an  American  born,  yet  I,  for  one,  feel 
pride  enough  in  the  history  of  the  country  to  enter  my  humble 
protest  against  it. 

I  perceive  that  Signor  G.  F.  Secchi  di  Casali  has  volunteered 
his  able  pen  to  sustain  Mr.  Greeley's  views  of  Italian  affairs.  This 
was  scarcely  necessary.  Mr.  Casali  is  an  Italian,  and  professes  to 
be  a  Catholic,  although  the  spirit  of  a  decided  enemy  to 
Catholic  faith  breathes  through  all  I  have  seen  from  his  pen.  This 
may  be  fair  enough ;  but  he  is  mistaken,  if  he  supposes  that  Ameri- 
can Protestants  will  respect  him  the  more  for  the  infidel  sneers 
which  he  utters  against  the  Catholic  religion,  while  he  has  not  the 
Saxon  candor  and  moral  courage  to  disavow  the  outward ^^fofessiofi 
of  it.  It  seems  Mr.  Casali  is  just  from  Gaeta,  and  brings  to  order 
news  that  the  Pope  is  in  "no  need  of  funds;  that  the  king  of  Na- 
ples and  the  emperor  of  Russia  and  the  queen  of  Spain  are  putting 
thousands  and  thousands  of  scudi  at  the  disposal  of  his  Holiness.  I 
wish  it  were  true ;  and  tyrants  though  they  are  called,  yet,  for  this 
one  act  at  least,  if  it  were  true,  I  should  thank  them.  But  Mr.  Ca- 
sali is  more  in  the  confidence  of  the  liberals  of  Italy,  and  he  does 
not  tell  us  how  much  thei/  have  given.  He  does  not  tell  us  what  is 
the  fact,  that  the  clergy  and  Catholics  of  the  Roman  States,  under  their 
new  free  government,  would  not  dare  to  take  up  a  public  collection  in 


28  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

their  churches  for  the  aid  of  the  Pope.  Sucli  is  what  I  call  the 
"  reign  of  terror,"  but  what  Mr.  Greeley  designated  the  free  "Roman 
Republic."  Neither  can  we  trust  Mr.  Casali's  correspondence. 
He  knows,  as  well  as  any  one,  that  Italian  gentlemen  can,  as  they 
sometimes  have  done,  write  letters  from  different  parts  of  Italy 
without  leaving  their  own  chambers  in  New  York. 

I  see  also,  by  the  papers,  that  a  meeting  of  Irish  Catholics  is 
to  be  held  to  raise  funds  for  the  support  of  the  Triumvirate.  I  pre- 
dict that  those  who  will  compose  that  meeting  will  not,  themselves, 
contribute  enough  to  support  a  republic  fourteen  feet  square ;  still,  let 
them  proceed.  But  depend  upon  it,  the  Roman  Republic  will  replen- 
ish its  exchequer  much  more  effectually  by  melting  down  the  chalices. 

I  have  a  pretty  good  idea  of  what  description  of  Irish  Catholics 
will  compose  such  a  meeting — Irish  Catholics  d  la  Neio  York  JVci- 
tioriy  who  imagine  themselves  patriotic  simply  because  they  are  not 
religious.  Of  course  they  will  not  contribute  to  the  offerings  which 
their  Catholic  brethren,  of  all  nations,  will  present  as  a  testimony  of 
reverence,  and  as  a  means  of  temporary  relief  to  Pius  IX.  in  the 
place  of  his  banishment.  But  it  is  assumed  that  their  absence  from 
church  will  hardly  be  observed ;  indeed  their  presence  would  per- 
haps excite  greater  surprise. 

•{•  John  Hughes,  Bishop  of  New  York. 


SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  SERMON  OF  BISHOP  HUGHES 

ON  THE  OCCASION  OF  THE  COLLECTION  FOR  THE  POPE, 
SUNDAY,  JULY  1st,  1849. 

On  the  above  occasion,  the  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  Hughes  made  a  very 
short  address,  of  which  the  following  is  a  synopsis : 

In  regard  to  the  contribution  for  the  Pope,  he  said  that  the  day 
bad  been  set  apart  for  that  purpose  by  all  the  Bishops  in  the  United 
States.  It  was  the  duty  of  the  Church  to  provide  for  the  temporal 
Avants  of  all  its  Bishops,  and  it  was  its  first  duty  to  provide  for  the 
supreme  head  of  that  Church  in  the  person  of  the  Pope.  The  law 
of  nature  and  the  law  of  religion  alike  called  upon  God's  people  to 
make  this  provision,  so  that  he  could  be  independent  in  his  action, 
and  given  up  to  the  ministrations  of  his  saci'ed  ofiice.  The  Holy 
Father,  by  the  events  of  the  times,  had  been  driven  from  the  city, 
the  palace,  the  church  occupied  by  his  predecessors  from  St.  Peter 
down,  during  a  period  of  dJghteen  centuries.  He  had  been 
stripped  of  his  temporal  power,  and  sent  out  among  those  who,  if 
they  were  at  liberty  to  act  as  their  consciences  dictated,  would  re- 
joice to  be  permitted  to  supply  all  his  temporal  wants  ;  but  even  at 
Rome  this  was  not  now  permitted. 

It  could  not  be  expected,  the  Bishop  said,  that  the  Pope  should 


PICS  IX.  29 

pay  allegiance  to  any  temporal  power,  or  that  lie  should  be  depend- 
ent either  upon  republics  or  the  monarchies  of  the  world  for  his  sup- 
port. He  had  begun  and  consistently  prosecuted  all  the  real  reforms 
that  had  been  going  on  in  Europe  for  the  last  eighteen  months. 
Amidst  revolutions  which  had  shaken  the  world,  as  the  waters  of 
the  sea  when  tossed  by  an  earthquake,  he  had  pursued  the  even 
tenor  of  his  way,  and  was  now,  in  his  present  abode,  making  bishops 
and  quietly  and  conscientiously  discharging  all  the  functions  of  the 
Church.  Amidst  the  shock  without,  he  stood  unmoved ;  and  whe- 
ther he  should  be  kept  from  his  temporal  rule  for  a  time  or  forever, 
he  would  be  found  receiving  the  true  homage  of  God's  people  all 
over  the  world. 

Some  thirty-four  or  thirty-five  years  ago,  said  the  Bishop,  it  was 
the  misfortune  of  the  Pope  to  be  driven  from  his  church,  and  incar- 
cerated in  a  dungeon,  through  the  instrumentality  of  the  French. 
Providence  then  so  ordered  events  that  it  was  through  the  instru- 
mentality of  the  English  nation  that  he  was  restored  to  his  power 
and  rule.  The  French  nation,  which  had  led  captive  the  former 
Pope,  by  a  singular  coincidence  is  now  laboring  to  restore  Pope 
Pius  IX.  to  his  temporal  and  spiritual  rule ;  and  thus  God  worked 
for  good,  and  would  employ  again  whatever  instruments  He  willed 
in  restoring  the  supreme  head  of  the  Catholic  Church. 

The  Bishop  said  he  would  make  no  appeal  to  procure  the  contri- 
bution for  the  support  of  the  Holy  Father,  as  he  knew  it  would  be 
a  privilege  for  all  true  Catholics  to  lend  their  aid  in  such  a  cause. 
This  was  a  question  Avhich  had  nothing  to  do  with  politics  or  forms 
of  government,  notwithstanding  some  lying  newspapers  have  repre- 
sented that  it  had.  But  it  was  the  pi-ovince  of  the  demagogue  to 
misrepresent  the  truth,  and  there  were  many  of  these  demagogues 
of  the  press  who  were  now  misrepresenting  the  Church  and  the 
cause  of  true  freedom. 

I  cannot  go  down  from  this  pulpit,  the  Bishop  continued,  without 
adding  a  few  words  more  as  a  caution  against  that  spirit  of  the 
world,  that  diabolical  spirit,  which  clothes  itself  with  the  robes  of 
liberty  forsooth,  puts  on  that  drapery,  and,  whether  out  of  the 
Church  or  in  the  Church,  attempts  to  bring  down  every  thing,  even 
from  the  very  throne  of  God,  to  its  own  level — to  the  standard  of 
what  it  calls  liberty — that  spirit  which  overthrows  order  and  pre- 
cipitates society  into  confusion ;  that  spirit  which  becomes  desperate 
when  it  finds  there  are  other  worlds  and  another  life  at  the  termin- 
ation of  the  present,  and  that  there  is  an  antagonism  in  the  con- 
science of  man  which  prevents  them  from  succeeding  as  they  would 
wish.  "  Why  should  man  have  a  conscience  ?"  say  the  men  of  this 
kind,  "  because  it  is  our  only  obstacle ;  but  for  it  our  principles 
could  prevail  throughout  the  world  ;  let  us  get  priests  and  religion 
out  of  the  way  ;  they  make  cowards  of  men  ;  let  priests  be  removed  ; 
let  Popes  be  removed  ;  let  every  thing  that  tends  to  create  a  con- 
science be  abolished  forever." 

These  are  their  ideas ;  and  you.  dear  brethren,  have  found  among 


30  AKCHBISHOP  HUGHES. 

you  recently  this  new  school  of  liberal  teaching ;  you  have  found 
among  you  editors  and  newspapers  trafficking  upon  the  ruins  of  a 
country  which  they  have  helped  to  degrade,  and  making  their  pages 
eloquent  by  a  stupid  imitation  of  Tom  Paine  and  Voltaire.  These 
are  the  political  confectioners  who  seal  up  the  poison  of  their  infi- 
delity in  sugar-plums  of  flattery  to  popular  prejudices,  that  they 
may  sell  them  to  the  children  of  folly.  They  call  themselves  Catho- 
lics too,  even  as  Voltaire  said  he  was  a  Catholic ;  and  when  he  found 
himself  near  his  death,  sent  for  a  priest,  as  others  like  him  have 
most  inconsistently  done.  They  say  that  they  are  Irishmen  ;  and  they 
may  be  Irishmen,  but  not  Irishmen  of  the  legitimate  stamp.  They 
are  not  of  those  Irishmen  who  have  preserved  the  nationality  and 
honor  of  their  country,  by  preserving  their  faith  in  the  midst  of  ev- 
ery persecution.  This  spurious  generation,  on  the  other  hand, 
would  have  Irishmen  give  away  their  faith  for  naught.  I  warn  you, 
not  from  any  feeling  on  the  subject,  but  as  your  Bishop  and  Pastor, 
in  the  name  of  your  faith,  in  the  name  of  Christ,  and  for  the  sake  of 
your  children,  and  your  own  souls — I  warn  you  to  be  on  your  guai'd 
against  the  dangerous  and  bad  editors  and  papers  which  profess  to 
rescue  the  country  which  they  have  just  contributed  to  ruin ;  pro- 
fessing it  with  a  disposition  with  which,  it  is  now  manifest,  they 
would  have  swept  off  the  face  of  the  earth  the  priesthood  of  Ireland. 
And  one  of  them  cautions  me  to  be  very  prudent,  and  to  send  this 
money  in  a  secret  manner,  as  if  we  were  guilty  of  an  act  which  we 
should  conceal.  The  Amei'ican  people  are  wise  and  sensible  and 
just,  and  they  despise  the  man  who  does  not  appreciate  the  first 
principles  of  the  country  in  which  he  lives. 


THE  POPE'S  RETURN  TO  ROME. 

SERMON  OP  BISHOP  HUGHES  IN  ST.  PATRICK'S  CATHEDRAL,  AFTER 
VESPERS,  SUNDAY,  MAY  12Tn,  1850,  ON  THE  OCCASION  OF  A 
SPECIAL  THANKSGIVING  FOR  THE  HOLY  FATHER'S  RETURN. 

The  words  of  Holy  Scripture  which  have  appeared  to  me  most 
suitable  for  an  introduction  to  the  few  remarks  I  am  about  to  make, 
are  found  in  the  third  chapter  of  the  Prophet  Sophonius : 

Give  praise,  O  daughter  of  Sion :  shout,  0  Israel :  be  glad,  and  rejoice  with 
all  thy  heart,  O  daughter  of  Jerusalem.  The  Lord  hath  taken  away  thy  judg- 
ment ;  he  hath  turned  away  thine  enemies :  the  king  of  Israel  the  Lord  is  in 
the  midst  of  thee  ;  thou  shalt  fear  evil  no  more. — Prophecy  of  Sophonius,  iii. 
14-15. 

Joyous  tidings  have  reached  us.  The  illustrious  Head  of  the 
Church  of  God  is  an  exile  no  more.  The  eyes  of  that  Ciiurch  have 
followed  him  in  his  wanderings.     She  has  accompanied  him  with 


pros  IX.  31 

her  tears  and  with  her  prayers ;  for  if  it  be  a  duty  of  the  members 
of  the  Church,  that  wlien  one  member  suffers,  all  the  members  shall 
sympathize,  how  much  more,  when  the  visible  head  of  the  Church 
himself  is  selected,  as  it  were  by  a  general  conspiracy  of  this  world, 
as  a  victim  of  suffering  for  the  whole  body  ?  You  may  have 
heard  from  this  place,  when  the  news  of  his  expulsion  first  reached  us, 
how  that  we  Catholics,  familiar  with  the  history  of  all  our  Popes 
and  our  Church  for  eighteen  hundred  years,  feel  no  species  of  appre- 
hension, when  these  passing  events  come  to  startle  the  world,  and 
set  the  false  prophets  in  the  mood  of  their  false  speculation.  We  had 
no  dread  that  the  daughter  of  Sion  should  be  forsaken ;  we  had  no 
apprehension  that  the  wicked  should  prevail ;  it  never  came  into  our 
thoughts  that  the  Church  of  God  was  to  be  thrown  out  of  her 
course  in  the  least,  except  in  that  kind  of  way  in  which  His  provi- 
dence has  repeatedly  employed  to  awaken  our  attention  and  fervor, 
and  to  bring  out  palpably  before  the  world's  eyes  the  evidence 
that  the  Lord  God  Omnipotent  reigneth.  He  has  spoken 
the  word  of  promise  to  His  Church,  and  that  word  shall  never  fail. 
Still,  beloved  brethren,  how  was  it  possible  for  us  not  to  feel,  when 
the  living,  but  not  the  last  of  the  successoi's  of  St.  Petex' — the  num- 
ber of  whom  has  exceeded  two  hmidred  and  fifty — was  driven,  by 
what  seemed  a  universal  conspiracy,  from  the  shrine  of  the  apostles, 
and  from  near  the  sacred  relics  of  the  blessed  martyrs,  Peter  and 
Paul,  beside  which  his  predecessors  had  kept  vigil  during  eighteen 
hundred  years.  We  all  felt  this ;  the  Church  prayed  from  the 
rising  to  the  setting  of  the  sun ;  and  you  prayed,  beloved  brethren. 
Your  hearts  were  sad — not  the  sadness  of  despondency,  as  if  you 
dreaded  the  consequences  which  enmity  to  the  trutli  had  pro- 
claimed— but  sad,  because  the  eyes  of  the  Catholics  from  the  utter- 
most boundaries  of  this  earth,  had  been  accustomed  to  converge 
upon  one  spot,  to  behold  the  visible  head  of  the  Church ;  that 
spot  being  Rome — sacred,  and  in  spite  of  recent  atrocities,  holy  and 
"  Eternal  City." 

Now,  for  an  interval,  the  looks  of  Catholic  Christendom  were 
obliged  to  wander,  according  as  the  footsteps  of  the  glorious  pilgrim 
in  exile  traced  his  path,  from  one  post  to  another,  till  at  last  God 
has  risen  in  His  majesty,  and  without  resorting  to  a  miracle,  but 
leaving  all  human  passions,  the  policy  of  courts,  and  the  wisdom  of 
cabinets  to  work  out  their  own  problems,  has  -made  use  of  them  to 
restore  to  his  universally  supreme  episcopal  chair,  and  to  his  tem- 
poral dominions,  the  exiled  Prince  of  Rome,  the  holy  Pontiff  of  the 
Catholic  Church. 

I,  at  least,  during  all  this  time,  never  regretted  the  events  that 
had  occurred,  except  so  far  as  the  unhappy  agents  were  in  rebellion 
against  God.  I  was,  in  a  certain  sense,  well  pleased  ;  because  the 
enemies  of  truth,  in  the  history  of  the  Church,  for  centuries,  could 
not  have  selected  a  man  less  calculated  to  aid  their  cause  than  the 
illustrious  victim  whom  in  this  instance  they  had  devoted  to  de- 
struction.    It  had  been  said,  in  this  world  of  "  progress"  and  "  grow- 


32  AECHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

iug  ideas,"  this  world  of  "liberty,"  that  the  Popes  had  been,  for  a 
long  time,  on  the  side  of  despotism — that  tliere  had  not  been  a 
liberal  Pope  in  the  chair  of  St.  Peter  for  years ;  but,  from  the  mo- 
ment of  the  accession  of  illustrious  Pius  IX.,  they  could  not  say  this 
any  more.  Here  was  a  liberal  Pope.  You  know  the  history  of  liis 
first  administration — not  of  the  Church  (for  in  that,  like  all  his  pre- 
decessors, Peter  spoke  by  his  mouth),  but  of  the  State — in  which, 
as  an  example  to  sovereigns,  he  began  of  his  own  accord  to  divest 
himself  of  powers  that  had  descended  to  him  by  right,  and  volun- 
tarily stripped  himself  of  one  prerogative  after  another  in  favor  of 
his  subjects,  in  whom  he  saw  with  a  father's  eyes  only  his  own  spir- 
itual and  temporal  children.  The  crowd  behind  vociferated  the 
hymn  of  Pius  IX.  It  was  their  hymn — driving  him  to  the  destruc- 
tion which  they  had  in  view  for  him. 

If  henccforwaiti  they  shall  find  Pontiffs  with  the  inflexibility  and 
firmness  of  the  Gregorys,  the  Leos,  and  Innocents,  let  them  remem- 
ber how  they  treated  their  liberal  Pontiff,  who  placed  himself,  as-it 
were,  at  the  head  of  humanity,  and  prepared  to  lead  them  to  under- 
stand the  principles  of  freedom,  so  as  to  combine  progress  and  liberty 
with  order. 

Yet,  beloved  brethren,  these  tempests  and  fluctuations  around 
the  bark  of  Peter  are  nothing  novel  in  the  Church.  We  know  that 
although  the  Church  is  destined,  by  the  very  charter  of  her  exist- 
ence, to  triumph  over  democracies  when  they  oppose,  over  mon- 
archies when  they  assail,  over  the  Gentiles  when  they  rage,  still 
God  does  not  make  that  triumph  miraculous  or  palpable  to  the  hu- 
man sense  of  man.  He  works  by  weight  and  measure,  and  causes 
the  triumph  of  His  Church,  as  He  causes  the  germination  and  growth 
and  ripening  of  the  seeds  that  are  committed  to  the  earth — a 
stealthy,  invisible,  but  always  certain  process.  So  it  is  that  in 
apostolic  times  the  prayers  of  the  Church,  under  divine  promise, 
were  efficacious  in  obtaining  the  release  of  the  apostle  Peter,  the 
first  predecessor  and  model  of  all ;  and  whereas,  at  last,  that  same 
Peter  glorified  God  by  giving  his  life  to  martyrdom,  as  did  also  his 
apostolic  colleague  Paul,  they  were  but  first  triumphs  in  the  history 
of  the  Church — and  their  successors,  for  three  hundred  years,  nearly 
all  died  in  the  same  cause  and  in  a  similar  manner ;  and  whereas 
the  Church  has  been  in  conflict,  wrestling  with  the  powers  of  dark- 
ness of  this  earth,  and  which  conflict  is  to  be  its  condition  to  the  end 
of  time;  and  whereas  governments  have  conspired,  and  one  calamity 
of  our  human  condition  of  society,  after  another,  seemed  alvvays 
threatening  to  overwhelm  the  Church  ;  and  whereas  the  Pope,  the 
head  of  the  Cliurch,  was  always,  necessarily,  the  most  conspicuous 
mark  for  the  powers  of  dai'kness,  both  of  earth  and  hell,  to  aim  at, 
so  shall  we  see  that  the  Pope  may  be  put  aside,  may  be  banished, 
may  be  put  to  death.  But  the  Pope,  as  such,  is  like  his  divine 
Author,  in  his  official  capacity,  immortal,  and  shall  never  die  until 
the  consummation  of  the  world. 

So  far  with  regard  to  the  Church.     For,  after  all,  even  if  Provi- 


PIUS  IX.  33 

dence  should  permit  that  the  Holy  Father  shoiild  be  expelled 
from  the  Apostolic  See,  this  would  not  in  the  least  prevent  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  Church,  although  the  accustomed  order  and  arrange- 
ment which  has  followed  in  the  management  of  its  affairs  might  be 
disturbed. 

But  there  is  another  view,  in  relation  to  the  present  question, 
which  I  shall  briefly  allude  to.  No  cry  has  been  so  universal  and 
so  loudly  uttered  as  the  assertion  that  nothing  would  be  so  expe- 
dient as  a  separation  of  the  civil  from  the  temporal  power  in  the 
person  of  the  Pope.  Xo  doubt  it  would  be  a  great  relief  to  the 
Holy  Father.  No  doubt  that,  though  he  is  called  Prince,  his  life  is 
a  life  of  slavery,  but  a  life  of  slavery  to  charity  and  love  for  the 
Church  of  God.  No  repose  for  him,  no  leisure,  no  banquetings ; 
but  a  solitary  man,  whose  table  does  not  cost  as  much  per  day  as 
that  of  the  most  moderate  femily  that  pretends  to  social  enjoyment 
in  this  city.  It  would  be  a  relief  for  the  Pope  could  he  be  separated 
fi'om  the  burden  of  the  civil  jjower.  But  what  then  ?  Is  he  not  on 
earth  the  head  of  the  Church  of  God  ?  Is  not  every  member,  at 
least  every  minister,  of  that  Church  required  to  be  free  ?  For  how 
can  he  teach  the  truth  unless  he  be  free  ?  If  he  be  under  the  dread 
of  the  multitude,  or,  if  you  please,  under  that  of  the  sovereign,  like 
John  the  Baptist  to  Herod,  how  will  he  dare  to  speak  the  truth  ? 
If  there  be  no  intermediate  condition  between  that  of  a  sovereign 
and  supreme  ruler  in  the  temporal  order,  and  that  of  a  subject  that 
is  under  the  authority  of  the  civil  ruler,  then  I  say  it  is  essential,  in 
the  providence  of  God,  that  the  Pope  should  be  sovereign.  If  the 
question  were  to  be  originated  now,  it  is  possible  that  some  other 
species  of  sovereign  independence  might  be  devised;  but  God  Him- 
self seems  to  have  devised  it  as  it  is  from  the  beginning.  Rome, 
which  is  consecrated  by  the  martyrdom  of  the  chief  of  the  apostles, 
appears  to  be  the  spot  on  which  the  chair  of  Christ's  authority,  rep- 
resented by  that  of  Peter,  should  perpetually  rest. 

And  next  to  this  another  question  arises :  To  whom  belongs  the 
temporal  sovereignty  of  the  Roman  States,  if  it  be  surrendered  by 
the  Pontiff?  Does  it  belong  to  the  usurpers  who  attempted  to 
arrest  the  supreme  authority  out  of  his  hands  by  violence  ?  What 
right  have  they  to  it  ?  Does  it  belong  to  the  people  of  the  Roman. 
States  ?  Seventy-five  out  of  every  hundred  of  them  would  raise 
their  hands  in  acclamation  to  have  their  own  Holy  Father  as  theii" 
ruler.  I  will  even  go  further,  and  say  that,  in  the  order  of  Christea- 
dom,  those  States  belong,  in  a  certain  sense,  to  all  Catholics.  They 
are  the  States  of  the  Church.  Christianity — the  whole  Catholic 
world — have  an  interest  m  them.  They  have  belonged  to  her  by 
right  trom  the  beginning.  They  were  set  apart  as  a  sj^ot— one 
small  portion  of  the  earth — never  increased  by  conquest,  never  dis- 
turbed even  by  sovereigns,  except  for  the  passing  moment..  They 
were  set  apart  expressly  that  there  might  be  one  spot  on  the  earth 
from  which  the  vicar  of  Jesus  Christ  could  give  out  the  supreme 
voice  of  the  Church  of  God  with  freedom,  without  restraint,,  without 
Vol.  II— 3 


^3^  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

the  influence  of  this  cabinet,  or  the  authority  of  that  ruler  or  that 
monarch  ;  because,  if  you  take  away  that  possession,  you  immediately 
place  the  Pontiff'  under  the  influence  of  some  temporal  sovereign, 
some  secular  ruler,  who,  as  we  all  know  by  the  history  of  the  human 
heart,  will  employ  every  means  to  secure,  for  secular  or  political 
ends,  the  partial  favor  or  alliance  of  him  who  rules  the  Church 
of  God,  The  great  emperor  who  reigned  during  the  first  part  of 
the  present  century  took  away  one  of  the  sainted  predecessors  of 
the  present  Pope,  the  holy  and  illustrious  Pius  VII.,  placed  him 
under  surveillance,  and  left  him  to  govern  the  universal  Church 
from  the  dim  twilight  of  a  dungeon.  His  majesty  had  then  gone 
far  enough.  It  now  only  remained  that  he  should  finish  his  course, 
and  yield  his  breath  on  a  lonely  island  in  the  ocean  ;  and  England 
was  the  instrument  that  God,  in  His  providence,  had  selected  to  re- 
store the  captive  PontiflT  to  the  thi'one  of  St.  Peter.  Plis  predeces- 
sor, Pius  VI.,  had  been  carried  away  in  like  manner,  and  died 
broken-hearted  in  exile.  These  things  have  occurred,  and  may  oc- 
cur again  ;  but  there  is  always  a  return  to  Rome,  for  there  is  no 
Rome  without  the  Pope.  For  when,  during  one  melancholy  period, 
it  was  deemed  expedient  to  transfer  the  government  of  the  Church 
from  Rome  to  Avignon,  during  some  sixty  or  seventy  years,  it  was 
found  that  the  afliiirs  of  the  Church  did  not  go  on  well ;  and  we 
may  safely  infer  that  it  is  in  the  order  of  Almighty  God  that  Rome 
shall  be  the  place  for  the  Pope;  and  that  sovereignty  being  essential, 
or  at  least  entire  freedom  from  secular  control,  the  Pope  is,  and  is 
to  be,  the  sovereign  of  Rome.  Christendom  could  not  spare  him 
from  the  see  of  the  illustrious  Peter.  The  feelings  and  judgment  of 
the  Catholic  and  civilized  world  would  be  outraged  by  putting  him 
aside.  If  Rome  had  a  Pope  no  more,  civilized  Europe  would  per- 
ceive missing  from  the  headship  of  safe  guidance  one  who  had 
guided  her  up  through  darkness  and  barbarism  to  her  present  im- 
proved condition.  She  would  perceive  a  star  missing  from  its  place, 
on  which  the  eye  of  civilization  had  been  cast  for  eighteen  hundred 
years  as  the  central  and  fixed  point  from  which  to  calculate  dis- 
tances and  measure  progress  in  every  direction. 

If  then  we,  hearing  of  the  Pope's  expulsion,  cast  our  eyes  upon 
the  earth ;  if  our  hearts  were  sad ;  if  we  prayed  with  downcast 
looks  for  the  head  of  the  Catholic  Church,  is  it  not  fitting  that  we 
should  now  rejoice  when  God  has  hearkened  to  his  prayer  and  the 
Church's;  when  God  has  expelled  His  enemy;  when  He  seems  to 
,call  upon  the  Church  by  that  beautiful  epithet,  so  commonly  used  to 
designate  her — "  Daughter  of  Sion  !  Sing  and  shout  with  glad- 
ness." 

Yes,  dear  brethren,  it  is  fitting ;  and  if  statesmen,  and  those  who 
are  politicians,  could  learn  any  thing  from  the  teachings  of  God, 
they  might  learn  much  from  the  history  of  the  past  three  years. 
They  might  then  understand  the  meaning  of  that  incident  related 
in  the  Gospel  of  St.  Mathew  :  when  the  disciples  had  gone  into  a 
ship   with   their    Divine   Master,  and   were   putting   out  into   the 


PIUS  IX.  .  35 

sea,  a  great  storm  arose;  and  the  disciples  came  to  Him,  crying,  "Lord ! 
save,  or  we  perish  !"  As  it  were,  with  a  species  of  gentle  reproach,  He 
said  to  them,  "  Oh  !  ye  of  little  faith  ;"  and  then  He  whispered  His 
commands  to  the  Avinds  a-nd  the  waves,  and  they  settled  down  into 
the  smoothness  of  a  mirror.  Thus,  now  do  the  waters  rise,  and  the 
tempests  seem  to  threaten  the  bark  of  the  Church  with  destruction. 
Those  who  wished  that  destruction,  predicted  evil"  of  her  situation  ; 
but  we  never  doubted  that  God  would  save  her  from  perishing ; 
and  now  when  He  has  put  forth  his  arm,  and  restored  His  ser- 
vant to  his  place,  the  whole  Catholic  world  rejoices.  There  is  no 
other  joy  like  the  joy  experienced  on  an  occasion  of  this  descrip- 
tion. It  is  a  joy,  taking  its  key-note  from  the  voice  of  the  Holy  See 
of  St.  Peter,  and  that  has  its  echo  all  round  the  globe  >n  one  grand 
hynm,  chanted  by  the  aspirations  and  the  joyful  feelings  of  two 
hundred  millions  of  hearts.  And.  that  hymn  is  not  the  mere  out- 
ward display  of  interested  partisans  ;  but  the  heartfelt,  the  sincere 
and  ardent  joy  that  has  no  species  of  motive  but  that  of  its  own 
sincerity  manifesting  itself  for  the  protection  of  the  Church  and  the 
Head  of  the  Church.  The  very  ritual  prescribes  the  form  in  which 
the  Christian  world  should  rejoice.  The  secular  world  has  various 
ways,  oftentimes  exceedingly  unmeaning,  and  sometimes  very 
wicked,  of  exhibiting  its  joy  ;  but  the  Church  has  arranged  a  spe- 
cial, and,  as  it  were,  official  mode  of  expressing  its  joy,  in  that  al- 
most inspired  canticle,  called  the  liymn  of  St.  Ambrose,  the  Te 
Deum.  Who  is  it  that  has  heard  this  hymn,  that  does  not  feel  it  to 
be  the  most  sublime  aspiration  towards  God  that  the  heart  of  man 
could  by  any  possibility  conceive  ?  Who  that  has  travelled  on  the 
continent  of  Europe,  and  been  present  on  some  solemn  occasion,  in 
one  of  those  immense  churches  that  have  been  erected  by  the  piety 
of  our  ancestors,  capable  of  holding  fifteen  or  twenty  thousand  peo- 
ple at  a  time,  and  has  not  been  lost  in  the  ecstasy  of  harmony  and 
joy,  when  this  song  has  arisen  to  God  from  the  immense  multitude — 
harmonies  in  which  were  mingled  the  voice  of  old  age,  the  stronger 
notes  of  middle  age,  and  the  sweet,  soft  tones  of  children  ?  In 
those  countries  on  the  continent,  where  the  Catholic  religion  pre- 
vails, the  Te  Deum  is  so  well  known,  that  when  it  is  sung,  all  men 
join  in  one  universal  chorus  and  express  their  joy,  and  in  its  har- 
monies they  return  thanks  to  God. 

We  too,  beloved  brethren,  in  our  humble  way,  may  take  part  i.i 
the  general  gladness  ;  we  may  join  in  the  universal  symphony,  and  in 
that  species  of  exultation  wliich  pervades  the  whole  Catholic  world; 
we  may  mingle  our  feeble  j^rayers,  and  our  desire  to  return  thanks  to 
Almighty  God ;  and  it  is  a  consolation  for  us  even  now,  that  during 
the  period  of  exile  of  our  illustrious  father,  we  may  have  done 
something  to  sooth  the  weary  houis  of  him  whose  heart  was  in 
Rome,  where  his  episcopal  duties  belonged.  W^e  have  sent  him  the 
tribute  of  our  relief,  which  was  but  little.  We  have  sent  him  our 
sympathy  in  his  suffering ;  and  it  is  possible  that  now  the  expression 
of  this  our  srladness  raav  reach  him  ;  for  we  know  that  this  is  the 


36  AKCHBISHOP  HUGHES. 

way  he  would  have  us  rejoice  in  returning  thanks  to  Almighty  God, 
to  whom  belongs  the  honor  and  the  glory  of  his  restoration,  and  of 
the  perpetuation  and  govei'ument  of  Ilis  Church  on  earth. 


THE  PASTORAL  LETTER 

Of  the  Most  Rev.  Archbishop  and  Suffragan  Prelates 
of  the   Province  of  New- York, 

ADDRESSED  TO  THE  CLERGY  AND  LAITY  OF  THEIR  RESPECTIVE 
DIOCESES,  AT  THE  CLOSE  OF  THE  THIRD  PROVINCIAL  COUNCIL. 

To  our  dearly  beloved  Brethren  of  the  Clergy,  and  faithful  Children 
of  the  Laity,  health  and  benediction  through  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ. 

At  the  close  of  our  Council  we  are  impelled,  dearly  beloved 
brethren,  as  well  by  sincere  affection  as  by  duty,*  to  address  to  you 
some  words  of  exhortation  and  encouragement.  Your  fidelity  to 
your  bishops  and  your  pastors  in  co-operating  with  every  purpose 
of  good,  not  merely  for  the  present,  but  for  the  future  of  our  holy 
religion  in  this  country,  is  worthy  of  all  praise. 

We  exhort  you,  dearly  beloved  brethren,  to  persevere  in  this,  and 
to  leave  an  example  for  those  who  are  to  succeed  us. 

The  education  of  Catholic  youth  in  a  Catholic  manner,  to  which 
we  have  so  often  called  your  attention,  should  be  still  the  object  of 
your  anxious  care.  Wherever  it  is  possible,  whether  in  city  or  town, 
or  rural  district,  let  the  Catholic  priest  and  Catholic  parents  organize 
Catholic  schools  for  the  training  of  youth.  We  would  also  exhort 
the  reverend  clergy  to  superintend,  from  time  to  time,  by  personal 
inspection,  the  progress  and  working  of  these  schools,  and  not  leave 
them  altogether  to  the  direction  of  the  teacher,  however  woi'tby  of 
confidence  he  may  be. 

The  providing  of  priests  for  the  perpetuation  of  the  holy  ministry 
in  this  country  is  a  subject  which  also  has  engaged  our  attention 
and  awakened  our  solicitude.  In  earlier  days  true  men  of  God  from 
France,  Ireland,  Germany,  and  other  countries  of  Europe,  priests  of 
the  martyr-spirit,  came  most  willing  to  spend,  and  to  be  spent,  for 
the  salvation  of  souls.  Their  toils  and  their  sacrifices,  under  our 
own  first  Bishop  and  Archbishop  Carroll,  laid  on  the  soil  of  this 
great  republic  the  foundations  of  the  Church.  Their  name  and 
their  memory  demand,  in  justice,  our  reverence  and  our  love. 

More  recently,  and  even  up  to  the  present  time,  our  ecclesiastical 
students,  the  recruits  of  the  sanctuary,  have  come,  in  a  great  meas- 
ure, from  the  same  sources,  but  we  cannot  look  to  the  zeal  of  other 
countries  for  the  perpetuation  of  our  clergy. 

The  time  seems  to  have  arrived  when  we  must  depend  on  our- 


PIUS  IX.  37 

selves  for  the  supply  of  the  priesthood,  by  which  this  great  work  is 
to  be  continued. 

We  therefore  exhort  Christian  parents  to  cherish  in  their  children 
signs  of  vocation  to  the  priesthood ;  and  we  exhort  you,  beloved 
brethren  of  the  clergy,  to  encourage  this  spirit  in  the  families  of 
your  respective  congregations.  It  is  the  greatest  honor  that  God 
can  confer  on  Christian  j^arents,  that  a  child  of  theirs  should  grow 
up  to  be  a  holy  priest  to  minister  at  His  altar. 

An  additional  motive  for  fostering  this  truly  Catholic  movement 
at  the  i^resent  moment  is  the  opening  of  the  American  College  in 
Rome,  expressly  designated  for  this  purpose.  The  buildings,  in- 
cluding a  beautiful  chapel,  are  the  magnificent  donation  of  our  most 
Holy  Father  Pope  Pius  IX.,  to  his  children  in  the  United  States. 
It  has  been  already  opened,  and  apart  from  its  ecclesiastical  pur- 
poses, its  national  character  tends  to  place  us  and  our  fellow-citizens 
on  an  equality  with  other  nations  who  have  similar  institutions  in 
the  Eternal  City.  In  that  college  the  American,  whether  he  be  a 
Catholic  or  not,  will  have  a  kind  of  right,  or  at  least  recognition,  so 
that  he  shall  not  feel  himself  a  stranger  in  the  city  of  all  nations. 

Already,  some  eflbrts  have  been  made  among  ourselves  to  com- 
mence and  sustain  the  great  work.  But  nothing  has  been  done  on 
our  part  corresponding  with  the  magnificent  charity  of  our  Holy 
Father,  who  from  his  private  resources  has  bestowed  both  a  palace 
and  a  church  upon  his  children  in  this  country.  We  earnestly  rec- 
ommend to  the  zeal  and  generosity  of  the  faithful  this  most  impor- 
tant institution. 

Dearly  beloved  brethren  :  We  have  in  our  councils  added  scarcely 
any  thing  to  the  legislation  that  has  heretofore  been  enacted  in  the 
councils  of  Baltimore,  or  in  our  own.  We  exhort  you,  brethren  of 
the  clergy,  to  be  familiar  with  the  statutes  of  these  councils.  Many 
young  priests  have  been  introduced  into  the  sacred  ministry  since 
they  were  enacted.  We  beseech  them  and  all  others  to  make  them- 
selves thoroughly  acquainted  with  these  regulations  of  discipline 
proposed  by  the  bishops  and  confirmed  by  the  Holy  See.  The 
healthfulness  of  ecclesiastical  discipline  does  not  depend  so  much  on 
the  multiplication  of  enactments  as  on  the  conscientious  observance, 
as  far  as  possible,  of  what  has  been  already  enacted.  We  ourselves, 
on  a  calm  review  of  all  that  has  been  enacted  by  our  predecessors, 
cannot  discover  any  thing  which  we  should  wish  to  be  changed. 
Be  faithful,  therefore,  beloved  brethren  of  the  clergy,  in  adhering  to 
these  rules. 

What  has  just  been  said  will  explain  the  fact  that  in  our  present 
council  we  have  scarcely  added  a  single  rule,  or  recommended  a 
single  new  statute.  The  principal  business  that  has  been  transacted 
in  our  present  meeting  has  had  reference  to  the  question  of  erecting 
a  new  episcopal  see  within  the  limits  of  the  present  diocese  of  Al- 
bany, and  of  providing,  so  far  as  depends  upon  us,  for  the  appoint- 
ment of  its  first  bishop. 

Whatever  has  been  deemed  important  to  be  communicated  to 


38  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

you  in  addition  to  what  has  been  said  already  will  be  found  at  the 
close  of  this  letter. 

In  the  mean  time  a  question  has  been  brought  to  our  notice  which 
interests  not  only  our  own  dioceses  or  province,  but  the  whole  Cath- 
olic Church. 

Between  you,  dearly  beloved  brethren,  and  the  prelates  whom 
God  has  been  pleased  to  place  over  you,  there  ought '  not  to  be,  nor 
is  there,  any  concealment. 

The  present  position  of  the  Sovereign  Pontiff  is  such  as  to  awaken 
our  anxious  solicitude.  The  enemies  of  religion  having  exhausted 
their  malice  in  various  assaults  against  the  Church  dui-ing  the  last 
two  or  three  hundred  years,  and  having  been  disappointed  in  the 
results  of  their  attacks  upon  her  faith,  have  now  concentrated  their 
hostility  against  her  supreme  head,  Pius  IX.,  successor  of  St,  Peter 
and  Vicar  of  Christ  upon  earth.  They  do  not  profess  to  deprive 
him  of  his  supreme  spiritual  authority,  for  in  that  attempt  they  know 
they  could  not  succeed.  But  it  is  proposed  to  diminish,  if  not  alto- 
gether to  destroy,  his  temporal  power,  and,  as  we  understand  their 
language,  to  give  him  back  to  us  and  two  hundred  millions  of  Cath- 
olics over  the  globe  a  most  respectably  sustained  pensioner  and 
prisoner  in  Rome,  with  an  extent  of  territory  so  limited  that  nothing 
shall  be  found  therein  except  peace  and  happiness. 

This  programme  of  political  intentions  is  shadowed  forth  in  a  re- 
cent publication,  which  the  newspapers  ascribe  to  no  less  a  personage 
than  the  Emperor  of  the  French. 

We  do  not  believe  that  it  is  his  production.  To  admit  it  as  such 
would,  in  our  judgment,  be  a  libel  on  his  Catholic  feelings  and  on  his 
great  intellect.  In  this  document  it  is  stated  "  that  the  temporal 
authority  exercised  by  the  Sovereign  Pontiff  is  essential  to  the  wel- 
fare of  the  Catholic  Church."  This  is  true  ;  and  the  Pope  has  this 
temporal  authority.  The  question  then  to  be  asked  of  the  author 
of  the  pamphlet  is  simply  this  :  If  such  authority  is  essential  to  the 
Catholic  Church,  as  you  admit,  why  do  you  propose  to  take  it 
away  ?  For  the  pamphlet  adds,  "  that  whilst  the  temporal  power 
of  the  Pope  is  necessary  and  legitimate,  it  is  incompatible  with  a 
State  of  any  extent.  The  temporal  power  of  the  Pope  is  essential — 
first  proposition.  But  that  same  power  must  be  limited  to  a  State 
without  any  extent — second  proposition !  The  Emperor  of  the 
French  is  not  the  man  to  fall  into  such  a  contradiction. 

The  document  goes  on  to  say  that  France  has  not  run  the  risk 
of  a  great  war — gained  four  victories — lost  50,000  men — spent 
300,000,000  francs,  with  a  view  that  Austria  might  on  the  morrow 
of  peace  resume  in  the  peninsula  the  domination  she  exercised  on 
the  eve  of  her  defeat. 

Wlio  would  imagine  that  the  conclusion  to  be  drawn  from  this 
statement  is,  that  the  Pope's  sovereignty  is  to  be  reduced  to  a  tem- 
poral estate  without  any  extent  ? 

The  remaining  portion  of  this  document  is  not  less  vague,  but  is 
less  self-contrauictory  than  what  we  have  just  cited.    It  refers  ap- 


pros  ix.  99 

parently  to  the  deliberations  of  a  future  Congress — that  Congress 
is  soon  to  meet.  We  pray  to  Ahnighty  God  that  He  may  guide 
its  deliberations  so  as  to  promote  His  glory,  the  welfare  of  the 
Catholic  Church,  the  entire  and  absolute  independence  of  the  Holy 
Father  in  the  plenitude  of  his  temporal  rights  as  they  have  de- 
scended to  hitn,  and  as  they  now  stand,  and  the  good  order,  peace, 
and  happiness  of  the  Christian  nations  to  be  represented  in  the  Con- 
gress. 

We  know,  dearly  beloved  brethren,  that  this  foreshadowing  of 
approaching  evils  to  the  Church  will  bring  affliction  to  your  hearts 
as  it  has  to  ours.  But  we  cannot  separate  without  raising  our 
unanimous  voice  in  solemn  protest  against  the  violence  and  injus- 
tice, as  well  as  the  unchristian  policy  that  is  now  broached,  in 
plausible  language,  as  a  mere  covering  for  the  designs  of  wicked 
men.  The  designs  and  principles  declared,  so  far  as  they  are  intel- 
ligible to  us,  make  it  our  duty  to  denounce,  to  detest  and  abhor 
them,  since  they  iuiply  an  invasion  of  the  sacred  rights,  a  coercion 
of  the  will  even,  of  the  Sovereign  Pontiff,  to  whose  divinely  de- 
rived authority  and  august  person  we  proclaim  ourselves  devoted 
in  life  and  in  death. 

We  claim  the  right  to  give  public  expression  to  our  sentiments  and 
convictions  on  this  subject.  We  are  an  integral  portion  of  200,000,000 
of  Catholics,  whose  eyes  are  constantly  turned  to  the  See  of  Peter  and 
its  Supreme  Pontiff,  For  us  the  question  is  not  whether  Austria  con- 
quers France,  or  France  conquers  Austria,  in  a  sanguinary  war,  with 
which  the  Holy  Father,  as  representative  of  the  Prince  of  Peace,  has 
had  nothing  to  do.  It  is  not  for  us  to  settle  whether  the  dukes  and 
duchesses  of  Parma,  Modena,  and  Tuscany  shall  ever  return  to  the 
government  of  their  States  or  not.  Theirs  are  but  the  dynasties  of 
family,  and  it  is  for  others  to  contend  whether  one  family  or  another 
shall  occupy  their  place.  We  wish,  of  course,  that  in  all  things  the 
laws  of  justice  may  prevail.  But  there  is  a  territory  in  which  we 
have  a  supreme  interest.  It  is  called  the  States  of  the  Church.  We 
belong  to  the  Church.  The  Pope  of  Rome  is  our  supreme  spiritual 
head.  We  wish  to  have  access  to  him  on  soil  where  he  shall  be 
free.  We  claim  the  privilege  of  approaching  the  Eternal  City, 
where  he  and  his  predecessors  have  reigned  and  ruled  from  time 
immemorial.  The  moment  we  tread  its  soil  we  feel  that  we  have 
entered  on  ground  which  is  and  ought  to  be  common  to  the  same 
two  hundred  millions  of  our  fellow  Catholics.  We  claim  the  right 
and  the  privilege  to  pass  from  any  ship  of  any  nation,  by  the  port  of 
Ancona  on  the  Adriatic,  or  Civita  Vecchia  on  the  Mediterranean, 
or  by  any  other  port  in  the  Papal  States,  to  consult  our  Holy 
Father  without  let  or  hindrance  on  matters  appertaining  to  religion, 
and  feel  at  the  same  time  that  we  are  in  the  States  of  the  Church, 
and  therefore  not  on  a  foreign  soil. 

In  proclaiming,  therefore,  our  solemn  protest  against  any  inva- 
sion of  the  temporal  rights  of  the  Pope,  we  do  not  consider  our- 
gelves  as  interfering  in  a  question  that  is  foreign  to  us.     But  we  do 


40  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

80  by  virtue  of  a  double  right:  one  is,  the  right  of  giv/ing  free  ex- 
pression to  our  convictions ;  and  the  other  is,  the  interest  which,  in 
common  with  all  Catholics,  "we  claim  to  possess  in  the  integrity  of 
the  States  of  the  Church. 

It  is  Avell  known  in  this  country,  as  in  others,  that  the  Catholic 
hierarchy  and  priesthood  exercise  their  influence  not  for  revolution 
or  for  any  disturbance  of  social  order.  They  exercise  it  for  the  pur- 
pose of  sustaining  order,  and,  when  occasion  requires,  of  soothing 
asperities  that  may  grow  up,  even  among  the  children  of  the  Church, 
on  purely  human  questions.  And  this  influence  is  extended,  as  far 
as  possible,  to  other  members  of  the  community  who  may  not  pro- 
fess our  holy  faith,  but  who  may  be  influenced  by  the  voice  and  ex- 
ample of  Catholic  teachers.  But  when  the  question  presented  to  us 
touches  the  rights  of  our  Holy  Father  as  a  temporal  sovereign — 
when  it  is  proposed  to  meddle  with  the  temporalities  of  the  States 
of  the  Church — then  we  feel  as  if  a  wound  was  about  to  be  inflicted 
on  the  apple  of  our  eye. 

In  this  country,  the  Government  treats  us,  as  it  does  all  citizens, 
without  favor,  without  prejudice,  without  partiality.  It  does  not 
claim  nor  wish  to  interfere  with  our  attachment  to  our  supreme 
spiritual  head.  And  if  an  attempt  should  be  made  to  destroy  the 
sovereignty  of  the  Holy  Father,  or  diminish  its  extent,  it  is  our 
right,  as  free  American  citizens,  as  well  as  prelates  of  the  Church  of 
God,  to  protest  and  to  resist.  We  are  members  of  the  Holy  Roman 
Catholic  Church.  An  attack  on  the  States  of  the  Church,  we  are 
free  to  declare  beforehand,  shall'  be  considered  as  an  attack  upon  us 
and  upon  our  rights. 

Before  entering  yet  further  on  this  question,  we  are  impelled  to  give 
public  utterance  to  the  consolation  with  Avhich  we  have  witnessed  the 
apostolic  firmness  of  our  Holy  Father,  in  I'esisting  every  species  of 
physical  or  diplomatic  coercion  that  has  been  attempted  to  compel 
his  acquiescence  in  the  new  schemes  that  are  submitted  to  his  con- 
sideration. If  those  who  counsel  him  are  sovereigns,  so  is  he,  much 
more.  As  Pope,  he  understands  thoroughly  the  obligations  of  his 
supreme  position.  As  Pius  IX.,  we  know  his  great  and  generous 
heart.  For  him  a  prison  or  a  cavern  can  have  no  terrors.  His  pre- 
decessors have  been  made  familiar  with  such  habitations.  He  is  not 
less  worthy  of  his  rank  than  they  were.  He  ought  not  to  be  threat- 
ened. If  he  should  be  threatened,  we,  in  our  own  name  and  in  the 
name  of  our  people — indeed,  if  we  might  use  such  language,  in  the 
name  of  the  whole  Catholic  Church — feel  the  insult  as  one  personal 
to  every  member  of  Christ's  mystical  body  on  the  earth. 

Nor  can  we  pass  from  this  topic  without  proclaiming  our  thanks 
and  gratitude  to  those  noble  prelates  of  France  and  of  other  coun- 
tries in  Europe  who  have  spoken  out  fearlessly  on  this  important 
topic.  We  are  persuaded  that  they  have  said  nothing  which  could 
give  reasonable  offence  to  the  governments  under  which  they  live. 
We  congratulate  them  ;  we  admire  them ;  and,  if  words  of  oins  were 
necessary  for  such  a  purpose,  we  would  encourage  them  to  persevere; 


PICS  IX.  41 

for  when  tlie  bishops  and  priests,  but  above  all  the  Sovereign  Pontiff 
on  earth,  shall  be  deprived  of  the  liberty  of  speech,  and  the  right  of 
independence  necessary,  not  merely  to  vindicate  the  dogmas  of  the 
faith,  but  also  to  be  heard  on  questions  of  eternal  justice,  albeit  re- 
lating to  this  earth,  then,  indeed,  the  consummation  of  ages  cannot 
be  remote. 

The  temporal  authority  of  the  Pope  is  one  of  these  questions.  His 
title,  as  it  stands  to-day,  is  beyond  all  dispute  the  most  legitimate 
that  can  be  put  forward  by  any  sovereign  in  Europe — or  in  the 
world.  Trace  history  backwards,  and  you  will  find  that  no  rival 
claimant  has  ever  appeared — that  no  dynasty  has  ever  been  displaced 
or  sent  into  exile  by  him  or  his  predecessors — that  his  title  is  con- 
firmed by  centuries — that  it  has  been  ratified  by  the  consent  of  all 
the  nations  of  Christen dom^that  no  protest  has  ever  been  recorded 
in  the  archives  of  the  human  race  against  its  validity.  But  some 
perhaps  will  inquire  into  the  origin  of  this  title.  We  answer,  that 
the  origin  does  not  appear  on  human  record.  All  we  know  is,  that 
after  the  conversion  of  Constantine  the  Great,  the  seat  of  empire  was 
transferred  from  Rome  to  Byzantium.  During  the  immediate  sub- 
sequent ages  the  emperor  and  his  successors  withdrew  not  only 
their  presence,  but  also  their  protection,  from  the  people  of  Italy. 
The  people  ceased  not  to  invoke  the  aid  of  the  emperor  in  periods 
of  trial  and  of  desolation,  of  famine,  pestilence,  and  invasion  by.  bar- 
barous nations.  To  their  appeal  no  answer  came,  nor  any  aid.  In 
these  trying  circumstances  the  people  raised  their  hands  to  the 
Sovereign  Pontiff,  calling  upon  him  to  be  their  temporal  sav- 
iour, as  well  as  their  father.  Neither  were  they  disappointed.  la 
famine  he  supplied,  as  far  as  possible,  their  wants.  In  pestilence  he 
was  among  them  as  their  comforter.  At  the  approach  of  cruel  in- 
vasion he  went  forth  from  the  Eternal  City  bareheaded,  to  meet 
their  barbarian  leader — to  ofier  his  own  person  for  the  sacrifice — 
but  to  plead  for  the  safety  of  the  people.  In  this  act  of  charity  it  is 
well  known  that  his  pleading  and  his  influence  became,  on  moi'e 
than  one  occasion,  a  shield  of  protection  for  their  otherwise  aban- 
doned nation. 

Many  writers  assert  that  Constantine  the  Great  conferred  upon 
him,  by  written  document,  a  certain  species  of  political  right  to 
govern  what  was  then,  or  soon  after,  called  the  Duchy  of  Rome. 
Other  writers,  with  erudition  quite  as  respectable,  deny  the  truth  of 
this  statement  of  a  donation  by  the  first  Christian  emperor.  We 
do  not  enter  into  this  question,  for  it  appears  to  us  of  very  slight 
importance.  All  we  know  is,  that  the  temporal  authority  of  the 
emperors  from  Constantine  the  Great  ceased  to  be  exercised  in 
what  is  now  called  the  States  of  the  Church,  but  especially  in  that 
portion  which  was  more  immediately  connected  with  the  imperial 
city  of  Rome.  It  was  not  usurped  by  the  Holy  Father.  It  was 
rather  forced  upon  him  by  the  wishes  and  clamor  of  a  neglected  and 
ungoverned  people.  It  was  a  "re«  derelicta:''  But  at  all  events,  in 
the  origin  of  the  temporal  power  of  the  Pope,  he  was  the  chosen 


43  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

ruler  of  the  Italian  people,  within  the  limits  of  what  afterwards  be- 
came his  civil  jurisdiction. 

Popular  history  states  that  at  a  subsequent  period  Pepin  and 
Charlemagne  of  France  made  him  a  donation  of  this  same  territory, 
with  additional  grants  of  extension  as  to  its  surface  and  population. 
There  is  certainly  some  truth  connected  with  this  statement.  But 
we  do  not  understand  it  in  the  sense  which  the  phraseology  of  our 
popular  history  would  seem  to  indicate.  Our  understanding  is,  that 
Pepin  and  Charlemagne  did  make  some  additional  concessions, 
increasing  the  extent  of  the  Pope's  temporal  dominion.  They  may 
indeed  have  signed  their  names  to  documents  confirming  the  right 
of  the  Sovereign  Pontift'  to  exercise  civil  dominion  in  the  States  of 
the  Church.  But  the  merit  of  their  conduct  on  that  occasion  con- 
sists in  the  fact  that  they  reverenced  and  strengthened  in  the  su- 
preme sovereign  of  the  Church  a  title  with  which  he  was  already 
invested.  They  were  Catholic  princes.  They  could  have  taken 
away  from  the  Pope  his  temporal  dominion.  But  instead  of  doing 
so  they  confirmed  it,  and  for  this  their  memory  has  been  precious 
and  gratefully  cherished  by  Catholics  everywhere. 

Now,  if  such  be  the  character  and  the  validity  of  the  title  by 
which  the  Sovereign  Pontiff'  rules  as  a  temporal  prince,  can  it  be 
taken  away  by  violence,  either  on  the  part  of  his  subjects  or  of  the 
sovereigns  of  other  States?     Certainly  not  without  injustice. 

During  the  late  troubles  in  Northern  Italy,  no  power  declared 
war  against  the  States  of  the  Church.  But  it  appears  that,  by  a 
process  quite  unworthy  of  Catholic  rulers,  treason  has  been  en- 
couraged, discontent  propagated,  and  a  spirit  of  rebellion  fomented 
among  the  people  of  what  is  called  the  Romagna. 

If  some  genei-al  or  statesman  had  been  appointed  to  guide  the 
progress  of  this  treachery  towards  the  Holy  Father,  there  Avould  be 
a  system  developed.  But  military  authority  declined  to  direct  the 
revolution,  and  declined  still  more  to  restrain  or  regulate  its  pro- 
gress; and  now  we  are  told,  forsooth,  that  the  people  of  the  Romag- 
na are  in  open  rebellion  against  tlie  authority  of  the  Sovereign  Pon- 
tiff". We  are  not  told  who  is  to  be  their  future  sovereign.  If  there 
should  be  such  a  sovereign,  he  will  probably  administer  to  them 
loyalty  and  contentment  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet,  and  then  they 
will  no  doubt  profess  to  be  liappy. 

Many  of  us  have  travelled  through  Italy  and  are  well  acquainted 
wh-h  the  condition  of  things  in  the  Papal  States.  It  is  well  known 
that,  for  a  period  of  forty  years  and  more,  there  have  been  two 
governments  in  the  States  of  the  Church.  One,  the  open,  mild, 
paternal  government  of  the  Holy  See.  This  was  on  the  surface  of 
the  soil.  The  other  was  a  subterranean  government,  organized  and 
supported  by  arch-conspirators.  Its  decrees  were  never  published, 
but  its  secret  enactments  were  carried  into  execution,  ever  and 
anon,  by  the  prompt  use  of  deadly  weapons.  Thus,  as  we  are  con- 
vinced, the  free  sentiment  of  the  people  in  the  States  of  the  Church 
has  been,  by  the  necessity  of  the  case,  stifled  and  repressed.    Those 


PIUS  IX.  43 

who  loved  the  government  of  tlio  Holy  Father  did  not  dare  to  say 
so  openly.  That  would  have  compromised  their  temporal  interest, 
perhaps  their  lives ;  and  thus  there  is  no  country  in  the  world  in 
Avhich  the  sincerity  of  political  sentiment,  whatever  it  may  be,  has 
been  so  artistically  concealed  as  by  the  people  of  the  Roman  States. 
Are  they  in  favor  of  the  Carbonari  ?  As  a  people  they  have  not 
said  so.  Are  they  in  favor  of  the  more  recent  conspirators  ?  They 
have  not,  as  a  people,  so  declared  themselves.  Are  they  in  favor  of 
the  Pontiiical  government  as  a  people,  or  taking  them  one  by  one? 
The  answer  to  this  question  might  be  a  shrug  of  the  shoulders.  They 
are  afraid  of  the  subterranean  cabinet,  and  the  terrible  edicts  which 
it  has  the  means  to  execute  in  secrecy  and  in  blood. 

We  do  not  admit,  therefore,  the  plea  which  is  put  forward  as  a 
pretext  for  depriving  our  Holy  Father  of  the  temporal  government 
of  his  States.  Or,  if  we  do  admit  it,  we  trace  its  existence  to  the 
agency,  in  part,  of  the  very  powers  who  now  make  it  a  plea  for  the 
rapine  which,  from  the  outset,  it  was  in  their  mind  to  perpetrate. 

Take  away  the  fear  inspired  by  the  subterranean  government, 
which  has  so  long  kept  Italy  in  a  state  of  fermentation,  and  the  peo- 
ple of  the  Romagna  will  be  perfectly  contented  under  the  mild 
government  of  the  Sovereign  Pontiff. 

As  to  the  question  of  what  is  called  political  expediency  in  the 
present  programme,  it  implies  neither  more  nor  less  than  physical 
Ibrce  or  diplomatic  sophistry,  to  be  employed  against  the  Holy 
Father. 

It  is  said  that  if  Louis  Kapoleon  should  withdraw  his  troops  from 
Rome,  neither  the  government  nor  the  life  of  the  Holy  Father 
would  be  safe.  This  may  be  true,  but  we  are  sorry  that  such  lan- 
guage was  ever  employed.  It  implies  that  the  Pope  is  already  in 
bondage — it  implies  an  insult  to  all  Catholics.  It  is  a  menace,  as 
well  as  an  indignity.  We  do  not  look  to  the  Emperor  of  France,  or 
the  Emperor  of  Austria,  or  any  Prince,  for  the  safety  of  God's 
Church,  and  its  supreme  head  on  earth.  These  her  divine  Founder 
will  protect  and  sustain  by  the  infinite  resources  of  His  ever-watchful 
providence.  And  if  princes  are  weary  of  the  glorious  privilege 
which  God  has  conferred  on  them,  of  protecting  the  Sovereign  Pon- 
tiff, let  them  abdicate  any  such  pretensions.  Let  them  not,  how- 
ever, spring  upon  Catholic  Christendom,  without  notice,  a  policy 
so  cruel,  so  unjust  as  that  which  they  seem  to  meditate. 

Let  them  make  known  to  Christendom  that  they  have  ceased  to 
protect  the  head  of  the  Church ;  let  them  allow  ten  years  for  the 
Catholic  peoples  to  provide  the  means  of  sustaining  and  defending 
the  Holy  Father  in  all  his  rights,  and  it  will  be  strange  indeed  if 
the  subjects  shall  not,  during  that  period,  be  in  a  condition  to  carry 
on  a  duty  which  the  sovereigns  have  neglected  or  betrayed. 

We  and  our  people  have  watched  the  astonishing  success  with 
which  the  present  Emperor  of  the  French  has  governed  the  mighty 
nation  at  the  head  of  which  Providence  has  placed  him.  He  has 
had,  and  still  has,  our  best  wishes  j  but  if  he  should  touch  the  States 


44  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

of  the  Church,  his  act  will  be  the  bad  end  of  a  good  beginning.  He 
need  not  go  outside  of  his  family  archives  for  lessons  on  this  subject. 
His  great  uncle,  in  his  matchless  human  wisdom,  once  arranged  the 
affairs  of  Italy.  There  was  even  a  King  of  Rome — but  he  never 
reigned. 

The  unnecessary  quarrel  which  that  same  victorious  emperor 
fixed  upon  the  Sovereign  Pontiff,  was  the  beginning  of  his  end,  with 
the  melancholy  circumstances  of  which  memory  and  history  have 
made  us  all  familiar.  From  the  moment  of  this  unhappy  quarrel,  the 
protection  of  God  and  the  sympathies  of  men  seemed  to  ebb  simulta- 
neously from  that  astounding  genius,  until  at  last  he  was  caught  as 
an  eagle ;  his  pinions  were  crushed  and  broken,  and  even  then,  the 
dread  of  his  mighty  intellect  was  such  that  he  was  confined  on  a 
desolate  rock  of  the  ocean,  where  he  closed  his  earthly  career. 

The  policy  shadowed  forth  in  the  document  to  which  we  have 
referred,  is  said  in  the  newspapers  to  be  in  entire  accordance  with 
the  views  of  the  British  Cabinet.  It  appears  that  the  Ministers  of 
England  acknowledge  the  legitimacy  of  revolution,  partly  because 
it  is  the  origin  of  their  present  national  condition,  and  the  source  of 
their  individual  authority  and  importance  in  carrying  on  the  gov- 
ernment. They  quote  not  only  their  own  case,  but  the  case  of 
other  nations  on  the  Continent,  which  have  become  what  they  are, 
through  the  instrumentality  of  revolution  ;  and  by  way  of  appearing 
to  be  consistent  with  themselves,  they  proclaim  the  right  of  revolu- 
tion, or  rather  as  it  might  be  called,  from  their  present  application  of 
the  principle,  the  right  of  insurrection,  even  though  brought  about 
and  fomented  chiefly  by  influences  from  without.  Coming  from  the 
British  Cabinet,  this  is  a  novel,  and,  beyond  all  question,  a  dan- 
gerous doctrine.  It  points  out  a  key  in  the  organism  of  govern- 
ments which,  if  touched  with  the  slightest  pressure  of  the  Pope's 
little  finger,  would  convulse  provinces,  kingdoms,  and  empires. 
That  the  Holy  Father,  however,  should  touch  that  key-note  is  not 
to  be  thought  of  for  a  moment.  For  it  must  be  observed  that  all 
countries  which  have  passed  to  their  pi-esent  form  of  government  by 
the  way  of  revolution,  our  own  free  Republic  included,  are  anxious 
that  the  last  revolution  should  be  the  finality  of  insurrection  within 
their  bordei-s,  and  they  are  always  most  prompt  to  repress  any  at- 
tempt to  repeat  the  experiment.  Hence,  every  established  govern- 
ment must  regard  the  principle  enunciated  by  the  present  British 
Cabinet  as  a  mischievous  and  scandalous  one.  Establish  this  princi- 
ple, and  the  very  ends  of  government  would  be  defeated — a  stable 
government  would  be  no  longer  possible.  Of  course,  however,  they 
do  not  intend  that  it  should  apply  to  any  portion  of  the  British 
Empire.  Indeed,  one  might  ask,  can  this  be  the  same  Great  Britain 
which  spent  millions  of  money,  and  sacrificed  thousands  of  lives,  to 
crush  the  practical  application  of  this  principle,  when  these  United 
States,  then  only  British  colonies,  attempted  to  put  in  practice  the 
doctrine  now  proclaimed  by  the  official  authority  of  British  rulers? 
Is  this  the  same  Great  Britain  that  sacrificed  men's  lives  and  mil- 


PITS  IX.  45 

lions  of  their  property  to  crush  out  the  results  of  the  French  Revo- 
lution, and  which,  at  the  bayonet's  point,  imposed  upon  the  French 
people,  then  maddened  and  misled  like  the  people  of  the  Romagna, 
a  dynasty  which  they  had  rejected  ?  Is  this  the  same  Great  Britain 
that  made  the  Irish  patriots  of  '98  familiar  with  the  triangle  of  tor- 
ture and  the  scaffold  of  death,  for  no  crime  except  that  of  attempt- 
ing to  put  into  practice  the  principles  which  it  now  promulgates  ? 
Is  this  the  same  Great  Britain  which  crushed  the  Canadian  people 
in  the  year  1838,  for  their  attempts  to  carry  out  what  is  now  con- 
sidered to  be  a  legitimate  principle  of  human  goverament  ?  Is  this 
the  same  Great  Britain  which  authorized  the  tying  at  the  cannon's 
month  of  patriots  and  of  princes  in  Hindoostan,  to  be  shot  in  frag- 
ments through  the  air,  because  they  had  attempted  in  the  name  of 
their  own  country  to  have  a  government  compatible  with  their  owu 
will,  and  in  strict  conformity  with  the  rules  which  Downing-street 
now  proclaims  as  legitimate,  or  at  least  applicable  to  the  relations 
between  his  Holiness  the  Pope  and  his  revolting  Subjects  in  the  Ro- 
magna ?  But  even  later,  it  is  but  yesterday,  so  to  speak,  that  the 
people  of  the  Ionian  Islands  claimed  in  the  most  respectful  manner 
the  privilege  of  annexing  themselves  to  the  government  of  Greece, 
and  this  identical  government  refused  it.  Still,  inconsistent  or  hypo- 
critical as  they  must  be,  they  declare,  forsooth,  that  rebellion  and 
revolution  are  to  be  encouraged  in  the  States  of  the  Church. 

The  race  of  public  men  of  former  times,  great  for  evil  as  they 
might  have  been  for  good,  seems  to  have  passed  away  and  given 
place  to  a  generation  who  have  inherited  their  policy  without  hav- 
ing inherited  their  candor. 

Having  touched  on  this  part  of  the  subject,  it  is  impossible  for  us 
to  forget  what  has  happened  to  France,  the  brave  and  unconquer- 
able France — what  has  happened  to  the  crushed  and  bleeding  Po- 
land— what  has  happened*  to  the  long-persecuted  and  still  suffering 
Ireland.  And  if  temporal  governments  have  had  in  regard  to  these 
and  other  nations  their  own  way,  they  should  understand  that  their 
success  has  resulted  more  from  Catholic  conscience  than  from  cow- 
ardice of  any  kind.  But  let  England  pause.  She  is  by  no  means 
omnipotent.  Let  her  not  overtax  her  real  power  by  the  ambiguity 
or  duplicity  of  annunciations  to  the  world  authorizing  principles 
which,  if  applied,  might  lead  to  the  overthrow  of  her  own.  greatness. 
If  Catholics  everywhere  submit  reverentially  to  the  civil  government 
under  which  they  live,  if  they  do  this  under  the  dominion  of  Turkey, 
of  Russia,  of  England,  of  France,  indeed  of  any  country,  it  is  to  be 
accounted  for,  in  the  first  place,  because  government  must  exist, 
because  a  change  of  dynasty  does  not  necessarily  imply  an  improve- 
ment in  civil  administration,  but,  above  all,  because  God  has  given 
us  a  rule  of"  conduct,  in  the  exercise  of  which  conscience  sometimes 
forbids  what  courage  might  inspire. 

How,  then,  can  the  British  Cabinet  legitimatize  rebellion,  and 
proclaim  it  in  the  ears  of  the  people  of  the  Romagna  ? 

But  it  is  said,  as  already  intimated,  that  the  people  are  discon- 


.46  AKCHBISIJOP   HUGHES. 

tented  with  their  government,  and  that  if  the  Pope  wishes  to  con- 
tinue their  sovereign,  it  will  be  necessary  to  make  many  reforms  in 
the  civil  administration  of  his  States.  And  this  doctrine  is  preached 
by  princes  and  politicians  who,  in  their  o-wn  countries,  govern,  to  a 
great  extent,  not  so  much  by  reforms  as  by  standing  armies.  Who 
is  there  on  the  earth  that  can  have  the  effrontery  to  call  on  Pius 
IX.  to  make  reforms  ?  Of  all  princes  in  modern  times,  he  went 
forth  first  and  farthest,  almost  immediately  after  his  election,  in  the 
way  of  granting  reforms  to  his  people. 

We  know  much  of  his  great  and  generous  heart ;  and  if  reforms 
are  necessary,  we  are  sure  that  they  will  be  granted.  But  let  there 
be  no  dictation  on  the  subject  by  any  sovereign  or  statesman  on  the 
earth.  It  is  unnecessary,  and  it  would  be  insulting.  It  would  imply 
that  the  Sovereign  Pontiff  is  already  in  bondage.  Above  all  other 
things,  moral  and  political  freedom  are  necessary  to  the  exercise  of 
bis  functions.  Whatever  may  happen  in  the  mysterious  providence 
of  God  in  connection  with  this  complicated  question,  we  shall  submit 
to.  But  let  no  external  coercion  be  used  to  force  the  will  of  the 
Holy  Father. 

As  a  guaranty  of  the  independence  necessary  to  the  Holy  Father, 
it  is  true  we  have  declarations  of  Catholic  loyalty  from  more  than 
one  of  those  who  are  now  undermining  his  throne.  Promises  indi- 
cate intentions  only,  and  are  by  no  means  equivalent  to  the  power 
of  fulfilling  them.  Still  we  know  that  when  the  princes  that  now 
live  shall  have  been  removed — nay,  perhaps  swept  out,  even  as  a 
housemaid  would  brush  away  the  cobwebs  from  the  corner  of  a 
chamber — the  Pope  will  still  live,  and  he  will  live  hard  by  the  tombs 
of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul  in  the  Eternal  City. 

The  principles,  dear  brethren,  in  regard  to  the  Pope's  temporal 
rule,  which  we  have  endeavored  to  recall  to  your  minds  in  this  our 
pastoral  letter,  are  no  novelties.  They  are  supported  by  such  strong, 
convincing  authority,  that  they  may  be  regarded  as  axioms.  The 
Catholic  princes  and  people  of  Europe  have  often  heard  them  from 
the  lips  of  divines  and  statesmen,  men  of  the  acutest  intellects,  who 
had  fully  considered  all  the  bearings  of  the  subject. 

The  Holy  Father,  when  he  retired  from  Rome,  or  in  his  letreat 
to  Gaeta,  used  the  following  words : 

"  Among-  the  motives  which  incline  me  to  take  this  step,  the  most  important 
one  is,  to  have  full  liberty  in  the  exercise  of  the  supreme  power  of  the  Holy 
See,  which,  under  the  present  circumstances,  the  Catholic  world  might  naturally 
conclude  was  no  longer  free  in  our  hands." 

Napoleon  the  First  uses  this  language : 

"  That  institution  which  maintains  the  tmity  of  faith,  in  other  words  the 
Papacy,  the  guardian  of  Catholic  unity,  is  an  admirable  institution.  It  is  said, 
by  way  of  reproach,  that  the  Pope  is  a  foreign  power.  It  is  true  ;  and  let  us 
thank  heaven  that  it  is  so.  The  Pope  does  not  live  in  Paris,  and  it  is  well ; 
-nor  in  Madrid,  nor  Vienna,  and  for  that  reason  we  support  his  spiritual  author- 
ity. At  Vienna  or  Madrid  they  would  say  the  same.  Do  you  imagine  that  if 
he  were  at  Paris  the  Austrians  or  Spaniards  would  submit  to  his  decrees  ?    It 


PIUS  IX.  ?47 

is  very  fortunate,  therefore,  that  he  does  not  live  out  of  liis  own  country,  nor 
among  rival  nalions,  but  in  old  Rome,  far  from  the  Emperors  of  Austria,  far 
from  the  Kings  of  France  or  Spain,  holding  the  balance  between  Catholic  sov- 
ereigns, leaning  a  little  towards  the  strongest,  but  rising  against  him  if  he 
should  become  an  oppressor.  Centuries  have  been  spent  in  making  the  Papacy 
what  it  is,  and  they  have  been  well  spent.  For  the  government  of  souls  it  is 
the  best,  tlie  most  beneficent  institution  that  could  be  devised.  And  this  belief 
is  not  the  result  of  devotion,  but  of  reason." 

Bossuet  uses  the  following  language  in  regard  to  this  subject : 

"  We  know  thart  the  Roman  Pontiffs  possessed,  by  right  as  valid  as  any  earthly 
]X)wer,  lands,  prerogatives,  and  sovereignty.  We  know  still  more,  that  these 
possessions,  inasmuch  as  they  were  dedicated  to  God,  are  sacred,  and.  they  can- 
not be  invaded  without  sacrilege.  The  Apostolic  See  possesses  the  sovereignty 
of  Rome  and  the  Pontifical  States,  in  order  that  it  may  exercise  its  spiritual 
power  over  all  the  world  more  freely  in  security  and  in  peace.  We  congratu- 
late not  only  the  Apostolic  See  but  the  universal  Church  on  this ;  and  we  wish, 
with  all  the  ardor  of  our  soul,  that  this  sacred  Pontificate  remain  forever  intact." 

Bossuet  again  says : 

"  Gfod,  who  would  that  this  Cliurch,  the  common  mother  of  all  kingdoms, 
should  in  course  of  time  be  independent  of  every  temporal  power,  and  that  the 
See  with  which  all  the  faithful  were  to  be  in  communion  should  at  last  be 
placed  above  the  partialities  caused  by  conflicting  interests  and  national  jeal- 
ousies, according  to  the  foundation  laid  by  Pepin  and  Charlemagne.  By  a 
happy  continuance  of  their  liberality,  the  Church,  independent  in  her  chief  of 
all  earthly  authorities,  was  in  a  condition  to  exercise  more  freely  for  the  com- 
mon good,  and  under  the  common  protection  of  Christian  kings,  its  celestial 
power  of  governing  souls  and  holding  in  its-  hand  the  balance  ;  even  in  the 
midst  of  empires  frequently  at  enmity  with  each  other,  it  preserves  unity 
throughout  the  ("hristian  body,  sometimes  by  inflexible  decrees  and  sometimes 
by  wise  regulations." 

Dearly  beloved,  it  is  our  duty  to  urge  these  truths  upon  your 
attention  at  a  time  Avhen  the  father  of  lies  is  unusually  active  in 
spreading  his  falsehoods  and  his  misrepresentations;  when  men  of 
sin,  angels  of  darkness,  exhibit  themselves  as  angels  of  light,  talk  of 
virtue  which  they  never  practised,  and  of  liberty,  which  on  their  lips 
means  but  licentiousness,  or  the  liberty  to  despoil  and  oppress. 

It  is  also  our  duty  to  urge  you  to  pray  for  the  visible  head  of 
God's  Church,     It  is  our  duty  to  pray  with  you  for  him. 

The  chalice  of  bittei-ness  which  is  pressed  to  the  lips  of  Pius  IX. 
may  not  pass  away  in  consequence  of  even  our  prayers,  for  God  has 
His  own  method  of  protecting  the  Church  and  governing  the  world. 
But,  at  all  events,  it  may  bring  some  consolation  to  the  heart  of  our 
revered  Most  Holy  Father  to  know  that  even  his  distant  cliildren 
on  these  shores  sympathize  with  him  in  his  present  afflictions. 

We  know,  indeed,  that  He  who  has  said,  "Thou  art  Peter,  and 
upon  this  rock  I  will  build  my  Church,  and  the  gates  of  hell  shall 
not  prevail  against  it"  (St.  Matthew,  xvi.  18),  will  ever  be  with 
that  holy  Church  "  all  days,  even  to  the  consummation  of  the 
world."  (St.  Matthew,  xxviii.  10.)  Let  us,  then,  not  fear  whilst  the 
storm  rages  round  the  bark  of  Peter.  The  Lord  will  awake,  in  His 
own  good  time,  and  command  "  a  great  calm."    (St.  Matthew,  viii. 


48  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

26.)  Still,  we  should  pray,  but,  in  particular,  so  live  as  to  make  our 
prayers  acceptable  to  God.  In  St.  Peter's  own  words,  we  conclude 
by  saying  to  you,  as  we  invoke  every  blessing  upon  you,  "  Dearly 
beloved,  tbink  not  strange  the  burning  heat  which  is  to  try  you,  as 
if  some  new  thing  happened  to  you.  But  if  you  partake  of  the  suf- 
fering of  Christ,  rejoice  that  when  His  glory  shall  be  revealed,  you 
may  also  be  glad  with  exceeding  joy.  If  you  be  reproached  for  the 
name  of  Christ,  you  shall  be  blessed ;  for  that  which  is  of  the  honor, 
glory,  and  power  of  God,  and  that  which  is  His  spirit,  resteth  upon 
you.  But  let  none  of  you  suffer  as  a  murderer,  or  a  thief,  or  a  railer, 
or  a  coveter  of  other  men's  things.  But  if  as  a  Chiastian,  let  him 
act  be  ashamed,  but  let  him  glorify  God  in  this  name."  (1  Peter, 
iv.  12,  13,  14,  15,  16.)  "But  the  God  of  all  grace,  who  hath  called 
us  unto  His  eternal  glory  in  Christ  Jesus,  after  you  have  suffered  a 
little,  will  Himself  perfect  you,  and  confirm  you,,  and  establish  you. 
To  him  be  glory  and  empire  forever  and  ever.  Amen."  (1  Peter, 
V.  10,  11.) 

Given  at  New- York  this  19th  day  of  January,  the  year  of  our 
Lord  1860. 

4-  JOHN  HUGHES,  Archbishop  of  New-York,  State  of 

New-York. 
►J.  JOHN  McCLOSKEY,  Bishop  of  Albany,  State  of  New- 
York. 
4,  JOHN  BERNARD  FITZPATRICK,  Bishop  of  Boston, 

State  of  Massachusetts. 
4.  JOHN  TIMON,  Bishop  of  Buffalo,  State  of  New-York. 
.Jf.  JOHN  LOUGHLIN,    Bishop  of    Brooklyn,  State  of 

New-York. 
+  JAMES  ROOSEVELT  BAYLEY,  Bishop  of  Newark, 

State  of  New  Jersey. 
1^.  LOUIS    De    GOESBRIAND,  Bishop  of  Burlington, 

State  of  Vermont. 
4.  DAVID     WlLLLiM    BACON    (Per    Procuratorem), 

Bishop  of  Portland,  State  of  Maine. 
4.  FRANCIS  PATRICK  McFARLAND,  Bishop  of  Hart- 
ford, State  of  Connecticut. 


AN    ANSWER 


TO  THOSE  WILO  WOULD  DESPOIL  THE  POPE  OF  HIS   TEMPORAL 

POWER. 

[The  following  letter,  which  appeared  in  the  Courier  and  Enquirer  in  answer 
to  that  paper's  criticism  on  the  Pastoral  Letter,  is  from  the  pen  of  Archbishop 
Hughes.] 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Courier  and  Enquirer : 

Sir  : — It  appears  to  me  perfectly  natural  and  reasonable  that  the 
Catholic  prelates  and  people  of  this,  and  all  other  counti-ies,  should 


PIUS  IX.  49 

give  public  manifestation  of  their  sentiments  and  convictions,  in  re- 
gard to  the  assaults  now  made  on  the  i-iglits  of  the  visible  head  of 
their  church.  They  do  not  expect  persons  of  other  denominations 
to  unite  with  them  in  any  such  testimonials.  But,  as  for  themselves, 
they  exercise  a  right  which  is  common  to  all,  when  they  give  free 
and  respectful  utterance  to  their  sentiments  regarding  a  question 
which  affects  every  member  of  the  Catholic  Church  throughout  the 
world. 

The  Emperor  Napoleon  has  no  more  right  to  take  from  the  Sov- 
ereign Pontiff,  a  single  province  from  the  States  of  the  Church,  than 
he  would  have  to  take  Trinity  Church. and  all  its  property  fro-ni  the 
religious  corporation  that  now  holds  it,  by  what  is  considered  a  just 
title.  It  is  true  that  Trinity  Church,  as  a  temporal  power,  is  no 
part  of  the  Episcopal  religion.  It  does  not  appear  as  a  matter  of 
belief  in  the  thirty-nine  articles,  or  in  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer. 
It  stands  or  falls  by  the  validity  or  invalidity  of  its  own  title.  In 
such  a  contest  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  no  Catholic  would  range  him- 
self on  the  side  of  iniquitous  invasion.  But  it  would  not  be  con- 
sidered extravagant  or  out  of  place  for  the  Episcopalians  of  Virginia, 
South  Carolina,  or  even  England,  to  raise  their  voice  in  opposition 
to  such  a  proceeding  of  force  against  equity. 

It  is  said  that  the  Pope  is  at  once  a  spiritual  and  temporal  sover- 
eign ;  and  that  this  is  an  anomaly.  But  does  not  the  Queen  of 
England,  within  the  whole  range  of  her  dominions — on  which  it  is 
said  the  sun  never  sets — exercise  the  same  civil  authority  which  the 
Pope  exercises  over  his  subjects  in  the  States  of  the  Church?  And 
does  she  not  in  like  manner  exercise  supreme  spiritual  authority — 
be  the  same  more  or  less — over  all  the  subjects  of  her  empire  ? 
She  is  a  Protestant ;  and  if  in  the  excercise  of  this  double  authority 
there  is  an  anomaly,  why  is  it  that  the  Protestants  of  England  and 
America  do  not  commence  by  regulating  the  headship  of  this  anom- 
alous power  ?  Is  not  the  temporal  sovereign  of  Prussia  the  recog- 
nized spiritual  head  of  religion  in  his  States  'i  What  Protestant  has 
found  fault  with  this  ?  Is  there  a  single  king  or  prince  in  Europe 
who  has  broken  away  from  the  unity  of  the  Cathohc  religion,  Avho 
is  not  at  the  same  time  the  temporal  ruler  and  spiritual  head  of  the 
Church,  by  whatever  name  it  may  be  called,  in  his  own  dominions  ? 
Is  not  the  Czar  of  Russia  the  head  of  the  Church  in  his  States? 
And  how  is  it  that  Protestants  are  blind  to  these  anomalies,  which 
have  reference  to  their  own  condition,  and  so  sensitive  as  to  the 
Pope's  being  at  the  same  time  the  temporal  sovereign  of  his  owa, 
States,  and  the  supreme  head  of  the  Catholic  Church  throughout  the 
world  ? 

The  Catholics  in  the  United  States  are  loyal  citizens.  They  do 
not  pretend  to  speak  in  the  name  of  this  nation  when  they  express 
their  sympathy  with  the  Sovereign  Pontiff.  They  speak  in  theii' 
own  name — as  men  claiming  to  exercise  the  rights  both  of  civil  and 
religious  freedom.  In  the  struggle  of  Greece,  nothing  was  more 
popular  than  meetings  and  contributions  in  aid  of  the  people  of  thatt 
Vol.  II— 4 


50  AKCIIBISHOP   HUGHES. 

classic  land  ;  and  yet  there  was  no  complaint  that  they  spoke  in  the 
name  of  the  nation.  It  is  but  the  other  day  that  we  read  an  ac- 
count of  a  vessel  from  this  port  touching  at  Cork,  in  Ireland,  a  part 
of  whose  cargo  consisted  of  23,000  muskets,  supposed  to  be  for  the 
use  of  Garabaldi  and  his  associates.  This  was  not  done  in  the  name 
of  tlie  nation — neither  has  any  journal  put  that  construction  upon 
the  act. 

But  let  us  suppose  that  the  Catholics  of  the  United  States,  merely 
as  a  speculation,  were  to  furnish  23,000  muskets  to  the  Sovereign 
Pontiff,  what  would  the  journals  say  ?  And  yet  the  right  to  for- 
ward such  a  cargo  ought  to  be  as  free  to  one  class  of  citizens  as  to 
another. 

There  are  two  kinds  of  tyrannies  in  the  .world.  The  one  is  un- 
disguised— it  is  open,  out-spoken  tyranny.  Its  theory  and  its  prac- 
tice are  adjusted  into  despotic  harmony.  We  may  hate — we  may 
abhor  it — but  so  far,  we  can  hardly  help  respecting  the  consistency 
at  least,  of  its  theory  with  its  practice.  The  other  species  of  ty- 
ranny is  directly  the  reverse.  It  is  freedom  in  theory  ;  despotism 
in  practice.  It  deludes  the  minds  of  men,  especially  at  a  distance, 
by  its  professions  of  liberalism  and  respect  for  the  people.  Where 
it  passes,  it  requires  the  people  to  liurral)  for  liberty,  whilst  they 
feel  that  under  this  name,  a  bondage,  crippling  their  thoughts,  their 
speech,  and  their  very  souls — is  pressing  them  down  to  the  earth. 
Will  any  one  say  that  the  French  people  are  free  this  day  ?  There 
is,  indeed,  a  one-sided  freedom  in  that  country,  according  to  which, 
it  is  lawful  to  blaspheme  God,  to  employ  falsehood  against  religion, 
to  deceive,  if  possible,  the  honest  intentions  of  the  subject  millions, 
to  villify  the  Yicar  of  Christ,  to  make  plausible  the  pretence  on 
which  he  is  about  to  be  plundered  by  a  temporary  ruler ;  in  short, 
a  freedom  to  speak  and  write  against  everything,  except  the  Consti- 
tion  of  the  French  empire,  which,  in  other  words,  signifies  merely 
the  will  of  its  Imperial  ruler. 

But  is  there  any  freedom  for  truth — for  religion — for  the  inde- 
pendent thinking  of  French  minds,  not  less  capable  of  judging  be- 
tween right  and  wrong,  than  the  Emperor  himself?  Is  the  Press 
free?  Is  speech  free?  Are  the  Bishops  free?  Are  the  clergy 
free?  Is  there  anything  free,  except  the  Constitution  of  the  Empire, 
which,  as  I  have  said  before,  is  neitlier  more  nor  less,  in  practice, 
than  the  will  of  the  Emperor?  If  there  is  any  such  freedom,  I 
■would  ask  what  is  the  meaning  of  those  warnings  to  the  Press,  to 
the  Prelates,  to  the  Priests,  and  to  the  people  of  France  ?  How 
•can  such  things  exist  in  a  free  country  ?  And  if  the  Emperor  of  the 
French  has  taken  away  from  his  own  subjects  the  privileges  of  a 
free  people,  how  can  it  be  expected  that  he  is  going  to  establish 
freedom  in  a  country  over  which  neither  by  articles  of  peace  nor  by 
■conquest  of  war  he  has  acquired  any  just  dominion?  Ingenious 
and  deceptive  pamphlets,  such  as  the  "  Pope  and  the  Congress," 
are  all  very  well,  except  that  they  are  too  low  and  too  mean  a  pre 
paratory    expedient,   intended  to  conciliate    the    ideas  of   simple- 


PIUS  IX.  61 

minded  Catholics  with  the  predetermined  assaults  upon  the  spir- 
itual head  of  their  Chui'ch.  Every  enlightened  Catholic  sees 
through  the  sophistry  of  such  a  document ;  and  its  author,  so  far  as 
Napoleon  is  concerned,  becomes  more  and  more  despicable  in  uni- 
versal Catholic  estimation,  in  view  of  its  transparent  hypocrisy  and 
falsehood. 

When  the  uncle  of  the  present  Emperor  of  France  first  visited 
Italy,  the  States  of  the  Church  were  not  burdened  with  any  national 
debt.  The  people  were  contented  and  happy.  There  were  no  sub- 
jects in  Europe  more  devoted  to  the  paternal  rule  of  their  sovereign 
than  the  people  of  the  Papal  States.  Napoleon  I.,  then  General 
Buonaparte,  at  the  truce  of  Milan,  concluded  between  himself  and 
Azara,  in  ]  796,  required  the  cession  of  the  Legations  of  Bologna, 
Ferrara,  and  a  part  of  the  Romagna.  He  required  further  that  the 
Sovereign  Pontiff,  Pius  VI,,  should  pay  over  to  him,  or  the  Direct- 
ory under  whose  orders  he  acted,  the  sum  of  fifteen  millions  cash, 
and  all  the  master  works  in  the  painting  and  sculpture  with  which 
the  Eternal  City  and  its  museums  were  decorated.  The  Treaty  of 
Tolentino  was  concluded  on  the  19th  of  February,  1797,  between 
General  Buonaparte,  on  the  side  of  France,  and  Cardinal  Mattei,  on 
the  part  of  the  Holy  See.  •  Now,  the  demand  of  the  French  General 
having  secured  the  paintings  and  sculptures  of  Rome,  rose  to  the 
oppressive  amount  of  thirty-one  millions.  Was  there  any  justice  in 
all  this  ?  Tlie  people  of  the  Roman  States  had  not  complained  of 
misgovernment.  But  even  after  this,  on  one  pretext  or  another, 
General  Berthier,  with  his  army,  took  possession  of  Rome  itself, 
dragged  Pius  VI,  (then  81  years  of  age)  across  the  Alps,  and  left 
him  to  die  at  Valence,  in  France.  This  visit  of  the  French  cost  the 
people  of  the  Papal  States,  apart  from  the  plunder  of  an  unscru- 
pulous soldiery,  and  the  ordinary  expenses  of  Government,  a  sum 
not  less  than  two  hundred  millions.  This  was  the  beginning  of  their 
poverty  and  of  their  debt.  We  may  add  that  the  first  Emperor  of 
France,  in  the  plenitude  of  his  absolute  power,  made  a  prisoner  of 
Pius  VII.,  and  kept  him  as  a  captive  at  Fontaiubleau.  And  it  is 
true,  also,  that  hard  by  the  prison  of  the  Pope,  that  same  Napoleon 
was  obliged  to  abdicate  his  temporal  authority  over  the  French  em- 
pire, when  the  governments  of  Europe  held  their  carnival  in  the 
capital  of  France,  and  dictated  to  the  nation  the  kind  of  government 
under  which,  nolens  volens,  they  were  to  live  for  the  future.  The 
present  Emperor  seems  to  be  treading  in  the  footsteps  of  his  uncle. 
The  Peace  of  Tolentino  and  the  Treaty  of  Villafranca  are  marked 
by  features  of  strong  analogy.  What  is  to  come  no  one  can  foresee ; 
but  it  is  not  at  all  surprising  that  the  members  of  the  Catholic 
Church  should  feel  alarmed  at  the  bearing  of  the  present  Emperor's 
words  and  actions.  At  first,  he  exhibited  himself  a  friend  of  that 
religion  he  professes,  and  of  its  supreme  spiritu.al  head.  By  tliis  he 
gained  the  confidence  of  all  the  good  Catholic  men  of  France  and  of 
Europe.  They  were  his  dignified  moral  support.  His  troops  were 
his  support  of  mere  physical  reliance.     The  moral  support  is  ebbing 


62  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

away  from  him,  and  the  time  is  not  far  distant  when  he  will  have  to 
rely  on  his  troops  alone.  France  has  had  thirteen  revolutions  within 
the  last  seventy  years ;  and  in  the  forty  which  yet  remain  of  the 
present  century,  according  to  the  ratio  of  revolutions  in  the  past, 
there  is  time  and  space  for  half  a  dozen  more.  No  friend  of  hu- 
manity can  desire  any  such  thing.  But,  at  the  same  time,  human 
nature  is  nearly  the  same  imder  every  form  of  government,  and 
every  profession  of  religion.  One  thing  is  certain,  that  England  is 
playing  what  the  world  would  call  a  deep,  wise  game  of  domestic 
and  foreign  policy.  To  ovei  throw  the  Pope  is  a  purpose  which  is 
dear  to  tlie  heart,  not  only  ol' Exeter  Hall,  but  of  the  great  mass  of 
the  British  people.  If  it  were  to  be  accomplished  directly  by  their 
own  government,  it  might  be  attended  with  a  certain  amount  of 
odium  and  of  inconvenience.  About  one-third  of  the  subjects  of 
Great  Britain,  especially  in  Europe,  are  Catholics.  They  owe  no 
gratitude  to  their  government,  but  from  a  principle  of  conscience 
they  have  preserved  their  loyalty.  If  England  undertook  to  over- 
throw the  Pope  in  his  rightful  possessions  as  a  temporal  prince,  they 
would  increase  and  intensify  this  secret  feeling  against  the  govern- 
ment. Under  such  circumstances,  the  Catholics  of  England  and 
Ireland  would  have  a  double  motive  to  hail  the  descent  of  Napoleon 
III.  on  their  coasts.  But  the  British  Cabinet  is  too  wise  to  commit 
such  a  blunder.  An  instrument  of  their  policy,  professing  to  be  a 
Catholic,  is  a  much  more  suitable  agent  in  accomplishing  the  pur- 
pose which  England  has  so  much  at  heart.  What  more  illustrious 
instrument  could  they  have  selected  than  the  present  Emperor  of 
the  French  ?  In  fact,  we  hear  of  nothing  between  these  two  powers 
at  the  present  day  except  entente  cordiales,  and  new  treaties  of 
peace,  concord  and  commerce. 

The  policy  of  England  is  patent.  If  Napoleon  puts  down  the 
Pope,  so  much  the  better.  He  will  have  the  malediction  of  Catholic 
Christendom,  but,  by  way  of  compensation,  the  gratitude  of  Exeter 
Hall.  If* he  should  stop  short  in  his  career,  combustibles  for  his 
destruction  may  be  still  arranged  among  the  Carbonari  of  Italy,  and 
fabricated  under  the  mechanical  genius  of  English  engineers  and 
artisans.  In  -this  event,  England,  who  looks  upon  his  power  with 
uneasiness,  will  breathe  more  freely.  But  under  either,  or  any  cir- 
cumstances, she  has  employed  Louis  Napoleon  to  fortify  the  coasts 
of  Ireland  without  the  expenditure  of  a  single  pound  sterling  from 
the  British  Treasury.  The  Irish  people  regarded  him  as  a  friend  of 
rehgion.  Recent  events  have  taught  them  that  he  is  not  a  friend, 
but  an  enemy.  And,  strange  as  it  may  sound,  it  is  almost  certain 
that  if  Napoleon  were  to  make  a  landing  on  the  coasts  of  Ireland, 
the  Catholics  of  that  country  would  meet  and  fight  against  him  as 
they  would  against  Antichrist. 

These  are  some  of  the  reasons  which  a  fair  and  impartial  construc- 
tion of  the  feelings  of  free  men,  loyal  to  all  their  civil  obligations, 
but  at  the  same  time  deeply  zealous  for  the  lawful  rights  of  the 
Church  to  which  they  belong,  should  take  into  consideratiau,  in 


PIUS  IX.  53 

view  of  the  recent  pastoral  letter  issued  by  the  bishops  of  this  prov- 
ince. That  letter  is  not  imknown.  It  has  been  read  in  all  the 
congregations  of  tlie  ecclesiastical  province  of  New- York,  It  has 
been  sent  to  Europe.  It  is  a  testimony  by  which  its  authors  made 
known  their  own  convictions,  and  those  of  their  people,  on  a  solemn' 
question,  not  of  politics,  but  of  everlasting  justice.  A  time  may 
come  when  the  Catholics  of  this  country,  impelled  by  a  religious 
sense  of  duty,  shall  make  voluntary  contributions  for  the  personal 
support  of  the  supreme  head  of  their  Church  upon  earth.  And  in 
doing  this,  they  will  feel  that  they  give  no  more  reasonable  offence 
to  their  fellow-citizens,  or  to  the  government  imder  which  they  live, 
than  if  they  contributed  of  their  means  for  the  support  of  foreign 
missionaries. 

The  Holy  Father  has  been,  by  the  princes  of  the  earth,  misled, 
deceived,  disappointed,  betrayed,  and  now  abandoned.  He  has 
made  use  of  this  expression,  "  that  he  would  sooner  beg  from  door 
to  door  than  receive  one  dollar  from  the  princes  who  have  betrayed 
him." 

February,  1860. 


THE  POPES  AND  THEIR   TEMPORAL  POWER  IN 
THE  STATES  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

A  DISCOURSE  DELIVERED  BY  THE   MOST   REV.  ARCHIBISHOP    OF 
NEW  YORK,  m  ST.  PATRICK'S  CATHEDRAL,  JULY  1,  1860. 

I  am  about  to  address  you  to-day,  dearly  beloved  brethren,  on 
a  subject  and  on  topics  which  you  have  never  heard  from  this  place. 
It  will  not  be  precisely  a  sermon,  nor  will  it  be  an  appeal  to  your 
feelings  or  your  passions.  It  will  be  a  discourse  historical,  philoso- 
phical, ecclesiastical ;  but  in  it  you  must  not  expect  either  eloquence 
of  composition  or  oratory  in  delivery.  It  is  to  be  a  plain  narrative, 
but  in  my  opinion  very  important  for  Catholics  to  be  acquainted 
with,  when  they  are  liable  to  have  their  minds  perverted  by  repe- 
titions and  mispresentations,  originating  either  in  design  or  in 
ignorance.  We  ought  to  understand  something  of  the  history  of 
our  religion,  and  the  purpose  of  this  discourse  is  to  trace  "its  con- 
nection— rather,  the  Pope's  connection  with  it — from  the  beginning 
down  to  the  present  time,  and  especially  that  which  is  so  odious  in 
modern  estimation,  his  connection  with  temporal  things  and  tem- 
poral power.  We  know  that  the  Church  has  always  been  in  a 
struggle  against  the  powers  of  the  earth  ;  and  although  it  is  not  my 
intention  to  dwell  in  detail  upon  any  of  these  things — for  time  will 
not  permit — still  I  find  the  whole  ground  covered  by  the  language 
which  I  have  selected  for  my  text.  It  is  the  commencement  of  the 
second  Psalm  of  the  Prophet  David — 


54  ARCHIBISHOP   HUGHES. 

"  Why  have  the  Gentiles  raged,  and  the  people  devised  vain  things. 

"The  kings  of  the  earth  stood  up,  and  the  princes  met  together  against  the 
Lord  and  against  His  Christ. 

"Let  us  break  their  bonds  asunder,  and  let  us  cast  away  their  yoke 
firom  us." 

It  must  have  been  during  the  latter  portion  of  the  rpign  of  Tibe- 
rius Nero  Drusus,  or  in  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of  Nero,  that  a 
traveller,  dressed  in  Eastern  costume,  was  seen  approaching  one  of 
the  entrances  of  the  imperial  city  of  Rome.  He  was  weary  and 
wayworn.  The  dust  of  travel  had  incrusted  itself  on  the  perspira- 
tion of  his  brow.  He  bore  in  his  hand  a  staff",  but  not  a  crosier. 
His  contenance  was  pale,  but  striking  and  energetic  in  its  expres- 
sion. Partially  bald,  what  remained  of  his  hair  was  gray,  crisp,  and 
curly.  Who  was  he  ?  No  one  cared  to  inquire,  for  he  was  only 
one  of  those  approaching  the  gates  of  Rome,  within  the  walls  of 
which,  we  are  told,  the  population  numbered  from  three  to  four 
millions  of  souls.  But  who  was  this  pilgrim  ?  He  was  a  man  who 
carried  a  message  from  God  and  his  Christ,  and  who  had  been 
impelled  to  deliver  that  message  in  the  very  heart  and  centre  of 
Roman  corruption  and  of  Roman  civilization,  such  as  it  was. 

His  name  at  that  time  was  Peter.  His  original  name  had  been 
Simon,  but  the  Son  of  God  having  called  him  and  his  elder  brother, 
Andrew,  from  the  fisherman's  bark  on  the  sea  of  Galilee,  to  be  His 
apostles,  changed  the  name  of  Simon  and  called  him  in  the  Syriac 
language,  Cephas,  which  in  Latin  and  English  is  translated  Peter. 
In  Syriac  the  word  signifies  a  rock,  and  our  Saviour,  by  changing 
his  name,  declared  the  mission  for  whicji  he  was  especially  selected. 

He  .said  to  him,  "  Thou  art  Cephas,  and  upon  this  rock  I  will 
build  my  church,  and  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail  against  it." 
He  was  an  Apostle  like  his  brother  and  the  other  ten.  But  he  was 
more — he  was  the  Rock  on  which  the  Church  was  to  be  built — he  was 
the  prince  of  the  Apostolic  College.  And  this  was  the  man'  who 
was  approaching  the  gates  of  the  city  of  Rome.  Where  he  slept 
that  night,  whether  on  or  under  the  porch  of  some  princely  palace, 
history  has  not  informed  us.  But  he  soon  began  to  proclaim  the 
mes^sage  which  he  had  from  God.  To  human  view  the  attempt 
would  appear  to  be  desperate.  Rome,  at  that  period,  was  divided 
into  two  principal  classes — masters  and  slaves — both  of  the  same 
color,  and,  in  many  instances,  both  of  the  same  country.  The 
higher  class  of  those  who  were  not  slaves  were,  at  that  time,  gorged 
to  repletion  with  the  wealth  and  the  plunder  which  the  triumphant 
armies  of  Rome  had  brought  to  the  imperial  Capitol  from  the  con- 
quered tribes  and  nations  of  the  then  known  world.  These  con- 
quered nations,  after  having  been  plundered,  as  we  might  say,  once 
for  all,  were  still  retained  as  perpetual  tributaries  to  the  exchequer 
of  the  Ca3sar  and  of  their  satellites.  The  superstitions  and  idolatries  of 
those  nations  were  all  inaugurated  in  the  pagan  temples  of  the  Im- 
perial City.  Their  corruption  of  morals  was  also  introduced,  spread- 
ing from  freemen  to  slaves,  although  such  was  the  state  of  local 


PICS  IX.  55 

morals  that  no  imported  corruption  could  add  much  to  the  uni- 
versal depravity. 

Such  was  Rome  when  this  eastern  stranger  entered  its  in  closures. 
He  preached  the  Word  of  Chiist,  and  his  preaching,  even  in  that 
polluted  atmosphere,  brought  forth  many  souls  to  acknowledge  and 
adore  the  Crucified.  He  was  subsequently  joined  by  St.  Paul,  and 
both  labored  with  a  common  zeal  to  propagate  the  doctrine  of  sal- 
vation. They  had  already  made  such  an  impression  that  the  tyrant 
Xero  had  them  arrested  and  condemned  to  death.  Peter  was 
crucified — it  is  generally  supposed"  on  the  very  spot  on  which  St. 
Peter's  Church  now  stands.  The  cross  was  the  instrument  of 
punishment  for  the  man  of  Hebrew  origin.  But  Paul  of  Tarsus, 
having  been  born  a  Roman  citizen,  was  entitled  to  a  less  igno- 
minious death,  and  accordingly  he  was  beheaded,  at  a  place  called 
the  Three  Fountains,  some  distance  from  Rome.  Nero  made  the 
distinction,  which  is  now  so  popular,  between  what  is  called  tem- 
poral and  spiritual.  The  body  was  temporal;  and  Nero  did  not 
pretend  to  go  further  than  its  destruction. 

Peter  had  a  successor  to  inherit  the  prerogatives  of  his  supremacy, 
and  carry  on  the  work  of  Christ  which  he  had  commenced.  Time 
went  on.  During  three  hundred  years,  most  of  Peter's  successors 
"were  called  upon  to  give  up  their  lives  to  Nero,  and  those  who  suc- 
ceeded him,  for  the  cause  of  Christ.  Finally,  the  progress  of  Chris- 
tianity had  become  so  great  and  striking  that  it  invaded  the  army, 
the  Imperial  Guards,  the  Senate,  andi  even  the  household  of  the 
Emperor  himself,  until  at  length  Constantine  the  Great  repudiated 
paganism  and  embraced  the  salvation  of  the  cross>  which  he  adopted 
as  a  symbol  of  his  dignity  and  power.  This  was  in  the  early  part 
of  the  fourth  century.  From  that  period  the  Church  began  to 
breathe  with  more  freedom.  In  the  subsequent  times,  and  especially 
during  the  gradual  crumbling  and  final  overthrow  of  the  Roman 
Empires,  the  Popes  had  unspeakable  difficulties  to  encounter.  Still 
they  continued  in  the  work — studying  by  all  means  to  propagate  the 
name  of  Christ  by  sending  holy  bishops  and  priests  to  labor  for  the 
conversion  of  idolaters  and  barbarous  nations  throughout  Europe. 
Time  still  went  on  ;  and  we  see  them  in  the  middle  ages  almost 
the  only  men  of  great  minds — studying  now  not  only  the  spiritual 
interests  of  the  people,  but  also  devising  in  their  wisdom  those 
principles  of  civil,  ecclesiastical  and  canonical  law,  which  lie  at  the 
basis  of  all  civilized  nations. 

In  this  they  had  to  encounter  many  obstacles.  They  had  some- 
times to  come  in  contact  with  powerful  tyrants.  But  while  they 
rebuked  the  tyrant,  they  never  attempted  to  deny  or  destroy  the 
supreme  power  of  the  State  which  he  had  abused  by  perjury,  op- 
pression, violation  of  his  duties,  and  villanies  of  many  kinds. 
Emerging  from  the  middle  ages,  we  find  ourselves  in  those  which 
are  characterized  as  the  renascent  period  of  art,  science,  and  liter- 
ature. Then  comes  the  epoch  of  what  has  been  called  the  Reform- 
ation.    It  was  mainly  aimed  against  the  spiritual  doctrines  which 


56  AECIIBISHOP  HUGHES. 

had  been  taught  and  established  throughout  Europe  by  the  Popes  * 
and  their  colleagues  from  the  days  of  St.  Peter.  From  the  Reforma- 
tion to  the  present  time  the  trials  to  which  the  Sovereign  Pontiffs 
have  been  exposed,  though  different  in  form,  are  substantially  the 
same  as  those  which  their  j^redecessors  had  to  bear  until  that  period. 
Still  it  must  be  said  in  justice  that  the  adherents  to  the  Reformation, 
while  they  discussed  theological  questions  with  great  ability,  but 
with  little  success,  have  abstained  from  every  attempt  at  despoiling 
the  Holy  Father  of  the  limited  temporal  possessions  which  constitute 
the  States  of  the  Church.  The  next  startling  epoch  in  the  history 
of  Christianity  is  the  French  Revolution  of  1789  and  its  consequences. 
The  events  that  have  transpired  since  that  terrific  explosion  of  human 
passions,  of  infidelity,  even  of  atheism  itself,  mark  a  period  coming 
down  to  our  own  days,  which  can  not  be  overlooked  or  allowed  to 
pass  in  silence. 

In  a  discourse  like  the  present  it  will  be  impossible  to  divide  the 
topics  into  distinct  and  separate  heads.  The  succession  of  the  Popes, 
from  St.  Peter  down,  must  be  our  thread  of  guidance  through  the 
labyrinths  of  history.  St.  Peter  was  chosen  atid  appointed  by  our 
Divine  Saviour  to  be  not  only  an  apostle  like  the  others,  but  he  was 
invested  with  special,  distinct,  and  supreme  prerogatives,  which 
were  not  extended  to  any  one  of  the  others,  nor  to  all  of  them 
united.  On  him  the  Church  was  to  be  built.  After  his  conversion 
it  was  his  privilege  and  duty  to  confirm  his  brethren.  When  Satan 
desired  them  all,  the  Lord  prayed  for  him  in  an  especial  manner, 
that  his  faith  might  not  fail.  All  these  divine  prerogatives  de- 
scended to  his  successors,  and  riot  to  the  successor  of  any  other 
apostle.  Hence,  link  by  link,  we  can  trace  up  the  chain  of  Papal 
succession  and  supremacy,  from  Pius  IX.  to  St.  Peter,  and  from  St. 
Peter  to  a  higher  source  still,  the  Saviour  of  the  world.  If,  in  the 
progress  of  ages,  the  Popes  acquired  tem[)oral  dominion  over  a 
small  portion  of  Italy,  surrounding  what  remained  of  imperial 
Rome,  after  the  Csesars  had  forsaken  it  and  established  themselves 
on  the  banks  of  the  Bosphorus,  it  must  have  been  in  the  designs  of 
God,  that  during  the  turbulent  period  of  the  middle  ages,  and  even 
in  modern  times,  the  supreme  pastor  of  His  Church  should  be  inde- 
pendent of  human  authority  and  free  to  exercise  the  functions  of 
his  office  without  let  or  hin-drance. 

The  temporal  sovereignty  of  the  Popes  is  a  sequel  and  consequence 
of  their  spiritual  supremacy.  We  are  told  that  Christ's  kingdom  is 
not  of  this  world  ;  but  we  know  that  His  kingdom  is  in  this  world — 
that  it  will  last  as  long  as  the  world  itself — and  that  its  boundaries 
are  the  ends  of  the  earth.  There  are  some  who  affect  not  to  under- 
stand why  the  temporal  and  spiritual  authority  should  be  united  in 
the  same  person.  And  this  objection  they  apply  specially  to  the 
supi-eme  pastor  of  the  Catholic  Church.  They  forget  that  every 
independent  sovereign  of  Europe  who  has  detached  himself  from 
the  communion  of  the  Church  has  set  up  a  national  imitation  of 
Christ's  kingdom  within  his  own  dominions,  not  by  annexing  tem- 


rius  IX.  57 

poral  power  to  spiritual  headship,  but  by  assuming  spiritual  author- 
ity and  annexing  it  to  temporal  power. 

The  incongruity  is  as  great  in  all  these  would-be  Popes  in  their 
own  States  as  it  is  in  the  Sovereign  Pontiff.  These  little  kingdoms 
of  Christ,  so  called,  in  their  spiritual  headships  are  of  this  world, 
usurpations  which  laymen  and  laywomen  have  arrogated  to  them- 
selves. The  authority  given  to  St.  Peter  and  his  successors  is  not 
of  this  world.  It  came  from  God  through  His  incarnate  Son.  It 
was  not,  therefore,  a  usurpation. 

The  usurpations  by  the  Popes,  if  any,  would  be  in  annexing  to 
their  spiritual  supremacy  temporal  rights.  But  even  in  this  regard, 
there  was  no  such  thing  as  usurpation  on  their  part. 

The  question  then  comes  up,  how  and  why  the  successors  of  St. 
Peter  acquired  wealth  and  temporal  power  ?  The  answer  is  plain 
and  obvious.  We  read  that  on  the  first  and  second  occasions  of 
St.  Peter's  preaching  in  Jerusalem,  8,000  souls  were  converted  to 
Christ.  This  was  the  nucleus  of  that  great  living  and  united  society 
which  is  now  spread  over  the  Morld.  In  Jerusalem  the  disciples 
were  subjected  to  bitter  persecution.  Many  of  them  were  poor, 
and  after  this  step  they  were  abandoned  and  cast  out  by  their  for- 
mer friends.  Here,  then,  was  a  case  for  the  brethren  to  show 
whether  they  loved  one  another.  The  inspired  writer  tells  us  that 
there  was  not  any  one  among  them  that  wanted,  for  as  many  as  were 
owners  of  lands  or  houses  sold  them,  and  brought  the  price  of  the 
things  they  sold,  and  laid  it  down  before  the  feet  of  the  Apostles; 
and  distribution  was  made  to  every  man  according  as  he  had  need. 
Here  is  the  origin  of  the  wealth  of  the  Church ;  and,  in  connection 
with  this,  that  same  Peter,  whom  we  have  seen  enteiing  Rome  soli- 
tary and  penniless,  struck  Ananias,  and  Sapphira,  his  wife,  dead, 
because  they  offered  only  a  portion  of  the  price  of  their  field,  as- 
serting that  it  was  the  whole  amoimt,  while  they  retained  secretly 
a  part  to  themselves.  They  lied,  as  the  apostle  says,  not  to  men, 
but  to  God.  The  Ordination  of  the  Seven  Deacons  took  its  rise 
from  the  necessity  of  the  daily  administration  of  these  funds.  There 
was  a  murmuring  against  the  Hebrews  on  the  part  of  the  Grecians 
— that  is,  Jews,  who  had  been  brought  up  in  Greece — and  the  Dea- 
cons were  appointed  to  distribute  these  funds  impartially  among 
them  all. 

Thus  we  see  that  the  Apostles,  before  they  separated,  were,  by 
the  circumstances  of  the  case,  obliged  to  be  custodians  and  distri- 
butors of  money.  During  the  life  of  St.  Peter  in  Rome  similar 
things  took  place.  St.  Paul  tells  us  that  he  went  to  Jerusalem  to 
minister  to  the  saints — that  is,  to  carry  the  funds  contributed  by 
the  Christians  of  Macedonia  and  Achaia  to  be  distributed  among 
the  poor  saints  who  were  in  Jerusalem.  The  Christians  of  Antioch, 
where  St.  Peter  first  established  his  See,  made  large  collections  for 
their  poor  brethren  scattered  through  Judea ;  and  Paul  and  Barna- 
bas were  the  purse-bearers  of  this  money. 

As  the  Word  of  God  began  to  take  root  under  the  preaching  of 


58  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

Peter  and  Paul  in  the  Eternal  City,  the  same  practice  was  taken  up 
by  the  fervent  converts  who,  at  the  risk  of  life,  embraced  the 
Christian  doctrine.  The  first  Apostle  and  his  successors — some- 
times in  prison,  sometimes  concealed  in  the  houses  of  their  neo- 
phytes, sometimes  in  the  Catacombs — were,  notwithstanding  all 
this,  the  recipients  of  sums  of  money,  of  which  it  would  be  impos- 
sible to  form  any  just  estimation.  The  persecution  of  the  Church 
under  pagan  Rome  lasted  three  hundred  years.  But  it  was  not  al- 
ways in  full  operation.  It  was  not  every  day  that  the  Roman  peo- 
ple, from  their  seats  in  the  Coliseum,  could  feast  their  eyes,  and 
gratify  the  ferocity  of  their  nature,  by  witnessing  the  banquets 
which  the  Christian  martyrs  furnished  to  the  lions  and  tigers  let 
loose  upon  them  in  the  arena.  There  were  occasional  periods 
marked  by  the  lull  of  the  tempest,  as  well  as  others  which  displayed 
its  force  and  its  fury.  But  outside  of  Rome,  and  through  the  pro- 
vinces, the  poor  Christians  were  condemned  to  the  mines,  or  con- 
fined to  prisons,  or  mutilated  in  their  persons.  The  Christian  so- 
ciety could  not  lose  siglit  of  them,  or  tlieir  wants  or  sufferings,  and 
no  mattter  where  the  Pope,  for  the  time,  might  be  in  concealment, 
there  were  means  to  find  access  to  him.  The  wealthy  converts  of 
the  city  itself  were  numerous.  They  were  the  saints  and  the  mar- 
tyrs. After  they  had  found  the  precious  jewel  of  Divine  Faith,  the 
brilliancy  of  wealth  became  dim  in  their  estimation,  except  as  it 
might  be  employed  for  the  relief  of  their  brethren.  Hence  the  no- 
ble ladies  of  Rome,  whose  possessions,  in  many  instances,  were  im- 
mense ;  the  high  and  dignified  Senators ;  brave  commanders,  who 
had  acquired  wealth  in  their  military  expeditions,  vied  with  each 
other  in  making  their  offerings  to  the  Pope,  with  a  view,  that  under 
his  direction,  they  should  be  employed  for  the  relief  of  the  suff*ering 
brethren.  Nor  was  it  only  in  offering  money,  but  also  in  conveying 
landed  property  to  the  Sovereign  Pontiff,  that,  even  before  the  con- 
version of  Constantine,  ihe  Roman  Church  owned  valuable  estates 
in  Europe,  Asia,  and  Africa. 

But  other  species  of  property  were  confided  for  sacred  purposes 
to  the  Roman  Church — money,  jewels,  no  longer  needed  by  the 
new  converts,  precious  vessels  of  gold  and  silver,  were  conveyed  to 
the  care  of  the  Sovereign  Pontiff  and  those  around  him.  Under 
the  Emperor  Valerian,  Pope  Sixtus  II.  was  crucified.  His  deacon, 
St.  Lawrence,  who  apparently  had  charge  of  these  treasures,  was  ar- 
rested, and,  in  the  name  of  the  Emperor,  the  Prefect  of  Rome  de- 
manded of  him  the  treasures  of  the  Church  which  had  been  com- 
mitted to  his  keeping.  Having  obtained  a  delay  of  a  few  days 
previous  to  his  execution,  he  took  advantage  of  it  to  collect  the 
poor,  who  probably  had  been  sustained  or  supported  from  these 
sources,  and  presenting  them  to  the  Imperial  Prefect,  he  said, 
"  These  are  the  treasures  of  the  Church."  He  was  condemned  and 
roasted  to  death  on  a  gridiron.  This  increase  of  charitable  donations 
to  the  Roman  Church  continued  until  the  conversion  of  Constantine. 
Then  it  became  publicly  lawful  to  enrich  the  Church — to  build  and 


PIUS  IX.  59 

adorn  new  temples  to  the  honor  of  God.  In  the  mean  time,  the 
emperor,  after  having  overcome  his  competitors  in  battle,  resolved 
to  build  the  city  of  Constantinople,  and  establish  there  the  seat  of 
empire,  which  had  hitherto  been  at  Rome.  From  that  period  un- 
til the  advent  of  Charlemagne,  there  was  no  little  confusion  in  the 
mode  of  administering  temporal  authority  within  the  States  that 
have  since  been  called  the  Patrimony  of  St.  Peter.  The  interval 
was  nearly  five  hundred  yeai's.  At  iirst  the  emperor  had  his  rep- 
resentatives at  Italy  ;  but  they  Avere  inefficient  and  insincere.  They 
could  not  protect  the  people  of  Italy  against  the  successive  incur- 
sions of  the  Herules,  Goths,  and  Lombards.  The  people  were  a  de- 
fenceless prey  to  the  avarice  and  cruelty  of  these  barbarous  ma- 
rauders. Again  and  again  we  find  the  Popes  writing  to  the 
emperor,  and  beseeching  him  to  send  troops  for  the  protection  of 
the  Italian  States.  But  it  was  in  vain.  The  eastern  portion  of  the 
empire  was  itself  threatened  from  the  same  sources;  and  it  was  dis- 
covered that  the  emperor  had  made  secret  treaties  with  the  chiefs 
of  the  invaders,  to  the  effect  that  if  they  spared  the  eastern  portion 
their  progress  in  the  west  should  not  be  interfered  with  by  the 
presence  of  the  imperial  troops.  In  the  mean  time,  the  people  of 
Central  Italy  threw  themselves  upon  the  Sovereign  Pontiff  for 
that  protection  which  they  could  not  longer  expect  from  any  other 
source.  The  Popes  left  nothing  undone  to  correspond  with  their 
wishes ;  in  famine,  in  pestilence,  amid  the  desolations  of  carnage,  the 
Pope  was,  if  not  their  protector,  at  least  their  father  and  their 
comforter.  He  sympathized  with  them ;  his  heart  bled  with  theirs 
in  the  contemplation  of  the  ruins  which  sun-ounded  them  all 
alike. 

The  Pope  became  de  facto,  if  not  de  jure,  temporal  sovereign  of 
that  portion  of  Italy  which  had  been  abandoned  by  the  Eastern 
emperor,  and  which  now  constitutes  the  States  of  the  Church. 
Only  one  year  before  inviting  Pepin  of  France  into  Italy,  the  Pope, 
Stephen  the  Second,  wrote  to  the  Emperor  Leo  the  Isaurian,  en- 
treating him  to  come  to  the  aid  of  Italy.  His  appeal  being  unheeded, 
he  wrote  the  next  year  inviting  the  king  of  France  to  come  to  the 
aid  of  the  Church.  But  so  well  were  the  temporal  rights  of  the 
Pope  recognized,  that  Pepin  first  sent  ambassadors  to  Astolphus, 
king  of  the  Lombards,  entreating  him  to  make  restitution  of  the 
territory  of  the  holy  Church  of  God.  The  Pope  also  wrote  to  him 
in  the  same  spirit.  Deaf  to  these  entreaties,  he  still  persevered  in 
his  encroachments  upon  the  Papal  territory.  Pepin  came,  at  the 
head  of  his  army,  chastised  the  barbarian,  made  him  restore  the 
territory  which  he  had' usurped,  and  bound  him  by  treaty  not  to  in- 
vade it  again.  This  treaty,  however,  was  not  observed,  and  it  be- 
came necessary  for  Pepin's  son,  Charlemagne,  to  make  war  on  the 
Lombards,  and  wrest  from  them,  once  for  all,  the  property  of  the 
Church,  which  he  gave  to  the  Popes  as  the  patrimony  of  the  holy 
Apostles  and  of  the  Roman  Church.  He  confirmed  him  also  in  the 
temporal  sovereignty,  which  he  had  exercised  already  for   many 


60  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

years.  The  boundaries  of  the  Papal  States  have  remained  ever 
since  with  scarcely  any  permanent  extension  or  diminution  of  terri- 
tory. The  Emperor  Copronymus  sent  ambassadors  to  the  French 
conqueror,  claiming  the  territory  from  which  the  Lombards  had 
been  driven  ;  but,  as  may  be  supposed,  the  petition  was  refused  with 
contempt  and  disdain.  The  emperor  had  allowed  the  barbarians  to 
invade  the  States  of  the  Church,  which  he  should  have  protected, 
and  then,  when  these  barbarians  had  been  driven  out  by  French 
chivalry  under  the  command  of  their  sovereign,  it  was  too  late  to 
make  the  petition.  Pepin  and  Charlemagne  w-ere  at  liberty  to  dis- 
pose of  it  as  they  thought  proper ;  and  they  gave  it  to  the  See  of 
St.  Peter. 

Such  is  a  brief  narrative  of  the  circumstances  under  which  the 
Pope  of  Rome  became  a  temporal  ruler.  He  never  dispossessed 
any  soveregin — he  never  violated  an  obligation  for  the  purpose  of 
obtaining  this  temporal  dominion — he  imprisoned  no  competitor,  for 
there  was  none — he  never  put  a  rival  aspirant  to  death.  And  now, 
let  any  one  acquainted  with  history  examine  the  title  deeds  of  the 
several  reigning  dynasties  in  Europe,  and  he  will  find  that  sover- 
eignty was  acquired  in  many,  if  not  most  instances,  by  the  founder 
of  each  royal  house,  through  them^ans  of  falsehood,  perjury,  usur- 
pation, and  oftentimes  the  violent  setting  aside  of  those  who  had  a 
better  claim  to  the  sceptre  and  the  crown.  ^ 

There  are  dark  blotches  on  the  parchment  which  records  their 
acquisition  of  sovereignty,  and,  if  submitted  to  chemical  tests,  by 
experts  in  chemistry,  it  would  be  found  that  these  are  human 
blood  spots.  Xot  one  of  these  dynasties,  however,  goes  so  far  back 
into  antiquity  as  that  of  the  Pope ;  but  his  title,  whatever  else  may 
be  said  of  it,  is  as  pure  and  stainless  as  the  ermine  which  borders  his 
mozetta. 

We  must  now  pass  over  a  long  period,  with  scarcely  a  reference 
to  the  Sovereign  Pontiflfe  who  succeeded  Stephen  II.  They  lived 
through  many  centuries  of  violence  and  trouble,  both  in  Italy  and 
the  other  States  of  Christendom.  The  invaders  from  the  North 
were  slow  to  adopt  the  principles  of  civilization  and  of  law,  which 
are  essential  to  the  existence  of  a  State.  The  seeds  of  public  law 
and  of  private  civil  life  were  few,  and  only  in  the  process  of  germin- 
ation. The  Popes  left  nothing  undone  to  encourage,  through  the 
influence  of  religion,  milder  and  more  humane  sentiments  among 
these  new  occupants  of  the  fallen  empire.  Their  efforts  were  not 
altogether  unsuccessful,  but  it  was  a  slow  and  unpromising  labor  on 
their  part.  Between  the  period  of  Charlemagne  and  the  16th  cen- 
tury very  great  progress  had  been  made  towards  the  recognition  of 
order,  respect  for,  and  obedience  to,  public  laws.  We  shall  not 
dwell  on  the  successors  of  St.  Peter  who  governed  the  Church  dur- 
ing these  centuries  of  turbulence,  ignorance,  and  disorder.  They 
were  great  and  good  men  for  the  most  part.  There  were  few  sov- 
ereigns who  could  rise  to  an  equality  of  merit  with  even  those  Pon- 
tiflSj  who  are  the  least  praised  and  the  least  revered. 


PIUS  IX.  61 

Among  them,  however,  there  were  a  few  who,  by  the  force  and 
magnitude  of  their  personal  character,  towered  above  the  rest,  and 
attracted  tlie  eye  of  contemporary  and  subsequent  history.  Among 
these  may  be  mentioned  Gregory  VII.,  whose  name,  as  Hildebrand, 
used  to  be  employed  as  a  sound  to  frighten  children  at  dilFerent  pe- 
riods of  human  life,  from  infancy  to  old  age.  He  has  been  vindica- 
ted, not  by  Catholics,  but  by  learned  Protestant  writers.  The  same 
may  be  said  of  Innocent  III.  I  do  not  enter  at  all  on  the  accusa- 
tions made  against  the  Popes  during  this  long  interval,  for  their 
abuse  of  power,  for  their  controversies  with  kings  and  emperors. 
I  would  only  say,  that  in  all  those  quarrels  the  Pope  assailed  not  the 
royal  power,  but  the  desperate  character  of  the  man  who  had 
usurped  or  abused  it. 

The  causes  generally  were  a  violation  of  their  oaths,  the  oppression 
of  their  subjects,  their  sacrilegious  interference  with  the  Church, 
their  licentiousness  of  morals  in  connection  with  Christian  marriage, 
their  cruelty  towards  those  from  whose  claims  or  whose  influence 
they  dreaded  resistance  to  their  unrestricted  authority.  The  Pope, 
in  the  main,  was  on  the  side  of  the  virtue  which  they  trampled  under 
foot.  He  was,  in  the  main,  on  the  side  of  the  rights  and  privileges, 
and  freedom,  such  as  it  was,  of  the  j)eople,  oftentimes  crushed  to  the 
earth  by  the  iron  hoof  of  would-be  irresponsible  power.  It  was  well 
for  humanity  that  there  were  Popes  to  stand  by  its  rights  and  to 
keep  tyrants  reminded  of  their  duties.  But  these  things  do  not 
come  into  the  plan  or  purpose  of  the  present  occasion.  We  pass 
over,  then,  these  ages ;  we  shall  leave  the  Reformation  and  its  con- 
sequences entirely  aside,  and  come  down  at  once  to  the  period  of 
the  first  French  Revolution.  This  is  the  only  real  out-and-out  revo- 
lution with  which  history  has  made  us  acquainted.  We  have,  in- 
deed, a  kind  of  revolution  in  the  life  and  death  of  Charles  I.  of  Eng- 
land. But,  then,  it  grew  out  of  a  usurpation  of  the  acknowledged 
rights  of  the  English  people  on  the  part  of  the  Crown,  and  contrary 
to  the  provisions  of  law.  This  led  to  civil  war,  in  which  the  monarch 
was  defeated,  and  finally  put  to  death.  Again,  in  the  time  of  James 
II.,  the  dispute  grew  out  of  a  similar  cause.  The  king  wished  to 
introduce  changes  which  the  nation  had  taken  precautions  against, 
by  public  legislative  enactments.  In  either  case,  if  there  was  a  rev- 
olution, it  was  commenced  or  brought  on  by  the  sovereign.  In 
the  case,  of  the  American  Revolution,  it  was  not  merely  by  the  king 
of  England  alone,  but  with  the  concurrence  of  his  parliament,  that 
the  contest  was  precipitated.  The  requirements  of  their  measures 
would  deprive  the  colonists  of  America  of  one  of  the  dearest  priv- 
ileges secured  to  British  subjects,  whether  at  home  or  abroad.  They 
resisted,  not  the  rightful  prerogatives  of  the  British  crown  and  par- 
liament, but  an  unconstitutional  attempt  to  degrade  and  oppress 
their  transatlantic  subjects.  In  this  the  king  and  pai'liament  were 
rightfully  resisted.  The  aid  of  Providence  and  their  own  right 
arms  finally  enabled  the  Americans  to  conquer.  But,  in  the  early 
part  of  the  strife,  all  they  desired  was  the  repeal  of  the  degrading 


6'2  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

and  unconstitutional  law  which  had  been  enacted  against  them.  Nor 
was  it  until  towards  the  middle  of  the  struggle  that  their  minds  be- 
came familiar  with  the  idea  of  independence  and  a  separate  govern- 
ment. The  revolution  in  Belgium,  in  1830,  which  drove  out  the 
king  of  Holland,  grew  out  of  his  gradual  invasion  of  the  rights 
secured  to  the  Belgians  by  the  treaties  which  placed  him  at  their 
head.  The  revolutions,  so  called,  of  1848  were  local  insurrections, 
whether  justifiable  or  not,  by  which  small  parties  of  men  acquired 
State  supremacy  in  a  very  large  number  of  the  capitals  of  Europe. 
The  events  proved  that  though  they  could  overthrow  or  pull  down 
established  systems  of  government,  they  had  not  the  genius,  or  the 
perseverance,  or  the  union,  or  the  patriotism  necessary  to  erect 
others  in  their  stead.  But  the  French  explosion  in  1 789  was 
a  revolution  indeed.  I  do  not  say  that  there  were  not  grievances 
in  the  State  which  there  were  no  moral  or  political  means  left  to 
correct  or  remove.  The  remedy  may  have  been  necessary,  but  it 
was  one  of  desperation.  It  was  not  founded  on  principles  of  mere 
State  renovation.  The  people  had  been  prepared  for  it  by  the  dis- 
semination of  infidel  writings.  Its  purpose  was  well  known  to  be 
the  overthrow  of  Christianity  and  of  all  established  governments 
having  a  monarchical  form.  It  proposed  not  only  to  overthrow  tem- 
poral sovereigns,  but  it  proposed  also  to  dethrone  God  Himself, 
which,  at  a  subsequent  period,  it  actually  did — that  is,  by  writing 
on  parchment.  It  was  not  a  political  squall,  or  a  tempest,  or  a  hur- 
ricane— on  the  surface  it  was  accompanied  by  them  all — but  itself 
was  the  upheaving  of  a  volcano  which  poured  forth,  not  only  on 
France,  but  on  large  portions  of  continental  Europe,  the  burning  lava 
which  desolated  and  destroyed  whatever  it  came  in  contact  with. 

On  the  domestic  cruelties  resulting  from  it,  during  the  reign  of 
terror  in  France,  it  is  not  necessary  to  speak.  But  in  its  results  on 
other  countries,  especially  Italy,  it  became  the  source  of  discontent, 
irreligion,  poverty,  and  demoralization.  Until  that  period,  no  sub- 
jects of  any  sovereign  in  Europe  were  more  contented,  more  happy, 
more  loyal  to  their  sovereign,  or  less  burdened  with  taxes  of  any 
description,  than  the  subjects  of  the  Pope.  The  Convention  first, 
and  then  the  Directory,  sat  in  Paris,  sending  the  armies  of  the  Re- 
public in  every  direction,  and  issuing  peremptory  orders  to  their 
generals  to  execute  the  most  unjust  and  tyrannical  decrees  against 
weaker  States,  which  did  not  sympathize  in  their  principles. 

Finally,  and  after  but  a  few  years,  one  man  rose  up  among  them. 
His  genius  and  force  of  character  compelled  preferment  from  one 
military  rank  to  another,  until  he  became  the  master-spirit  to  bring 
about  order,  such  as  it  was,  out  of  the  political  chaos  in  which  his 
country  was  involved.  I  do  not  speak  of  the  means  by  which  he 
rose  to  imperial  and  almost  despotic  power,  or  of  the  use  which  he 
made  of  it.  The  less  said  on  these  topics  the  better.  But  to  all 
human  appearance  his  success  was  a  boon  to  the  French  people, 
though  it  may  have  been  a  curse  to  other  nations.  We  find  General 
Bonaparte  in  Northern  Italy,  and,  after  a  severe  struggle,  victorious 


PIUS  IX.  63 

over  the  Austrians.  This  was  in  the  year  1V96.  The  general  received 
orders  from  the  Directory  in  Paris  to  seize  the  States  of  the  Church. 
Pius  VI.  hastened  to  avert  this  calamity — he  charged  the  Spanish 
ambassador,  Azara,  to  treat  with  the  conqueror  of  the  Austrians.  A 
truce  was  concluded  in  July  of  that  year  between  Xapoleon  and  the 
Pope's  representative.  The  penalty  imposed  on  the  Sovereign  Pon- 
tiff' was  that  he  should  transfer  and  relinquish  his  dominion  over  the 
two  legations  of  Bologna  and  Ferrara,  and  a  portion  of  the  Romag- 
na — that  he  should  pay  a  sum  of  15,000,000,  and  give  np  all  the 
mastei"j)ieces  of  painting  and  of  sculpture  which  adorned  tlie  capitol 
of  the  Christian  world. 

The  treaty  of  Tolentino,  which  followed  the  truce  of  Milan,  was 
concluded  on  the  19th  of  February,  1V97,  between  Bonaparte  and 
Cardinal  Mattel,  the  Pope's  ambassador.  This  treaty  filled  Rome 
with  misery,  desolation,  and  disorder.  The  Pope,  in  order  to  pay 
its  requirements,  had  to  exhaust  the  treasury  of  Castle  Angelo.  He 
had  to  deprive  himself  of  every  precious  and  valuable  object  which 
he  possessed,  for  the  sum  required  now  was  thirty-one  millions — not 
including  the  seizure  of  territory  and  the  works  of  art  before  i-eferred 
to.  The  Roman  nobility,  after  the  example  of  the  Pontiff*,  made 
the  most  noble  sacrifices  to  meet  this  demand.  They  gave  their 
gold  and  their  plate,  their  horses  and  carriages,  and  whatever  was 
not  necessary  for  the  most  modest  and  humble  mode  of  living.  But, 
after  all,  the  payments  could  not  be  made  in  specie.  The  govei'n- 
ment  was  obliged  to  have  recourse,  for  the  first  time,  to  paper 
money ;  but  even  this  was  insufficient ;  while  the  Directory  at  Paris 
were  urgent  and  clamorous  for  the  whole  amount  that  had  been 
agreed  upon.  In  this  distress  the  people  began  to  murmur — revo- 
lutionary principles  had  made  rapid  and  frightful  progress  among 
them,  and  every  thing  indicated  the  approach  of  unspeakable  calam- 
ities. Not  long  after  this,  a  commander  named  General  Duphot 
was  killed  in  Rome,  by  the  side  of  Joseph  Bonaparte,  then  ambas- 
sador of  France.  This  assassination  was  enough  to  furnish  a  pretext 
for  the  French  Directory  to  take  possession  of  the  Papal  States, 
notwithstanding  the  sacrifices  that  had  been  made.  General  Ber- 
thier,  at  the  head  of  his  army,  proceeded  from  the  March  of  Ancona 
to  encamp  under  the  walls  of  Rome.  lie  comm^ced  by  issuing 
proclamations  encouraging  the  Roman  people  to  rise  against  the 
Pope,  and  to  throw  themselves,  without  reserve,  into  the  arms  of 
the  French  Republic  for  safety  and  protection.  He  put  the  repub- 
lican seal  on  the  museum,  on  the  galleries  of  art,  and  on  all  the  pre- 
cious objects  which  he  wished  to  appropriate  to  himself.  He  estab- 
lished a  Directory  after  the  model  of  that  of  Paris.  He  appointed  a 
commission  to  levy  contributions  and  take  cognizance  of  any  effects 
which  might  belong  to  the  government.  The  Pope  was  confined 
by  sickness  to  the  Vatican.  This  did  not  protect  him  from  the 
most  outrageous  insults  offered  by  the  commissioners  just  referred 
to.  They  seized  his  pontifical  ornaments,  and  the  very  rings  from 
his  fingers.     His  private  library,  consisting  of  40,000  volumes,  was 


64  ARCHBISHOP  HUGHES. 

seized  by  them  and  sold  to  a  stationer  for  a  trifling  sum.  It  was  in 
those  days  of  captivity  that  the  churches  Avere  despoiled  of  their 
ornaments,  that  the  insignia  of  papal  authority  were  treated  witli 
every  species  of  insult  to  the  Pope.  It  was  in  those  days  that  the 
French  general  coerced  some  of  the  cardinals  to  cliant  Te  Deums  in 
thanksgiving  to  God  for  the  success  of  the  sacrilegious  invasion. 
The  Pope  in  ill  health,  and  at  the  age  of  81  years,  was  seized  in  a 
violent  manner,  hurried  from  town  to  town,  and  finally  across  the 
Alps  into  France,  where  he  died  from  the  effects  of  ill  health,  fatigue, 
and,  we  may  add,  persecution,  on  the  29th  of  August,  1799. 

The  cardinals  had  been  obliged  to  quit  Rome,  and  were  dispersed 
in  other  portions  of  the  peninsula.  General  Berthier,  under  the 
orders  of  the  Directory  in  Paris,  took  possession  of  the  police — of 
foundations  for  relief  of  the  indigent,  of  commerce,  and  the  fine  arts. 
Amid  the  inconceivable  privations  of  every  kind,  which  were  the 
necessary  consequences  of  forced  contributions,  or  of  spoliations,  the 
aggregate  amount  levied  from  the  people  of  the  Roman  States  is 
set  down,  on  good  authority,  at  two  hundred  millions.  Whether 
this  amount  is  counted  in  dollars  (Roman  scudi)  or  francs,  does  not 
appear  in  the  text  of  my  author.  But,  be  that  as  it  may,  when  we 
consider  that  such  an  amount  was  extorted  from  a  population  not 
numbering  more  at  that  period  than  two  millions — when  we  consider 
that  this  population  had  no  foreign  commerce,  no  manufactures 
worth  speaking  of,  no  active  internal  trade,  but  were  a  mere  agri- 
cultural population — then  we  can  easily  understand  the  origin  of 
subsequent  poverty,  discontent,  and  a  spirit  of  revolt  in  the  Papal 
States.  This  extortion  by  the  French  was  accomplished  within  a 
period  of  five  years,  at  the  beginning  of  the  present  century.  The 
Roman  people  have  never  recovered  from  it.  It  brought  on  their 
country  the  necessity  of  introducing  paper  money,  and  creating  a 
national  debt.  The  fluctuations  of  the  one  and  the  taxes  necessary 
to  meet  interest  on  the  other,  have  continued  from  year  to  year  till 
the  present  time.  But  this  was  not  the  only  ruinous  visit  of  French 
troops  to  the  Papal  States.  For  another  period  of  five  years,  the 
armies  and  officers  of  France  took  the  country  into  their  own  hands. 
They  sent  the  Pope,  Pius  VII.,  to  be  a  French  prisoner,  for  the 
same  period,  at  JTontainebleau.  Great  changes  were  going  on  in  the 
mean  time.  The  emperor  was  for  the  most  part  at  the  head  of  his 
troops.  He  was  on  one  of  these  expeditions  when  he  ascertained 
that  the  Pope  had  excommunicated  him,  and  his  only  observation 
was,  "  Does  that  old  man  think,  because  he  has  excommunicated 
me,  the  muskets  are  going  to  drop  from  the  hands  of  my  soldiers?" 
This  haughty  inquiry  was  subsequently  answered  in  a  manner  which 
the  emperor  had  not  anticipated.  He  went  forth  for  the  conquest 
of  Russia,  at  the  head  of  the  grandest  army  the  world  ever  saw. 
After  the  destruction  of  Moscow  by  fire,  that  army  endeavored  to 
reach  their  own  country.  But  hundreds  of  thousands  of  them  were 
overtaken  by  the  rigors  of  winter  in  a  northern  climate,  and  not 
only  the  muskets  dropped  from  their  hands,  but  they  also  fell  to 


PIUS  IX.  65 

rise  no  more.  In  the  rapidity  of  the  chanGfes  which  then  took  place, 
it  Avas  not  long  before  the  Pope,  Pius  VII.,  was  restored  to  the 
capitol  of  the  Christian  world,  and  the  French  emperor  embarked 
for  his  destination  in  the  island  of  St.  Helena,  where,  for  the  re- 
mainder of  his  life,  he  was  tortured  by  mean,  low,  and  unworthy 
personal  vexations  at  the  hand  of  his  British  jailer.  Sir  Hudson 
Lowe. 

Pius  VII.  departed  this  life  about  the  same  period.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Leo  XII.  After  him  Pius  YIIL,  and  next  Gregory  XVI. 
There  is  not  much  in  the  lives  of  these  Pontiffs  to  distinguish  them 
from  the  ordinary  class  of  their  jDredecessors.  Pius  IX.  succeeded 
Gregory  XVI.  in  1846.  He  was  perhaps  the  most  cherished  of 
modern  Popes  in  the  affections  of  his  people.  From  the  beginning 
of  his  pontificate  he  anticipated  their  wishes  in  granting  such  re- 
forms in  the  administration,  and  even  in  the  laws,  as  were  consistent 
with  the  prosperity  of  the  State,  and  the  safety  of  the  Government. 
In  "the  troubles  which  ensued,  desperate  men  from  nearly  every 
part  of  Italy  assembled  in  the  capitol,  and  stirred  even  the  Romans 
to  sympathize  and  co-operate  in  their  nefarious  designs.  You  know 
what  the  result  has  been.  The  evils  inflicted  on  the  people  of  the 
Roman  States  by  the  so-called  Republican  Government  were  begin- 
ning to  be  repaired,  Avhen  this  last  outrage  was  inflicted  upon  the 
Holy  Father.  He  has  been  robbed  of  a  portion  of  -those  States 
■which  belong  to  the  Church,  and  which,  at  his  elevation,  he  was 
obliged,  like  his  predecessors,  to  take  a  solemn  oath  to  transmit  to 
his  successor,  in  their  whole  integrity,  as  they  had  been  transmitted 
to  him.  It  is  said  that  the  present  emperor  of  the  French  is  a  fatal- 
ist in  belief  He  might  have  so  imagined  himself,  until  the  day 
when  the  assassin  Orsini  placed  in  his  hand  a  certain  document,  or 
whispered  in  his  ears  certain  words  which  have  not  come  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  public.  Since  then,  at  least,  he  has  taken  precau- 
tions of  human  wisdom  which  prove  that  he  is  no  longer  a  fatalist. 
He  has  elaborated,  in  the  deeji  secrecy  of  his  own  thoughts,  his  plans 
for  giving  another  direction  to  the  Orsinis,  grenades,  and  stilettoes  of 
Italian  poets,  when  they  become  desperate  under  the  influence  of 
politics  and  imaginary  patriotism,  which  they  do  not  comprehend, 
except  as  Brutus  did  when  stabbing  Caesar.  His  campaign  against 
Austria  was  brief  and  brilliant  enough.  If  he  had  acted  up  to  his 
public  profession  in  regard  to  the  protection  of  the  States  of  the 
Church ;  if  he  had  fulfilled  the  promises  of  private,  and,  in  some  in- 
stances, autograph  letters  to  the  Holy  Father,  he  would  have  acted 
in  a  manner  more  consistent  with  his  professions  of  religion,  and 
with  the  dignity  and  veracity  from  which  neither  a  king  nor  an 
emperor  should  ever  depart.  The  Holy  Father  has  been  deceived 
in  these  promises — the  Catholic  world  have  been  disappointed  in 
the  character  of  their  author.  They,  at  least,  have  no  reason  to  con- 
fide in  the  spoken  or  the  written  declarations  of  the  present  empe- 
ror of  the  French,  whenever  it  suits  his  private  purposes  to  betray 
their  interests,  and  to  humiliate  their  Supreme  Head.  He  did  not 
Vol.  it.— 5 


66  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

declare  war  against  the  States  of  the  Churh  ;  neither  did  his  ally  of 
Sardinia.  And  yet,  between  them,  with  their  connivance,  if  not 
their  approval,  the  fairest  portions  of  the  Papal  States  have  been  se- 
cretly invaded,  under  the  auspices  of  Piedmont,  at  least.  Many  of 
the  inhabitants  of  these  invaded  provinces  were  corrupted,  seduced, 
by  prospects  of  emoluments  or  honors ;  the  tranquil  and  more  or- 
derly portion  of  the  population  were  brought  under  a  reign  of  terror 
in  which  it  would  be  dangerous  for  them  to  proclaim  their  fidelity 
to  their  legitimate  sovereign.  Pope  Pius  IX. 

I  have  now  briefly  gone  through  the  whole  of  that  immense  subject 
which,  in  a  circumscribed  form,  I  had  proposed  to  ti'eat.  I  have 
shown  you  that  from  the  day  of  Pentecost  the  Apostles  began  to  be 
familiar  with  property  and  money  intrusted  to  them  for  charitable 
and  religious  purposes.  You  have  also  seen  how  this  same  divine 
and  beautiful  sentiment  was  taken  up  and  cherished  by  the  converts 
of  Rome  and  of  the  provinces,  even  while  the  Popes  were  concealed 
from  public  gaze,  until  at  length,  one  by  one,  they  were  detected, 
arrested,  led  to  torture  and  martyrdom.  From  the  period  when 
the  Church  became  free  under  Constantine,  this  same  sentiment  of 
Christian  charity  and  zeal  for  the  honor  of  religion,  and  the  dignity 
of  its  ministei-s,  especially  in  Rome,  took  a  wide  and  open  range  of 
liberality  and  beneficence.  You  have  seen  by  what  a  just  title  the 
Popes,  while  they  were  bent  only  on  the  protection  of  the  forsaken 
people  of  Italy,  acquired,  almost  without  their  being  conscious  of  it, 
all  the  substance  of  sovereign  temporal  power,  which  was  after- 
wards confirmed  and  recognized — first  by  the  noble  kings  of  France, 
and  next  by  all  the  governments  of  Europe.  If  this  is  not  a  clear 
and  indisputable  right  to  that  sovereignty,  in  a  moral  point  of  view, 
then  there  is  no  such  thing  as  a  right  in  the  woi-ld.  The  Popes 
have  done  nothing  to  forfeit  this  original  title.  They  have  not  in 
any  way  ofiended  the  Governments  of  France  or  Sardinia.  No  war 
power  has  declared  war  against  Pius  IX.,  and  yet  two  or  three  of 
the  fairest  provinces  of  his  States  have  been  surreptitiously  taken 
away  from  him,  without  any  public  sanction  of  human  governments. 
But  I  charge  that  this  has  been  done  under  the  connivance,  if  not  the 
direct  approval,  of  the  emperor  of  France  and  the  Government  of 
Turin. 

It  is  said  that  the  subjects  of  the  Pope  in  those  provinces  were  dis- 
contented with  their  Government.  This  may  be  the  fact  with  a  few, 
but  not  with  the  masses  of  the  people.  But,  besides,  where  is  the 
population  that  is  contented  with  its  Government?  Certainly  not 
that  of  Ireland  ;  certainly  not  that  of  England  ;  when  the  Chartists 
affrighted  the  city  of  London,  and  turned  Louis  Napoleon  and  the 
Duke  of  Wellington  into  the  ranks  of  sworn  constables  to  defend 
the  city.  Take  away  the  imperial  pressure  that  keeps  down  the 
thoughts,  but  still  more  the  speech  and  writings  of  Frenchmen,  and 
it  will  soon  appear  that  entire  contentment  is  with  the  few,  while 
discontent,  perliaps  unreasonable  in  itself,  will  be  the  sentiment  of 
the  many. 


PIUS  IX.  67 

The  Italians  of  the  Roman  States,  crushed  and  impoverished  by 
the  extortions  of  the  first  and  second  invasion  of  the  French  army, 
may  well  be  supposed  as  repining  at  the  calamities  brought  upon 
them,  and  their  consequences.  If  there  is  in  the  world  a  people 
more  liable  to  the  temptations  of  civil  discontent,  it  would  be  difficult 
to  find  them.  Hence  the  success  of  those  who  are  now,  and  have 
been  for  sixty  years,  propagandists  of  insurrection  and  revolt.  Their 
eftbrts  have,  for  the  moment,  in  the  northern  part  of  the  Roman 
territory,  been  partially  successful.  But  the  end  is  not  yet.  I  am 
quite  aware  that  to  reason  on  the  subject,  and  especially  with  revo- 
lutionists and  their  sympathizers,  is  a  useless  undertaking.  Reason 
with  them  is  their  own  will.  They  may  place  bandits  in  the  front 
ranks — they  have  a  strong  conviction  that  in  case  of  emergency 
there  would  be  bristling  bayonets  in  the  rear  to  support  them. 

Now,  what  is  the  use  of  directing  the  attention  of  such  to  the 
eternal  principles  of  right,  of  honor,  of  justice,  or  of  truth?  Not 
the  slightest  use.  But  it  is  of  importance  to  us  to  be  acquainted 
with  the  facts,  which  will  enable  us  to  form  a  sound  and  discreet 
judgment  on  the  merits  of  the  whole  case.  For,  after  all,  if  their 
principles  are  to  prevail  in  the  world,  then  rights  of  sovereigns  or  of 
individuals  are  but  as  empty  sounds.  If  their  principles  should 
spread  among  civilized  nations,  honor  will  become  a  vulgar  and 
contemptible  sentiment,  unworthy  of  crowned  heads  as  well  as  of 
mock  patriots.  The  proper  meaning  of  truth  will  be  fiction,  and 
justice  among  men  will  require  to  be  defined  a  mockery  and  a  snare. 

You  are  aware  the  Catholics  of  this  diocese,  clergy  and  laity, 
including  men,  women,  and  children,  are  invited  to  subscribe  their 
names,  in  their  several  churches,  to  an  address  of  sympathy  which 
shall  be  forwarded  to  the  Holy  Father.  No  one  who  has  not  filial 
reverence  for  the  head  of  the  Church,  and  a  Catholic  zeal  for  her 
preservation,  even  in  the  temporal  order,  is  required  to  sign  this 
address.  But  it  is  expected  that  all  who  do  sign  it  shall  do  so 
under  the  promptings  of  their  own  Christian  and  Catholic  feelings ; 
and  that  in  no  instance  shall  any  name  be  received  unless  accom- 
panied with  a  voluntary  contribution,  be  the  same  more  or  less.  I 
trust  the  diocese  of  New- York,  if  it  cannot  reach  or  surpass  the  ex- 
ample of  other  dioceses,  whether  in  Europe  or  America,  will,  at  all 
events,  give  sufficient  evidence  of  its  generous  sympathies  with  Pope 
Pius  IX.,  as  well  by  the  subscription  of  names  as  by  the  liberality 
of  the  aid  which  they  will  convey  to  the  Holy  Father  at  this  critical 
moment  of  his  trials  and  affl.ictions. 

An  American  prelate  lately  returned  from  Rome  intimates  that 
this  aid  cannot  reach  the  Holy  Father  too  soon.  He  has  to  sustain, 
as  yet,  the  expenses  of  the  Papal  government,  while  the  resources, 
to  a  great  extent,  have  been  cut  off.  It  has  even  been  intimated 
that  if  things  go  on  as  they  are  now  for  any  prolonged  jjeriod,  the 
Pope  will  not  have  the  means  to  supply  the  wants  of  his  own  house- 
hold. In  the  mean  time,  let  us  not  cease  to  pray  to  Almighty  God, 
invoking  His  interposition  in  favor  of  the  Church,  which,  to  human 


G8  AECHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

view,  is  threatened  with  unspeakable  disasters.  We  know  tlmt, 
whatever  may  hapjien  to  the  crew,  the  bark  of  Peter  will  survive 
amid  the  agitation  of  the  billows  and  the  fury  of  the  tempest.  As 
on  the  sea  of  Galilee,  so  now  there  is  one  who  appears  to  slumber, 
and  it  is  for  His  disciples,  if  one  might  dare  to  use  the  expression, 
to  awake  Hira  and  to  invoke  His  aid.  In  the  eighth  chapter  of  St. 
Matthew  His  divine  prepotency  is  recorded  in  these  words  :  "  And 
behold  a  great  tempest  arose  in  the  sea,  so  that  the  ship  was  covered 
with  waves ;  but  He  was  asleep.  And  His  disciples  came  to  Him 
and  awaked  Him,  saying,  '  Lord,  save  us,  we  perish.'  And  Jesus 
saiith  to  them,  '  Why  are  ye  fearful,  O  ye  of  little  faith  ?'  Then, 
rising  up,  He  commanded  the  winds  and  the  sea,  and  there  came  a 
great  calm." 


LECTURES. 


THE  CHURCH  AND  THE   WORLD, 

Since  the  Election  of  Pius  IX.  to  the  Chair  of  St.  Peter. 

A  LECTURE  DELIVERED  AT  THE  CHINESE  MUSEUM,  PHILA- 
DELPHIA, ON  THURSDAY  EVENING,  JANUARY  31,  1850,  FOR  THE 
BENEFIT  OF  ST.  JOHN'S  ORPHAN  ASYLUM. 

[The  Author  of  the  following  address  claims  from  its  readers  indulgence  on 
the  following  grounds  :  It  was  a  mere  extemporaneous  address  on  behalf  of  a 
charitable  institution,  St.  John's  Orphan  Asylum,  Philadelphia.  A  report  of  it 
was  however  published,  without  the  Author's  revision  or  consent.  As  this  re- 
port, though  perhaps  a  literal  statement  of  his  words,  was  not,  either  what  he 
meant  to  say,  or  what  in  fact  he  did  say,  as  far  as  he  can  now  remember,  he 
has  felt  called  upon,  at  very  great  inconvenience  to  himself,  to  revise  the  lec- 
ture as  thus  presented  by  the  reporter,  and  so  allow  it  to  go  forth  as  his.  It 
will  be  seen  that  the  alterations  are  very  slight,  as  he  did  not  wish  to  do 
more  than  to  correct  certain  misconceptions  of  his  views,  and  improve  some- 
what the  defective  style  in  which  the  unauthorized  report  had  presented  them. 
With  this  explanation,  he  submits  the  lecture  respectfully  to  the  indulgent 
judgment  of  the  public] 

During  the  first  eight  or  ten  months  after  the  elevation  of  Pope 
Pius  IX.  to  the  Chair  of  St.  Peter,  there  was  no  name  so  universally 
popular  throughout  Christendom,  as  that  of  the  newly  elected  Sov- 
ereign Pontiff.  It  was  enshrined  in  the  hearts  of  all  Catholics — it 
was  breathed  in  their  prayers  of  gratitude  and  thanksgiving,  for  it 
was  the  name  of  a  Pope  whom,  in  regular  succession  from  the  prin- 
cipality of  St.  Peter,  God  had  just  appointed  in  the  ordinary  way  as 
the  supreme  ruler  of  his  visible  Church  on  earth.  It  was  on  the 
lips  and  in  the  songs  of  the  world,  who  affected  to  overlook  the 
Pope,  and  regard  only  the  man.  We  too,  Catholics,  were  proud  of 
the  man  ;  but  the  Pope  was  much  more  to  us.  Still,  in  our  hearts, 
we  felt  a  kind  of  secret  pride  to  think  that  in  Pius  IX.  the  world 
itself  acknowledged  not  only  a  pure,  good,  holy,  great  man,  but 
that  it  condensed  all  these  attributes  in  its  estimation  of  his  character, 
by  proclaiming  him  with  one  accord,  "the  man  of  the  age," 

An  instance  of  this  feeling  came  under  my  own  notice.  An  es- 
teemed Protestant  friend  said  to  rae  :  "  We  Protestants  are  going 
to  take  Pius  IX.  from  you,  and  then  what  will  your  Church  do 
without  a  Pope  ?"  I  said,  in  reply  :  "  Take  care ;  the  Pope  being 
80  good  a  man,  as  you  Protestants  admit,  if  you  take  him  from  us, 


70       -  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

what  will  your  Church  do  without  an  Antichrist  ?"     He  laughed 
out,  and  remarked,  "  I  never  thought  of  that." 

Two  other  Protestant  gentlemen,  but  of  an  entirely  different 
school,  called  on  me  about  the  same  time,  in  somewhat  of  an  official 
capacity,  and  evidently  filled  with  the  profound  object  which  had 
inspired  or  authorized  their  mission.  They  introduced  themselves 
as  being  associated  with  others  who  felt,  and  as  feeling  themselves, 
a  deep  interest  in  the  progress  of  the  human  race.  They  were  en- 
gaged in  elaborating  the  new  principles  of  a  new  society — planning 
the  basis  on  which  to  construct  and  constitute  a  regenerated  con- 
dition of  social  life.  They  were  not  communists,  nor  socialists,  nor 
Fourierists :  they  did  not  sympathize  in  all  things  with  any  of  these ; 
but  still  they  concurred  in  the  general  idea  of  each — viz.,  tlie  neces- 
sity of  a  recommencement  and  a  new  era,  for  the  proper  social  de- 
velopment and  progress  of  humanity.  They  said  :  "  Is  it  not  sur- 
prising that  just  at  the  period  when  these  great  movements  of  ours 
begin  to  take  effect,  there  should  arise  in  the  world  so  great,  so  good 
a  man  as  Pius  IX.  ?  If  the  Pope,"  they  said,  "  would  only  cast,  pub- 
licly, one  approving  glance  upon  this  doctrine  of  ours,  which  re- 
ceives so  much  discouragement  from  the  governments  of  the  world, 
our  people  would  flock  into  the  Catholic  Church  by  thousands ;  for, 
in  fact,  we  have  lost  confidence  in  all  other  systems  of  religion. 
They  are  cold,  they  are  without  intrinsic  energy,  they  have  no  central 
force.    They  are  unable  to  renovate  and  elevate  the  human  race." 

These  incidents  were  exaggerations,  but  only  exaggerations,  I 
may  say,  of  a  sentiment  that  seemed  to  be  universal  throughout 
Christendom.  Distinctions  of  religion  were  forgotten,  and  the 
praises  of  Pius  IX.,  the  outward  expression  of  sentiments  of  respect 
for  his  character,  burst  forth  on  every  side,  immortalized  in  poetry 
and  in  music,  in  painting  and  in  eloquence,  and  one  universal  shout 
seemed  to  arise  from  the  civilized  world,  of  approbation  and  esteem 
for  this  great  man.  In  fact,  his  character  had  merited  this  esteem. 
But  the  surprise  to  us  Catholics  Avas,  that  it  should  have  come  so 
simultaneously  from  so  many  opposite  and  unexpected  quarters.  He 
had  attracted  the  gaze  of  his  age.  He  had  scarcely  been  placed  on 
the  seat  of  power  in  the  Church,  over  the  small  States  called  the 
Pontifical  States,  when  we  behold  him  descending  into  the  state 
prisons,  and  striking  the  fetters  from  political  captives — when  we 
find  him.  in  the  goodness  of  his  heart,  proclaiming  a  general  amnesty, 
universal  for  all  men  who  had  offended  against  the  political  laws  of 
the  country — when  we  find  him  throwing  out  the  deep  charity  of  his 
soul  in  a  great  experiment — to  determine,  viz.,  whether  or  not 
kindness  on  the  part  of  a  ruler  would  not  be  more  beneficial  to  con- 
quer, and  to  reclaim,  and  to  reform  perverted  men,  than  any  longer 
continuance  of  a  system  that  had  been  already  pronounced,  at  least 
in  their  vocabulary,  oppressive  and  tyrannical.  Tiie  consequence  of 
acts  like  these  was  the  applause  to  which  I  have  referred.  But, 
scarcely  had  the  first  sounds  passed  away,  when,  as  it  would  now  seem, 
many  of  those  persons  in  his  own  States  who  had  been  loudest  in 


THE   CHURCH   AND   THE   "WORLD.  71 

their  approbation  of  his  conduct,  began  to  imagine  that  he  was  pre- 
cisely the  man  whom  they  could  use ;  whose  very  goodness  would 
enable  them  to  accomplish  the  purposes  which  had  constituted  the 
subject  of  their  speculations  and  of  their  dreams.  Accordingly, 
they  surround  him  with  snares,  whilst  they  are  poetically  enthusi- 
astic in  their  vows  of  loyalty  and  fidelity.  They  ask  a  constitution — 
he  promises  to  grant  it ;  they  ask  a  representative  system — he  does 
not  withhold  it ; — every  thing  which  that  good  and  great  heart  im- 
agined likely  to  contribute  to  the  happiness  and  prosperity  of  his 
people,  he  grants  as  soon  as  it  is  asked  for.  But  presently  he  dis- 
covers— alas!  for  the  discouragements  to  which  goodness  is  ex- 
posed— that  the  very  hands  which  he  had  released  from  the  mana- 
cles of  St.  Angelo  for  political  offences,  were  engaged  in  twisting 
cords  of  bondage  on  his  own  liberty,  both  as  Pope  and  temporal 
sovereign ! 

Things  are  now  assuming  in  Rome  a  threatening  aspect.  The 
clouds  are  lowering  ;  they  seem  to  come  freighted  with  the  light- 
ning of  a  revolution.  And  now  let  strangers  be  off,  and  as  quick  as 
steam  can  transport  them,  to  Paris.  They  will  find  themselves  in 
tune  for  a  scene  tar  more  terrifying  than  any  from  which  they  have 
lied,  for  there  is  in  Paris  heard  the  detonation  of  a  pistol — an  offi- 
cer is  shot  down  at  his  post ;  then  the  mob  and  the  military/are 
seen  in  the  streets  of  that  great  capital ;  the  "  Marseillaise"  is  sung ; 
the  barricades  are  hurried  up,  and  brave  men  behind  them  as  well 
as  in  front ;  for  whenever  France  wants  to  make  a  revolution,  she 
has,  owing  to  her  military  system,  a  soldier  in  every  citizen.  That 
Avhich  at  first  had  been  but  an  emeute,  that  is,  the  incipiency  of  in- 
surrection, to  the  astonishment  of  all  parties,  is  found  to  be  next 
day  a  revolution  !  The  monarch  who  had  the  day  before  imagined 
himself  to  be  firmly  on  his  throne,  has  felt  the  concussion  of  the 
earthquake,  and  been  shaken  from  it  forever ;  he  is  already  on  his 
flight,  and  has  perhaps  touched  the  British  soil,  followed  by  his 
suite  and  his  ministers,  before  the  news  of  the  revolution  that  ex- 
pelled him  has  reached  half  the  villages  of  his  great  empire. 

Hastening  then  from  Paris,  come  to  the  south  of  Italy,  and  you 
will  be  in  time  for  another  revolution.  Those  Sicilians,  who  pass  in 
the  world  for  cowards,  whether  they  be  cowards  or  not,  as  lighting 
against  foreign  enemies,  have  proved  themselves  despei-ate  in  battle 
amongst  themselves.  The  king  of  Naples  and  the  people  of  Sicily 
are  engaged  in  a  contest,  and  a  revolution  is  effected.  Sicily  is  free ; 
the  royal  troops  are  expelled  ;  even  the  king  is  threatened  with  a 
fate  similar  to  that  of  his  brother  of  France.  This,  you  will  say,  is 
no  place  for  us !  Then  take  the  diligence  or  steamer,  and  off  to 
the  north,  and  you  will  reach  Vienna.  Hark  !  there  is  the  shout  of 
many  voices  in  the  street ;  there  is  the  trampling  of  many  thousand 
men  rushing  to  and  fro  ;  there  is  a  knock  at  the  frontgate  of  the  Anlic 
Council ;  the  councillors  within  are  trembling,  whilst  the  aged  Met- 
ternich,  the  man  who  had  been  the  Napoleon  of  peace  in  Europe  for 
thirty  years,  is  obliged  to  retreat  by  the  back-door  from  that  coun- 


72  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

cil,  not  to  enter  it  any  more.  Pass  on  then  to  other  States.  Go  to 
Berlin  ;  similar  scenes  await  yon  in  that  capital.  So  that  in  so  short 
a  period  as  has  elapsed  since  the  elevation  of  Pius  the  Ninth,  chro- 
nology has  crowded  events  of  the  first  order  of  magnitude  into  the 
history  of  the  human  race,  .suificient  in  number,  sufficient  in  ex- 
tent of  consequences,  to  give  variety  and  incident  of  a  thrilling 
character  to  an  entire  ordinary-  centur}-. 

At  present  there  is  a  pause,  but  who"  shall  say  that  revolution  is  at 
an  end  ?  There  is  a  lull,  and  that  which  bursts  forth  with  the  fury 
of  a  tempest  has  not  had  a  tempest's  duration  ;  it  has  not  even  lasted 
long  enough  to  be  called  a  hurricane,  although  it  imitated  a  hurri- 
cane in  its  violence.  Wherever  it  passed,  it  has  been  a  squall,  un- 
expected in  its  origin,  blustering  in  its  forebodings,  destructive  in 
its  career,  and  in  the  zero  of  its  termination  iitterly  unaccountable. 

Who  could  have  supposed,  at  the  commencement  or  during  the 
progress  of  these  events,  that  now,  in  the  beginning  of  the  year 
1850,  the  old  state  of  things  should,  in  a  great  measure,  replace  that 
which  had  been  contemplated  and  abortively  brought  about  by 
these  changes  ?  Who  could  have  imagined  that  Austria,  for  in- 
stance, shaken  to  her  centre  by  the  revolt  of  her  whole  population 
of  millions  in  Lombardy,  at  one  time,  with  Hungary  in  a  similar 
condition  at  another, — who  could  have  imagined,  I  say,  that  she 
should  have  had  energy  and  vitality  enough  left  to  put  foith  and 
reimpose  her  power  over  these  populous  provinces  ?  The  world 
boasts  of  the  wonderful  exploits,  heroism,  and  what  not,  of  this 
European  revolution.  I  must  say  that  the  results  have  not  cor- 
responded with  the  anticipations,  either  in  Baden,  Lombardy,  Hun- 
gary, Austria,  Sicily,  Tuscany,  the  Papal  States,  Prussia,  or  France. 
Two  years  ago,  the  reason,  or  at  least  the  occasion  and  pretext,  for 
the  revolution  in  France  was,  that  French  citizens  were  not  per- 
mitted to  assemble  at  banquets  in  such  numbers  as  they  thought 
proper.  Now,  I  am  sure,  they  Avould  not  be  permitted  to  have 
similar  banquets;  and  the  best  proof  of  it  is,  that  under  a  popular 
govei-nment,  created  by  a  successful  revolution,  their  press  is  stifled, 
and  they  are  denied  even  the  miserable  privilege  of  complaint. 

These  are,  of  course,  extraordinary  historical  events.  It  is  to  be 
observed,  however,  that  all  events  have,  or  have  had,  their  ante- 
cedent cause  in  ideas  of  intellect — real  or  imaginary  principles  going 
before;  and  it  is  of  some  importance  that  we  should  inquire  and  find 
out,  if  possible,  how,  since  the  eleyation  of  Pius  IX.,  these  revolu- 
tionary ideas  should  have  ripened  themselves  into  such  wild,  preco- 
cious, or,  at  least,  unproductive  and  barren  maturity. 

We  have  to  consider  two  influences  as  affecting  deeply  the  des- 
tinies of  the  human  race.  One  is  what  we  have  designated  the 
Church ;  the  other,  the  world.  The  Church,  of  course,  has  no  spe- 
cial doctrine,  no  theory,  even,  on  politics,  more  than  on  commerce 
or  manufoetures ;  but  she  has  principles  fitted  to  pervade,  improve, 
exalt,  and,  in  a  certain  sense,  sanctify  them  all.  For  if  the  Church 
be,  as  she  is,  the  divinely  appointed  guide  to  teach  all  nations  after 


THE   CHURCH   AND   THE   WORLD.  73 

Christ,  and  \antil  the  consummation  of  ages,  then  it  follows  that  the 
elements  of  whatever  is  good  for  our  race,  in  time  as  well  as  eter- 
nity— in  the  domestic,  commercial,  and  social  relations,  as  well  as 
in  the  purely  spiritual — must  be  comprised  in  her  doctrine  and  prin- 
ciples. 

The  Church  began  her  work  of  amelioration  in  the  heart  and 
mind  of  men  as  individuals.  To  implant  in  their  moral  nature  a 
love  of  justice  and  truth,  the  knowledge  and  fear  of  God,  a  right 
apprehension  of  their  duties  towards  Him,  and  towards  each  other — 
that  is,  towards  society — constitutes  her  method  of  improving  the 
social  and  political  condition  of  our  race.  But  her  work  has  be^n 
interrupted — the  world  wrested  it  out  of.  her  hands.  The  world 
preaches  progress,  but  it  recognizes  no  fixed  starting  point — no  defi- 
nite aim.  Its  ideas  of  progress  are  confused ;  it  has  not  any  stand- 
ard or  regulator  of  moral  riglit  and  wrong  in  its  political  code  ;  its 
principles  are  the  passions  and  caprices  of^the  day. 

Now,  during  all  these  late  convulsions  it  is  supposed  by  many 
that  freedom  would  have  been  greatly  enlarged,  were  it  not  for  ob- 
stacles presented  in  the  way  of  its  progress  by  the  Church.  It  is 
supposed  that  the  principle  of  the  Church,  if  she  have  a  principle  on 
questions  of  this  kind,  is  one  naturally  antagonistic  to  the  freedom 
and  development  of  the  human  mind  and  character ;  and  it  may  not 
be  out  of  place  for  me,  on  this  occasion,  to  enlarge  somewhat  on 
this  topic, — to  admit  how  far  it  is  true, — to  show  that  which  is  un- 
founded. 

If,  in  the  history  of  our  race,  the  Church  has  been  the  instrument 
of  accomplishing  great  benefit  to  mankind,  even  on  this  specific 
topic ;  if  her  principle  still  has  the  germ  of  all  that  is  really  pro- 
gressive, when  you  take  the  i-ace  in  its  largest  capacity  and  longest 
duration — if  this  be  so,  then  the  Church  should  have  credit  for  so 
much.  On  the  other  hand,  if  these  attempts  which  have  been  made 
by  the  world  to  force  the  progress  and  the  perfection  of  man  have 
not  corresponded  with  the  world's  pretensions,  it  may  be  prudent 
to  receive  the  popular  clamors  upon  these  topics  with  a  good  deal 
of  caution.  The  question  is  about  government, — the  form  of  gov- 
ernment,— legislation, — the  improvement  of  life  and  social  happi- 
ness,— civilization  in  general.  And  the  theory  which  seems  to  be 
most  prevalent  at  this  present  time — at  least  taking  the  position  of 
the  largest  class  of  mankind — is,  that  the  people  have  the  right  to 
select  their  own  government, — that  all  power  comes  from  them, — 
that  they  not  only  have  the  right  to  constitute  government  as  they 
please,  but  they  have  the  right  to  change  it  when  they  deem  it  ex- 
pedient, and  to  substitute  any  other.  The  Church  does  not  hold 
this  theory; — the  Church  aims  at  the  amelioration  of  the  human 
heart,  by  forming  the  character  of  individuals  according  to  Christian 
probity,  in  public  as  well  as  private  life.  The  Church  teaches  that 
man  is,  by  his  nature,  a  being  of  society  ;  that  the  evidences  of  this 
accompany  him  from  the  moment  of  his  birth  until  h*  goes  to  the 
grave,  indicating  clearly  that  his  position  is  in  society ; — then,  if  that 

10 


74  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

be  a  law  of  his  nature,  society  is  an  institution  of  God, — a  part  of 
the  condition  of  man's  existence  in  the  world.  Now,  society  cannot 
exist  without  laws,  and  without  authority ;  and  accordingly,  not  to 
speak  of  the  Church,  the  holy  Scripture  tells  us  that  all  ]>ower  is  of 
God,  and  that  all  power  in  society,  so  tar  as  it  comes  from  God,  is 
given  for  the  benefit  of  all  the  members,  but  it  is  not  theirs  origi- 
nally. The  common  opinion  among  Catholic  writers  is,  that  this 
power  in  rulers  is  from  God,  through  the  people,  in  the  first  in- 
stance, and  to  be  exercised  for  their  good.  There  have  been 
teachers  of  other  religions  who  have  maintained  that  power,  such  as 
kingly  power,  comes  directly  from  God,  under  the  name  of  divine 
right.  We  have  a  remarkable  instance  of  tliis  doctrine  in  the  con- 
test, if  I  may  so  call  it,  between  King  James  the  First  and  Cardinal 
Bellarmine.  Cardinal  Bellarmine,  as  you  know,  was  not  only  a 
learned  and  a  holy  man,  but  one  who  wrote  immediately  under  the 
eyes  of  the  Pope ;  and  in  his  writings  he  taught,  in  the  name  of  his 
Church,  that  all  power  in  government  is  for  the  benefit  of  the  com- 
munity, and  that  originally  it  comes  from  God,  and  is  by  the  people 
delegated  to  those  whom  they  appoint  as  their  civil  rulers.  King 
James  criticized  his  writings  severely  upon  this  point,  and  contended 
that  kingly  power  came  directly  from  God  to  the  monarch  who  was 
consecrated  king.  His  majesty  was  replied  to  by  Suarez,  another 
learned  Jesuit  and  distinguished  theologian,  who  repeated  and  vin- 
dicated the  doctrine  of  Bellarmine,  and  professed  that  it  is  the  re- 
ceived, common,  and  general  opinion  of  all  Catholic  theologians 
that  all  power  is  from  God,  and  in  its  communication  from  him  is 
mediately  through  the  community  ;  whereas  others  contended  that 
it  was  immediately  to  the  ruler.  We  have  then  this  question,  so 
far,  determined,  as  a  recognized  opinion  among  Catholic  divines, 
not  as  a  dogma,  but  as  a  received  and  perpetually  acted  upon  prin- 
ciple; for  you  will  find  no  period  in  history  when  the  Church  had 
sway  in  the  questions  of  civil  government  when  these  principles 
were  not  upheld  by  her  voice  and  action. 

In  order,  then,  that  man  may  live  in  society,  it  is  necessary  for 
him  to  acknowledge  power,  and  submit  to  the  exercise  of  lawful 
authority;  and  if  there  be  a  point  in  which  I  hold  that  the  world, 
in  its  mode  of  bettering  the  political  condition  of  men,  has  been  mis- 
taken, it  is  this :  it  forgets  that  society  is  impossible  without  power 
and  authority  ;  it  forgets  tliat  though  it  may  change  a  government 
from  a  monarchy  to  an  aristocracy,  or  from  an  aristocracy  to  a  de- 
mocracy, you  change  but  the  outward  forms — the  substance  of  power 
and  authority  is  the  same,  and  must  be  the  same.  This  is  precisely 
tiie  reason  why  it  is  that  after  a  revolution  is  made,  and  especially 
when  made  violently,  or  by  force,  the  results  scarcely  ever  corres- 
pond with  the  anticipations ;  for  no  matter  who  maybe  placed  in 
the  seat  of  authority,  he  must  govern  society  as  man,  in  his  fallen 
condition,  needs  to  have  government  and  authority.  The  power  is 
identical ;  tli*  difference  will  be  only  in  the  form  of  its  demonstra- 
tion— whether  you  call  the  rulers  kings  or  presidents,  for  the  Church 


THE   CHURCH    AND   THE   WORLD.  75 

has  no  theory  as  regards  the  ontward  forms  of  civil  government. 
The  Church,  in  her  wisdom,  when  she  had,  to  a  great  extent,  an  in- 
fluence in  regulating  social  and  political  questions,  saw  proper, 
under  her  outstretched  and  protecting  wings,  mighty  monarchies 
and  oligarchies,  and  stout,  though  small  democracies,  for  more  than  a 
hundred  years,  and  alike  patronized  them  all.  The  form  of  the  govern- 
ment is  the  right  of  the  community,  at  the  period  of  its  organiza- 
tion ;  the  substance,  the  elements  of  which  that  government  must 
be  composed,  are  identical,  and  will  be  unchangeable,  no  matter  by 
what  name  you  call  it.  Hence,  therefore,  it  is  that  the  Church, 
while  she  establishes  this  principle,  and  i-ecognizes  the  supreme 
power  of  the  State,  as  communicated  from  God  through  and  for  the 
benefit  of  the  community,  requires  the  members  of  the  community 
to  respect  that  authority ;  for,  without  respect  for  that  authority, 
the  ends  of  society  could  not  be  attained.  One  of  her  crimes,  in  the 
false  accusations  of  modern  times,  is,  that  she  undertook  to  support 
despotic  kings.  We  may  reply,  that  she  never  recognized,  and 
never  permitted  to  be  recognized,  a  despot.  When  the  Church  had 
sway,  nations  had  no  despots — I  mean  of  the  absolute  stamp.  It  is 
true  that  when  she  commenced  her  mission-,  or  rather  when  she  had 
passed  herself  through  the  sea  of  blood  up  to  the  period  of  her  eman- 
cipation, according  to  human  liberty,  she  found  not  one  single  free 
government  on  this  globe.  There  was  not  one  but  what  was  des- 
potic ;  and  I  may  add,  that  when  her  authority  or  influence  in  such 
matters  began  to  be  assailed  in  the  sixteenth  century,  she  had  left 
within  the  whole  of  Christendom  not  one  despotic  government.  I 
do  not  say  that  kings  did  not  transcend  their  authority ;  but  if  they 
did,  she,  as  the  fearless  expositor  of  the  divine  law,  made  known  to 
them  that  they  could  not  do  so  with  impunity.  There  was  always 
hanging  over  their  heads  a  just  account,  which  they  must  render  to 
God  for  the  awful  responsibility  of  their  situation.  In  certain  cases, 
when  they  fell  from  their  duty,  and  attempted  to  make  experiments 
in  the  direction  of  absolutism,  she  raised  her  voice  of  interdict — she 
taught  them  that  men  were  stamped  with  the  image  of  their  God, 
and  redeemed  by  His  Son,  and  that  they  could  not,  should  not,  be 
trampled  upon  with  impunity.  Hence  the  reason  why  she  is  accused 
of  having  placed  her  foot,  so  to  speak,  upon  the  neck  of  the  despot. 
Nevertheless,  she  taught,  and  she  teaches  still,  as  far  as  she  has  any 
doctrine  upon  the  subject,  that  respect  for  constituted  authority  is 
a  corresponding  obligation  upon  the  part  of  the  people ;  otherwise 
anarchy  would  be  the  order  of  the  day,  and  legislation  would  have 
no  sufticient  force ;  otherwise  the  people  themselves  would  be  un- 
protected by  any  power  which  would  hold  those  that  administer  the 
law  to  a  strict  responsibility.  For  if  the  people  violate  the  law,  the 
rulers  will  violate  it  in  a  spirit  of  reaction  upon  the  people.  Hence 
it  is  that,  according  to  the  Catholic  religion,  every  citizen  yields 
reverence  and  respect  to  the  constituted  authorities  of  his  countrj', 
from  a  principle  of  conscience.  And  in  that  principle  of  conscience 
is  found  the  safety  of  society,  the  honor  and  dignity  of  power,  the 


76  ARCHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

peaceful  administration  of  the  affairs  of  life.  For  what  authority 
will  your  laws  have  to  bind  me  if  there  be  not  a  prior  law  coming 
from  a  higher  soui'ce,  making  it  ray  duty  to  respect  your  laws? 
Suppose  the  government  were  obliged  to  execute  by  force  every 
law  that  regulates  society,  what  condition  would  mankind  be  in  ? 
The  legislation  has  no  effect  unless  there  be  in  the  heart  of  every 
man  a  principle  by  which  he  knows  that  God  is  the  God  of  society, 
the  God  of  order ;  that  God  has  given  power  over  the  community, 
or  the  nation,  to  those  whom  the  people  have  appointed  over  them 
to  rule ;  and  that  they  are  to  render  them  obedience  within  the 
proper  limits,  which  obedience  is  rendering  indirect  homage  to  God. 

Do  you  not  find  in  the  history  of  past  ages,  that  after  the  old 
Roman  civilization  had  passed  away,  after  those  ancient  institutions 
which  had  accomplished  so  much  during  the  period  of  their  vigor 
had  been  superseded, — after  Southern  Europe  had  been  overrun  by 
barbarians  from  the  North,  without  laws,  without  manners,  without 
conscience,  without  religion, — with  nothing  but  their  ferocity  and 
their  love  of  bloodslied, — the  Church  came  in  and  took  them  and 
tamed  them,  and  civihzed  them,  and  began  to  implant  the  principles 
of  social  life  and  social  justice  in  their  souls  ;  she  harmonized  their 
code  of  laws,  and  improved  them ;  she  repressed  tyranny  where 
tyranny  was  attempted,  and  checked  rebellion  where  rebellion  would 
be  to  the  detriment  of  the  community,  and  contrary  to  the  principle 
which  we  have  just  alluded  to. 

Thus  it  is  that,  during  the  period  in  which  her  influence  was  ac- 
knowledged, all  the  elements  of  civilization,  all  the  necessary  ele- 
ments of  society,  in  the  progress  of  rational  liberty,  were  found  and 
furnished.  I,  of  course,  will  not  pretend  to  say  that  they  were  as 
perfect  as  might  be  desired.  But  take  a  period,  striking  the  line  of 
separation  at  the  point  of  time  when  the  Church  lost  her  power  to 
continue  this  work  of  improving  the  human  race — consider  what 
had  been  done  before,  and  ask  what  has  been  done  since.  We,  for 
instance,  are  indebted  to  that  ancient  civilization  of  the  Church  for 
nearly  all  the  sound  elements  of  good  government  and  of  social  well- 
being. 

Why,  during  that  period,  you  find  that  the  barons  and  the  bishops 
of  England  did  not  hesitate  to  stand  before  the  monarch  to  teach 
him  his  duty,  and  signify  to  him  that  he  ruled  for  the  benefit  of  the 
English  people,  and  not  for  his  own  personal  aggrandizement.  They 
restricted  his  power  by  withholding  the  means.  What  do  you  read, 
on  every  side,  throughout  the  history  of  England,  or  the  history  of 
Germany,  or  the  history  of  Spain,  or  of  France  ?  You  read,  on 
every  side,  restraints  upon  power  in  favor  of  those  who  were  its 
subjects.  What  are  the  immunities,  and  what  are  the  rights,  that 
gradually  sprang  up  and  became  recognized — what  are  the  institu- 
tions of  law  and  all  the  privileges  of  England  ?  Tell  me  one  of  them 
that  has  had  its  origin  subsequent  to  the  period  when  the  civil  State 
passed  from  under  the  liberty-protecting  influence  of  the  Church ! 
If  you  will  follow  history  in  these  matters,  you  will  perceive  what  a 


THE   CHURCH   AND   THE   WORLD.  7T 

difference  there  is  between  the  former  state  of  society  and  the  pres- 
ent. Of  course,  it  would  be  unjust  to  compare  the  present  time, 
with  all  its  accelerated  means  of  improvement,  with  any  period  that 
lias  passed  ;  just  as  it  would  be  unfair  to  blame  the  tenth  century 
for  not  having  been  equal  to  the  fifteenth  ;  but,  putting  that  aside, 
you  will  find  that  every  thing  affecting  a  community  was  regulated, 
not  by  the  absolute  will  of  any  sovereign,  but  by  the  Diets  of  Ger- 
many— by  the  Cortes  of  Spain — by  the  Parliaments  of  England — by 
the  Assembly  of  France — by  the  communities  fairly  represented. 
You  will  find  that  the  monarchs  dared  not  assume  the  responsibility 
of  absolute  government ;  and  that,  on  the  contrary,  although  they 
might  commit  excesses,  as  they  have  done — as  they  do  still,  and 
ever  will,  perhaps — still  the  principle  was  recognized,  and  they  felt 
the  necessity  of  so  governing  as  to  secure  the  good-will  and  affection 
of  the  people ;  and,  instead  of  standing  armies  in  times  of  peace,  with 
which  the  world,  in  its  attempted  improvement,  has  afflicted  nations, 
whenever  armies  were  wanted,  there  was  a  feeling  of  patriotism,  of 
affection  for  the  government,  and  love  for  the  country,  which  raised 
the  troops  on  the  notice  of  the  exigency,  and  M'hich  called  them  to 
the  field  ;  but  there  were  no  such  things  as  standing  armies  in  Cath- 
olic times  of  peace. 

Why  are  these  standing  armies  now  crushing  down  the  poor  to 
the  earth  ?  Because  there  is  no  confidence  between  the  people  and 
the  rulers ;  because  the  monarchs  know  that  the  old  principle  is 
changed  ;  a  new  principle  has  been  substituted  in  its  place.  The  peo- 
ple, on  the  one  hand,  with  an  instinct  common  to  man  in  every  situa- 
tion, are  struggling  and  battling  for  rights  withheld  and  liberty  de- 
nied them.  The  sovereigns,  on  the  other,  with  the  instinct  of  self- 
preservation,  and  the  common  interest  of  their  order,  will  combine 
all  the  increased  means  of  power  at  their  disposal,  and,  by  collusion, 
try  to  crush  the  people,  by  having  standing  armies  supported  at 
their  expense,  for  the  purpose  of  coercing  them  into  loyalty.  Under 
these  circumstances  it  may  be  wicked,  it  may  be  foolish,  it  may  be 
unprofitable,  as  it  frequently  is,  for  the  people  to  rise  in  violence 
against  their  rulers ;  but  should  it  surprise  any  one  to  see  them,  ia 
very  desperation,  claim  their  rights  through  the  medium  of  rev- 
olution ? 

It  would  be  tedious  and  premature  to  enter  largely  into  what 
will  hereafter  be  sought  out  as  the  causes  of  the  great  revolutions 
which  have  lately  taken  place  in  Europe.  As  yet,  time  has  not  been 
sufiicient  to  scatter  the  smoke  of  various  conflicting  representations, 
as  regards  the  events  and  their  causes.  It  is  too  soon  for  philosophy 
to  begin  to  speculate  upon  the  immediate  causes  of  the  conflicts 
which  have  resulted  in  the  shedding  of  so  many  bitter  tears,  and  of 
so  much  human  blood.  Nevertheless,  it  may  be  well  tO'  observe,  that, 
since  the  world  superseded  altogether  the  authority  of  the  Church 
in  these  questions,  new  ideas  have  taken  possession  of  the  human 
race.  There  was  at  all  times  among  the  old  Catholic  nations  of 
Christendom,  a  remarkable  tendency  in  favor  of  real  democracy  ; 


78  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

and,  accordingly,  as  I  have  remarked,  this  last  prospered  under  the 
patronage  of  the  Sovei-eign  Pontiff  and  of  the  Church,  as  much  as 
any  other  form  of  government.  But,  in  process  of  time,  abuses, 
even  in  the  Church  itself,  had  attracted  the  attention,  not  only  of 
holy  and  learned  men  of  the  ecclesiastical  orders,  but  also  of  princes 
and  the  laity  ;  and,  from  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century,  the  cry 
was  becoming  louder  and  louder  in  favor  of  a  reformation — not  of 
the  Church,  be  it  understood,  but  of  the  abuses.  It  was  constantly 
referred  to  in  writing  ;  it  was  spoken  of  as  a  thing  needed.  The 
calamities  of  the  times  were  imputed  to  a  relaxation  of  discipline  in 
the  Church,  which  they  wished  to  see  enforced;  but  then  those  who 
spoke  thus  meant  reformation^  not  destruction.  They  did  not  mean 
an  overthrow  of  the  doctrines  of  the  Church,  but  they  meant  a  refor- 
mation of  the  lives  of  her  members,  whether  in  the  orders  of  the 
clergy,  of  the  religious,  of  the  hierarchy,  or  of  the  people.  The  cry 
was  simply  a  general  demand  for  the  renovation  and  enforcement  of 
Catholic  discipline,  reaching  all  orders  of  life,  whether  in  Church  or 
State. 

Reformation,  for  instance,  in  their  sense,  would  be,  that  the  eccle- 
siastical revenues  should  be  faithfully  consecrated  to  the  end  for 
which  they  were  instituted — the  relief,  protection,  and  advancement 
of  the  poor.  The  true  idea,  in  short,  was  to  enforce  discipline,  more 
especially  in  the  conduct  and  demeanor  of  the  clergy.  When  that 
which  is  now  miscalled  the  Reformation  came  forth,  the  central  force 
of  Christian  civilization  was,  by  the  event,  impaired  and  partially 
destroyed ;  the  power  of  acting  on  society,  in  any  concentrated  and 
energetic  form,  was  mai'red,  if  not  utterly  paralyzed.  The  exterior 
or  social  unity  of  Christendom  was  broken.  It  was  then  found, 
that  under  the  name  of  reform,  a  new  foundation  had  been  laid,  and 
a  new  structure  erected.  From  that  period,  it  was  necessarily  im- 
possible that  the  same  principles  which  the  Cliurch  had  ever  recog- 
nized as  regulating  the  duties  and  the  rights  of  the  subject  and  of 
the  ruler,  should  be  enforced  by  the  same  uniformity  of  voice  which 
had  improved,  and,  to  some  extent,  controlled  the  world  so  long. 
Consequently,  things  took  altogether  a  new  direction.  Instead  of 
recognizing  any  general  standard  on  any  question  of  a  moral  character, 
every  one  was  supposed  to  be  able  to  form  a  standard  for  himself. 
You  can  easily  conceive  how  important  this  central  principle  of  a 
general  standard  is.  For  instance,  weights  and  measures  in  traffic 
would  be  no  security  against  fraud,  without  a  legal  standard  which 
is  recognized  in  political  economy  and  in  commerce,  and  indis- 
pensable in  currency.  And  so  with  regard  to  morals,  and  the  great 
fundamental  moral  questions  which  lie  at  the  basis  of  society  and 
government.  From  the  moment  that  the  unity  of  Christendom  was 
broken,  then  necessarily  the  Church  lost  much  of  her  moral  power, 
because  the  standard  was  no  longer  recognized  ;  every  nation  that 
formally  separated  from  the  Church,  adopted  its  own.  It  is  very 
true  that  nominal  liberty  received  a  great  accession  in  appearance, 
■not  in  reality ;  it  is  true  that  the  result  was  to  inspire  a  feeling  of 


THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  WORLD.  T9 

great  individual  self-complacency,  when  you  told  every  man  that  he 
was  himself  the  very  best  judg^e  to  determine  upon  all  religious,  moral, 
social,  or  political  questions.  Nevertheless,  if  you  will  watch  the  prog- 
ress of  events,  you  will  perceive  that  kings  began  to  feel  that  they 
could  now  become  despotic,  because  they  formed  their  own  royal 
standard,  and  tliere  was  no  ecclesiastical  counterpoise  to  the  arro- 
gant pretensions  of  the  throne.  From  that  moment,  the  authority 
of  him  who  spoke  in  the  supreme  voice  of  the  Church  was  discarded, 
and  each  sovereign  appropriated  to  himself  the  headship  of  religion 
as  well  as  of  State.  Throughout  that  period,  you  will  find  the  be- 
ginnings of  encroachments  on  liberty.  I  will  not  go  into  instances ; 
you  know  the  history  of  the  Northern  States  of  the  continent  of 
Europe  ;  you  know  that  England  herself,  although  she  lives  by  the 
constitution,  yet  lives  by  it  inasmuch  as  that  constitution  had  too 
much  of  its  old  Catholic  vitality  to  be  utterly  set  aside  at  the  will  of 
any  sovereign.  But  you  know,  at  the  same  time,  that  during  a  con- 
siderable period  of  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  century,  it  was  as- 
serted by  high  authority  in  the  reformed  ranks  of  Englishmen,  that 
passive  obedience,  which  the  Catholic  never  knew,  was  the  duty  of 
every  subject.  Would  that  have  been,  if  the  old  system  had  con- 
tinued ?     No,  verily. 

What  freedom  is  there  in  Sweden  or  Norway  ?  What  freedom 
is  there — I  will  not  say  in  temporal,  but  even  in  religious  matters — 
in  Russia,  where  the  chieftancy  of  religion  is  recognized  in  the  sov- 
ereign by  a  great  portion  of  the  Czar's  subjects  ?  No  freedom  at 
all !  Before  this  breaking  up  of  Christendom  into  parts  fundamen- 
tally opposed  to  each  other  in  principle,  you  read  of  no  revolution 
except  such  as  is  an  honor  to  the  dignity  of  human  nature — a  revo- 
lution of  the  intellect  of  the  age,  resisting  encroachments  on  human 
rights;  a  revolution  of  moral  resistance  on  behalf  of  the  people, 
using  the  instrument  of  reason,  and  threatening,  as  a  last  resort,  to 
have  recourse  to  other  means  for  obtaining  their  just  demands  and 
ancient  rights,  which  were  withheld  or  assailed  by  the  sovereign. 

There  was,  after  all,  something  almost  grand  in  the  theory  of  that 
first  great  revolution  called  the  Reformation^  as  compared  with  the 
avowed  passionistic  and  animal  philosophy  of  the  last  outbreaks  in 
Europe.  But  you  will  observe  that  I  waive  altogether  the  spiritual 
bearings  of  the  question.  I  omit  all  reference  to  the  orthodoxy  or 
heterodoxy  of  one  side  or  the  other.  I  speak  of  the  event  in  its 
tJieoretic  principle,  and  in  its  influence  on  society ;  and  in  that  point 
of  view,  there  is  something  apparently  grand  in  the  ideal  of  that 
first  revolution.  It  has  had  consequences  that  will  continue,  for  good 
or  for  evil,  until  time  shall  be  no  more.  Because,  at  the  same  time 
that  it  overthrew  a  principle,  which  I  should  call  the  true  and  only 
safeguard  of  society  in  all  its  rights,  it  gave  an  impulse  of  selfish  ac- 
tivity to  the  individual  mind.  It  isolated  man,  to  a  certain  extent, 
from  his  fellow-beings,  and  made  him  think  of  and  for  himself,  in 
such  a  sense  that  he  was  something  to  the  world,  but  the  world  was 
nothing,  or  but  little,  to  him,  except  so  far  as  he  could  use  it  for  his 


80  AKCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

own  advantao-e.  Tlie  result  of  this  revolution  was  Protestanisrn. 
Piotestantism,  however,  in  a  brief  time,  ceased  to  be  identical  with 
itselfj  or  to  hold  any  rational  position  in  the  divine,  or  even  human 
science  of  theology.  In  every  department — in  theology  as  well  as 
others — it  took  its  own  eccentric  and  divergent  direction,  and  gave 
its  stamp  and  hue  to  government ;  its  stamp  and  hue  to  literature ; 
its  stamp  and  hue  even  to  military  science;  its  stamp  also 
to  the  genius  of  tyranny  which  followed  its  progress ;  and  there  is 
but  little  doubt  that,  after  the  Augsburg  Confession  shall  have  been 
forgotten,  or  sought  only  as  an  ancient  and  curious  parchment  in- the 
libraries  of  the  future,  this  Protestantism  will  live  in  railroads  and 
in  banks,  in  Union  Workhouses,  in  national  debts  and  in  standing 
armies.  From  the  moment,  then,  that  this  i-evolution,  with  its  immense 
consequences,  was  accomplished,  it  was  manifest  that  the  Church 
could  not  only  not  act  upon  the  social  relations  of  life  with  the  same 
power,  but  that  she  could  hardly  preserve  even  her  own  spiritual  pre- 
rogative. Kings  are  men  that  have  their  passions,  like  their  sub- 
jects, and  are  by  no  means  insensible  to  the  tempting  opportunities 
that  enable  them  to  rise  above  all  extrinsic  restraint  on  their  will. 
Neither  is  it  wisdom  for  us  to  denounce  a  man  because  he  is  a  king. 
We  only  denounce  a  bad  king,  and  that  which  is  evil  in  him.  But 
it  is  very  clear  that  the  sovereigns  of  Europe  were  glad  of  a  pretext 
to  throw  off  the  yoke  of  the  Church ;  to  get  clear  of  that  monitor 
who,  in  other  days,  never  hestitated  to  stand  in  their  presence,  tell- 
ing them  of  their  duties  as  Christian  rulers,  both  to  God  and  their 
people.  The  Protestant  princes  broke  away  from  the  Church  abso- 
lutely. She  was  even  forced  to  lower  her  authoritative  voice,  and  to 
speak  in  gentler  tones  to  those  who  still  recognized  her  spiritual  do- 
minion. The  natural  result  was,  that  after  this  change  and  this 
diminution  of  the  power  of  the  Church,  Catholic  princes  moved  al- 
most as  rapidly  as  others  in  the  same  direction  of  despotism  :  and 
they  did  so  in  various  ways ;  sometimes  by  entering  into  stringent 
treaties  with  the  sovereign  authority  of  the  Church  ;  and  at  other 
times  forming  semi-Protestant  alliances  with  the  other  courts  of  Eu- 
rope. But  you  will  find  that  in  almost  every  instance,  they  not  only 
paralyzed  the  authority  of  religion  over  themselves,  as  governors  of 
the  people,  but  they  invaded  the  privileges  and  the  freedom  of  the 
Church  itself.  For  instance,  at  the  present  time,  it  is  a  common 
idea  with  us  in  this  country,  that  the  Governments  of  France  and 
Austria,  and  other  Catholic  States  of  Europe,  are  in  league  with  the 
Catholic  hierarchy;  when,  so  far  from  tliis  being  the  case,  they  are 
tyrannical  in  their  attempts  at  domination  in  ecclesiastical  affairs, 
and,  like  other  States,  have  claimed,  if  they  have  not  acquired,  an 
irresponsible  power  of  restricting  the  proper  Catholic  authority  of 
the  Church.  Though  they  are  not  prepared  to  reject  it  altogether, 
yet  they  diminish  its  influence,  and  thwart  that  which  remains.  For 
instance,  the  Church  is  the  Catholic  Church  everywhere,  but  in 
France  she  is  called  the  Gallican  Church.  Thus,  France  must  imi- 
tate England  so  closely,  that  she  calls  the  Catholic  religion  within 


THE   CHUKCH    AND   THE   "WORLD.  81 

her  boundaries  the  Church  of  France,  though  she  recognizes  the  su- 
premacy of  the  Holy  See.  The  Governments  of  France  recognize  it 
with  a  vast  number  of  qualifications  that  were  unknown  before;  and 
these  restrictions  on  the  freedom  of  religion,  many  of  her  statesmen, 
rank  unbelievers  themselves,  strive  to  designate  by  the  name  of  Gal- 
lican  Liberties.  You  know  what  these  liberties  were.  Since  their 
introduction  into  Catholic  France,  Bishops,  that  is,  rulers  of  the 
Church,  have  not  had  civil  liberty  to  meet  synodically  together,  and 
discuss  the  things  that  would  make  for  the  peace,  and  order,  and 
beauty  of  God's  house.  That  was  the  kind  of  liberty  they  were 
enjoying  there.  And  just  so  in  Germany.  You  will  find  that  Cath- 
olic princes  imitated  the  example  of  England,  and  other  Protestant 
States,  very  closely ;  that  Bishops  dare  not  meet  in  their  dominions 
M'ithout  a  special  permission  from  his  majesty — just  as  the  Anglican 
Bishops  dare  not  meet  without  similar  authority.  The  Catholic 
people  of  these  nations  are  supposed  to  be  entirely  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  Pope  and  of  the  Church,  while  really  under  this  secular 
control.  It  is,  perhaps,  not  generally  known,  that  in  some  of  those 
countries,  a  Bishop  dare  not  correspond  with  the  Holy  Father,  ex- 
cept by  sending  his  letter  through  the  bureau  of  the  minister,  who 
claims  the  right,  the  impudent  right,  to  open  that  letter  and  ex- 
amine it,  and  if  there  be  any  thing  objectionable  in  it,  to  send  it 
back. 

This  is  the  condition  to  which  the  Church  has  been  reduced  in 
those  countries  ;  and  it  has  happened  singularly  enough,  by  the  spe- 
cial providence  of  Almighty  God,  that  these  late  revolutions  of  the 
world  have  been  so  overruled,  that  not  so  much  the  State,  as  the 
Church,  has  been  emancipated  wherever  a  change  of  things  has  ta- 
ken place.  The  Bishops  of  France  can  now  meet,  without  asking 
any  one,  in  their  synods,  according  to  their  ancient  usage  ;  and  they 
have  met  and  spoken  with  united  voice  to  their  people.  The  Bish- 
ops of  Germany,  who  had  not  been  permitted  to  meet,  have  recently 
met  without  asking  the  minister,  that  privilege  being  now  estab- 
lished. It  is,  as  I  have  remarked,  a  singular  sign  of  the  overruling 
providence  of  God,  that  a  movement  which  was  intended  in  no  spirit 
of  friendship  to  the  Church,  but  to  ameliorate  the  condition  of  nien^ 
in  the  social,  physical,  political,  and  other  purely  secular  relations^ 
has  tended  to  promote  and  accomplish,  at  least,  the  emancipation  of' 
the  Church  in  those  countries. 

But  it  may  be  asked,  what  is  the  real  Catholic  docti'ine  with  re- 
gard to  the  right  of  revolution  ?  This  is  a  question  that  ought  to 
be  answered  in  connection  with  what  has  already  been  said.  Now, 
I  have  aftirmed  that  the  Catholic  Church  does  not  authorize,  doeSy 
not  recognize  the  principle  that  the  people  may  change  their  gov- 
ernment when  they  will.  It  is  a  necessity  of  the  people  themselves, 
as  well  as  by  a  divine  rule,  that,  as  a  general  principle,  the  contrary 
be  sustained.  Have  the  people  of  Russia,  for  instance  (supposed  ta 
be  the  most  desjiotically  governed  in  Europe),  a  right  to  rise  ia 
their  majestv,  and  destroy  their  government  ?  We  say — all  Ameri- 
VoL.  11.— 6 


82  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

cans  say — they  have ;  but  have  they  truly  ?  Let  us  suppose  the 
question  in  another  case:  a  principle,  you  must  understand,  is  of 
universal  application  ;  a  principle  is  that  which  no  time  or  circum- 
stances can  change;  and  if  the  principle  be  admitted  as  true  for 
Russia,  it  cannot  be  denied  as  true  for  America,  And  will  any  one 
pretend  to  say,  the  boldest  tongued  of  us  all,  publicly  to  say,  that 
our  people  here  would  be  justified  in  destroying  this  government  ? 
Will  he  pretend  to  say,  that  in  this  country  the  people  have  a  right 
to  change  its  government  whilst  it  fulfils  its  duties,  and  substitute 
that  of  Turkey,  or  the  system  of  Russia,  in  its  place?  Will  any  one 
dare  to  say  so?  Certainly  not;  and  yet  if  the  principle  were  true, 
that  would  be  a  consequence  which  could  not  be  rejected.  On  the 
other  hand,  if  it  were  true,  they  would  have  the  right  to  change  to- 
day, and  the  same  right  would  revive  to-morrow.  Anarchy  would 
take  the  place  of  order  ;  and  we  all  know  that  there  are  certain 
things  which  succeed  each  other  in  the  order  of  government ;  that 
anarchy,  though  it  may  be  sometimes  necessary  for  the  destruction 
of  tyranny  that  is  no  longer  endurable,  has  for  its  first  condition  the 
destruction  of  all  liberty.  Anarchy  means  bloodshed  and  confusion, 
destruction  of  all  the  distinctions  and  i-ights  of  property,  and  the 
absence  of  all  protection  for  the  rights  of  life.  Anarchy,  in  the  first 
instance,  augurs  despotism ;  and  it  is  important,  wherever  anarchy 
takes  possession  of  a  people,  to  understand  that,  not  in  the  order, 
but  in  the  disorder  of  things,  some  one  person  micst  arise,  a  usurper 
and  tyrant,  if  you  please,  who  shall  wield  a  strong  power,  to  prepare 
the  way  for  liberty. 

Thus  you  will  find  that  order  must  always  precede  liberty  ;  that 
liberty  never  springs  up  in  a  moment;  that  it  is  of  gradual  growth  ; 
it  is  the  result  of  calm,  free  reason,  and  liberty  can  never  be  engen- 
dered in  the  mind  of  a  community  so  long  as  that  community  is 
abiding  in  the  midst  of  anarchy.  The  question  then  is,  are  there 
any  circumstances  in  which  it  is  right  for  Catholics  to  rebel  and  take 
part  against  a  government?  There  is  a  distinction,  and  even  a  con- 
tradiction, between  the  theory  of  the  Church  and  that  of  the  world 
■upon  this  subject.  The  right  to  overthrow  a  government  and  sub- 
«titute  another  in  its  place  is  proclaimed  by  the  world,  at  least  that 
part  of  it  to  which  I  have  referred,  in  terms  unqualified  and  univer- 
sal, as  the  rick,  while  it  is  admitted  in  the  Church  as  the  exception. 
The  rule  in  the  Church  is  obedience — not  servile  obedience,  but 
reasonable  obedience — to  the  authorities  constituted,  in  every  thing 
for  which  they  have  a  right  to  command  respect. 

This  is  the  rule,  and  it  is  not  every  slight  fault  of  government,  it 
%is  not  every  abuse  of  power,  it  is  not  even  a  great  many  such  abuses, 
that  would  be  admitted  as  justifying  a  civil  revolt  and  social  revolu- 
tion. The  principle,  of  course,  must  be  applied  according  to  circum- 
stances in  every  case.  When  the  supreme  authority  of  the  State 
has  perverted  the  power  given  it  from  God,  for  and"  through  the 
•community,  to  such  a  degree  that  the  injury  to  that  people  is  more 
.than  the  -benefit  of  the  government,  then  the  people  have  a  right  to 


THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  WORLD.  83 

remove  that  government  and  reconstruct  it  on  its  own  proper  basis. 
But  this,  again,  is  qualified  by  another  condition.      The  cardinal 
point  is  to  decide  whether  the  government,  in  any  given  case,  has 
actually  reached  the  point  of  degeneracy  and  abuse  here  impHed. 
This  is  not  to  be  decided  by  the  mob  in  any  city.     The  community 
does  not  mean  a  mere  collection  of  men,  women,  and  children  in 
the  streets  ;  but  it  means  the  majority  of  the  nation — a  fair  majority 
of  the  reasoning  part  of  that  community.     It  should  be  concluded, 
on  sufficient  grounds,  that  the  government  has  ceased  to  fulfil  the 
end  of  its  institution,  and  that,  therefore,  it  is  no  longer  entitled  to 
their  respect  and  confidence,  before  the  people  act  against  it.     This 
is  one  condition — the  tailure  on  the  part  of  the  government  to  do 
its  duty  towards  the  community  should  be  asserted  and  determined 
by  the  larger  portion  of  those  who  fairly  represent  the  nation  in 
other  capacities ;  not  a  few  boys  from  the  polytechnic  school,  but 
heads  of  families  who  are  themselves  governors,  who  have  respon- 
sibilities and  a  great  stake  ;^others,  men  that  have  experience  in 
life,  that  have  a  certain  interest  in  the  just  government  of  the  coun- 
try.    Such  should  be  understood  as  the  majority  of  the  commimity. 
There  is  still  another  condition,  and  it  is  this  :  that  the  peoi^le  should 
be  able  to  count  on  probable  success ;  for  it  is  obvious  that  kings 
and  governors,  the  worse  they  have  been,  and  the  more  they  deserve 
to  be  overthrown  from  the  places  which  they  have  abused,  the  more 
will  they  be  ready  to  combine  all  their  i-esources  to  crush  any  at- 
tempt to  displace  them  ;  and  consequently  an  unsuccessful  revolu- 
tion, an  abortive  revolution,  a  i-evolution  that  shows  the  will  and 
has  not  the  power  to  accomplish  the  overthrow  of  the  government, 
is  a  new  patent  for  new  tyrannies,  and  furnishes  that  government 
with  pretences  for  multiplying  its  severity,  and  adding  to  the  bur- 
dens by  which  the  people  are  already  pressed  down.      You  see, 
therefore,  how  wise  is  this  condition ;  and  it  is  only  in  such  a  case 
that  the  Church  maintains  that  it  is  justifiable  to  strive  after  polit- 
ical liberty,  by  means  of  force  and  violent  revolution.     Prior  argu- 
ments, every  rational  means,  should  first  be  exhausted  ;  then  the 
threat  of  physical  resistance,  with  a  foreground  of  right  and  justice, 
would,  in  Catholic  times,  generally  speaking,  bring  the  monarch  to 
a  better  understanding  with  the  people.      You  will   find  that  in 
Spain,  in  olden  times,  the  Cortes  never  met  without  signifying  to 
the  king  that  each  of  them — to  be  sure  it  was  a  ceremony,  but  it 
signified  something — was  as  good  as  he  was,  and  that  all  of  them 
together  were  a  great  deal  better.      In   1640,  the  government  of 
Spain,  ceasing  to  follow  in  the  track  of  the  Church,  was  becoming 
despotic :  but  even  still  the  ancient  Catholic  liberty  of  the  Spaniard 
was  not  forgotten  ;  his  blood  was  roused  when  he  found  any  attempt 
to  invade  the  ancient  prerogative  which  belonged  to  Castile  or  Cat- 
alonia; and,  in  one  instance,  we  see  the  assembly  of  Catalonia,  when 
an  attempt  was  made  to  deprive  the  people  of  their  privileges,  taking 
their  stand  as  representatives  of  freemen.     They  had  exhausted  all 
their  moral  resources  in  remonstrances  to  the  sovereign ;  and  they 


84  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

felt  it  their  duty — and  they  felt  that  God's  benediction  would  be 
around  them — to  bid  the  people  capable  of  bearing  weapons  to  arm. 
The  ecclesiastics  themselves  were  armed  for  the  defence  of  their 
ancient  rights. 

In  speaking  of  the  pretended  right  of  rebellion  against  the  abuse 
of  power  on  the  part  of  rulers,  there  is  indirectly  conveyed  a  reflec- 
tion upon  the  very  achievement  to  which  this  country,  in  a  great 
measure,  owes  its  greatness  and  its  glory — the  Revolution.  I  have 
a  word  or  two  to  say  on  that  subject,  and  the  first  thing  is,  that  the 
revolutions  which  have  occurred  in  Europe  bear  but  few  grounds  of 
comparison  with  that  of  Amei'ica. 

The  first  great  European  revolution,  or  Reformation,  as  it  has 
since  come  to  be  called,  to  which  I  have  referred,  pretended  that  its 
purpose  was  highly  religious  and  moral — viz.,  to  exalt,  at  the  same 
time,  the  written  word  of  God,  and  to  assert  the  dignity  of  the  in- 
dividual soul  of  man.  There  is  something  striking,  something  almost 
grand,  in  the  theory  of  this  idea.  Nevertheless,  there  were  those 
who,  from  the  beginning,  easily  perceived  how  the  practical  effect 
would  be  to  throw  off,  as  restrictive  and  troublesome,  the  living 
authority  of  the  Church,  and  to  give  the  individu.al  permission  to 
make  his  own  authority  in  religion  use  such  language  as  would  be 
musical  to  him,  and  such  as  he  would  choose  to  hear.  It  was  indi- 
vidual will,  then,  and  not  the  written  word  of  God,  that  was  exalted 
in  that  instance.  Now,  if  we  come  down  to  another  revolution,  the 
principle  of  which  had  been  filtering  through  society,  in  long  inter- 
vals, we  find  that  the  pretext  was  to  exalt  reason.  The  first  was, 
down  with  the  Church  and  up  with  the  Bible !  The  second  was, 
down  with  the  Bible  and  Church  and  up  with  human  reason !  You 
know  to  what  a  pitch  they  exalted  iniman  reason,  when  they  suc- 
ceeded in  revolution.  Their  Assembly,  by  a  large  majority,  passed 
a  vote  that  death  was  an  everlasting  sleep,  and  that  there  was  no 
God.  This  was  their  practical  reason.  But  whilst  they  pretended 
to  exalt  reason,  the  real  consequences  of  that  revolution  were  found 
in  the  wild  revelry  of  the  bad  passions  of  the  human  heart. 

We  have  said  enough  on  that  subject.  These  recent  revolutions 
are  easily  traceable  to  a  certain  uneasiness  of  the  masses  of  society, 
stimulated  by  their  sufferings  on  one  side,  and  the  demagogism  of 
worthless  leaders  on  the  other.  It  is  a  canker,  working  at  the 
hearts  of  the  mass  of  the  7)eople.  And  this  under  the  influence  of 
ideas.  Every  action  which  occurs,  every  public  aim  which  is  real- 
ized outwardly  in  the  world,  exists  first  in  the  condition  of  an  idea, 
in  the  human  mind  ;  and  there  is  that  in  the  nature  of  idea,  an  in- 
stinct, if  I  can  so  call  it,  which  ui-ges  its  own  propagation — its  mul- 
tiplication and  extension  over  the  world.  Men  entertain  a  zeal, 
which  is  irrepressible,  to  spread  their  ideas  abroad,  and  bring  many 
others  to  entertain  similar  views.  The  idea  of  modern  times  is  more 
speculative  than  tending  to  alleviate  the  depressed  condition  of  the 
human  race.  Heaven  knows  that  they  require  elevation,  that  they 
require  relief;  and  it  is  not  for  rae  to  say  (whatever  may  be  their 


THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  WORLD.  85 

results),  that  the  Almighty  did  not  permit  these  late  outbreaks  at 
once  to  scourge  the  i-ulers,  who  have  not  attended  to  their  wants  ia 
time,  and  to  punish  the  people  themselves  for  having  abandoned  the 
ways  of  God,  in  which  He  had  provided  a  better  and  more  honorable 
redress  for  all  their  wrongs  in  social  and  in  civil  life.  There  is  no 
clamor  now,  as  at  the  period  of  the  old  French  Revolution,  con- 
cerning the  rights  of  human  reason ;  but  there  are  those  advocates 
of  Communism,  of  Fourierism,  or  Socialism,  and  all  these  poets  and 
printers  that  sit  at  their  desks,  and  speculate  and  create  their  world, 
and  attempt  to  infuse  their  abstract  ideas  into  the  dull,  busy,  prac- 
tical work  of  social  and  civil  life.  Now,  these  men  have  propagated 
such  absurd  and  impracticable  ideas,  that  scarcely  any  species  of 
government  will  reach  the  desires,  or  meet  the  wants,  or  fulfil  the 
yearnings  of  a  people  entertaining  them. 

Modern  revolutionists  have  wanted  one  great  characteristic  of  the 
American  of  1776.  They  make  little  or  no  account  of  God  as  an 
invisible,  but  real  agency,  in  human  aifairs;  they  trust  to  their  wis- 
dom and  their  right  arm,  and  thrust  the  idea  of  a  divine  Providence 
aside,  except  as  it  may  seem  favorable  to  them.  They  leave  Him 
entirely  out  of  their  plan  of  operation,  never  dreaming,  as  it  would 
appear,  that  unless  He  approved  of  their  plans  and  purposes  they 
would  all  come  to  naught.  I  am  no  apologist  for  bad  governments. 
But,  I  ask,  in  what  point  do  the  European  revolutionists  compare 
with  the  workers  out  of  the  American  Revolution  ?  Who  are  the 
great  men  that  have  been  brought  out  or  thrown  up  during  the  re- 
cent convulsions  in  Europe  ?  Among  the  popular  leaders,  several 
have  betrayed  the  cause  during  the  struggle  ;  some,  as  in  France, 
turned  against  their  own  principles  after  the  battle  had  been  won ; 
among  the  remainder,  there  is  not  a  name  that  rises  above  medi- 
ocrity, there  is  not  a  real  character  for  history,  except  it  be  among 
those  whose  career  is  not  yet  complete,  over  whom  the  judgment  of 
men  is  now  in  suspense,  and  whose  faults  are,  for  this  present  time, 
•forgotten  in  their  misfortunes.  And  yet,  in  our  love  of  freedom, 
and  our  precipitate  admiration  of  all  who  profess  to  struggle  for  it, 
we  Americans  are  caught  up  and  carried  aAvay  by  an  enthusiastic 
sympathy  with  revolutionists  abroad ;  and  we  compare  this  one  to 
our  Washington,  and  that  other  to  our  Jefierson ;  and  so  find  par- 
allels to  our  own  great  men,  and  degrade  them  by  the  comparison. 
Among  our  American  revolutionists,  was  there  one  man  who  had 
the  audacity  to  "proclaim,  in  the  face  of  assembled  representatives  of 
millions  of  civilized  men,  that  if  there  be  a  God  (which  he  denied), 
if  there  be  a  Lord,  he  is  the  first  enemy  of  the  human  race  ?  or 
another  to  assert  that  property  is  theft  ?  Shall  we  forget  fhe  honor 
due  to  the  memory  of  the  revolutionists  of  America,  by  comparing 
such  men  as  these  blasphemers  to  our  heroes,  the  deliverers  of  our 
country  ? 

There  is  another  great  difference — that  in  reality  the  very  prin- 
ciples of  the  Church  to  which  I  have  referred  justify  the  American 
revolution.     And  why  ?      The  American  revolution  did  not  turn 


86  ARCHIBISHOP   HUGHES. 

upon  the  spontaneous  whim  of  the  poople  to  overthrow  one  form  of 
government  in  order  to  substitute  another.  It  did  not  chiim  suclj 
a  rif'ht.  When  the  British  ministers  attempted  to  fasten  upon  these 
American  colonists  a  new  principle — when  the  government,  instead 
of  being  assaulted  by  the  latter,  undertook  to  fasten  upon  them  a 
degradation,  sooner  than  submit  to  which  the  people  of  England 
themselves  would  have  overthrown  the  crown,  they  (the  colonists) 
resisted  the  ministry.  That  was  not  rebellion.  The  very  charter 
by  which  Britain  was  ruled,  the  very  charter  by  which  her  liberties 
liad  been  preserved,  declared,  in  substance,  that  such  an  attempt  was 
just  cause  of  quarrel  between  the  crown  and  these  colonies — that  the 
constitution  did  not  recognize  the  authority  by  which  British  states- 
men attempted  to  fasten  that  new  degradation  upon  the  colonists. 
Standing  by  their  principles,  our  revolutionists  put  the  government 
itself  into  the  position  of  rebels  against  a  higher  authority  than 
either  ;  and  the  Americans  were  merely  defending  the  Bill  of  Rights. 
They  took  their  station  precisely  according  to  the  conditions  to 
which  I  have  referred  as  being  requisite,  in  such  cases,  in  order  to 
make  revolt,  or  rebellion,  or  revolution  lawful  and  proper.  Was 
resistance  with  us'  a  mere  outbreak,  without  design,  without  plan  ? 
No.  Government  had  transcended  its  legitimate  authority,  and  a 
majority  of  the  people  were  in  favor  of  resistance.  The  consequences 
have  been — independence  and  freedom.  Separation  had  not  been  a 
direct  purpose.  It  was  the  simple  consequence  of  perversion  of  gov- 
ernment. No  doubt,  in  the  nature  of  things,  it  would  have  occurred 
at  any  rate,  in  process  of  time. 

Now,  as  between  the  Church  and  the  world,  I  would  ask  whether 
in  that  revolution  of  ours  you  did  not  tind  Catholics  taking  an  active 
part — I  will  not  say  simply  Catholics,  as  laymen,  but  reverend  priests 
and  learned  Catholics,  taking  part,  and  thus  showing  distinctly  that 
in  the  principles  of  the  Catholic  Church  there  is  nothing  to  prohibit 
a  lawful  exercise  of  the  fullest  right  in  resisting  governments,  when 
they  either  attempt  to  inflict  new  bondage,  or  abuse  power  to  such 
an  extent  as  to  produce  more  evil  than  good.  I  need  not  say  more 
with  regard  to  history,  which  is  open  before  you,  for  even  since  the 
period  to  vvhich  I  have  referred,  have  you  not  seen  Catholic  colonies 
rebel  against  their  Catholic  governments,  and  proclaim  their  inde- 
pendence ?  They  acted  with  the  apparent  approbation  of  their 
bishops  and  their  clergy,  and  with  no  voice  of  censure  from  the  head 
of  the  Church.  If  time  permitted,  I  could  dilate  on  this  theme, 
which  should  be  followed  out  by  the  philosophical  inquirer  with 
serious  attention.  I  have  very  little  doubt  that  the  time  is  coming 
when,  from  public  necessity  and  the  perversion  of  popular  ideas  on 
this  subject,  there  will  be  a  great  return  towards  some  universally 
recognized  principle,  by  which  mankind  may  proceed  in  developing 
the  progress  of  the  race,  in  harmony  with  all  the  higher  atti-ibiites 
of  our  regenerated  Christian  humanity.  But  let  not  the  American 
revolution  be  spoken  of  in  terms  that  suit  other  revolutions.  There 
is  no  parity  between  it  and  the  modern  outbreaks  in  Europe.     On 


THE   DECLINE   OF   PROTESTANTISM.  87 

the  contrary,  with  us,  universal  respect  for  religion  appears  in  all 
the  outward  acts  and  all  the  documents  of  the  great  body  of  patriots 
who  were  active  in  promoting  the  revolution. 

The  American  revolutionists,  strong  in  the  consciousness  of  their 
own  rectitude  and  probity,  were  equally  confident  in  the  justice  of 
their  cause.  They  reverenced,  or  at  least  professed  to  reverence 
God — they  recognized  and  respected  the  rights  of  property.  They 
trusted  to  heaven  for  its  approving  shiile  on  their  righteous  cause, 
and  so  far  as  heaven  is  concerned,  neither  they  nor  their  posterity 
have  been  disappointed. 


THE    DECLINE    OF     PROTESTANTISM,   AND    ITS 

CAUSE. 

A  LECTURE  DELIVERED  IN  ST.  PATRICK'S  CATHEDRAL,  ON  SUN- 
DAY EVENING,  NOVEMBER  10,  1850,  FOR  THE  BENEFIT  OP  THE 
HOUSE  OF  PROTECTION,  UNDER  THE  CHARGE  OF  THE  SIS- 
TERS OF  MERCY. 

The  civilized  world  at  the  present  day  may  be  considered  as  di- 
vided into  two  great  religious  denominations ;  the  one  adhering  to 
the  Catholic  faith,  the  other  rallying  under  the  general  term  of  Pro- 
testantism. I  am  aware  that  there  are  other  religious  divisions, 
such  as  that  of  the  Greek  Chui-ch,  and  that  of  the  followers  of  Ma- 
homet ;  but  I  speak  of  nations  the  most  enlightened  and  civilized  of 
the  present  age,  whether  on  the  continent  of  Europe  or  on  this  hemi- 
sphere, and  I  conceive  they  can  fairly  be  divided  between  those 
two  denominations.  What  the  Catholic  Church  is,  does  not  require 
any  particular  explanation.  Its  meaning  is  at  once  so  simple,  so 
comprehensive,  so  easily  understood,  that  it  were  a  waste  of  words 
to  make  the  comprehension  of  it  more  clear  than  it  already  is  to 
every  mind.  Not  so  with  Protestantism.  That  term,  as  ordinarily 
employed,  is  understood,  in  its  popular  sense,  very  clearly;  never- 
theless, in  any  sense  of  science,  or  for  the  purposes  of  logical  or 
theological  accuracy,  it  is  a  word  exceedingly  ambiguous,  vague, 
and  indefinite.  Protestantism  is  a  generic  title,  implying  the  genus 
without  entering  into  any  of  the  specific  varieties  which  it  is  em- 
ployed as  a  general  term  to  designate.  These  two  systems,  working 
side  by  side,  have  occupied  as  well  as  divided  the  world  between 
them  for  the  last  three  hundred  years.  One,  indeed,  had  prevailed 
from  the  beginning  of  Christianity ;  whilst  the  other  came  into  exist- 
ence in  the  sixteenth  century,  proclaimed  its  mission,  entered  upon 
its  work,  and  has  subsisted  since  that  period. 

I  have  announced  as  the  title  of  the  lecture  which  I  have  proposed 
to  give,  at  the  request  of  the  Catholic  Institute,  The  Decline  of 
PfiOTESTANTiSM,  AND  THE  Cause.     Now  this  word  Decline^  has  not 


88  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

been  by  me  arbitrarily  chosen,  I  have  found  that  the  meaning  of 
it  is  familiar  both  to  the  Catholic  and  the  Protestant ;  I  have  found 
that  the  strongest  authorities  are  on  the  Protestant  side,  and  ac- 
knowledge, while  they  deplore,  and  aim  to  arrest  its  progress.  I 
need  not"  quote,  in  proof  of  this,  but  one  authority, — the  celebrated 
Macaulay,  the  essayist,  historian,  and  reviewer; — one  of  the  clearest 
minds,  perhaps,  that  the  great  English  nation  can  this  day  boast  of 
Though  he  is  no  friend  to  the  Catholic  Church,  yet  he  treats  the 
subject  in  the  light  of  impartial  philosophy.  He  compares  with  the 
antiquity  of  the  Catholic  Church,  all  dynasties  and  human  govern- 
ments of  Europe,  and  finds  the  oldest  of  them  but  as  of  the  origin  of 
yesterday;  he  proclaims,  indeed,  the  inroads  that  Protestantism  had 
made  upon  the  beautiful  domains  of  the  ancient  Catholic  dominion  ; 
he  acknowledges  that,  though  formidable  for  a  time,  its  progress 
Avas  evidently  of  a  transient  character.  And,  looking  into  futurity 
with  the  keen  scrutiny  of  a  seer,  he  asserts  by  a  flight  of  imagina- 
tion, and  a  beautiful  exaggeration  I  might  call  it,  that  the  "Catholic 
Church  will  be  still  young  and  vigorous,  when,  at  some  future  day, 
the  traveller  from  New  Zealand  shall  stand  upon  a  broken  arch  of 
London  Bridge,  and  sketch  the  ruin  of  St.  Paul's."  Such  is  his 
idea;  and,  I  need  not  add,  that  a  man  who  can  thus  write  is  al- 
ready deeply  impressed  with  the  actual  and  prospective  decline  of 
Protestantism.  I  cannot,  however,  agree  with  the  eloquent  writer ; 
for  I  would  rather  hope  that  if  ever  such*  a  traveller  should  come 
from  New  Zealand,  instead  of  finding  London  Bridge  broken  up, 
and  St.  Paul's  destroyed,  he  will  be  first  arrested,  as  he  approaches 
that  noble  edifice,  by  the  sound  of  ten  thousand  voices,  after  some 
grand  and  solemn  pontifical  mass,  rendering  thanks,  in  the  accents 
of  Te  Deum  Laudamus,  for  the  return  of  an  erring  nation  to  the 
unity  and  communion  of  the  Catholic  faith. 

Protestantism  began  in  the  year  1517.  It  had  then  a  solitaiy 
representative ;  and  as  regards  religion,  his  voice  was  the  only  dis- 
cordant sound  that  could  have  been  heard  in  western  Christendom. 
All  had  been  united,  all  had  subsisted  in  the  harmony  of  one  be- 
lief; and  although  scandal  had  existed  then,  as  now,  and  abuses  of 
individual  living  were  known  ;  and  although  public  and  private 
morals  might  have  furnished  much  ground  for  complaint,  still,  at 
least  there  was  one  ideally  perfect,  central  rallying  point,  on  which 
men's  minds  were  united — the  beauty,  simplicity,  and  Unity  of  the 
faith  of  the  Catholic  Church,  which  God  had  established  for  the  sal- 
vation of  men.  From  this  central  point  the  new  doctrine  took  its 
bearings  of  direct  and  indirect  antagonism,  and  spread  on  every 
side.  It  became  the  theme  of  general  dispute,  and  into  that  dispute 
were  promptly  infused  projects  of  political  ambition,  popular  discon- 
tent, and  every  species  of  human  element  and  of  human  motive  cal- 
culated to  give  impulse  to  the  new  principle,  which  in  itself,  if  it 
Avere  true,  would  have  been  altogether  worthy  of  the  admiration 
of  its  adherents,  and  would  have  been  well  calculated  to  spread 
abroad  the  doctrine  thus  introduced  and  propagated,  with  a  rapidity 


THE   DECLINE   OF   PKOTESTANTISM.  89 

to  wliich  there  is  no  such  thing  as  a  parallel  in  the  history  of  the 
Christian  Church,  or  in  the  annals  of  the  human  race.  From  Wir- 
temburgli  it  spread  throughout  Northern  Germany.  It  reached,  in  a 
different  form,  however,  the  Cantons  of  Switzerland  ;  it  penetrated 
the  empire  of  France ;  it  took  possession  of  Prussia ;  it  pervaded 
Holland,  Xorway,  Sweden,  Denmark,  England,  and  Scotland.  It 
conquered  them  all ; — and  it  met  a  successful  resistance  only  on  the 
western  borders  of  Europe.  The  Irish  nation  stood  together 
against  it,  and  struggled  with  constancy,  perseverance,  and  determi- 
nation ;  and  although  the  battle  has  lasted  for  three  hundred  years, 
and  although  that  down-trodden  nation  has  suffered  intensely  for  its 
adherence  to  principle,  still  it  did  not  give  way  to  Protestantism. 
I  cannot  consider  this  as  altogether  the  result  of  chance,  for  I  can  al- 
most persuade  myself  that  God  in  his  providence  permitted  that 
there  should  be  one  western  border  of  Europe,  upon  which  the  eye 
of  the  pilgrim  to  this  free  hemisphere  should  rest  for  the  last  time, 
as  upon  Catholic  soil,  and  that  he  should  thus  continue  to  cherish 
the  old  associations  of  the  holy  Catholic  faith,  by  which  all  Europe 
had  been,  and  the  rest  of  the  world  might,  finally,  be  emancipated 
from  barbarism  and  infidelity. 

What  is  very  remarkable  is,  that  Protestantism  should  have  made 
such  progress  in  so  short  a  time  ; — that,  within  fifty  years  from  its 
origin,  it  should  have  conquered  and  taken  possession  of  every  inch 
of  ground  of  which  it  is  in  possession  at  this  day ;  so  that  an  old  man 
of  1567  could  see  Protestantism  triumphant  in  all  the  nations  I  have 
mentioned,  and  look  back  to  the  memory  of  boyhood  when  he  knew 
Brother  Martin  Luther,  a  pious  monk,  as  Macaulay  remarks ;  or 
what  is  nearly  the  same,  remembered  him,  the  young  father  of  Pro- 
testantism, a  fugitive  from  the  laws  of  his  country,  seeking,  and 
happily  finding,  a  safe  hiding-place  in  the  suburbs  of  some  obscure 
Gi^rman  village. 

Oh,  how  Protestantism  must  have  been  surprised,  astounded,  and 
overwhelmed  at  the  immensity  and  variety  of  the  spoils,  into  the 
possession  of  which  it  so  speedily  entered  !  Yesterday  it  was  pro- 
scribed ;  to-day  it  is  master  of  kingdoms,  thrones,  armies,  provinces, 
treasures,  and  the  accumulated  religious  and  charitable  offerings  of 
Catholic  generations  for  a  thousand  years !  It  came  rapidly  into 
the  possession  of  what  it  had  never  labored  to  create ;  it  reaped 
where  it  had  never  sown ;  and  the  toil  of  the  husbandman,  who  had 
cultivated  the  soil  before,  accrued  to  the  benefit  of  his  adversary, 
and  was  unrewarded.  It  found  itself  in  possession  not  only  of  these, 
but  of  the  Catholic  churches ;  and  when  I  say  Catholic  churches, 
you  will  not  understand  me  to  mean  such  churches  as  we  in  our 
cold  charity  and  poverty  have  been  able  to  erect,  but  those  great 
churches  that  were  projected  on  a  magnificent  scale,  and  in  the 
spirit  of  an  age  that  religion  had  inspired,  when  acres  were  taken 
into  the  plan,  after  the  Catholic  forefathers  of  the  Protestant  occu- 
pants of  all  this  ecclesiastical  wealth,  from  age  to  age,  had  been 
making  their  offerings  at  the  shrine  of  the  one  Church  : — temples, 

12 


90  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

not  perhaps  esteemed  as  worthy  of  God ;  but,  at  all  events,  such 
palaces,  so  to  call  them,  for  the  veiled  presence  of  Divine  majesty 
and  mercy  amongst  men,  as  might  indicate  at  least  to  all  time, 
their  gratitude  towards  their  merciful  Creator  and  Redeemer.  Pro- 
testantism took  possession  of  them  all,  and  found  them  so  vast  that 
it  never  has  been  able  since  to  fill  them  with  worshippers.  The  con- 
gregations of  many  of  them  now  assemble  in  the  choir,  a  part  of  the 
church  which  had  been  exclusively  set  apart  for  the  clergy.  And 
not  alone  the  churches,  but  the  universities,  with  all  their  endow- 
ments and  benefices  as  depositories  of  learning, — all,  all,  passed 
promptly  into  the  hands  of  Protestantism. 

I  make  these  statements  to  show  how  little  Protestantism  has  ac- 
complished compared  with  the  immensity  of  its  means.  If  Protest- 
antism had  been  what  it  professed  to  be,  it  found  itself  almost  by 
surprise  put  in  possession  of  the  means  wherewithal  to  carry  its  tri- 
umphs to  the  ends  of  the  earth.  The  Church  of  Christ  itself,  the 
Catholic  Church,  was  for  three  hundred  years  obliged  to  dwell  in 
the  catacombs  of  Rome,  not  daring,  or  scarcely  daring  to  show  it- 
self; and  when  it  did,  it  was  with  a  prospect  of  martyrdom;  but 
Protestantism  seized  upon  a  large  portion  of  the  wealth  of  Christen- 
dom, and  became  the  master  of  kings  and  armies,  senates  and  na- 
tions, universities  and  churches,  and  every  thing  that  Catholics  had, 
in  the  gradual  accumulation  of  their  charities  for  ages,  contributed 
to  erect  for  civilization  and  religion. 

We  will  now,  therefore,  regard  Protestantism  in  its  purpose. 
What  was  its  mission  ?  Its  mission,  according  to  its  own  state- 
ments, was  to  renovate  a  faded,  fallen,  and  false  Christianity.  Its 
mission  was  to  introduce  a  pure  and  perfect  religion,  as  a  substitute 
for  that  "  apostate  Church,"  as  it  called  the  Catholic  faith,  from 
which  itself  went  forth;  and  if  this  were  its  purpose,  we  should  sup- 
pose it  would  take  certain  grounds  in  reference  to  its  mission  ;  for  if 
it  were  conscious  of  the  possession  of  truth  ;  if  it  really  believed  it  had 
now  takf n  the  form  in  which  God  would  have  the  world  to  be  saved, 
it  was  bound  to  propagate  itself,  to  make  itself  known,  to  speak  in 
a  consistent,  uniform,  and  unequivocal  language,  so  that  it  might  ac- 
complish, in  time,  something  like  what  the  pretendedly  faded  Church 
had  indisputably  accomplished  in  its  time  before. 

Two  things  particularly  it  was  bound  to  accomplish — one  was,  to 
convert  pagan  nations  and  Catholic  nations ;  and  the  other  was,  to 
preserve  itself:  for,  if  it  lost  itself,  in  attempting  to  gain  others,  it 
would  sliow  that  it  was  not  what  it  pretended  to  be,  but  something 
not  having  that  light  and  truth  of  which  God  is  the  author. 

I  should  perhaps  attempt  a  definition  of  what  Protestantism  is. 
I  have  looked  into  the  expositions  of  its  most  prominent  advocates, 
but  among  them  all  I  have  sought  in  vain  for  any  thing  like  a  scien- 
tific or  logical  definition  ;  nor  can  I  conceive  it  possible  to  give  such 
a  definition  of  the  word  Protestantism.  However,  I  will  take  it  in 
the  fairest  light  of  which  it  is  susceptible,  and  endeavor  to  give  a 
definition  by  the  elements  of  which  it  is  composed.     I  take  it  that 


THE  DECLINE  OF   PROTEST AlTriSM.  91 

Protestantism  is  a  general  term,  indicating  that  an  individual  ac- 
cepting it  explicitly  protests  against  the  Catholic  Church  in  the  first 
instance,  but  implicitly  against  all  human  authority ;  and  claims,  on 
the  other  hand,  the  right  of  taking  the  Holy  Scriptures,  reading 
them  for  himself,  and  taking  the  meaning  and  light  which  they  re- 
flect upon  his  mind  as  the  religion  of  Christ.  I  am  aware  that,  in 
order  to  determine  its  decline  or  progress,  it  is  expedient  that  w^e 
should  fix  upon  what  was  understood  by  Protestantism  at  the  period 
to  which  I  refer.  I  will  therefore  take  the  period  of  1567,  when 
Protestantism  was  comprised  under  three  great  divisions — the 
Lutheran,  the  Calvinistic,  and  the  Anglican  ;  and  looking  at  the 
symbolical  books  of  that  period,  it  is  to  be  understood  as  comprising 
two  elements,  one  negative,  the  other  positive.  There  is  one  aspect 
of  the  decline  of  Protestantism  which  can  afibrd  no  comfort  to  the 
most  ardent  adherent  of  the  Catholic  Church,  and  that  aspect  is 
seen  in  the  tendency  of  Protestantism  to  rationalism  and  infidelity. 
Protestantism  comprised,  originally,  a  great  number  of  the  primitive 
truths  of  Christianity.  These  truths  were  doctrines  which  the  first 
separation  from  us  did  not  prevent  Protestants  from  carrying  forth 
WMth  them — I  mean  the  great  mysteries  of  the  Holy  Trinity,  the  In- 
carnation of  the  Saviour,  the  Redemption  by  the  Son  of  God,  Origi- 
nal Sin,  the  Holy  Eucharist,  with  or  without  the  belief  of  the  Real 
Presence,  and  others  sanctioned  in  Christ's  Church.  These  were 
the  ^j>osi7«ue  doctrines  embodied  in  their  symbolical  books ;  while 
Prayers  for  the  Departed,  Transubstantiation,  the  Intercession  of 
Saints,  and  so  many  other  doctrines  that  had  been  the  faith  of 
Christendom,  were  excluded  and  cut  off,  and  this  formed  the  nega- 
tive phase.  You  have,  therefore,  these  two  principles ;  and  beyond 
these  I  cannot  pretend  to  define  what  Protestantism  is ;. — for  if  you 
pass  from  the  generic  title  to  the  specific  variety,  and  trace  out  its 
development  from  one  denomination  to  another,  down  to  the  latest 
phase  of  human  error,  you  will  find  in  them  all  these  two  elements — 
this  and  this,  no ;  and  this  and  this,  yes.  They  all  vary,  and  yet  all 
profess  to  be  guided  by  their  own  private  interpretation  of  the  Scrip- 
tures alone,  while  all  agree  in  protesting  against  the  Church  of  God. 
All  of  them  protest  against  every  species  of  authority,  and  all  of 
them  still  retain  some  of  the  prominent  and  positive  doctrines  of  the 
Christian  Church,  which  become  a  test  of  religious  association  and  a 
special  ground  of  communion.  We  cannot,  therefore,  at  this  day, 
but  regret  that  what  was  positive  in  those  times  has  ceased  in  a 
great  measure  to  exist  in  the  Protestantism  of  the  present  day  ;  but 
if  it  once  included  all  these  fundamental  doctrines,  how  great  has 
been  its  decline  on  the  side  of  Latitudinarianism !  I  have  written 
for  this  lecture  perhaps  some  fifteen  or  twenty  pages  of  authorities 
alone,  and  I  have  been  obliged  to  put  them  all  aside,  because,  if  I 
should  attempt  the  labor  of  quoting  authorities,  to  make  thorough 
work  of  it,  I  should  have  to  occupy  my  whole  time  with  them. 
But  then  what  authorities  should  I  have  had  to  quote  ?  Why,  the 
authorities  of  Protestant  writers,  some  caUing  themselves  by  one 


92  ARCHBISHOP  HUGHES. 

denomination,  and  some  by  another ;  but  all  of  them  showing  the 
actual  condition  to  which  Protestantism  has  been  reduced,  on  the 
very  fields  of  its  first  and  most  astonishing  triumphs.  Do  you  speak 
of  Germany  ?  In  Germany,  the  doctrines  regarding  the  Trinity  are 
held,  if  held  at  all,  only  by  the  uneducated  and  ignorant ;  but  as  for 
your  preachers  in  the  pulpit,  as  for  your  doctors  of  theology,  and 
great  men  of  every  department,  they  have  no  conception  of  any 
such  belief  Rationalism  has  taken  the  place  of  Protestantism,  al- 
though men  still  claim  the  name,  from  the  meaning  and  purport  of 
which  they  have  so  widely  departed.  Do  you  speak  of  the  facts 
usually  referred  to  in  proof  of  Christianity — the  miracles,  for  instance, 
recorded  in  the  Holy  Scriptures?  They  explain  them  all  away. 
They  apply  the  dreamy  analogies  of  Mesmerism  to  the  works  of  the 
Redeemer ;  and  pretend,  among  other  cases,  that  the  man  stricken 
with  palsy  was  cured  by  Christ  because  he  had  a  deep  insight  into 
human  nature,  and  knew  the  power  of  imagination,  when  he  took 
the  palsied  man  by  the  hand,  fixed  his  eye  upon  him,  and  effected  a 
cure.  This  is  their  explanation  of  Scripture ;  and  yet  they  are  en- 
joying the  emoluments  of  Protestantism,  which  were  originally  pro- 
vided in  one  form  or  another  for  the  support  of  the  Catholic  clergy, 
but  which  are  now  transferred  to  modern  Protestantism,  the  prin- 
ciples of  which  are  sapping  and  undermining  the  vital  doctrines  of 
Christianity  in  such  a  manner,  that  in  a  short  time  you  shall  see  their 
dominions  a  wilderness  of  paganism,  and  made  all  the  more  terrible 
because  their  inhabitants  have  been  civilized. 

Do  you  go  to  Switzerland,  where  Calvin  established  Protestantism, 
and  kept  alive  for  a  time  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  ?  In  Geneva,  if 
they  have  a  patron  saint,  it  is  not  John  Calvin,  but  Jean  Jacques  Rous- 
seau. His  sentiments  are  the  prevailing  sentiments  of  those  who  call 
themselves  Christians,  and  they  are  preached  from  the  very  pulpit  from 
which  the  greatfather  of  that  stern  sect  of  Protestants  once  uttered  liis 
subtle  but  desperate  scheme  of  predestination.  In  his  day,  if  a  man 
in  Geneva  professed  disbelief  in  the  Trinity,  he  ran  the  risk  of  capital 
punishment.  But  now,  how  changed !  If  a  man  in  that  city,  at  the 
present  dp,y,  professes  to  believe  in  the  Trinity  as  Calvin  believed  it, 
he  will  not  be  burned  to  death — he  will  only  be  laughed  at! 

Go  to  France.  The  condition  of  Protestantism  is  nearly,  it"  not 
quite  similar.  Travellers  tell  us  that  the  temples  there  represent 
but  a  mockery  of  a  memory  of  a  departed  creed ;  that  they  are  chill 
and  dark,  and  that  their  preachers,  if  they  speak  of  Christianity  at 
all,  speak  in  the  rationalistic  language  of  Germany. 

Go  to  Sweden  ;  and  all  again  is  cold  and  stiff  as  iron,  although 
the  government  holds  dominion,  and  freedom  of  conscience,  as  we 
understand  it,  is  unknown.  There  is,  it  is  true,  an  apparent  con- 
formity to  established  forms  in  this  and  other  northern  States  of 
Europe,  which  might  deceive  ;  but  the  explanation  is,  that  the  civil 
power  will  not  tolerate  any  other  outward  forms  of  religion.  We 
read,  for  instance,  but  the  other  day,  of  a  painter,  and  a  man  of 
genius,  inspired  by  the  enthusiasm  of  what  is  warm  and  beautiful  in 


THE   DECLINE   OF   PROTESTANTISM.  93 

art ;  and  who,  whether  from  this  or  from  some  higher  impulse,  wished 
to  become,  and  did  become  a  CathoHc ; — whereupon  he  was  banished 
from  his  native  land,  and  all  his  property  confiscated. 

Let  us  pass  to  England.  Protestantism  has  not  been  able  to  pre- 
serve itself,  even  there.  Look  over  its  social  and  religious  history 
from  the  year  1 567  to  the  present  day.  See  what  England  has  passed 
through ;  and  at  this  day,  Protestant  though  it  still  be  in  name, 
in  feeling,  and  in  law,  yet  it  appears  to  be  utterly  unconscious  of 
what  really  constitutes  its  religious  life  and  mission.  It  seems  to 
have  no  principle  of  self-explanation,  nothing  that  is  calculated  to 
impress  on  others  any  respectful  or  reverential  idea  of  what  it  is ; 
utterly  incapable  of  preserving  the  doctrines,  which  it  thought  be- 
longed to  itself^  from  the  ruthless  invasion  of  every  advocate  of 
error.  On  the  other  hand,  if  you  look  for  any  thing  like  propaga- 
tion of  Protestantism  in  the  Catholic  or  pagan  world,  you  look  in 
vain.  It  is  long,  indeed,  since  it  felt  the  necessity  of  attempting 
something  like  what  had  been  accomplished  by  the  Catholic  Church, 
in  the  conversion  of  the  heathen  ;  and  we  find  that,  as  early  as  1701, 
missionary  societies  were  instituted.  What  they  did,  however,  is  a 
blank,  so  far  as  history  is  concerned.  We  know  that,  within  our 
own  memory,  millions  and  millions  of  money,  from  England  and 
these  United  States,  and  hundreds  if  not  thousands  of  missionaries, 
have  been  sacrificed  in  the  attempt  to  do  something  towards  prop- 
agating Protestantism  in  the  pagan  world  ;  and,  I  will  say  boldly, 
without  success,  I  am  aware  that  they  speak  of  success  in  the 
Sandwich  Islands ;  but  I  believe  that  the  success  of  Protestantism 
even  there,  as  a  religion  capable  of  propagating  itself,  on  further  in- 
vestigation, will  be  found  to  be  altogether  illusory.  We  know  that 
the  population  has  diminished  more  than  one-half  since  it  came 
under  the  influence  and  government  of  what  are  called  missions; 
and  we  know  further,  for  we  have  it  from  their  own  writings,  that 
the  conversion  of  those  who  remain  is  of  so  doubtful  a  type,  that 
during  one  period  they  passed  a  civil  law  enforcing  attendance  at 
public  worship,  and  under  its  operation  the  inhabitants  were  driven 
to  church  ;  but  now,  for  some  eighteen  years  or  so,  since  the  law 
was  repealed,  their  churches  are  getting  empty ;  so  that  I  conceive 
Protestantism  will  no  more  succeed  in  converting  the  inhabitants  of 
the  Sandwich  Islands,  than  the  Puritans  did  in  converting  the  tribes 
of  Indians,  whom  they  drove  from  their  hunting  grounds  in  the 
northern  and  eastern  portions  of  the  United  States. 

These  failures  to  convert  pagans,  therefore,  are  symptoms  of  de- 
cline; and  if  this  failure  comes,  on  one  side,  from  the  rejection  of 
Catholic  authority,  or  from  the  withholding  its  primary  doctrines, 
must  we  not  conclude  that  all  those  infidel  systems  which  have 
grown  out  of  Protestantism,  have  grown  out  of  it  at  its  own  expense  ? 
We  must  either  admit  that  all  Germany,  and  France,  and  Holland 
have  declined  from  Protestantism,  and  gone  into  the  cold  and  dark 
regions  of  infidelity,  or  we  must  still  call  these  nations  Protestant, 
and  allow  that  one  condition  of  their  Protestantism  is  the  denial  of 


9:1:  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

the  doctrines  of  the  Trinity,  and  the  holy  mysteries  of  the  Christian 
foith.  Protestants  would^  I  believe,  universally  assert  the  distinc- 
tion. They  speak  of  the  orthodox  denominations,  as  distinguished 
from  what  they  consider  heterodox  or  infidel  variety.  If,  therefore, 
both  are  not  equally  Protestant,  how  vastly  has  Protestantism  de- 
clined in  the  direction  of  unbelief,  skepticism,  and  heathenism! 

Protestantism  declines  too,  on  the  other  side,  in  the  direction  of 
conversions  from  its  ranks  to  the  true  faith.  It  is  a  very  consoling 
reflection  for  us  that,  for  a  long  time,  many  of  the  best  and  mightiest 
minds  that  ever  adorned  Protestantism,  have  been  coming,  one  after 
another,  in  the  opposite  direction  of  positive  belief  and  of  the  Catho- 
lic Church.  In  Germany,  though  we  do  not  pretend  to  be  very  fa- 
miliar with  what  is  going  on  there,  we  hear  of  four  hundred  from 
among  the  most  learned  men,  connected  with  the  universities  of 
those  studious  old  nations,  who,  during  the  two  years  of  1813  and 
1814,  became  Catholics;  and  every  year  since,  some  of  those  distin- 
guished minds  have  seen  that  the  middle  ground,  negative  and  posi- 
tive, "  yes  and  no,"  attempted  to  be  occupied  by  Protestantism,  is 
altogether  untenable.  They  see  that  either  Catholicism  or  Protest- 
antism must  ultimately  prevail,  and  whilst  the  largest  portion  wan- 
der still  further  from  truth,  they  only  follow  in  the  direction  of  the 
broken  logic  of  their  first  leaders,  and  can  retort  on  those  who 
Avould  restrain  them  :  "  You  told  us  that  the  Scriptui'es  are  our  only 
guide,  and  we  are  their  mterpreters  for  ourselves.  You  have  taught 
us  to  reject  authority,  and  now  do  you  attempt  to  fasten  its  gall- 
ing yoke  on  our  necks  ?  If  the  old  Catholic  Church  M'as  decep- 
tive, as  you  have  taught  us,  how  dare  you,  who  cannot  agree  among 
yourselves,  attempt  to  bind  upon  us  an  authority  Avhich  you  your- 
selves cannot  bear  ?"  And  so  the  declension  of  Protestantism  is  in 
two  opposite  directions,  as  the  positive  or  negative  principle  pre- 
vails— the  negatives  all  rushing  off,  every  one  in  his  own  way,  and 
the  positives  all  gathering  towards  a  Catholic  centre,  under  the  in- 
fluence of  a  prudence  that  dare  not  reject  divine  authority.  Here 
is  the  test-point  of  Protestantism ;  and  here  it  is  made  manifest  that 
in  its  very  birth  it  inherited  the  seeds  of  death  and  dissolution,  so 
as  to  destroy  the  very  possibility  of  its  self-preservation  or  self- 
propagation. 

It  may  be  said  that  Catholic  nations  have  also  furnished  infidels, 
and  that  a  whole  school  of  rationalistic  and  philosophic  men,  who 
disturbed  the  world  during  the  latter  portion  of  the  last  century, 
belonged  to  Catholic  France.  To  this  the  reply  is,  that  there  is  no 
charm  in  the  Catholic  Church  to  prevent  a  man,  bent  on  error,  from 
indulging  his  propensities;  there  is  no  spell  to  be  cast  over  him  by 
the  Church  ;  but  he  can  never  do  so  as  a  Catholic; — whereas,  in 
Protestantism,  in  all  instances  that  I  have  spoken  of,  it  is  not  the  lay- 
man only,  but  t!ie  preacher;  and  he  preaches  Protestantism  when  he 
pi-eaches  against  the  divinity  of  Clirist, — when  he  preaches  against 
the  miracles,  against  original  sin,  or  against  the  atonement ;  and  in 
all  this  he  is  warranted  by  the  negative  element  in  the  very  consti- 


THE   DECLINE   OF   PROTESTANTISM.  95 

tution  of  the  system  of  wliich  lie  forms  a  part ; — so  that  Protest- 
antism has  no  check  upon  him.  If  he  preaclies  error,  what  right 
lias  any  authority  on  earth  to  rebuke  him  ?  He  can  answer,  "  Look 
at  your  charter.  Is  it  not  the  privilege  of  the  Protestant — is  it  not  ray 
right  ?  By  what  claim  of  superiority  will  you  dare  to  raise  your 
judgment  against  mine,  and  say  that  I  am  Avrong,  and  you  are 
riglit?"  Protestantism  cannot  check  infidelity;  and  the  only  re- 
gret it  appears  to  feel  on  witnessing  this  desolation,  this  cold  and 
chilling  atmosphere  into  which  it  has  been  ushered,  is  the  regret 
that  there  is  left  no  balm  in  Gilead,  no  remedy  by  which  matters 
might  be  healed. 

Iti  then,  Protestantism  has  declined,  is  declining,  and  is  destined 
to  decline,  it  may  not  be  unseasonable  to  inquire  into  the  causes  of 
it.  I  think  the  tact  itself  is  undeniable,  and  I  must  abstain  from 
quoting  the  innumerable  instances  of  it,  because  such  quotations  are 
unnecessary.     The  thing  itself  is  admitted  on  all  sides. 

But  now  the  question  comes  up,  what  causes  have  prevented 
Protestantism  from  taking  that  spread,  and  exercising  that  influence 
over  the  human  race,  which  should  have  distinguished  a  system 
having,  or  claiming  to  have,  the  blessing  and  favor  of  God  ?  The 
causes  are  no  doubt  many  ;  but  I  think  the  primary  cause,  of  which 
the  others  are  consequences,  is  to  be  found  in  the  very  elements  of 
Protestantism  itself;  for  I  conceive  that  God  has  given  to  man  but 
two  general  principles  of  guidance.  One  is  divine  authority,  which, 
as  being  divine,  is  above  him  ;  and  the  other  is  reason,  which  is  in 
him.  If  it  be  said  that  we.  Catholics,  because  we  admit  authority, 
do  not  exei'cise  our  reason,  we  have  an  answer  which  is  obvious, 
and  ought  to  be  satisfactory  ; — and  it  is  this  :  If  you  ask  our  reason 
for  submitting  to  authority,  we  answer,  that  in  the  exercise  of  that 
faculty  we  have  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  God,  having  made  a 
revelation,  has  appointed  a  Church,  to  be  the  depository  and  wit- 
ness of  His  truth,  and  the  guide  to  his  people  to  the  end  of  the 
world.  Now,  if  this  be  true,  what  can  be  more  natural  or  rational 
than  to  submit  our  reason  to  the  teachings  and  guidance  that  God 
himself  has  appointed  ?  But  on  the  other  hand,  the  Protestant  sys- 
tem, from  the  beginning,  essentially  casts  off  all  authority.  It  is 
very  difficult  to  say  now,  what  were,  if  any,  the  philosophical  mo- 
tives for  asserting  this  principle ;  whether  asserted  by  accident ; 
whether  it  was  intended  really  to  be  a  central  and  abiding  point  in 
the  new  system,  it  is  difficult  to  say :  but  one  thing  is  perfectly  clear 
{Hid  obvious — that  the  first  exigency  of  condition  in  Protest- 
antism was  to  PULL  DOWN.  Its  first  mission  was  not  to  build  up, 
but  to  pull  down  ;  and  a  more  fruitful  or  efficient  principle  of  en- 
couragement for  the  destruction  of  whatever  did  exist,  never  could 
have  been  devised  by  the  perverted  and  perverting  ingenuity  of  man, 
than  the  principle  which  made  every  human  being  the  supreme 
judge  of  what  was  right  and  true,  with  the  injunction  to  reject  all 
authority.  Hence,  therefore,  the  first  destructive  principle  of  Pro- 
testantism  was  a  condition  of  necessity,  though  its  votaries  seem 


96  AECHBI8H0P   HUGHES. 

never  to  have  had  the  foresight  to  reflect  or  perceive  that  this  prin- 
ciple could  be  turned  against  any  thing  else,  and,  in  a  little  time,  even 
against  itself.  But  having  once  proclaimed  the  principle,  it  could 
not  deny  the  consequences.  Hence,  after  the  first  ebullition  of  that 
species  of  half  political,  half  religious  revolution,  they  began  to 
draw  the  semblance  of  a  creed  around  themselves,  and  to  throw 
some  restraints  over  the  private  reasoning  of  their  own  adherents. 
This  attempt  at  restraint  is  the  other  element  of  Protestantism,  and 
from  that  period  until  the  present  day,  supposing  it  to  be  thus  con- 
stituted, it  is  manifest  that  it  never  could,  under  such  principles, 
either  preserve  or  propagate  itself  And  why  ?  Because  these  two 
principles  came  in  contradiction  one  with  the  other.  How  can  you 
make  nie  free  to  read  the  Holy  Scriptures  and  judge  for  myself,  if 
you  tie  ine  down  to  your  Augsburg  Confession,  your  Westminster 
Catechism,  or  your  Thirty-nine  Articles  and  Homilies  ?  What 
kind  of  freedom  is  that  ?  The  freedom  you  proclaimed  invited  me 
to  desert  the  Catholic  faith,  in  order,  as  it  would  now  seem,  to  put 
my  neck  into  the  yoke  you  have  framed.  You  give  with  one 
hand,  and  take  away  with  the  other  that  which  you  had  given. 
Now,  therefore,  I  must  be  consistent  with  you.  Whatever  systems 
or  confessions  yoic  have  made,  God  is  invariable ;  and,  following  out 
His  light  and  yours,  I  see  you  are  in  contradiction  with  yourselves, 
and  cannot  continue  to  have  any  active  existence.  Either  reject 
authority,  and  make  every  man  free  to  follow  his  own  judgment,  or 
admit  authority  ;  and  if  you  admit  authority,  then  you  recall  your 
own  principle !  Be  candid,  then,  and  do  not  deceive  us  with  words. 
If  you  mean  that  we  are  to  shape  our  belief  according  to  your  arti- 
cles, tell  us  so.  If  we  have  reason  to  think  you  are  teaching  from 
God,  we  will  follow  you ;  but,  as  it  is,  you  adopt  a  principle  which 
is  destructive  of  every  doctrine  of  your  own  system,  and  which,  at 
the  same  time,  deprives  you  of  the  right  of  correcting  and  calling 
back  those  who  wander  from  your  arbitrary  standard  of  Christian 
belief  Hence  it  is,  that  all  those  persons  who  go  in  the  direction  of 
rationalism,  go  on  the  first  principle  of  Protestantism ;  and  all  those 
who  accept  authority,  and  find  it  not  in  the  system  of  Pi-otestantism, 
and  discover  there  no  guarantee  of  a  certain  faith,  one  after  another 
come  back  to  the  faith  of  their  ancestors.  This  principle  has  fol- 
lowed Protestantism  into  every  department  of  its  quasi  religious 
life.  It  is  like  the  blood  in  the  human  system.  It  springs  from  the 
heart  of  Protestantism,  and  pervades  the  whole  extremities.  Hence 
the  number  of  sects.  No  man  can  enumerate  their  shades  and  varie- 
ties. It  would  be  vain  to  attempt  it.  But  all  of  them  are  justified  in 
their  character  by  the  very  first  principle  of  separation  from  the  as- 
sociation to  whicli  the  primitive  founders  had  belonged.  Hence  it 
is,  too,  that  Protestantism  has  lost  all  organic  influence  over  the 
masses  of  mankind,  and  that  it  has  so  lost  all  capacity  to  preserve 
even  its  own  doctrines,  that  it  is  paralyzed,  powerless,  speechless ;  or 
if  it  speaks,  its  words  are  of  no  import.  It  has  lost  all  central  force ; 
and  because  it  was  conscious  of  this  defect  from  the  beginning,  you 


THE   DECLINE   OF   PROTESTANTISM.  97 

will  observe  that  it  immediately  attached  itself,  in  every  instance,  to 
the  State,  so  that  kings  and  courts  became  its  master  from  the  hour 
of  its  birth.  It  is  free,  and  ])rofesses  to  be  free,  o?i/y  in  these  United 
States ;  and  of  the  use  which  it  makes  of  its  freedom,  even  here, 
none  of  its  advocates  have  any  great  reason  to  be  proud. 

It  is  said  that  it  has  emancipated  nations.  This  is  not  the  fact ; 
but  even  if  it  were  so,  it  was  at  the  expense  of  its  oxen  liberty,  see- 
ing that  itself  became  a  State-slave  from  the  first  hour  of  its  exist- 
ence. Protestantism  at  this  day,  wherever  it  is  established  in  the 
Old  World,  is  but  a  part  of  the  State.  You  may  speak  of  its  Con- 
sistories, Presbyteries,  and  Synods — of  its  Bishops,  Ministers,  and 
Dignitaries,  but  you  will  find  them  Avithout  a  tongue  to  defend 
their  own  riglits,  or  to  define  its  doctrines,  except  the  tongue  which 
the  sovereign  or  his  civil  minister  puts  into  their  mouths.  In  Eng- 
land itself,  the  country  which  has  succeeded  the  best  with  Protest- 
antism, have  we  not  seen  but  the  other  day,  a  dispute  arising  be- 
tween a  Presbyter  and  his  Bishop  about  the  nature  and  efficacy  of 
the  sacrament  of  baptism  ? — a  topic  which  has  been  decided  by  the 
voice  of  universal  Christendom  for  eighteen  hundred  years!  In  this 
dispute  thft  Bishop  had  no  authority  or  right  of  judgment  over  the 
Presbyter.  On  the  contrary,  he  was  opposed  by  the  Archbishop ; 
and  there  were  the  Presbyter,  Bishop,  and  Archbishop,  all  learned 
professors  of  Protestant  theology,  and  they  could  not  define  the  doc- 
trine of  their  Church  with  regard  to  baptism,  until  it  was  made 
known  to  them  by  a  civil  officer,  a  judge  on  the  bench  ;  and  to  his 
opinion  they  w^ere  obliged  to  submit.  Yet  these  Presbyters,  Bish- 
ops, and  Archbishops  speak  to  us  of  setting,  or  having  set  nations 
free ;  they  speak  to  us  of  the  freedom  of  countries  where  the  re- 
ligion, of  which  they  are  ministers,  is  adopted  and  patronized  by  the 
sovereign  and  by  the  state !  No  doubt.  But  the  connection  be- 
tween the  Church  and  the  State  rules,  as  I  take  it,  that  the  Church  in 
such  countries  is  a  mere  function  or  department  of  the  govei*nment, 
in  which  the  sovereign  speaks  to  the  bishop,  or  the  judge  on  the 
bench  to  the  presbyter  or  the  metropolitan,  as  he  does  to  the  admirals 
of  the  navy  or  the  officers  of  the  army. 

How  then  can  Protestantism  succeed  in  pi'eserving  itself,  or  in 
converting  the  erring  world  ?  And  again,  to  speak  of  the  causes  of 
its  want  of  success  in  preserving  its  own  doctrines,  or  in  converting 
nations ; — how  has  it  been,  or  how  \%  it  now  possible  for  Protest- 
antism to  succeed  ?  Its  missionaries,  for  instance,  carry  with  them 
double  elements,  the  positive  and  the  negative — viz.  :  "Such  and 
such  doctrines  to  be  accepted,  and  such  and  such  others  to  be  cast 
aside."  Indeed,  they  often  cast  away  all  creeds  as  known  to  other 
men,  and  have  no  creed  of  their  own,  except  as  they  read  and  choose 
to  interpret  the  Scriptures.  "We  hear  of  companies  of  missionaries 
going  to  convert  heathen  nations,  and  of  their  holding  consultations- 
from  day  to  day  on  board  ship,  to  agree,  in  some  manner,  as  to 
what  kind  of  doctrines  they  shall  preach  and  present  to  the  heathen.. 
We  have  an  instance  of  one  of  their  distinguished  members  who  left 
VOL.  II,— 7. 


98  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

this  country  as  a  missionary,  who  himself  became  converted  on  the  voy- 
a<je,  and  was  baj)tized  into  a  new  sect  on  reaching  the  pagan  land. 
What  has  been  the  consequence  of  all  this  wavering,  instability,  and 
uncertainty  ?  It  has  been  the  same  as  that  which  has  produced  the 
divisions,  and  weakened  any  power  that  ever  existed  in  the  Protest- 
ant system  of  i-eligion.  It  is  natural,  and  to  be  expected,  that  the 
heathen  will  say  to  such  men — "  How  can  we  hearken  to  the  voice 
of  missionaries  who  come  to  us  conflicting  with  each  other  in  doc- 
trine ?  They  should  not  come  to  us  with  contrary  or  mutilated 
messages  from  the  Son  of  God.  We  shall  remain  as  we  are,  till 
your  learned  missionaries  agree  among  yourselves."  They  have 
also  still  further  confounded  the  simple  judgment  of  the  pagan. 
By  the  fact  of  being  Protestants,  they  must  necessarily  commence 
the  history  of  their  religion,  by  saying  that  Chrii^t  established  a 
Church  for  the  pui'pose  of  propagating  His  doctrine,  but  that  after 
fifteen  hundred  years  it  had  failed,  and  thei/  had  come  to  renew  it. 
How  can  the  savage  inwardly  digest  such  a  story  like  that  ?  How 
quickly  will  he,  with  the  perception  of  natural  instinct,  not  to  say 
talent,  reply,  "How  can  I  know  what  confidence  to  put  in  you,  if 
the  Author  of  Christianity  Himself  failed  in  His  Church  ?" 

Thus,  on  every  side,  that  inherent  defect,  that  one  principle  which 
is  self-destruction,  has  followed  Protestantism  in  every  one  of  its 
tmdertakings ;  so  that,  at  the  present  day,  it  does  not  in  reality  hold 
together  as  a  system  of  doctrines.  There  is  no  heart  in  it,  no  intel- 
lect, no  comprehensive  or  comprehensible  body  of  principles,  by 
which  men  could  be  brought  into  religious  and  harmonious  associa- 
tion one  with  another. 

Protestantism,  howevei*,  still  numbers  perhaps  fifty  millions  of 
men— an  immense  aggregate,  it  is  true  ; — and  among  them  may  be 
found  many  of  the  most  enlightened  and  best-educated  minds  that 
the  world  can  this  day  boast  of.  Yet,  owing  to  the  unhappy  aus- 
pices of  the  first  principle  of  Protestantism,  if  God  would  make 
known  what  is  the  specific  creed  of  each  individual  of  these  fifty 
•millions,  it  is  probable  that  not  ten  out  of  the  whole  number  could 
be  found  to  agree,  on  all  points,  in  substance  and  detail,  in  the  prin- 
«iples  and  doctrines  of  Christian  revelation.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
Catholic  Church  numbers  two  hundred  millions,  scattered  all  over 
the  globe,  from  the  rising  to  the  setting  of  the  sun ;  and  I  run  no 
risk  in  stating  that,  out  of  these  two  hundred  millions,  there  could 
not  be  found  ten  in  whose  inmost  souls  there  exists  the  slightest  de- 
viation from  the  actual,  and  of  course  original,  doctrines  of  the 
Chui-di,  in  regard  to  the  revelations  of  the  Son  of  God. 

We  have  thus  taken  a  hasty  glance  at  the  decline  of  Protestant- 
ism, and  obtained  a  conception  of  some  of  its  causes.  There  are 
many  other  causes  to  which  time  will  not  permit  me  to  refer. 
Among  them  I  look  upon  the  civilly  shackled  condition  of  Protest- 
antism, in  every  land,  as  by  no  means  insignificant. 

In  every  country  it  is  used  as  a  State  engine  by  the  government ; 
and  here,  where  it  is  not  so  used,  you  can  perceive  the  exces.ses  and 


THE   DECLINE   OF   PROTESTANTISM.  99 

fanaticisms  into  which  it  runs.  Look  at  the  noitheastern  part  of 
this  country,  perhaps  the  most  enlightened  portion  of  it,  the  land 
which  was  first  occupied  by  the  stern  Puritans.  What  is  it  now  ? 
A  land  of  Socinians — a  land  of  infidelity.  The  very  pulpits,  built 
for  the  purpose  of  preaching  the  doctrines  of  the  Trinity,  for  in- 
stance, without  any  professed  change  from  Protestantism,  have  been 
turned  into  places  for  preaching  against  the  divinity  of  the  Son  of 
God !  You  have  there  the  denial  of  the  great  truths  which  I  have 
enumerated.  You  have  even  women,  reared  under  the  sweet  in- 
fluences of  what  should  have  been  a  Christian  home,  assembling 
now  in  "  Congresses"  and  clamoring  for  "  woman's  lights  ;"  claim- 
ing to  be  Christians,  but  forgetting  their  true  dignity,  as  belonging 
to  a  sex  rendered  for  ever  glorious  by  the  virgin  mother  of  the  In- 
carnate God.  Their  Redeemer  secured  their  privileges,  which  they 
overlook ;  and  now  under  Protestantism  they  are  contending  for 
"  woman's  rights,"  measured  by  a  base  human  standard.  They  will 
not  obtain  them. 

You  have  your  Father  Millers  also,  who  turned  votaries  of  private 
interpretation,  crazy  with  the  idea  that  the  last  day  has  come,  or 
was  to  have  come  four  years  ago.  And  who  can  stop  him  ?  Who 
among  Protestants  has  the  authority  to  say  to  him,  "  Unhappy  man, 
you  are  not  a  Protestant  if  you  say  so,  and  you  must  cease  ?"  He 
takes  his  Bible,  and  demonstrates  from  Daniel  and  the  Apocalypse 
that  the  world  was  to  be  consumed  and  brought  to  an  end  in  the 
year  1846.  Otherwise  the  Bibles  were  to  be  thrown  in  the  fire  as 
deceitful  and  fallacious. 

So  too  with  your  Joe  Smith  and  the  Mormons ;  and  where  is 
there  any  thing  in  Protestantism  to  prevent  such  impostors  from 
sweeping  away  thousands  of  souls  which  Protestantism  had  under- 
taken to  guide  in  the  path  to  heaven  ?  The  adherents  of  Protest- 
antism, no  doubt,  preach  from  the  pulpit  obedience  to  the  decisions 
of  their  ecclesiastical  bodies  ;  but  of  what  authority  are  they  ?  None 
at  all.  All  is  gone ;  the  life  is  gone,  tj^e  soul  is  gone,  and  tlie  prin- 
ciple is  gone,  if  there  ever  was  any  principle,  except  that  which  was 
calculated  to  produce  endless  divisions  and  contradictions  among 
the  advocates  of  Protestantism,  and  against  those  to  Avhom  God  has 
been  pleased  to  bequeath,  as  a  legacy  of  mercy  and  infinite  love,  one 
united  system  of  divine  revelation. 

During  all  this  time  to  which  I  have  referred,  and  in  which  the 
Catholic  Church  saw  those  several  nations  torn  from  her  communion, 
as  so  many  bright  stars  swept  from  the  celestial  firmament,  she  was 
not  idle.  She  was  making  inroads  upon  the  Protestant  dominions, 
and  converting  their  best  men.  But  she  did  not  stop  there ;  she 
sent  forth  her  missionaries  to  replenish  and  recruit  from  pagan  lands 
those  who  should  compensate  for  the  havoc  which  Protestantism 
had  made  in  her  spiritual  dominions.  She  brought  South  America 
and  all  its  Indian  tribes  into  communion  with  herself;  and  they  have 
been  preserved  to  her,  and  thereby  placed  in  the  path  of  continuous 
and  progressive  improvement.     She  sent  her  missionaries  into  China, 


100  ARCHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

and  planted  there  the  nucleus  of  what  may  one  day  turn  out  to  be 
a  beautiful  and  glorious  portion  of  the  Church  of  God.  She  sent 
them  to  Paraguay — not  of  your  delicate  stamp,  not  that  class  whose 
only  object  abroad  appears  to  be  to  distribute  tracts,  and  count  even 
the  number  of  their  pages  for  tbe  newspaper,  even  to  the  extent  of 
millions;  but  her  missionaries  seemed  to  be  animated  by  the  life  and 
soul  of  truth,  and  an  ardent  love  of  the  Church. 

How  strangely,  and  yet  how  instructively,  has  God  manifested 
the  distinction  between  truth  and  error ;  for  while  Protestantism  has 
converted  none,  Catholicism  has  converted  all !  How  beautiful,  too, 
are  some  of  the  passages  in  the  lives  of  many  of  the  Catholic  mis- 
sionaries during  the  very  period  in  which  Protestantism  was  making 
its  ravages  in  Europe !  Who  can  imagine,  for  instance,  a  scene  more 
touching  than  that  exhibited  on  the  tranquil  rivers  of  Paraguay — 
when  the  Jesuit  missionaries,  finding  the  Indians  shy,  suspicious, 
and  averse  to  personal  intercourse,  or  any  conversation  with  them, 
resorted  to  their  canoes,  and  preached  to  the  hearts  of  the  savages, 
by  chanting  some  of  those  beautiful  and  touching  hymns  Avhich  the 
Church  has  consecrated  to  the  praise  of  God,  or  the  sweet  anthems 
composed  in  honor  of  the  Mother  of  our  Holy  Redeemer  ?  The 
Indians  could  not  resist  the  influence  of  the  harmony  of  these  beauti- 
ful strains ;  they  kept  pace  on  the  beach  with  the  movements  of  the 
canoe ;  forgetting  gradually  their  first  diflidence  and  timidity,  they 
Avere  attracted  to  the  presence  and  conversation  of  the  missionaries. 
On  one  other  occasion,  in  like  manner,  when  one  of  two  missionaries 
who  had  been  separated  from  his  only  companion  of  the  forest,  re- 
turned to  the  place  where  he  had  left  his  brother,  he  found  his  body 
pierced  with  arrows.  He  had  died  a  martyr  to  his  faith  ;  and  when 
he  saw  that  he  was  dying,  he  had  opened  his  Breviary  at  the 
"  Prayers  for  the  departing ;"  and  his  surviving  companion,  seeing 
all  this,  instead  of  flying  for  safety,  intoned  on  the  desolate  rock, 
over  the  martyr's  body,  the  "  Te  Deimi  Laudamus p''  because  from 
that  moment  he  began  to  c(inceive  stronger  hopes  that  God  would 
impart  a  blessing  to  that  unhappy  people,  though  they  had  shed  the 
blood  of  their  first  missionary.  He  had  sent  them,  and  in  His  hands 
one  could  be  as  powerful  as  both.  Where  has  Protestantism  pro- 
duced any  thing  like  this?  Where  have  its  missionaries  exhibited 
any  of  those  extraordinary  manifestations  of  devoted  faith  and  self- 
sacrifice,  as  well  as  divine  approbation,  which  have  distinguished  the 
missionaries  of  the  Catholic  Church  throughout  all  time  ?  Nothing 
of  the  kind  can  be  found.  Protestantism  acquired  all  it  ever  pos- 
sessed in  fifty  years,  in  the  heart  of  Christianity,  amidst  war  and 
civil  strife,  and  after  that  it  became  as  if  stricken  with  sterility.  It 
could  neither  preserve  itself  nor  its  doctrines ;  and  whether  we  num- 
ber those  who  have  unhappily  gone  further  from  the  truth,  in  follow- 
ing out  its  principles,  or  whether  we  count  the  multitudes  disposed 
to  return  to  Catholicism,  there  can  be  no  hesitation  in  coming  to  the 
conclusion  that  Protestantism  has  declined,  is  declining,  and  is  des- 
tined to  decline ;  and  probably,  before  the  end  of  a  century  from 


THE   DECLINE   OF   PROTESTANTISM.  101 

this  day,  there  will  remain  of  it'througliout  the  civilized  world  but 
a  spectacle  of  the  wreck  of  what  had  been  Protestantism.  This  is 
the  probability  ;  and  it  is  on  this  account  that  the  Church  has  never 
for  a  moment  ceased  to  understand  her  mission  and  her  purpose  in 
regard  to  the  errors  of  its  advocates,  as  well  as  those  of  mankind  in 
general.  Protestantism  pretends  to  have  discovered  great  secrets. 
Protestantism  startles  our  eastern  borders  occasionally  on  the  inten- 
tion of  the  Pope  with  regard  to  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  and 
dreams  that  it  has  made  a  wonderful  discovery.  Not  at  all.  Every- 
body should  know  it.  Everybody  should  know  that  we  have  for 
our  mission  to  convert  the  world,  including  the  inhabitants  of  the 
United  States,  the  people  of  the  cities,  and  the  people  of  the  coun- 
try, the  officers  of  the  navy  and  the  marines,  commanders  of  the 
army,  the  Legislatures,  the  Senate,  the  Cabinet,  the  President,  and 
all!  We  have  received  from  God  what  Protestantism  never  re- 
ceived— viz.,  not  only  a  commission  but  a  command  to  go  and  teach 
all  nations.  There  is  no  secret  about  this.  The  object  we  hope  to 
accomplish  in  time  is  to  convert  all  pagan  nations,  and  all  Protestant 
nations — even  England,  with  her  proud  parliament  and  imperial 
sovereign..  There  is  no  secrecy  in  all  this.  It  is  the  commission  of 
God  to  His  Church,  and  not  a  human  project.  God,  who,  in  His 
own  inscrutable  providence,  permitted  this  great  melancholy  schism 
to  take  place,  knows  the  time,  the  means,  and  the  circumstances 
under  which  the  return  of  many  souls  to  unity  shall  be  accomplished. 
In  the  mean  time,  look  over  the  list  of  great  minds  who  have  already 
relinquished  high  honors,  and  rank,  and  station  in  the  Church  of 
England,  and  sought  admission  to  the  one  true  Church.  Who, 
without  a  feeling  of  pride,  can  pronounce  the  name  of  the  meek 
Spencer,  who  was  willing  to  be  despised  and  abject  for  Christ's 
sake, — who  goes  abroad  among  the  poor,  preaching  to  them,  minis- 
tering to  their  wants,  and  asking  them  to  offer  up  continual  prayers 
for  the  conversion  of  liis  loved  but  erring  England  ?  Who  can  think 
of  Newman,  with  all  the  strength  of  his  mighty  intellect,  and  all  the 
sweet  and  tender  affections  of  his  pure  soul,  infused  into  every  page 
of  his  writings,  coming  back  and  endeavoring  as  far  as  possible  to 
repair  on  the  side  of  truth  the  unintentional  injury  which  he  and  his 
associates  had  done  to  the  Church  of  Christ.  Who  can  tell  among 
ourselves  the  number  of  Protestants,  and  many  of  them  ministers, 
who  have  already  come,  or  are  preparing  to  come  back  to  Catholic 
unity  ?  Now,  I  can  say  for  myself  that  I  have  had  much  pleasant 
and  fondly  cherished  intercouise  with  Protestants,  and  in  all  my  life 
I  never  conversed  with  one  who  was  entirely  satisfied  with  his  re- 
ligion. I  do  not  say,  however,  that  on  this  account  they  were  as 
yet  ready  to  become  Catholics.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  those  illus- 
trious converts,  who  have  been  liberated  from  the  ambiguities  of 
Protestantism,  those  noble  auxiliaries,  who  have  been  brought  up, 
as  it  were,  in  the  camji  of  the  enemy,  such  as  Spencer,  Newman, 
and  others,  from  the  moment  they  became  Catholics  found  a  fulness 
of  mea.sure  equal  to  the  desires  of  their  souls — a  provision  of  heavenly 


102  ARCHBISHOP   HrGHES. 

things  in  the  Church  of  God,  suited "  and  equal  to  the  aptitudes  and 
capacities  of  ransomed  and  regenerated  humanity. 

Why,  then,  should  we  not  unite  in  prayer,  that  God  will  recon- 
duct to  the  fold  of  Christ  those  upright,  but  as  yet  unliappily  wan- 
dering brethren,  who  are  wasting  their  strengtii,  their  lives,  on  the 
fields  of  Protestantism  ?  Why  not  unite  in  prayer,  that  God  will 
bring  them  all  back  into  the  sweet  communion  of  the  one  true 
Church  ?  We  should  pray  for  it.  We  must  look  for  it.  If  it  had 
not  been  for  these  awful  errors  of  Protestantism,  if  all  the  nations 
had  remained  in  the  communion  of  the  Church  of  God,  it  would 
seem  that  Christianity,  by  this  time,  would  have  absorbed  all  the 
nations  of  the  earth.  If  the  resources  and  labors  of  those  several 
States  of  Protestantism  mentioned  in  this  lecture  hati  been  united 
and  directed  to  one  common  purpose,  it  seems  to  me  that,  under 
the  oi'dinary  blessing  of  God,  Paganism,  Mahometanism,  and  every 
species  of  darkness  would  have  vanished  before  the  approach  of  tlie 
heralds  of  the  Cross.  Oh,  why  should  we  not  pray  that  the  day 
may  be  near  when  the  missionary  from  London  may  meet  the  mis- 
sionary from  Rome,  in  the  propagation  of  one  and  the  same  doc- 
tiine,  teaching  the  subjects  of  heathenism,  biinging  all  nations  into 
one  Church,  and  impressing  upon  them  the  belief  in  one  Lord,  one 
faith,  and  one  baptism  ? 


THE  CATHOLIC  CHAPTER  IN  THE  HISTORY  OP 
THE  UNITED  STATES. 

A  LECTURE  DELIVERED  IN  METROPOLITAN  HALL,  BEFORE  THE 
CATHOLIC  INSTITUTE,  ON  MONDAY  EVENING,  MARCH  8,  1853, 
FOR  THE  BENEFIT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  PROTECTION,  UNDER 
THE  CHARGE  OF  THE  SISTERS  OF  MERCY. 

American  statesmen  and  orators  are  never  more  eloquent  than 
"when  they  dilate  on  the  religious  equality  which  has  been  guaran- 
teed to  all  the  people  of  this  land  by  the  Magna  Charter  of  their 
rights  and  privileges— the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  This 
equality  has  not  only  been  proclaimed  in  theory  :  it  has  been  reduced 
to  practice.  The  mode  by  which  tlie  framers  of  the  Constitution 
proposed  to  secure  it  was  simple,  and  I  may  say,  original.  In  other 
countries,  whether  Catholic  or  Protestant,*  there  had  been  legisla- 
tion establishing  or  recognizing  one  predominant  creed,  but  some- 
times also  granting  toleration  to  dissenters  from  the  doctrine  of  the 
State  religion.  In  all  such  cases,  the  rights  of  conscience  were  se- 
cured by  affirmative  laws:  here  they  have  a  wider  scope  and  a  bet- 
ter security,  by  the  constitutional  negation  of  all  power  to  legislate  on 
so  sacred  a  subject.  In  other  countries  they  are  secured  by  some 
positive  statute, — here  they  are  safer,  under  a  constitutional  provi- 


THE  CATHOLIC   CHAPTEK.  103 

sion  forbidding  any  such  statute  to  be  ever  enacted.  In  other  coun- 
tries toleration  was  granted  by  the  civil  authority :  here  the  great 
men  who  framed  the  Constitution  saw,  with  keen  and  delicate  per- 
ception, that  the  right  to  tolerate  implied  the  equal  right  to  refuse 
toleration,  and  on  behalf  of  the  United  States,  as  a  civil  government, 
they  denied  all  right  to  legislate  in  the  premises,  one  way  or  the 
other — "  Congress  shall  make  no  law  on  the  subject  of  religion,  or 
prohibiting  the  free  exercise  thereof" 

As  soon  as  the  States  had  approved  and  confirmed  the  provisions 
of  the  Constitution,  it  was  natural  that  they  should  adjust  their 
local  charters  in  accordance  with  the  principles  of  the  great  instru- 
ment of  federal  Union.  Already,  in  1784,  Rhode  Island  had  re- 
moved the  only  blemish  in  her  laws  on  this  subject,  a  brief  disquali- 
fying clause  against  Roman  Catholics.  Pennsylvania  and  Delaware, 
I  believe,  were  the  only  other  States  at  that  period  which  were  not 
under  the  necessity  of  improving  their  legislative  records,  by  ex- 
punging some  clause  similar  to  that  which  Rhode  Island  had  re- 
pealed and  erased  before  the  general  Constitution  was  adopted.  At 
a  very  early  day,  however,  several  of  them  followed  the  example. 
Some  twenty  years  ago  North  Carolina  expurged  her  Constitution 
in  this  respect,  in  part,  no  doubt,  owing  to  her  esteem  and  regard 
for  one  of  her  own  cherished  sons,  himself  a  Catholic,  the  late  Judge 
Gaston,  a  man  Avhose^character  was  such  that  it  could  not  but  reflect 
honor  on  his  native  State  and  country.  Within  a  more  recent  period, 
New  Jersey  also,  unprompted,  and  of  her  own  accord,  revised  and 
improved  her  Constitution  in  this  respect.  New  Hampshire,  how- 
ever, clings  to  her  old  unaltered  charter,  in  which  is  a  clause  disa- 
bling Catholics,  on  account  of  their  religion,  from  holding  any  office 
in  the  State.  Her  distinction,  therefore,  among  her  sister  States,  may 
be  described  in  the  words  of  the  poet : 

"  'Tis  the  last  rose  of  summer, 
Left  blooming  alone, 
All  its  lovely  companions" 
Not  faded,  but — "  gone." 

The  disqualifying  clause  is,  I  suppose,  a  dead  letter;  the  Catholics  of 
New  Hampshire  must  be  very  few.  On  the  whole,  I  have  no  doubt 
but  that  the  liberality  of  the  country  at  large  has  imbued  the  people 
of  New  Hampshire  with  kindest  feelings  towards  even  Roman  Catho- 
lics. It  must  also  be  said  to  her  credit,  that  she  was  one  of  the  three 
States  who  suggested  to  the  framers  of  the  Constitution  the  very 
clause  which  I  have  cited,  and  which  guarantees  to  all  the  people  of 
this  widely  extended  Union  the  perfect  and  perpetual  equality  of  re- 
ligious rights  and  freedom  of  conscience.  It  is  only  to  be  regretted 
that  after  having  performed,  at  so  early  a  period,  the  function  of  in- 
dex, pointing  out  at  the  cross-ways  the  true  path  in  which  her 
thirty  sisters  are  now  advancing  peacefully  and  prosperously,  she 
should  have  continued  stationary,  and  be  found  the  last  to  practise 
what  she  had  been  among  the  first  to  preach. 


104:  ARCHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

But  it  was  not  in  readjusting  tlie  dead  letter  of  written  State 
constitutions,  that  the  people  of  this  Union  conformed  to  the  new 
and  liberal  order  which  had  been  sanctioned  by  their  authorized 
delegates  in  Convention.  Tliey  labored  to  imbue  themselves,  and 
those  around  them,  with  its  spirit  and  its  life.  The  legislature,  the 
executive,  the  judiciary,  the  pulpit,  the  bar,  vied  with  each  other  in 
cherishing  and  uttering  sentiments  of  reverence  for  the  sacredness 
of  what  had  been  sanctioned  in  the  provisions  of  the  Federal  Consti- 
tution. It  was  the  primitive  age  of  American  patriotism.  I  tryst,  how- 
ever, that  it  may  never  deserve  to  be  called,  in  comparison  with  subse- 
quent periods  of  possible  degeneracy,  the  "  Golden  Age."  But  at 
Jill  events,  it  was  a  period  in  which  the  great  men  of  the  country,  of 
all  professions,  brought  their  sentiments,  their  conversation,  and  ac- 
tions,— nay,  controlled  and  brought  even  the  very  prejudices  of 
their  youth  and  education,  into  harmony  with  the  new  order  of  civil, 
religious,  and  social  life,  which  had  been  so  wisely  provided  for  in 
the  Federal  covenant.  Such  an  example  could  not  fail  to  furnish  a 
key-note  for  the  universal  tone  of  American  patriotism,  which  it  has 
not  yet  lost,  and  which,  I  trust,  it  never  will  forget  or  alter. 

Roman  Catholics,  at  least,  have  every  reason  to  remember  and  to 
cherish  it.  It  is  stated  by  one  of  our  historians,  that  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  Revolutionary  Avar,  except  in  the  city  of  Penn, 
there  was  hardly  another  place  in  the  colonies  in  which,  by  authority 
of  the  laws  of  the  land,  a  Catholic  priest  could  celebrate  mass.  Now 
there  is  no  law  against  it  anywhere. 

In  view  of  this  wonderful  change,  it  may  be,  indeed  it  has  been 
asked,  why  Catholics,  in  America,  do  not  procure,  or  at  least,  peti- 
tion for  similar  alterations  of  the  laws  in  favor  of  Protestants  in  such 
countries  as  Italy,  Spain,  and  Portugal  ?  This,  in  my  opinion,  is  a 
very  silly  question.  Catholics  in  America  have  no  more  to  do  with  the 
civil  governments  of  Italy,  Spain,  and  Portugal,  than  they  have  to 
do  with  those  of  England,  Russia,  or  Turkey.  But  the  question 
may,  perhaps,  be  best  answered  by  putting  to  those  who  ask  it 
another  just  as  silly, — Why  do  you,  Protestants,  not  induce  Eng- 
land and  the  Protestant  States  of  Northern  Europe  to  imitate  the 
example  of  this  country,  and  abolish  all  legislation  on  the  subject  of 
religion,  or  "prohibiting  the  free  exercise  thereof?" 

All  such  questions,  on  either  side,  appear  to  me  not  only  very  ab- 
surd in  themselves,  but  entirely  out  of  place  in  a  country  like  this. 
It  is  equally  out  of  place,  and  altogether  untrue,  to  assert  or  assume 
that  this  is  a  Catholic  country  or  a  Protestant  country.  It  is  neithei". 
It  is  a  land  of  religious  freedom  and  equality  ;  and  I  hope  that,  in 
this  respect,  it  shall  remain  just  what  it  now  is  to  the  latest  posterity. 
There  are,  however,  ceitain  parties  that  have  been  only  partially, 
even  to  this  day,  penetrated  by  the  spirit  of  the  Constitution,  and  of 
the  primitive  men  of  the  Republic,  M'ho,  by  word,  deed,  and  ex- 
ample ushered  it  into  the  every-day  business  of  Ameiican  national 
life.  Even  this  portion  of  the  public  mind  is  constrained  to  exhibit, 
or  seem  to  exhibit,  on  its  narrow  surface,  a  formal  respect  for  public 


THE   CATIIOUC   CHAPTEK.  105 

law  and  constitutional  right.  But  still  beneath  that  surface,  and  in 
the  lower  depths,  there  yet  survives  a  certain  vague,  traditional 
memory  of  Protestant  ascendency,  fed  by  an  hereditary  prejudice  to 
the  effect  that,  in  a  civiUzed  State  where  Protestants  constitute  the 
great  majority  of  the  people,  Catholics  ought  to  be  satisfied  with  a 
subordinate  position,  and  be  very  grateful,  even  at  that,  for  the  priv- 
ileges which  the  liberality  of  Protestantism  in  this  country  permits 
them  to  enjoy. 

To  me  it  is  a  pleasure,  as  well  as  a  duty,  to  feel  and  exhibit  grat- 
itude where  gratitude  is  due.  But  no  collector  need  ever  call  on 
me  for  a  tribute  of  gratitude,  unless  he  can  show  a  better  claim  than 
this,  on  account  of  kind  offices  rendered.  I  am  grateful,  and  bound 
to  be  loyal  to  the  country  at  large,  for  the  benefits  which  I  enjoy  in 
a  legal  and  constitutional  way.  I  am  not  a  citizen  by  the  birthright 
of  nature.  But  the  Constitution  and  laws  have  conferred  on  me  the 
birthright  of  civil  and  political  nativity.  For  this  I  am  grateful.  If 
I  have  understood  the  subject,  this  makes  me  equal,  before  the  law, 
to  any  other  citizen  of  this  Union  ;  and  what  more  need  any  one 
desire — what  less  should  any.one  Avho  has  been  deemed  worthy  to 
be  enrolled  on  the  list  of  citizens,  be  willing  to  submit  to?  What 
Catholics  are,  therefore,  in  this  country,  they  are  not  by  the  favor 
of  spontaneous  benevolence,  but  by  positive  right,  whether  natural 
and  original  or  legal  and  acquired. 

The  object  of  this  lecture,  then,  will  be  to  show  that  Catholics,  as 
such,  are  by  no  means  strangers  and  foreigners  in  this  land.  It  is 
not  unusual  to  hear  persons  of  the  description  I  have  alluded  to  as- 
sume, in  conversation,  that  Catholics  are  new-comers,  who  enter  the 
field  at  the  eleventh  hour,  whereas  they  have  borne  the  heats  of  the 
day.  Not  so.  The  Catholics  have  been  here  from  the  earliest  dawn 
of  the  morning.  They  have  shared  in  your  sufferings,  taken  part  in 
your  labors,  contributed  to  the  common  glory  and  prosperity  of 
your  country  and  theirs ;  and  neither  the  first  page,  nor  the  last 
page,  nor  the  middle  page  of  your  history  would  have  been  where 
and  what  it  is  without  them. 

At  the  period  of  the  Revolution,  the  Catholics  of  the  British  col- 
onies were,  no  doubt,  few.  Still,  they  were  even  then  numerous 
enough  to  leave  their  mark  both  on  the  battlefield  of  freedom  and 
on  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  At  that  period,  the  Catholics 
in  tliis  country  were  probably  forty  thousand,  out  of  three  millions. 
At  present,  my  own  opinion  is,  that  they  are  not  less  than  three 
millions  and  a  half  of  the  whole  population.  Emigration,  no  doubt, 
has  contributed  much  to  this  result.  But  has  not  the  whole  country 
been  growing  by  supplies  from  this  source,  from  the  very  beginning? 
Even  the  oldest  and  stateliest  family  oak  that  now  adorns  the  fields 
of  early  colonial  plantation,  though  it  has  spread  its  branches  far  in 
American  air,  and  struck  its  roots  deep  into  American  earth,  may 
be  traced  back  to  its  feeble  beginnings  of  growth  from  a  European 
plant  transferred  hither  by  emigration.  And  as  it  has  been,  so  it 
will  be  with  similar  cases.     Now,  this  emigration  has  been  going  on 


106  AECHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

since  the  commencement  of  the  colonies  and  of  the  Republic.  But 
with  or  without  this  present  emigration,  the  Catholics  have  been  at 
all  times  sufficiently  numerous  to  take  part  with  their  Protestant 
fellow-citizens  in  whatever  was  deemed  essential  to  the  interest  and 
honor  of  the  country.  It  is  true  that,  as  a  general  rule,  they  are 
seldom  represented  by  members  of  their  own  creed  in  the  halls  of 
legislation,  or  in  the  high  places  of  public  office.  If  you  look  for 
vthem  in  such  places,  you  will  find  them,  at  most, 

"  Rari  nantes  in  gurgite  vasto." 

But  this  is  a  slight  afiair.  There  are  other  depa^-tments  of  the  public 
service  in  which,  perhaps,  a  truer  criterion  is  presented  as  the  test 
of  patriotism.  From  the  day  on  which  the  national  flag  was  first 
unfurled  in  the  name  of  independence,  when  the  people  of  these  col- 
onies appealed  to  the  sword,  and  left  the  issue  of  the  struggle  to 
Heaven's  arbitration,  until  the  day  on  which  that  same  flag  was  seen 
triumphantly  waving  over  the  capital  of  Mexico,  I  think  I  shall  be 
safe  in  saying  that  there  has  not  been  one  important  campaign  or 
engagement  in  which  Catholics  have  not  bivouacked,  fought,  and 
fallen  by  the  side  of  Protestants,  in  maintaining  the  rights  and  honor 
of  their  common  country.  On  all  these  occasions,. from  a  glance  at 
the  roll  of  the  missing,  or  a  gaze  on  the  upturned  faces  of  the  dead, 
it  would  be  easy  to  discover  that,  however  small  the  constituency, 
the  Catholic  body  never  failed  to  furnish  a  comparatively  numerous 
delegation  to  the  battlefield ;  so  that,  whether  in  defence  of  the 
countiy,  or  in  discharging  the  duties  of  civil,  social,  commercial,  or 
professional  life,  they  have  justified  their  title,  as  of  right,  to  that 
perfect  equality  with  their  Protestant  fellow-citizens  which  the  Con- 
stitution has  conferred  indiscriminately  on  all. 

But  it  may  be  said  that  even  the  Constitution  itself  is  a  sponta- 
neous concession,  for  which  we  are  indebted  to  the  liberality  of  Pro- 
testantism. If  I  had  proofs  of  the  contrary,  what  I  deem  due  to  the 
propriety  of  this  occasion  would  prevent  my  making  use  of  them. 
All  ci'edit  and  all  gratitude  to  the  liberality  of  the  great  men  who 
framed  that  document,  who  were  almost,  if  not  altogether,  exclu- 
sively Protestants.  But  the  matter  was  not  one  which  they  might 
dispose  of  according  to  the  impulse  of  their  own  high  and  generous 
feelings;  and  if  there  had  been  only  one  form  of  Protestantism  pro- 
fessed in  all  the  colonies,  I  fear  much  that,  even  with  Washington 
at  their  head,  the  Constitution  would  not  have  been  what  it  is.  Al- 
most every  colony  had  its  own  form  of  Protestantism ;  and  I  am 
sorry  to  have  to  say  that  among  them,  even  on  religious  matters, 
mutual  charity  was  not  always  superabundant.  Antagonisms  from 
without  would  have  defeated  all  the  purposes  of  the  confederation 
of  States,  if  the  Convention  had  attempted  to  favor  any  one  of  those 
forms  at  the  expense  of  the  others.  But  be  this  as  it  may,  it  is  in 
the  order  of  my  subject  to  contend  that,  with  or  without  the  Con- 
stitution, there  was  no  civil  or  religious  immunity  won  by  the  suc- 
cess of  the  Revolution  in  which  Catholics  were  not  morally  and 


THE   CATHOLIC   CHAPTER.  107 

politically  entitled,  in  their  own  right,  to  share  equally  with  their 
Protestant  fellow-citizens. 

Now,  the  Catholic  Church  has  no  recognized  theory  on  the  sub- 
ject of  forms  of  civil  government.  The  little  republic  of  San  Marino 
has  preserved  its  independence  and  its  republican  forms  for  fourteen 
hundred  years,  in  the  very  heart  of  the  Papal  States.  The  Church, 
however,  is  not  an  approver  of  revolutions,  except  when  they  are 
clearly  justifiable.  Having  experienced  singular  protection  in  all 
the  vicissitudes  and  revolutions  of  the  social  and  political  world  dur- 
ing eighteen  centuries,  she  has  the  consciousness  that  she  lives  by 
an  inherent  vitality  within  herself,  of  more  than  human  origin.  This 
has.  sufficed  her  during  the  past ;  it  is  sufficient  for  the  present,  and 
she  is  never  troubled  with  doubts  or  misgivings  in  regard  to  her 
position  in  the  future,  which  God  has  in  His  own  hands,  and  can 
dispose  of  as  He  will.  The  first  impression  which  the  influence  of 
her  doctrine  in  regard  to  the  principle  of  revolution  would  produce, 
I  think,  would  be  a  presumption  in  favor  of  existing  authority,  until 
cause  to  the  contrary  should  appear.  Yet  the  principle  of  passive 
obedience  on  the  part  of  subjects,  or  of  absolute  and  irresponsible 
authority  on  that  of  sovereigns,  never  was,  and  certainly  never  will 
be,  an  approved  principle  of  hers.  She  seems  to  have  little  con- 
fidence in  theoretical  systems  which  assume  that  great  or  enduring 
benefit  is  to  result  from  those  sudden  and  unexpected  excitements, 
even  of  a  religious  kind — those  enthusiasms  in  favor  of  new  schemes 
— those  irregular  starts,  and  leaps,  and  bounds  of  popular  ardor — 
now  in  one  direction,  now  in  another,  and  not  unfrequently  in  differ- 
ent and  even  opposite  directions  at  the  same  time — by  which  the 
pace  of  society  is  to  be  preternaturally  quickened  in  the  path  of 
universal  progress.  In  short,  having  witnessed  so  many  experiments 
tried  on  poor  credulous  humanity  by  new  doctors  who  turned  out 
to  have  been  only  quacks,  panaceas  are  not  by  her  highly  valued. 
She  has  had  such  long  and  universal  experience,  and  such  opportu- 
nities of  studying  her  subject,  that  she  knows  what  is  in  the  heart 
of  man,  the  bad  as  well  as  the  good,  much  better  than  he  knows  it 
himself.  She  is  inclined  to  suspect  or  distrust  all  those  crudely  con- 
ceived political  changes  which  disturb  the  peace  of  communities  and 
nations,  without  improving  their  condition.  Oh,  how  many  of  these 
abortive  and  disastrous  changes  has  she  not  witnessed  throughout 
the  whole  world,  during  her  life  of  eighteen  hundred  years ! 

But  a  revolution  begun  under  such  circumstances  as  marked  the 
commencement,  the  prosecution,  and  completion  of  the  American 
struggle  for  freedom,  it  would  be  impossible  for  her  to  condemn. 
It  was  admitted  by  the  wisest  statesmen  of  the  English  Senate  that 
the  authority  of  the  British  Constitution  was  on  the  side  of  the  col- 
onists, and  directly  opposed  to  the  violent  course  of  their  own  in- 
fatuated government,  in  regard  to  the  principle  for  the  maintenance 
of  which  the  Americans  took  up  arms.  Accordingly  the  Catholics, 
clergy  and  laity,  were  among  the  first  and  most  ardent  to  join  their 
couutrvmen  in  defence  of  common  rights.     Charles  Carroll,  of  Car- 


108  ABCHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

rollton,  signed  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  with  a  bold  and 
steady  hand,  risking  his  immense  property,  as  well  as  his  life,  in  the 
cause  of  his  country.  His  cousin,  the  Rev.  John  Carroll,  then  a 
priest  and  a  Jesuit,  afterwards  the  venerated  first  Archbishop  of 
Baltimore,  was  associated  with  Franklin,  Chase,  and  Charles  Car- 
roll, on  a  mission  to  conciliate,  pending  the  war,  the  good-will,  or 
at  least  the  neutrality  of  the  Canadians,  who  were  Catholics.  John 
Barry,  of  Philadelphia,  a  most  devout  Catholic,  a  native  of  Wex- 
ford, in  Ireland,  was  appointed  to  command  the  Lexington,  the  first 
vessel  of  war  owned  by  the  Continental  Congress.  And  so  well  did 
he  acquit  himself,  that  he  received  special  thanks  and  commenda- 
tions from  Washington  himself.  He  was  raised  to  the  highest  rank, 
the  first  who  ever  obtained  from  this  government  the  title  which  is 
popularly  known  as  Commodore ;  his  memory  is  held  in  respect  by 
his  gallant  successors,  and  he  is  not  unfrequently  designated  as  the 
Father  of  the  American  Navy. 

But,  not  to  speak  of  others  who  took  a  distinguished,  though  less 
prominent  part  in  the  great  struggle,  who,  I  may  be  allowed  to  ask, 
were  your  allies?  Catholics.  The  troops  furnished  by  Catholic 
France,  to  aid  in  the  war  of  American  independence,  I  find  it  stated, 
amounted  in  all  to  thirteen  thousand.  The  vessels  furnished  by  the 
same  government,  for  the  naval  service  of  the  young  Republic,  are 
set  down  in  all  at  forty-five  ships  of  the  line,  besides  frigates.  But 
money  was  as  necessary  as  men ;  and  when  the  exchequer  of  Con- 
gress was  empty,  when  the  paper  issues  had  ceased  to  represent  any 
positive  value,  loans  were  advanced  by  that  same  country,  amount- 
ing in  all  to  seven  millions  of  dollars.  Neither  was  this  yet  all.  I 
find  another  account  of  three  ships  dispatched  from  France  to  this 
country,  laden  with  military  stores,  including  two  hundred  pieces 
of  artillery,  four  thousand  tents,  and  clothing  for  thirty  thousand 
men.  It  may  be  said  that  France  did  all  this  from  political  motives, 
with  a  view  to  damage  the  power  of  England.  But  I  have  intended 
only  to  state  the  fact,  not  to  discuss  the  motive.  Supposing  the  mo- 
tive to  be  what  you  say,  the  colonies  were  actuated  by  the  same  de- 
sire :  they,  too,  wished  to  damage  and  cripple  the  power  of  England, 
so  as  to  prevent  her  from  being  able  to  despoil  them  of  their  con- 
stitutional rights  as  free-born  men. 

According  to  all  popular  ideas,  at  least  on  this  side  of  the  Atlan- 
tic, the  issue  involved  in  the  war  of  independence  was  a  choice,  as 
England  presented  it  to  the  colonists,  between  political  freedom  and 
political  slavery.  During  the  contest,  so  far  as  religion  is  concerned, 
who  were  your  allies  and  your  friends  ?  I  answer,  Catholics ;  and, 
if  I  may  be  permitted  to  add,  none  but  Catholics.  Of  course,  I  do 
not  mean  to  exclude  by  this  remark  the  chivalrous  men  of  different 
nations  who  risked  their  lives  and  fortunes  in  your  cause  ;  and  I 
would  be  especially  ungrateful  if  among  them  I  omitted  to  mention 
the  name  of  the  gallant  Montgomery,  who  fell  at  Quebec.  I  speak 
of  your  allies  and  friends  in  their  national,  public  character.  On  the 
other  band,  in  this  contest  between  slavery  and  freedom,  who  were 


THE   CATHOLIC   CHA.PTEK.  109 

j'our  enemies  ?  Protestants ;  and,  if  I  may  say  it  without  offence, 
none  but  Protestants.  Let  me  prove  this.  It  is  known  how  much 
the  British  army  has  been  in  all  modern  times  made  up  of  Irish 
CathoHc  soldiers.  Their  courage  and  fidelity  have  never  been  de- 
nied by  their  officers  or  the  Government  of  England.  But  in  the 
war  which  England  was  about  to  wage  against  the  rising  liberties 
of  this  country,  Lord  Howe,  who  was  to  take  command,  wrote  to 
the  British  ministry  that  he  "disliked  and  could  not  depend  on  Irish 
Catholic  soldiers,"  and  suggested  that  German  mercenary  troops 
should  be  employed  ;  and  these  German  mercenaries  turned  out 
afterwards  to  be  the  far-famed  Hessians. 

Again :  In  raising  German  troops  for  the  purpose  of  crushing 
the  liberties  of  this  country  in  the  war  of  independence,  the  agents  of 
Great  Britain  on  tlie  Continent  complained  of  the  obstacles  that  were 
thrown  in  their  way,  whether  in  raising  recruits  or  in  forwarding 
them ;  and  these  difficulties,  it  appears  by  dispatches  to  the  govern- 
ment in  London,  were  ascribed  to  the  intrigues  and  opposition  of 
Catholics  in  Germany. 

I  think,  that  on  a  review  of  these  evidences,  there  is  no  just  and 
candid  American,  pretending  to  have  any  adequate  knowledge  of 
the  history  of  his  own  country,  who  will  not  agree  with  me,  that  at 
the  close  of  the  war,  the  Catholics  of  this  land  were  entitled,  in  their 
own  right,  to  the  civil  and  religious  immunities  which  are  secured  to 
them  in  common  with  their  fellow-citizens  of  other  denominations, 
by  the  achievement  of  the  independence  of  the  United  States.  But 
there  is  another  ground,  in  favor  of  a  vast  number  of  them,  involv- 
ing the  additional  pledge  of  national  honor. 

It  will  be  recollected  that,  at  the  close  of  the  French  war,  Canada 
was  ceded  by  France  to  Great  Britain.  The  colonies  took  a  great 
interest  in  that  war,  in  which  Washington,  still  a  youth,  distinguished 
himself.  The  issue  of  the  struggle  has  an  immense  bearing  on  the 
early  history  of  the  L^nited  States.  From  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence 
to  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  by  exploration  of  rivers  and  lakes, 
including  even  Lake  Superior;  by  acquaintance  with  various  tribes;  by 
missionary  posts  here,  settlements  there,  forts,  or  something  corres- 
ponding, in  other  places,  the  French,  still  Catholics,  had  created  be- 
fore the  law  of  nations  a  valid  title  to  the  whole  of  the  valley  of  the 
Mississippi,  if  they  had  proved  themselves  physically  capable  of  de- 
fending it  against  the  combined  power  of  England  and  her  colo- 
nies. France  proved  unequal  to  the  effort.  Canada  was  ceded,  by 
the  treaty  of  Paris,  in  1763,  to  England, — including  all  the  depend- 
encies of  Canada  or  of  New  France  in  North  America, 

Now  the  rights  of  property  and  of  religion  were  secured  to  all  the 
inhabitants  of  the  territory  ceded  in  1763  by  France  to  England. 
The  title  to  all  the  claims  of  France  west  of  the  AUeghanies,  which 
passed  to  England  by  treaty,  became  vested  in  the  United  States  at  the 
close  of  the  American  war,  and  this  country  was  bound  in  honor  to  re- 
spect the  clause  which  had  secured  the  rights  of  property  and  re- 
ligion to  the  inhabitants.    Again,  Louisiana  was  acquired  directly 


110  AKCHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

from  France  by  purchase,  subject  to  the  same  condition.  Florida 
was  bought  from  Spain,  within  my  own  recollection.  Texas,  at  a 
period  more  recent  still,  and  now,  last  of  all,  New  Mexico,  and  the 
golden  regions  of  California,  have  been  acquired  by  ti-eaty,  and 
added  to  the  national  domain.  In  all  these  Territories  and  States, 
the  rights  of  property  and  religion  have  been  guaranteed  to  the  in- 
habitants ;  and  now,  at  this  late  day,  are  the  ajicient,  or  even  the 
new  Catholic  inhabitants  of  such  towns  as  Kaskaskia,  Vincennes,  St. 
Louis,  on  the  Wabash  and  Mississippi, — Natchez,  Mobile,  St.  Au- 
gustine, New  Orleans  in  Louisiana,  Santa  Fe  in  New  Mexico,  or 
San  Francisco,  Santa  Barbara,  and  Monterey  in  California, — in  de- 
spite of  treaties  (and  the  best  treaty  of  all,  the  American  Constitu- 
tion), to  be  told  that  this  is  a  Protestant  country  ? — with  the  soothing 
assurance,  however,  that  they  need  not  be  alarmed,  that  Protestantism 
is  only  another  name  for  liberty  of  conscience  and  universal  toleration 
and  that  of  its  bounty,  and  under  its  benign  and  exuberant  benev- 
olence, they  are  and  shall  be  permitted  to  enjoy  themselves,  to  own 
and  manage  their  property,  and  to  practise  their  religion,  just  the 
same  as  if  they  were  entitled  to  equality  of  rank  as  fellow- citizens ! 
Why,  if  I  know  any  thing  of  the  American  character,  the  enlightened 
portion  of  the  Protestant  mind  of  this  country  would  feel  as  indig- 
nant as  the  Catholics  themselves  could  feel,  at  the  utterance  of  such 
pretensions.  And  yet  they  are  all  included  in  that  one  unjust  and 
unhallowed  assumption  that  this  is  a  Protestant  country,  in  which 
Catholics  are  permitted  to  live  by  the  gratuity  of  Protestant  tolera- 
tion. 

Let  us  now  go  back  to  the  period  which  preceded  the  Revolution, 
whilst  these  States  were  as  yet  in  the  condition  of  British  colonies. 
I  need  hardly  recall  to  your  recollection  that  of  the  three  primitive 
colonies,  one,  that  of  Maryland,  was  Catholic.  That  of  Virginia  was 
first  founded  permanently  in  1607,  Massachusetts  colony  in  1620, 
and  that  of  Maryland  in  16.34.  I  will  not  speak  of  the  other  col- 
onies, because  I  do  not  regard  them  as  primitive,  but  only  as  inci- 
dental offshoots,  springing  up  at  a  distance,  and  oftentimes  growing 
out  of  a  local  necessity  for  a  departure  of  some  from  the  dwelling- 
place  of  their  former  friends.  The  Virginians,  if  I  have  not  mis- 
understood their  character  and  history,  were  high-minded,  chival- 
rous,— disposed  to  cultivate  and  realize  their  ideal  of  English  gentle- 
men, even  in  the  wilderness.  They  were  aristocratic  in  their  feel- 
ings, and  they  could  hardly  have  been  otherwise.  They  were  the 
favored  sons  of  England  on  these  shores,  as  regarded  both  Church 
and  State. 

Very  different,  in  many  respects,  were  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  of 
Plymouth.  Both  colonies  were  of  the  same  national  stock  and  ori- 
gin, but  the  early  inhabitants  of  both  had  been  brought  up  under 
the  influence  of  systems  and  associations  quite  antagonistic  to  each 
other.  I  am  sorry  to  say  that  Catholics  were  not  favorites  with 
either.  They  were  regarded  by  both  with  feelings,  if  I  can  use  such 
an  expression,  of  intense  dislike ;  whilst  neither  the  inhabitants  of 


THE   CATHOLIC   CHAPTEK.  Ill 

Virginia  nor  those  of  Massachusetts  were  by  any  means  over  toler- 
ant to  each  other.  The  Puritans  were  earnest  men.  This  is  not 
the  place  or  time  to  speak  of  their  religious  doctrines.  But  whether 
they  were  safe  guides  in  theology  or  not,  that  they  were  sincere  I 
have  no  doubt.  Now,  next  to  truth,  in  all  cases,  sincerity  has  the 
first  and  strongest  claim  to  the  respect  and  almost  veneration  of  the 
human  mind.  Not  only  were  they  earnest  and  sincere,  but  there 
was  no  double-man  among  them.  Whatever  they  seemed  to  be, 
that  they  were,  neither  more  nor  less.  In  the  transcendentalism  of 
some  of  their  descendants,  in  our  day,  the  whole  of  the  law  and  the 
prophets  has  been  reduced  to  the  summary  of  a  phrase,  which  im- 
plies that  each  one  should  "  act  out  his  own  individual  inward  lifej'''' 
and  this  is  the  precise  life  of  which  their  pilgrim  fathers  had  left  them 
the  practical  example.  Among  them,  no  man  presented  a  duality 
or  plurality  of  outward  phases,  each  purporting,  according  to  the 
exigencies  of  interested  expediency,  to  be  the  uniform  type  of  his 
interior  individual  life.  They  had  suffered  much  from  persecution 
on  account  of  their  religion  ;  and  they  did  not  deem  it  extravagant 
to  claim,  in  the  wilderness  at  least,  the  privilege  of  being  united  and 
undisturbed  in  their  worship  by  the  inroads  of  sectarians,  and  of 
doctrines  at  variance  with  their  own.  They  had  arrived  amid  the 
rigors  of  winter;  they  were  welcomed  only  by  ice,  rocks,  wild 
forests,  and  the  probable  hostility  of  Indian  tribes.  The  reception 
was  cold,  indeed  ;  but,  in  tlieir  minds,  not  more  so  than  their  expul- 
sion from  their  native  land,  for  such  they  considered  it,  had  been 
cruel.  The  convictions  of  their  conscience,  on  account  of  which 
all  this  had  been  brought  upon  them,  and  on  account  of  which  they 
had  rejoicingly  submitted  to  the  hardships  of  their  position,  were 
such  that  their  very  sufferings  served  but  to  render  their  religion 
more  and  more  dear  to  them.  They  cherished  their  religion  abovo 
all  things ;  and,  with  a  view  to  transmit  it  unaltered  to  their  pos- 
terity, they  conceived  that  they  did  others  no  wrong  by  excluding 
all  other  creeds  and  the  votaries  of  them  from  their  own  remote, 
quiet,  and  united  community.  They  had  no  objection  that  others 
should  enjoy  liberty  of  conscience ;  but  it  was  not  to  be  in  their 
colony.  They  judged  that  those  others,  if  they  wished  liberty  of 
conscience,  might  imitate  their  example,  and  find  for  themselves  a 
Plymouth  Rock  in  some  other  bay.  If  any  preacher  of  new  doc- 
trine rose  among  them,  they  did  not  deem  it  either  unjust  or  op- 
pressive to  require  that  he  should  find  or  found  a  congregation  for 
himself  somewhere  beyond  their  borders.  Whoever  would  judge 
justly  and  impartially  of  their  subsequent  legislation  in  matters  of 
I'eligion,  should,  in  my  opinion,  regard  it  from  this  d  priori  point  of 
view. 

Next  to  religion,  they  prized  education.  If  their  lot  had  been 
cast  in  some  pleasant  place  of  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  they 
would  have  sown  wheat,  and  educated  their  children  ;  but  as  it  was, 
they  educated  their  children,  and  planted  whatever  might  grow  and 
ripen,  on  that  scanty  soil  with  which  capricious  nature  had  tricked 


112  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

off  and  disguised  the  granite  beds  beneath.  Other  colonies  would 
have  brought  up  some  of  the  people  to  the  school ;  they,  if  I  may 
be  allowed  so  to  express  it,  letdown  the  school  to  all  the  people,  not 
doubting  but,  by  doing  so,  the  people  and  the  school  would  rise  of 
themselves.  The  consequence  has  been  that  education  has  become, 
among  their  descendants,  a  domestic  inheritance,  transmitted  care- 
fully from  one  generation  to  another.  It  has  become  one  of  the 
characteristics  of  New  England,  and  a  nobler  one  she  need  not  de- 
sire. Her  sons  have  gone  forth  to  every  portion  of  this  widely  ex- 
tended and  free  empire ;  and  owing  to  their  advantages  of  education 
they  are  generally  sure  to  succeed,  and  often  excel,  in  whatever 
business  or  profession  of  life  they  adopt.  Owing  to  the  same  cause, 
the  influence  which  they  have  exercised  over  the  general  mind  of 
the  country  has  been  felt  and  acknowledged  on  every  side.  And  if 
this  is  due  first  to  their  common-schools,  and  next  to  their  colleges, 
and  if  they  are  indebted  for  their  common-schools  to  their  Pilgrim 
ancestors,  it  does  them  credit  that,  with  filial  reverence,  they  keep 
up  from  year  to  year  the  annual  celebration  of  their  forefathers'  day. 
But  it  never  occurred  to  the  founders  of  their  common-schools  that 
a  time  should  arrive  when,  under  the  plea  of  shutting  out  sectarian- 
ism, Christianity  itself  should  be  excluded  from  popular  education. 
On  the  contrary,  with  their  forefathers,  the  church  and  the  school 
were  regarded  as  mutually  necessary  to  each  other,  and  not  to  be 
separated.  Time,  I  fear,  will  show  that  the  system,  the  experiment, 
of  divorcing  religion  from  education,  in  the  common-schools,  will  be 
attended  with  far  less  benefit,  both  to  the  pupils  and  to  the  country, 
than  that  system  which  was  sanctioned  by  the  colonists  of  Massa- 
chusetts. 

If  partiality  has  sometimes  portrayed  the  public  character,  whe- 
ther of  the  primitive  Virginians  or  of  the  Plymouth  pilgrims,  in 
colors  brighter — that  is,  more  glaring — than  truth,  prejudice  has 
seldom  foiled  to  follow  and  supply  the  shading  with  a  darker  hue 
than  truth  can  warrant. 

And  now  of  the  other  primitive  colony,  Catholic  Maryland,  what 
shall  I  say?  The  portrait  of  the  Maryland  colony  has  also  been 
taken  by  many  artists,  and  the  mutual  resemblance  of  the  copies  is 
very  remarkable.  The  picture  is  not  over  brilliant,  but  it  is  very 
fair.  Its  light  is  so  little  exaggerated,  that  prejudice  itself  has  never 
ventured  to  profane  the  canvas  with  a  single  tint  of  additional  shad- 
ing. I  will  present  it  to  you  as  drawn  by  the  impartial  pen  of  a 
Protestant  historian — a  native  of  New  England,  by  the  by,  of  whose 
reputation  she  and  the  wliole  country  may  well  be  proud — I  mean 
the  Hon.  George  Bancroft.  Of  course,  I  shall  invite  your  attention 
to  those  features  which  show  that  if  civil,  but  especially  religious 
liberty,  be  a  dear  and  justly  cherished  privilege  of  the  American 
people,  the  palm  of  having  been  the  first  to  preach  and  practise  it  is 
due,  beyond  all  controversy,  to  the  Catholic  colony  of  Maryland. 
The  history  of  the  whole  human  race  had  furnished  them  with  no 
previous  example  from  which  they  could  copy,  although  Catholic 


THE   CATHOLIC    CHAPTER.  113 

Poland  had  extended  a  measure  of  toleration  to  certain  Protestants 
of  Germany,  which  had  been  denied  them  by  their  own  brethren  in 
their  own  country. 

George  Calvert,  known  as  Lord  Baltimore,  Avas  the  projector  of 
the  Catholic  colony  of  Maryland,  although  it  was  actually  settled 
under  the  leadership  of  his  brother,  Leonard  Calvert,  "  who,"  says 
Bancroft,  "  together  with  about  two  hundred  people,  most  of  them 
Roman  Catholic  gentlemen  and  their  servants,  sailed  for  the  Poto- 
mac early  in  1634."  Their  landing  is  described  as  having  taken 
place  on  the  27th  of  Mai-ch.  On  the  spot  on  which  they  landed,  and 
in  their  first  humble  village  of  St.  Mary's,  the  historian  goes  on  to 
state  that — "  there  religious  liberty  obtained  a  home,  its  only  home 
in  the  wide  world."  Representative  government  was  indissolubly 
connected  with  the  fundamental  charter,  and  it  was  especially  pro- 
vided that  the  authority  of  the  absolute  proprietary  should  not  ex- 
tend to  the  life,  freehold,  or  estate  of  any  emigrant.  The  character 
of  Lord  Baltimore  is  described  by  the  historian  in  the  following 
terms : 

"  Calvert  deserves  to  be  ranked  among  the  most  wise  and  benevolent  law- 
givers of  all  ages.  He  was  the  first  in  the  history  of  the  Christian  world  to 
seek  for  religious  security  and  peace  by  the  practice  of  justice,  and  not  by  the 
exercise  of  power  ;  to  plan  the  establishment  of  popular  institutions  with  the 
enjoyment  of  liberty  of  conscience  ;  to  advance  the  career  of  civilization  by  rec- 
ognizing the  rightful  equality  of  all  Christian  sects.  The  asylum  of  Papists 
was  the  spot  where,  in  a  remote  corner  of  the  world,  on  the  banks  of  rivers 
which,  as  yet,  had  hardly  been  explored,  the  mild  tbrbearance  of  a  proprietary 
adopted  religious  freedom  as  the  basis  of  the  State." 

He  goes  on  further  to  remark,  that  at  that  period  "  every  other 
country  in  the  world  had  persecuting  laws  ;  '  I  will  not, — such  was 
the  oath  for  the  Governor  of  Maryland, — '  1  will  not,  by  myself  or 
any  other,  directly  or  indirectly,  molest  any  person  professing  to 
believe  in  Jesus  Christ,  for  or  in  respect  of  religion !'  Under  the 
mild  institutions  and  munificence  of  Baltimore,  the  dreary  wilder- 
ness soon  bloomed  with  the  swarming  life  and  activity  of  prosperous 
settlements  ;  the  Roman  Catholics,  who  were  oppressed  by  the  laws 
of  England,  were  sure  to  find  a  peaceful  asylum  in  the  quiet  harbor 
of  the  Chesapeake ;  and  there,  too,  Protestants  were  sheltered 
against  Protestant  intolerance." 

Their  Colonial  Assembly  incorporated  the  same  principles  in  their 
acts  of  legislation. 

" '  And  whereas  the  enforcing  of  the  conscience  in  matters  of  religion' — such 
was  the  sublime  tenor  of  tlie  statute — '  hath  frequently  fallen  out  to  be  of  dan- 
gerous consequence  in  those  commonwealths  where  it  has  been  practised,  and 
for  the  more  quiet  and  peaceful  government  of  this  province,  and  the  better  to 
preserve  mutual  love  and  amity  among  the  inhabitants,  no  person  within  this, 
province,  professing  to  believe  in  Jesiis  Christ,  shall  be  anyways  troubled^ 
molested,  or  discoimtenanced  for  his  or  her  religion,  or  in  the  free  exercise 
thereof.'  " 

He  adds  : 

"  Maryland,  at  that  day,  was  unsurpassed  for  happiness  and  liberty.    Con- 

VoL.  II.— 8 


114  AROIIBISHOP    HUGHES. 

science  was  without  restraint :  a  mild  and  liberal  proprietary  conceded  every 
measure  wLicli  tlio  welfare  of  the  colony  required  ;  domestic  union,  a  happy 
concert  between  all  the  branches  of  government,  an  increasing  emigration,  a 
productive  commerce,  a  fruitful  soil,  which  Heaven  had  richly  favored  with 
rivers  and  deep  bays,  united  to  perfect  the  scene  of  colonial  felicity  and  con- 
tentment. Ever  intent  on  advancing  the  interests  of  his  colony.  Lord  Balti- 
more invited  the  Puritans  of  Massachusetts  to  emigrate  to  Maryland,  oflfering 
them  lands  and  privileges,  '  and  free  liberty  of  religion  ;'  but  Gibbons,  to  whom 
he  had  forwarded  a  commission,  was  '  so  wholly  tutored  in  the  New  England 
discipline,'  that  he  would  not  advance  the  wishes  of  the  Irish  peer  ;  and  the 
people,  who  subsequently  refused  Jamaica  and  Ireland,  were  not  now  tempted 
to  desert  the  bay  of  Massachusetts  for  the  Chesapeake." 

He  continues : 

"  But  the  design  of  the  law  of  Marj^land  was  undoubtedly  to  protect  freedom 
of  conscience  ;  and  some  years  after  it  had  been  confirmed,  the  apologist  of  Lord 
Baltimore  could  assert  that  his  government,  in  conformity  with  his  strict  and 
repeated  injunctions,  had  never  given  disturbance  to  any  person  in  Maryland 
for  matter  of  religion  ;  that  the  colonists  enjoyed  freedom  of  conscience,  not  less 
than  freedom  of  person  and  estate,  as  amply  as  ever  any  people  in  any  place 
of  the  world.  The  disfranchised  friends  of  prelacy  from  Massachusetts  and  the 
Puritans  from  Virginia  were  welcomed  to  equal  liberty  of  conscience  and  polit- 
ical rights  in  the  Roman  Catholic  province  of  Maryland." 

By  all  this  it  would  seem  that  the  provision  of  the  Federal  Con- 
stitution, securing  universal  freedom  of  religion,  corresponds,  or 
might  be  regarded  as  having  been  almost  literally  copied  from  the 
provision  of  the  ciiarter  and  statutes  of  the  Catholic  colony  of  Mary- 
land, proclaimed  and  acted  upon  by  them  one  hundred  and  forty 
years  before  the  war  of  independence.  Hence  I  submit  that  the 
Catholics  of  the  United  States,  not  only  by  what  has  occurred  since, 
but  by  their  presence  and  their  principles,  and  their  practice,  from 
the  earliest  colonial  times,  are  entitled  in  their  own  right  to  a  full 
participation  of  all  the  privileges,  whether  civil  or  religious,  which 
have  been  acquired  by  this  country  in  the  progress  of  her  history, 
I  have  seen  it  stated  in  writing,  and  it  may  even  occur  to  some  one 
in  this  assembly,  that  the  Catholics  had  no  merit  in  this,  inasmuch 
as  they  were  too  weak  and  too  much  afraid  to  have  acted  otherwise. 
Such  an  observation  is  more  damaging  to  the  character  of  the  other 
two  Protestant  colonies  than  to  that  of  Maryland.  For  if  Protest- 
antism be  that  liberal,  generous,  and  tolerant  system  which  we  hear 
go  much  of,  why  should  the  Catholics  of  Maryland  have  been  afraid 
of  their  neighbors?  The  objection  is  severe,  almost  sarcastic,  in  re- 
lation to  Protestantism,  But  if  it  be  said  that  the  colony  of  Mary- 
land was  weak,  as  compared  with  either  of  the  others,  I  will  let  that 
pass  with  the  observation  that,  if  no  higher  motive  can  be  ascribed 
lor  their  proclaiming  freedom  of  conscience,  then  I,  for  one,  do  not 
•regret  their  weakness ;  for,  perhaps,  if  they  had  been  strong,  they 
•might  have  been  tempted  to  emulate  and  imitate  the  example  of 
their  colonial  neighbors. 

It  has  been  lemarked  by  a  modern  writer,  that  for  the  last  three 
hundred  years,  what  is  commonly  called  history  would  seem  to  be  a 
conspiracy  agaiiist  truth.     The  ground  of  his  remark,  which  is  highly 


THE   CATHOLIC   CHAPTEK.  115 

exaggerated,  is,  that  amidst  so  many  religions,  each  historian  is 
liable  to  be  biased  by  the  prejudices  of  youth,  the  influence  of  asso- 
ciations, and  partialities  in  favor  of  his  own  sect  and  creed.  If  there 
be  any  truth  in  the  remark,  and  I  think  there  is  some,  it  cannot  be 
a  bad  rule,  when  an  historian  writes  fiercely  against  the  professors 
of  an  opposite  creed,  or  in  favor  of  those  who  belong  to  his  own,  to 
receive  liis  statements,  not  as  gospel,  but  for  what  they  are  worth. 
But  when  an  historian  writes  favorably  of  those  professing  an  oppo- 
site religion  to  his  own,  then  his  statements  are  the  testimony  which 
is  extorted  by,  or  voluntarily  offered  to,  the  majesty  of  truth.  As 
to  prejudice  or  partiality,  Mr.  Bancroft  is  admitted  by  all  to  be  above 
suspicion  :  still,  he  is  a  Protestant,  and  on  this  account  I  preferred 
that  you  should  hear  his  testimony  in  regard  to  the  Catholic  colony 
of  Maryland,  expressed  in  language  far  more  classical  and  elegant 
than  any  I  could  employ. 

Far  be  it  from  me  to  diminish,  by  one  iota,  the  merit  that  is 
claimed  for  Rhode  Island,  Pennsylvania,  and  perhaps  other  States, 
on  the  score  of  having  proclaimed  religious  freedom  ;  but  the  Cath- 
olics of  Maryland,  by  priority  of  time,  have  borne  away  the  prize, 
and  it  is  but  just  to  say, 

"  ferat,  qui  meruit,  palmam." 

But  it  was  not  in  Maryland  alone  that  the  Catholics,  in  the  early 
history  of  the  colonies,  gave  proof  of  their  devotedness  to  the  prin- 
ciple of  civil  and  religious  liberty.  The  State  archives  of  New- York 
furnish  testimonies,  in  this  respect,  not  less  honorable  than  those  of 
Maryland. 

In  1609,  the  North  river  kissed,  for  the  first  time,  the  prow  of  a 
European  vessel ;  and  the  gallant  bark  acknowledged,  as  the  way  of 
ships  is,  the  affectionate  welcome  in  the  deep  furrows  which  she 
ploughed  up,  for  the  first  time  also,  on  the  tranquil  surface  of  the 
beautiful  river.  But  these  soon  disappeared  ;  for  it  is  the  property 
of  water,  whether  by  river,  or  lake,  or  sea,  or  ocean, — as  if  intended 
to  be  a  natural  symbol  of  true  charity  and  true  friendship  among 
men, — to  render  the  appropriate  service  to  those  who  require  it, 
and  then  generously  blot  out  every  record  and  memory  of  the  favor 
conferred.  The  captain  of  that  ship,  the  name  of  which  I  forget, 
was  an  Englishman,  in  the  service  of  the  Dutch  government.  His 
own  name,  I  need  hardly  tell  you,  was  Henry  Hudson. 

From  tins  beginning  resulted,  at  a  later  period  of  our  history. 
Fort  Manhattan,  next  New  Amsterdam  and  the  Province  of  New- 
Netherlands  ;  now,  however,  the  City  and  State  of  New-York. 
The  colony  of  New  Amsterdam  and  New  Netherlands  had  been  in 
existence,  under  the  sway  of  a  Protestant  government,  from  that 
time  till  1683  ;  and  as  yet,  strange  as  it  may  sound  in  the  ears  of 
my  auditory,  not  a  single  ray  of  liberty,  as  we  understand  it,  had 
dawned  on  the  inhabitants  of  New  Netherlands.  This  is  queer,  if, 
as  is  sometimes  assumed,  all  liberty  must  necessarily  come  from 
Protestantism.     If  so,  why  had  the  Protestant  government  of  Hoi- 


116  AKCHBI8H0P   HUGHES. 

land  left  its  Proiestant  subjects  here  so  long  destitute  of  what  we 
now  call  their  civil  and  religious  rights  ? 

The  English  took  possession  of  the  province  in  1664,  and  the  ter- 
ritory, extending  from  the  banks  of  the  Connecticut  to  those  of  the 
Delaware,  was  granted  by  Charles  the  Second  to  his  brother  James, 
Duke  of  York  and  Albany.  In  1673,  the  authority  of  Holland  was 
once  more  temporarily  established  ;  but  at  the  close  of  the  war  in 
the  following  year,  the  province  was  finally  restored  to  England. 
The  Duke  of  York  took  out  a  new  patent.  He  was  a  Catholic,  and 
although  the  school-books  say  he  was  a  tyi'ant,  still  it  is  a  fact  of  his- 
tory, that  to  him  the  inhabitants  of  New  Netherlands,  whether 
Dutch  or  English,  were  indebted  for  their  first  possession  and  exer- 
cise of  civil  and  religious  liberty. 

"  The  Duke  of  York,"  says  the  historian  whom  I  have  already  so 
often  quoted,  "  was  at  the  same  time  solicited  by  those  about  him 
to  sell  the  territory.  He  demanded  the  advice  of  one  who  always 
advised  honestly ;  and  no  sooner  had  the  father  of  Pennsylvania,  af- 
ter a  visit  to  New  York,  transmitted  an  account  of  the  reforms 
which  the  province  required,  than,  without  delay,  Thomas  Dongan, 
a  Papist,  came  over  as  governor,  with  instructions  to  convoke  a  free 
legislature.'''' 

"  At  last,"  Bancroft  goes  on  to  say,  "  after  long  efibrt,  on  the  sev- 
enteenth day  of  October,  1683,  about  seventy  years  after  Manhattan 
was  first  occupied,  about  thirty  years  after  the  demand  of  the  popu- 
lar convention  by  tlie  Dutch,  the  representatives  of  the  people  met 
in  assembly,  and  their  self  established  'charter  of  ijbekties' gave 
New  York  a  place  by  the  side  of  Virginia  and  Massachusetts," 

"  '  Supreme  legislative  power' — such  was  its  declaration — '  shall  forever  be 
and  reside  in  the  governor,  council,  and  people,  met  in  general  assembly.  Every 
freeholder  and  freeman  shall  vote  for  representation  without  restraint.  No 
freeman  shall  suffer  but  by  judgment  of  liis  peers;  and  all  trials  shall  be  by  a 
jury  of  twelve  men.  No  tax  shall  be  assessed,  on  any  pretence  whatever,  but 
by  the  consent  of  the  assembly.  No  seaman  or  soldier  shall  be  quartered  on  the 
inhabitants  against  their  will.  No  martial  law  shall  exist.  No  person,  profess- 
ing faith  in  God  by  Jesus  Christ,  shall  at  any  time  be  any  ways  disquieted  or 
questioned  for  any  difference  of  opinion.' " 

I  know  not  how  it  has  happened  that,  in  treating  this  subject,  I 
had  hardly  launched  my  slender  skiff,  when  I  found  it  heading  up 
stream,  instead  of  gliding  gently  down  the  current  of  historical 
events.  But  now  I  hardly  regret  its  caprice.  I  commenced  with 
the  floating  of  our  flag  from  the  battlements  of  Mexico, — that  is,  I 
began  at  the  end,  and,  no  doubt,  it  will  be  regarded  as  altogether 
in  keeping  that  I  should  end  at  the  beginning.  But  the  events  are 
the  same,  no  matter  under  which  order  of  chronology  they  are  con- 
sidered. That  little"  skiff,  if  I  may  be  allowed  to  extend  the  figure 
for  a  moment,  has  stemmed  the  flow  of  a  certain  prejudice  which 
calls  itself  history,  has  overcome  successfully  even  the  rapids  of  the 
adverse  tide,  and  now  having  reached,  or  approximated  the  tran- 
quil  waters  of  earlier  times,  I  can   guide  its  onward  course,  with 


THE   CATUOLIC   CHAPTEK.  117 

gentle  and  recreative  labor,  to  the  very  well-springs  of  American 
history. 

Having  glanced  at  the  period  subsequent  to  the  adoption 
of  our  Federal  Constitution, — at  the  circumstances  of  its  for- 
mation— at  those  of  the  American  war  of  independence,  which 
had  preceded — at  those  of  the  earlier  colonies,  especially  of  the 
three  primitive  ones,  Virginia,  Massachusetts,  and  Maryland, — I 
now  approach  a  period  anterior  to  the  colonies  themselves,  namely, 
the  period  of  discoveries.  In  this  period,  all,  or  nearly  all,  is  Catho- 
lic. From  the  first  discovery  of  the  country  in  1492,  until  the  date 
of  the  settlement  of  the  first  permanent  colony  at  Jamestown,  Vir- 
ginia, one  hundred  and  seventeen  years  had  passed  away.  Towards 
the  close  of  the  sixteenth  century,  several  efforts  had  been  made, 
under  Protestant  auspices,  by  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  and  his  relative, 
Gilbert,  to  make  a  settlement  on  the  Atlantic  borders  of  this  coun- 
try. These  attempts  proved  unsuccessful.  Their  projectors  suc- 
ceeded only  in  giving  a  name  to  the  territory  in  which  their  experi- 
ment had  failed.  They  called  it  Virginia,  a  name  intended,  no 
doubt,  as  a  compliment  to  Queen  Elizabeth.  But  within  seventy 
years  from  the  first  voyage  of  Columbus,  the  coast  had  been  visited, 
explored,  sketched  in  maps  circulated  through  Europe  at  the  time, — 
visited  and  explored  I  say,  in  all  directions,  north  and  south,  east 
and  west,  on  the  Atlantic  and  on  the  Pacific, — by  scientific  and 
daring  navigators,  all  Catholics,  and  all  sailing  under  the  flag  of 
some  Catholic  power  in  Europe.  Quebec  was  founded  in  1541. 
And  from  the  spot  on  which  we  stand  to  the  North  Pole,  France, 
at  that  period,  was  in  actual  possession.  In  this  sense,  at  least, 
that  there  was  no  European  power  to  question  her  title,  or  disturb 
lier  occupancy.  And  from  this  spot  to  Cape  Horn,  the  same  was 
true  in  regard  to  the  occupation  and  claim  of  the  Spaniards  and 
Portuguese. 

But  as  I  have  spoken  of  tlie  primitive  colonies,  so  I  would  now 
distinguish  the  primary  discoverers  of  America,  from  those  who 
must  take  rank  in  the  secondary  or  tertiary  class.  Even  in  the  pri- 
mary class,  there  must  be  no  competition  of  honor  or  merit,  as  re- 
gards one  who  stands  out  by  himselfj  the  first,  alone,  incomparable, 
peerless — Christopher  Columbus.  But  at  a  certain  distance  behind 
him,  there  were  three  formidable  rivals,  desirous  of  seeming,  at  least, 
to  share  with  him  a  portion  of  that  human  glory  which  has  made 
his  name  immortal.  You  will  not  be  surprised  that  all  of  these  were 
Catholics,  since  at  the  period  in  which  they  lived  and  struggled  for 
fame, Protestantism  had  not  yet  begun.  But  you  will  be  struck  with 
the  fact  that  the  three  imitators  and  rivals  of  Columbus  were  his 
own  countrymen — Italians,  all.  Their  names  were  Cabot  (father 
and  son),  Amerigo  Vespucci,  and  Verazzani,  the  two  latter  natives 
of  Florence,  and  the  former,  though  residing  in  Bristol,  in  England, 
a  native  of  Venice. 

We  cannot  help  regretting  that  the  new  hemisphere  did  not  take 
the   name   of  the  first   discoverer — (if,  as  it   would  appear,  it  had 


118  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

uo  name  of  its  own) — that  it  was  not  called  Columbia,  after  the  no- 
ble Genoese  sailor,  instead  of  America,  from  Amerigo,  the  Floren- 
tine. But  after  all,  justice,  in  this  respect,  has  contrived  to  estab- 
lish a  "court  of  error"  in  the  popular  mind,  whether  in  this 
land  or  in  Europe,  which  rules,  that  whenever  you  pronounce  the 
name  of  America,  every  one  thinks  of  Columbus,  and  no  one  of  Ves- 
pucci. 

Poor  Columbus !  A  sailor  himself,  and  as  heir  to  the  papers  of 
his  father-in-law,  he  had  heard  and  read  of  voyages  and  their  won- 
ders, not  unhke  in  their  philosophy  (but  of  a  higher  and  different 
order)  those  which  tempted  Douglas  from  his  Grampian  Hills.  He 
went  about  from  court  to  court,  with  a  heavy  heart,  asking  permis- 
,sion  to  visit  the  western  continent  and  bring  back  news.  Courtiers, 
and  even  sovereigns,  who  listened  for  a  moment  to  his  pleading, 
said  or  thought  that  the  poor  man  was  deranged.  No,  he  was  not ; 
but  he  would  have  probably  become  so  if  Providence  had  not  opened 
for  him  an  occasion  and  opportunity  to  test  his  theory  by  practical 
experiment.  The  difficulty  was  want  of  means  to  execute  his  pro- 
ject, or  perish  in  the  effort.  In  the  court  of  Spain  he  had  the  sup- 
port of  one  or  two  distinguished  ecclesiastics.  Columbus  was  a 
scientitic  enthusiast,  and  such  men  are  always  eloquent  when  they 
speak  of  their  favorite  project.  Still,  his  eloquence  had  proved  vain 
at  many  courts  ;  and  in  the  final,  almost  hopeless  interview,  it  was, 
as  he  knelt  pleading  before  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  that  he  touched 
a  chord  w^hich  vibrated  in  the  inmost  heart  of  the  illustrious  and 
royal  lady.  In  that  august  presence  he  had  spoken  of  the  anticipa- 
ted glory  and  gain  connected  with  the  success  of  his  enterprise,  but 
without  effect.  But  when  he  spoke  of  the  probability  of  the  exist- 
ence of  men  made  after  God's  image,  who  might  be  brought  to 
know  Jesus  Christ,  and  to  be  saved,  believing  in  Him,  he  melted 
the  heart  of  "Isabella,  the  Catholic,"  so  that  she  lost  all  appreciation 
of  the  jewels  that  adorned  her  persoff  and  her  diadem,  threw  them, 
so  to  speak,  at  the  feet  of  the  enthusiast,  and  deemed  their  value  as 
nothing,  compared  with  the  mere  possibility  of  their  being  instru- 
mental in  bringing  souls  buried  in  the  darkness  of  paganism  to  the 
knowledge  of  Christ. 

In  a  lew  months  afterwards,  Columbus  was  seen  planting  the 
cross  on  the  island  of  San  Salvador,  and  taking  possession  of  this 
hemisphere,  in  the  name  of  Christ  Our  Saviour  ("  San  Salvador") 
and  ot  Spain.  I  look  upon  this  scene  as  one  of  the  most  interesting, 
if  not  thrilling,  events  recorded  in  the  annals  of  the  human  race. 
But  in  this  title-page  and  frontispiece  of  American  history,  Columbus 
was  not  alone.  His  partner  in  the  glory  was  Isabella  the  Catholic, 
the  meek,  the  brave,  the  enlightened,  the  discreet,  the  beautiful 
queen  of  Castile  and  Arragon. 

Five  years  from  the  date  of  that  event— namely,  in  1497— John 
and  Sebastian  Cabot  were  sent  out  by  the  British  Government  un- 
der Henry  the  Seventh,  and  made  an  extensive  survey  of  this  coast, 
— creatmg  thereby  that  title  on  which  Queen  Elizabeth  based  her 


THE   CATHOLIC   CHAPTEE.  119 

right  to  plant  colonies  in  this  country,  more  than  eighty  years  after- 
wards. 

I  have  now  touched,  merely  touched,  on  the  prominent  points  of 
American  history,  so  far  as  my  subject  authorized  or  required  me 
to  do  so,  from  the  first  to  the  last  page.  I  have  reviewed  the  valid- 
ity of  the  imaginary  claims  on  wliich  it  is  assumed  that  this  is  a 
Protestant  country, — in  presence  of  the  Constitution,  and  all  that 
has  happened  since  its  adoption — in  presence  of  the  faith  of  treaties 
— in  presence  of  the  war  of  freedom  and  independence — in  presence 
of  colonial  history — in  presence  of  the  period  of  discoveries  ante- 
cedent to  colonial  settlement,  at  least  on  these  shores, — and  as  yet, 
I  confess,  I  have  not  discovered  the  first  fact  or  document  which 
could  warrant  any  man,  possessed  of  an  ordinary  amount  of  true  in- 
formation, to  assume  that  this  is  a  Protestant  more  than  a  Catholic 
country. 

But,  perhaps,  it  may  be  said  that  the  religious  or  sectarian  char- 
acter of  a  country  is  to  be  determined,  not  by  historic  titles,  either 
of  discovery  or  occupation,  but  by  the  genius  of  its  political  and 
civil  institutfons.  If  this  ground  be  taken,  the  evidences  on  the 
Catholic  side  are  stronger  than  those  which  have  already  passed  in 
review.  The  great  elements  of  our  institutions — namely,  represent- 
ative government,  electoral  franchise,  tiial  by  jui-y,  municipal  polity 
— were  all  the  inventions  of  Catholics  alone.  They  come  in  part 
from  the  period  of  Alfred  the  Great.  They  had  acquired  a  very 
high  development  already  under  Edward  the  Confessor,  and  it  was 
only  after  royal  power  had  attempted  to  make  encroachments  on 
the  riglits  secured  by  them,  that  the  barons  at  Runnymede  extorted 
from  King  John  a  written  pledge,  not  to  secure  new  privileges,  but 
to  confirm  those  which  were  understood  as  the  hereditary  birthright 
of  English  Catholic  freemen.  These,  tb.erefore,  assuredly  do  not 
supply  any  evidence  that  this  is  a  Protestant  country.  But,  per- 
haps, it  may  be  well  to  inquire  what  is  meant  by  this  term.  It 
surely  cannot  be  that  the  elements  of  nature — earth,  air,  fire,  or 
"water — can  be  qualified  as  belonging  to  one  denomination  more 
than  to  another.  We  are  composed  of  Catholics  and  Protestants, 
if  you  will,  in  the  enjoyment  of  a  common  inheritance  ;  and  although 
the  fields  of  Protestant  proprietors  may  be  more  numerous  than 
those  of  Catholics,  still  the  same  dews  of  heaven  cause  the  wheat  to 
germinate  in  the  earth,  and  the  same  sunbeams  ripen  the  harvest  of 
the  one  as  well  as  of  the  other,  without  discrimination.  But  if  those 
Protestant  proprietors  should  ask  of  us  to  be  grateful  for  this,  that 
they  permitted  us  to  share  the  dews  and  the  sunbeams  with  them- 
selves, that  we  ought  to  be  thankful  for  this,  our  answer  is — No, 
gentlemen  ;  our  title  to  the  benefit  of  the  seasons  is  just  the  same  as 
yours.  We  are,  indeed,  grateful  for  your  kind  offices  of  good  neigh- 
borhood ;  but,  pray,  do  not  require  us  to  give  you  thanks  for  Hea- 
ven's gifts,  which  we  share  in  our  own  right. 

What,  then,  is  the  meaning  of  the  words  "  Protestant  country," 
as  applied  to  the  United  States  ?     I  suppose  that,  at  last,  it  will 


120  ARCHBISHOP  HUGHES. 

come  clown  to  signify  nothing  moi-e  than  that  the  majority  of  the 
inhabitants  are  Protestants.  But  has  it  never  occurred  to  those  who 
could  make  such  an  observation  tliat  majorities  and  minorities  are 
mere  accidents,  liable  to  change,  whereas  the  Constitution  is  a  jyrin- 
ciple,  and  not  an  accident  ?  Its  great  and  inappreciable  value  is 
that  it  prescribes  t-he  duties  of  majorities,  and  protects,  witli  equal 
and  impartial  justice,  the  rights  of  minorities.  In  this  country,  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States  is  the  majority,  and  it  shall  rule. 
Now,  in  presence  of  the  Constitution,  this  is  neither  a  Catholic  nor 
a  Protestant  country,  but  a  broad  land  of  civil  and  religious  freedom 
and  equality,  secured  indiscriminately  to  all. 

In  passing  so  rapidly  on  the  direct  line  of  my  subject,  I  have  been 
obliged  to  leave  unnoticed  innumerable  incidents,  many  of  which 
possess  attraction  enough  to  have  made  one  turn  aside,  and  dally  by 
the  way.  For  instance,  the  missionary  labors  of  the  Jesuits  and 
other  apostles  of  the  Cross,  who,  thirsting  not  for  gold,  but  for  souls, 
had  not  ceased  to  traverse  this  country,  in  every  direction,  from  the 
earliest  period.  Time  has,  to  a  great  extent,  obliterated  their  foot- 
prints on  the  soil;  but  the  reason  is,  in  part,  that  the  Indian  tribes 
among  whom  they  labored  are  gone — shrinking  away  into  the  deeper 
or  more  distant  wilderness.  The  memory  of  the  illustrious  Jesuit 
Fathers,  who  labored  for  their  conversion,  has  accompanied  their 
descendants  even  to  their  present  remotest  hunting-grounds.  But 
it  has  become  comparatively  weak,  and  is  now  reduced  to  a  symbolic 
term,  which  they  cherish  with  great  affection,  and  express  in  the 
words  "  black-gown,"  or  "  robe  noiry  Two  hundred  years  ago,  the 
poor  Franciscans  trod  the  golden  sands  of  California  beneath  their 
bare  feet,  without  noticing  or  appreciating  its  value.  They  looked 
more  to  heaven  than  to  earth ;  and  it  would  have  been  almost  out 
of  keeping  with  their  character,  to  have  made  the  discovery,  which 
has  recently  startled  the  mind  and  whetted  the  cupidity  of  the 
world. 

Two  hundred  years  ago.  Father  Le  Moyne,  laboring  among  the 
Onondagas  of  this  State,  discovered  the  Salt  Springs,  which  abound 
near  Salina  and  Syracuse.  At  present,  nearly  all  men  believe  in  the 
reality  of  the  discovery,  but  prejudice  was  then  what  prejudice  is 
now,  and  when  a  Dutch  clergyman  of  New  Amsterdam,  to  whom 
Father  Le  Moyne  had  made  known  the  discovery,  reported  the 
same  to  the  Classis  in  Holland,  he  added,  by  way  of  caution,  "  but 
whether  this  information  be  true,  or  whether  it  be  a  Jesuit  lie,  I  do 
not  determine  !"  And  in  that  precise  year,  that  is,  in  1654 — pass- 
ing to  another  scene  of  a  different  order,  you  will  be  surprised  and 
Borry  to  hear  that  the  Catholics  of  Maryland,  who  had  given  such 
an  example  as  we  have  seen  described,  were  themselves  distranchised 
on  account  of  religion. 

It  is  not  to  be  inferred  that,  in  this  historic  review,  I  have  been 
insensible  to  the  merits  of  other  persons  and  other  parties  besides 
Catholics.  But  the  character  of  my  subject,  and  the  limitation  of 
my  time,  do  not  permit  me  to  speak  of  them.     Nor  is  it  necessary. 


THE  CATHOLIC  CHAPTEK.  121 

Xeither  the  descendants  of  the  Virginia  colonists,  nor  those  of  the 
Pilgrim  Fathers,  have  allowed  their  ancestors  to  pass  away  "  unwept, 
unhonored,  or  unsung."  They  are  proud  of  being  the  descendants  of 
such  parentage.  Nor  need  a  Catholic  be  ashamed  if  he  is  told  that 
he  was  born  near  the  site  of  old  St.  Mary's,  in  Maryland.  As  a 
colony,  and  as  a  State,  she  has  had  her  distinguished  men.  The 
supreme  recognized  interpreter  of  the  laws,  even  of  the  Constitution, 
is  her  son,  and  a  Catholic.  The  judicial  ermine  will  contract  no 
stain  while  it  is  worn  by  him.  Pure  and  unsullied  he  received  it 
from  the  illustrious  Marshall,  and  to  his  unknown  successor  he  will 
transmit  it  as  unsullied  and  as  pure, — but  not  purer  than  is  his  own 
private  character.  The  death  of  Charles  Carroll  of  CarroUton,  the 
last  of  the  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  is  a  compar- 
atively recent  event.  The  galaxy  of  great  men  who  had  indorsed 
that  im.mortal  instrument  had  disappeared,  one  after  another,  until 
the  star  of  Maryland  alone  was  left, — and  not  by  one  State,  but  by 
all,  its  declining  course  was  watched  with  deepest  interest,  until, 
becoming  brighter  as  it  neared  the  horizon,  it  was  seen  no  more, 
and  is  now  but  a  gratefully  cherished  memory. 

The  moral  of  the  remarks  I  have  made,  if  they  have  any,  should 
be,  in  my  judgment,  that  no  pretensions  to  religious  ascendency 
should  be  entertained  on  one  side,  or  admitted  on  the  other.  In 
the  whole  range  of  human  benefits,  no  nation  on  the  earth  has  more 
reason  to  be  thankful  for  the  favor  which  the  kind  providence  of 
Almighty  God  has  placed  in  its  possession,  and  within  its  reach, 
than  the  people  of  the  United  States.  Let  them,  without  distinc- 
tion of  creed,  unite,  and  be  united,  in  preserving  the  common  inher- 
itance ; — let  them  vie  with  each  other  in  mutual  kindness  and  good 
offices,  vie  with  each  other  in  honorable  rivalship,  as  to  who  shall  be 
best  citizens  ;  who  shall  most  faithfully  support  the  country  and  obey 
the  laws.  I  hope  the  time  is  far  distant,  but  yet  it  may  come,  when 
our  country  shall  have  need  of  all  her  children.  Oh,  then,  let  them  be 
prepared  to  rally  around  her,  as  around  their  common  mother,  who 
had  been,  at  all  times,  equally  impartial  and  equally  kind  to  them  all. 

I  cannot  conclude  without  calling  your  attention  to  three  distinct 
moments  of  American  history,  which,  in  the  events  themselves,  in 
their  circumstances  and  consequences,  stand  out  apart  in  their  own 
moral  grandeur,  not  to  be  confounded  with  any  others.  The  first, 
is  the  moment  when  Washington  spontaneously  returned  his  victorious 
sword  to  the  civil  authority  of  the  country  \vhich  he  had  liberated. 
To  my  mind,  the  annals  of  mankind,  from  the  very  origin  of  time, 
have  never  presented,  in  the  order  of  merely  human  moral  grand- 
eui-,  a  moment  or  a  spectacle  more  sublime  than  this.  The  other, 
not  less  sublime,  is  that  in  which,  after  having  remained  unknown 
to  each  other,  so  far  as  we  can  tell,  from  the  period  when  the 
foundations  of  the  earth  wei'e  laid,  two  worlds  met  for  the  first  time, 
and  were  introduced  to  each  other  around  the  cross  planted  by 
Columbus,  on  the  island  of  San  Salvador,  in  1492.  The  third  was 
that  in  which  the  Queen  of  Castile  and  Aragon  offered  to   pledge 


122  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

the  precious  stones  of  her  crown,  in  order  to  defray  the  expenses 
of  his  expedition.  If,  as  there  is  I'eason  to  believe,  she  was  prompt- 
ed to  this  by  love  for  souls  that  might  be  saved,  even  though  their 
existence  was  yet  doubtful,  this  was  not  only  a  sublime  moment,  it 
was  almost  divine,  as  insuring  success  to  the  enterprise  from  the 
inward  prompting  and  impulse  of  heavenly  charity.  Of  course,  the 
chivalry  of  Spain  would  not  allow  their  sovereign  lady  to  make  such 
a  sacrifice.  They  provided  means  from  other  sources.  And 
although  they  did  well  in  this,  we  are  tempted  almost  to  regret 
that  some  of  her  jewels  did  not,  by  some  honest  accident,  find  their 
way  to  this  country.  The  sword  of  Washington  is  treasured  as  a 
precious  relic,  no  less  of  his  patriotism  than  of  his  bravery.  The 
hilt  of  such  a  sword  would  be  fitly  gemmed  by  a  jewel  once  pos- 
sessed by  such  a  queen — the  patroness  of  Christopher  Columbus. 
The  double  relic  would  represent  two  important  events  connected 
with  American  history,  and  be  an  interesting  memorial  at  the  same 
time  of  the  achievements  of  Washington  and  of  the  magnanimity 
and  charity  of  "  Isabella  the   Catholic." 


LECTURE  ON  THE  PRESENT  CONDITION  AND 
PROSPECTS  OF  THE  CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN 
THE  UNITED  STATES. 

DELIVERED   BEFORE   THE  YOUNG  CATHOLICS'  FRIEND   SOCIETY, 
AT  BALTIMORE,  JANUARY  17,  1856. 

(From  the  Baltimore  American,  January  18.) 

[The  hall  of  the  Mechanics'  Institute  was  filled  to  overflowing  last  night, 
drawn  together  by  the  announcement  that  the  Most  Rev.  Archbishop  Hughes 
was  to  deliver  a  lecture  before  the  Young  Catholics'  Friend  Society,  on  the 
"  Present  Condition  and  Prospects  of  the  Catholic  Church  in  the  United  States." 
The  general  anxiety  to  learn  the  views  of  the  reverend  prelate  on  this  import- 
ant subject  has  induced  us  to  lay  the  lecture  before  our  readers  this  morning, 
taken  down  as  delivered,  by  a  corps  of  experienced  stenographers. 

The  Archbishop  was  accompanied  to  the  stand  by  a  number  of  prominent 
gentlemen,  invited  guests  of  the  Young  Catholics'  Friend  Society.  He  was  in- 
troduced to  the  audience  by  Ambrose  A.  White,  Esq.,  President  of  the  Society, 
and  at  the  close  of  the  applause  which  greeted  his  appearance  commenced  his 
lecture  as  follows.] 

There  is  no  subject  which  has  elicited  such  varied  and  contradic- 
tory speculations  as  an  attempt  to  understand  the  present  condition 
of  the  Catholic  Church  in  the  United  States.  Members  of  that 
Church,  and  members  of  other  denominations,  have  indulged  in 
speculations  with  regard  to  its  members,  the  sources  from  which 
they  are  derived,  and  its  powerful  endurance  amid  the  novel  circum- 
stances in  which  it  finds  itself  in  a  free  country.  And  the  circum- 
stances are  indeed  novel ;  because  from  the  beginning  of  Christianity 
until  the  declaration  of  American  independence  that  Church  has 


CATHOLIC   CHUKCH   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES.  123 

never  found  lierself  face  to  face  with  the  civil  government  of  any 
country  except  as  its  favorite  or  as  its  foe. 

The  pagan  emperors  of  Rome,  as  you  know,  opposed  it  with  per- 
secution unto  death.  When  Constantine  became  a  Christian  he 
favored  it,  and  his  successors  pretended  to  favor  it  with  their  earthly 
patronage,  until  his  descendants  degenerated  into  petty  disputants 
of  theological  questions,  and  prepared  the  way  for  the  incoming  of 
those  who  became  the  masters  of  the  fallen  empire.  They,  in  their 
turn,  necessarily,  because  they  were  ignorant,  though  brave,  fell  un- 
der the  instruction  of  Christianity  ;  and,  in  forming  the  germ  of  the 
present  governments  and  nations  of  Europe,  in  their  social  capacity, 
the  Church  herself  was  brought  in  as  part  and  portion  of  the  govern- 
ments thus  interested,  and  they  as  civil  rulers  from  the  beginning 
professed  to  protect  her.  In  later  times,  when  changes  of  religion 
came,  whilst  she  was  petted  in  Catholic  countries  she  was  persecuted 
in  Protestant  countries  ;  and  thus  up  to  the  present  time,  or  the  pe- 
riod to  which  I  have  referred,  she  has  never  found  herself  face  to 
face  with  the  country,  and  in  rivalship  with  creeds,  in  which  no  favor 
was  to  be  shown  on  one  side  or  the  other.  And  hence  it  is  that  this 
new  problem  has  furnished  a  theme  for  the  inquiry  of  philosophers, 
of  every  religion,  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic  ocean.  And  when  I 
had  the  honor  of  being  invited  to  deliver  a  lecture  for  the  benefit  of 
young  men  who  devote  their  energies  to  protect  their  still  younger 
brethren  who  may  be  exposed  to  forfeit  both  their  faith  and  morals 
unless  protected,  surrounded  as  they  are  by  so  many  dangers  and 
temptations,  I  thought  that  no  subject,  though  a  most  difficult  one 
it  is,  would  be  more  in  keeping  with  the  spirit  of  their  purpose  than 
an  endeavor  to  elucidate  the  question  to  which  I  have  referred — 
namely.  The  condition  and  prospects  of  the  Catholic  Heligion  in 
the  United  States.  By  some  it  has  been  supposed  that  the  Catholic 
Church  was  making  almost  incredible  progress  in  the  absence  of  all 
restraints  and  discouragements  placed  upon  her  by  the  Legislatures 
of  the  States,  and  that  her  course  was  onward  and  prosperous.  By 
others  it  has  been  assumed  that  the  action  of  the  institutions  of  this 
country  was  so  powerful  upon  the  Catholic  mind  that  the  Church 
not  only  made  no  progress,  but  she  was  actually  retrograding,  and 
in  this  confusion  of  ideas  I  could  see  but  one  way  in  attempting — 
and  it  will  only  be  an  attempt,  for  the  matter  is  surrounded  with 
difficulties — to  elucidate  what  I  may  think  now  to  be  the  actual 
condition  of  the  Catholic  religion  here,  and  what  are  its  prospects. 
In  the  first  place,  the  Catholics  who  are  here  now  are  derived  from 
three  sources.  One  is,  the  primitive  stock  of  the  Maryland  colony ; 
the  second  is,  immigration  ;  and  the  third,  is  an  element  which  has 
hardly  yet  been  brought  into  the  account,  but  which  I  think  de- 
serves to  be  considered  an  element  in  elucidating  this  matter — that 
of  the  conversion  of  persons  of  other  religions. 

These  are  the  three  and  only  sources,  and  in  endeavoring  to  fol- 
low out  my  ideas,  it  will  be  necessary  for  me,  in  order  to  use  the 
shortest  words,  to  repeat  frequently  the  terms  Catholic  and  Protest- 


124  ARCHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

ant.  I  beg  you  to  understand,  that  in  this  reference,  I  waive  all 
theological  and  polemical  questions,  and  I  consider  for  the  present,  and 
for  my  pui'pose,  these  two  religions  as  simply  rival  demonstrations 
in  a  noble  competition,  as  to  which  shall  render  to  God  the  most  glory, 
and  to  man  the  greatest  benefits.  Itj  therefore,  any  syllable  escapes 
me  calculated  to  offend  any  one  of  this  audience,  I  beg  it  to  be  un- 
derstood, that  I  retract  such  an  expression  by  anticipation,  even  be- 
fore it  is  uttered.  It  would  be  unbecoming  in  me  to  avail  myself 
of  an  occasion  like  the  present,  when  I  am  honored  by  the  presence 
of  many  who  are  not  of  the  Catholic  religion,  to  say  one  word  which 
could  give  offence  to  any  one  in  the  least.  For  my  purpose,  it  is  neces- 
sary for  me  to  take  within  ray  view  a  period  of  seventy  years ; — that  is 
to  say,  from  a  period  between  the  declaration  of  Independence  and 
the  formation  of  the  Constitution.  The  beginning  for  that  period 
will  be  the  year  1785,  in  which  the  Very  Rev.  Father  John  Carroll, 
the  representative  of  Maryland,  a  Jesuit  priest,  was  appointed  by  the 
Holy  See,  and  invested  with  spiritual  authority  as  the  Superior  of 
the  clergy  in  this  country.  Until  that  time,  such  authority  came 
through  the  Vicar  Apostolic  of  London,  and  at  that  period  he  was  ap- 
pointed, and  here  is  a  proper  starting  point  for  us  to  determine  this 
question,  because,  although  there  remained  for  long  years  enactments 
upon  many  of  the  statute-books  of  different  States,  discouraging 
Catholics,  I  shall  not  take  them  into  account,  but  shall  consider  that 
from  1785  to  1856,  the  Catholics  of  the  United  States  have  stood 
upon  a  perfect  equality  as  to  the  law  with  their  Protestant  fellow- 
citizens. 

Now  we  must  begin  by  asking  who  and  where  were  the  Catholic^ 
in  1785.  Archbishop  Carroll  speaks  of  them,  and  finds  that  in 
Maryland  there  were  between  sixteen  and  twenty  thousand.  In 
Pennsylvania  there  were  about  eight  thousand,  according  to  the 
best  accounts.  A  priest  was  appointed  for  New  York  in  that  year 
by  Father  Carroll,  and  he  reports  that  he  found  a  congi'egation  of 
two  hundred  there.  Except  the  Catholics  of  Maryland,  those  of 
Pennsylvania  and  other  States,  with  rare  exceptions,  were  all  for- 
eigners. Nevertheless,  in  those  trying  days,  when  Carroll  himself 
had  taken  such  a  pati-iotic  part  in  vindicating  the  rights  of  his  coun- 
try, and  when  the  Catholics  of  Maryland  were  redeemed  from  all 
former  prejudices,  not  only  by  their  own  candor,  but  by  the  great 
and  illustrious  name  of  Carroll,  and  his  connection  with  the  work,  it 
so  happened  at  the  same  time,  that  in  Pennsylvania,  of  the  eight 
thousand  Catholics  there,  there  were  three  conspicuous,  trusted  and 
honored  in  the  great  work  of  preparing  the  country  for  the  result  which 
has  been  so  gloriously  attained.  One  of  these  was  Moylan,  the  first 
Quartermaster-general  of  the  American  army  ;  the  second  of  these 
was  Fitzsnnmotis,  a  member  of  Congress;  and  the  third  was  Com- 
modore John  Barry,  the  founder  of  the  American  navy. 

All  these  were  Catholics,  and  considering  the  paucity  in  numbers 
of  the  general  body,  were  at  least  quite  conspicuous,  and  well  quali- 
fied to  confer  honor  upon  it,  and  remove  any  prejudices  existing 


CATHOLIC   CHUECH   IN   THE    UNITED   STATES.  125 

against  it.  Xow,  to  the  Catliolics  of  Maryland  there  have  been  ac- 
cessions made  ever  since  that  period,  and  you  will  find,  that  although 
the  colony  of  Maryland  had  been  founded  by  Catholics,  and  although 
the  first  declaration  of  religious  liberty,  or  the  strongest  approach  to 
it,  was  there  enunciated,  nevertheless,  from  the  revolution  of  1688, 
they  were  disfranchised,  and  for  the  period  of  seventy  years  made 
no  progress.  Immigration  was  not  permitted,  and  severe  laws  were 
enacted  against  them,  and  Governor  Sharp,  in  1758,  himself  a  Pro- 
testant, computed  tliem  at  that  time  as  one  in  thirteen,  in  the  popu- 
lation of  the  colony.  Immediately  after  the  American  revolution, 
however,  and  perhaps  before,  some  of  these  had  gone  to  Kentucky, 
and  there  they  introduced  Catholicity.  But  except  the  three  sources 
to  which  I  have  referred,  you  may  look  over  the  expanse  of  the  whole 
United  States,  and  no  history  mentions  the  existence  at  that  period 
of  any  community  of  Catholics  in  any  part  thereof.  Individuals,  and 
perhaps  solitary  families  of  the  Catholic  faith,  might  have  been  found 
here  and  tliere,  but  these  are  the  three  sources  from  which,  as  I  will 
call  them,  the  native,  hereditary,  and  American  Catholics  are  to  be 
derived. 

How  was  it  in  respect  to  other  things  ?  There  were  at  that  time 
few  Catholic  churches  in  the  whole  of  the  United  States.  One  was 
at  Philadelphia,  one  was  at  Goshen-hoppen,  one  was  at  Conewaga, 
and  I  believe  one  at  Baltimore  was  about  finished,  and  that  was  St. 
Peter's  church.  Besides  this,  there  was  no  public  Catholic  church  in 
the  State  of  Maryland.  There  were  no  Catholic  schools  or  colleges  to 
prepare  young  men  for  the  ministry,  or,  in  fact,  Catholic  schools  or 
colleges  of  any  kind.  There  were  no  Catholic  hospitals  or  orphan 
asylums,  nor  any  institutions  of  this  character.  There  were  only 
Father  Carroll  and  twenty-four  priests  ;  three  of  whom  were  inca- 
pacitated by  age  from  doing  duty.  The  glorious  missions  of  the 
French  Jesuits  among  the  Indians  in  the  Eastern  States,  at  the 
North,  and  along  the  rivers  of  the  West,  though  limited  to  a  certain 
extent,  had  passed  away,  and  form  nothing  in  the  account  we  are 
now  considering.  The  accessions  of  territory  which  have  since 
taken  place,  are  not  to  be  counted  in  this  original,  hereditary  Cath- 
olic population.  Louisiana  came  in  by  purchase  eighteen  years  after 
the  period  I  speak  of,  and  her  population,  though  born  on  the  soil, 
was  small.  Florida,  which  was  brought  into  the  Union,  or  at  least 
acquired  as  territory  afterwards,  though  it  had  belonged  to  a  Catholic 
government,  had  a  population  scarcely  worth  mentioning.  Since 
that  time,  the  acquisition  of  Texas  from  another  Catholic  govern- 
ment has  been  made,  but  its  population  also  was  sparse;  and  yet 
still  further,  the  acquisition  of  California,  which  had  gold,  but  few 
inhabitants,  has  been  made.  And  lastly.  New  Mexico  has  been  ac- 
quired ;  but  all  these  acquisitions  have  been  of  countries  with  itn- 
mense  territory,  but  comprising  within  their  limits,  in  point  of  num- 
bers, an  insignificant  original  Catholic  population.  So  fiir,  there- 
fore, we  give  an  account  of  the  condition  of  the  Catholic  Church  at 
the  beginning  of  the  period  of  seventy  years,  which,  in  our  circum- 


126  ARCHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

Stances,  has  been  the  first  and  most  distinguishing  period  of  light, 
civil  liberty,  and  universal  equality  before  the  law. 

Whence  now,  it  may  be  asked,  lias  been  the  increase  in  the  pres- 
ent numbers  of  the  Catholic  people?  The  increase  has  been  from 
imm iteration,  and  I  think  upon  that  subject  very  erroneous  ideas 
prevail,  both  among  Catholics  and  Protestants.  I  think  that  immi- 
gration has  been  vastly  overrated,  and  from  an  examination  of  the 
best  authorities  within  my  reach,  both  official  and  scientific,  on  the 
English  and  American  side,  I  have  every  reason  to  believe  that  im- 
migration into  this  country  has  been  much  smaller  than  has  been 
generally  supposed,  though  necessarily  large.  It  has  not  been  possible 
for  me  to  procure  correct  and  accurate  accounts  of  the  immigration 
into  this  country,  except  from  the  British  empire,  but  we  can  easily 
understand  and  conjecture  what  it  would  be  from  the  continent  of 
Europe. 

In  the  first  place,  we  know,  in  regard  to  this  immigration,  that 
there  is  no  distinction  made,  in  the  authorities  upon  this  subject, 
excepting  in  one  or  two  instances,  between  the  inhabitants  of  one 
country  and  those  of  another,  so  that  the  immigration  fi-ora  the 
British  empire  has  been  described  and  considered  in  general  terms  ; 
and  we  know  further,  that  so  far  as  Catholicity  is  concerned,  neither 
Wales  nor  England,  nor  Scotland,  which  contributed  much  in  the 
earlier  stages  of  immigration  to  the  population  of  the  United  States, 
furnished  any  addition  to  the  Catholic  body.  It  remained,  there- 
fore, for  Ireland,  as  a  part  of  the  British  empire,  to  furnish  Catholic 
immigrants,  and  you  will,  perhaps,  be  surprised,  when  I  mention 
that  up  to  the  year  1825  the  immigration  from  the  British  empire 
counts  but  little  over  300,000.  The  statistics  from  which  I  derive 
my  information  appear  to  be  exceedingly  accurate,  much  more  so 
than  those  which  have  been  presented  by  the  later  authorities  in 
this  country.  . 

In  the  first  place,  after  the  establishment  of  peace,  there  was  very 
little  good-will  between  the  two  countries ;  but,  on  the  other  hand, 
there  was  a  remnant  of  rancor  still  remaining  upon  the  one  side,  and 
self-congratulation  upon  the  other.  The  immigration  which  began, 
or  at  leasti  which  was  first  noted,  was  in  1794,  when  it  was  10,000. 
It  goes  on  diminishing  until  the  close  of  the  war,  but  for  four  or  five 
years  previous  to  that  time,  the  immigration  was  so  slight  that  it  is 
scarcely  to  be  taken  into  the  account.  From  the  close  of  the  war 
it  increased,  but  still  in  moderate  degree,  up  to  the  year  1825,  when 
it  was  found  to  have  been  a  little  more  than  300,000. 

I  may  mention  further,  that  during  this  period  the  greater  por- 
tion of  immigrants  from  Ireland  were  not  Catholics  but  Protestants ; 
that  is  to  say,  they  were  Presbyterians  from  the  north  of  Ireland, 
who  settled,  some  in  New  Jersey,  and  in  great  numbers  in  Western 
Pennsylvania.  Many  of  their  descendants  are  now  found  in  Western 
Virginia,  in  Tennessee,  and  in  Ohio.  From  that  class  of  people, 
therefore,  the  great  majority  of  immigrants  came  at  that  period, 
nor  does  the  tide  of  Catholic  immigration  appear  to  have  set  in 


CATHOLIC    CHUBCfl    IN   THE   UNITED   STATES.  127 

towards  this  counti'y  with  any  great  force  until  after  the  close  of  the 
Revolutionary  war.  It  would  be  tedious  and  tiresome  to  go  through 
the  dry  details  of  statistics,  and  repeat  how  many  came  in  this  or 
that  year.  However,  it  is  enough  for  me  to  say  that  the  immigra- 
tion from  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  which,  up  to  1825,  was  a  little 
over  300,000,  readied  in  the  following  twenty-five  years  1,453,325, 
and  since  that  period,  from  1850  to  1856,  there  have  arrived  at  the 
city  of  Xew  York  alone,  1,319,236  immigrants.  During  this  period 
nine-tenths  of  the  immigrants  to  this  country  landed  in  New  York, 
and  there  is  no  account  of  those  landing  elsewhere.  The  statistics 
we  have  upon  this  subject  would  authorize  this  conclusion,  that  the 
immigration  from  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  since  1790  until  the 
present  year,  has  amounted  to  about  3,250,000. 

Xow,  if  we  were  called  upon  to  determine  to  which  religious 
party  tliese  immigrants  belonged — this  matter  enters  not  into  the 
account  of  the  statistics  of  immigration — although  for  the  last 
fifteen  years  perhaps  four-fifths  of  the  Irish  immigrants  were  Catho- 
lics, still,  taking  tlie  whole  period  of  time  the  proportion  would  be 
much  greater  upon  the  other  side,  the  Protestant  side.  From  the 
continent  of  Europe,  from  Sweden,  Norway,  and  most  of  the 
German  principalities  and  States,  nearly  all  the  immigrants  were 
Protestants.     There  were  very  few  Spanish  and  French  immigrants. 

The  object  of  these  remarks  is  first  to  impress  upon  you  a  just 
conception  of  the  amount  of  immigration,  and  how  far  it  has  contrib- 
uted to  the  actual  results  of  the  Catholic  religion,  as  it  now  exists 
in  this  country  ;  and  secondly,  to  meet  the  objection  which  has  been 
urged  on  both  the  Catholic  and  Protestant  side,  to  the  efi*ect  that 
Catholicity  wastes  away  under  the  full  light  and  liberty  of  the 
United  States.  It  is  not  long  since  a  nobleman  in  the  House  of 
Parliament  proclaimed  on  the  authority  of  a  letter  written  by  a 
priest  of  Ireland,  who  was  opposed  to  immigration,  that  the  only 
way  to  convert  the  Irish  would  be  to  remove  from  them  the  pre- 
tence that  they  were  persecuted  by  the  State,  and  to  make  them 
equal  before  the  law  by  sending  them  to  America,  and  then  indeed, 
in  a  short  time,  they  would  renounce  their  religion  and  become  like 
other  sensible  men. 

The  result  of  the  immigration  here  I  think  will  satisfy  you,  that 
though  this  has  been  the  case  to  a  lamentable  degree,  it  does  not  in 
the  least  prove  that  the  Catholic  religion  is  not  fit  and  competent 
to  hold  her  own,  no  matter  how  great  the  light  and  liberty  may  be. 
It  is  true  that  hundreds  of  thousands  of  the  descendants  of  the  Cath- 
olic immigrants  have  fallen  away  from  their  religion.  It  is  equally 
true  that  they  have  hardly  added  any  thing  to  any  other  denomina- 
tion of  Christians.  It  is  true  that  they  have  fallen  simply  into  a 
state  of  indifierence,  and,  alas!  sometimes  into  a  state  of  infidelity. 

This  is  not  because  they  have  examined  their  religion  in  the  light 
of  the  age,  or  in  the  presence  of  equality.  Not  at  all.  Calamities 
of  one  kind  and  another,  the  death  or  ignorance  of  their  parents  it 
may  be,  or  their  remote  situation  from  the  opportunities  of  practising 


128  ARCHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

and  learning  their  religion,  account  sufficiently  for  the  falling  away 
of  those  who  are  acknowledged  to  have  been  lost  to  the  Catholic 
Church.  Again,  though  the  number  of  immigrants  into  this  coun- 
try alone  might  equal  the  whole  number  of  the  present  population, 
still  the  slightest  inspection  will  satisfy  you  as  to  the  fallacy  of  the 
reasoning  of  those  who  misjudge  this  question,  and  will  convince 
you  that  the  immigration  pouring  into  the  country  is  like  water  cast 
into  a  vessel  that  is  leaky,  and  that  will  not  retain  any  quantity  it 
receives.  According  to  the  laws  recognized  in  statistics,  the  very 
common  laws  of  mortality,  immigrants  to  this  country  are  dying  at 
the  rate  of  one  in  three ;  and  this  is  because  they  are  especially  ex- 
posed to  the  accidents  of  life,  to  sickness,  hardship  of  every  kind, 
and  toilsome  poverty.  They  are  especially  exposed  to  epidemics, 
whether  in  the  form  of  cholera,  yellow  fever,  or  anything  else  which 
decimates  them,  and  therefore  the  common  allowance  of  mortality 
is  not  sufficient  to  express  the  proportion  of  the  deaths  in  their  case. 

Now,  therefore,  if  it  be  true  that  the  action  of  this  age  of  light 
and  of  freedom  is  detrimental  to  the  progress  or  the  existence  of  the 
Catholic  religion,  in  the  presence  of  other  free  denominations,  how 
are  we  to  account  for  the  progress  of  the  Catholic  religion  actually 
made,  according  to  the  statistics  published  in  this  city,  in  the  Cath- 
olic Almanac?  It  must  be  that  the  original  Catholic  population  of 
Maryland  and  their  descendants  have  kept  the  faith  and  propagated 
it  to  a  great  extent,  or,  besides  the  living  immigrants,  a  vast  number 
have  been  preserved,  and  have  not  fallen  away,  but  inherited  the 
faith  of  their  foreign-born  ancestors,  and  are  perpetuating  it. 

But  the  other  element  to  which  I  have  referred  is  conversion ; 
and  although  I  am  quite  satisfied  that  the  number  of  converts  does 
not  equal  the  one-third  of  the  descendants  of  Catholics  who  have 
passed  away  from  the  faith,  nevertheless  I  consider  it  a  great  ele- 
ment, essential  for  explanation  of  the  condition  of  the  Catholic 
Church  at  this  time. 

We  find,  by  the  census  of  1850,  that  there  were  then  in  the 
United  States  nineteen  millions  five  hundred  and  fifty-three  thou- 
sand and  sixty-five  white  inhabitants,  of  whom  two  millions  two 
hundred  and  forty  thousand  five  hundred  and  thirty-five  were  of 
foreign*  birth.  Now,  those  of  foreign  birth  were  made  up  of  all  the 
nations  I  have  mentioned ;  and  the  only  two  nations  which  contrib- 
uted in  any  considerable  degree  to  the  augmentation  of  Catholics 
were  Ireland  and  Germany;  and  in  that  year  (1850)  the  Irish,  ac- 
cording to  the  census,  numbered  nine  hundred  jind  fitly  thousand  in 
the  whole  United  States.  Of  this  a  very  considerable  portion  were 
Protestants;  and  of  the  remainder,  according  to  the  laws  of  mortal- 
ity, there  would  be  a  reduction  of  one-sixth,  up  to  the  present  time ; 
so  that  by  the  closest  examination,  and  arranging  the  results  accord- 
ing to  tiie  best  ascertained  authority  within  reach,  it  follows  as  an 
approximate  calculation  that  at  the  present  day  there  are  in  the 
United  States,  say  eleven  hundred  thousand  Catholics  born  in  for- 
eign lands,  over  eight  hundred  thousand  Irish  and  three  hundred 


CATHOLIC   CHURCH   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES.  129 

thousand  Germans,  because  of  the  German  immigration  there  are 
two  Protestants  for  one  Catholic.  Though  the  number  is  not 
great,  I  wish  it  to  be  understood  that  I  consider  this  a  high  estimate 
of  the  foreign-born  CathoUcs  of  the  United  States.  And  yet  we  find 
in  the  Catholic  Almanac  for  the  year  1856,  that  the  Catholic  popu- 
lation, by  the  enumeration,  as  reported  by  the  different  dioceses  of 
the  United  States,  is  two  millions  three  hundred  and  ninety-seven 
thousand  five  hundred ;  thus  leaving  eleven  hundred  thousand  for- 
eign-born Catholics,  and  the  balance  twelve  hundred  and  ninety- 
seven  thousand  five  hundred.  We  should  take  into  the  account, 
too,  a  great  loss,  owing  to  the  majority  of  parents  leaving  their  chil- 
dren unprotected — not  receiving  an  education,  and  owing  to  their 
poverty,  being  compelled  to  select  habitations  distant  from  religion 
and  its  ministers.  Although  this  loss  is  so  great,  it  is  impossible  to 
explain  these  statistics  without  supposing  that  many  fell  in  with  the 
doctrines  of  their  ancestry,  who  propagated  their  faith  and  hope  to 
those  born  in  this  country. 

A  third  element  is  that  of  conversion ;  and  so  far  as  it  is  a  test- 
question,  here  is  a  true  test  whether  or  not  Catholicity  can  com- 
pare with  any  other  denomination  of  Christians,  where  there  is  nei- 
ther popularity  on  the  one  side  nor  prejudice  on  the  other.  It  is 
the  number  of  conversions ;  for  while  many  speculate,  and  admit, 
with  expressions  of  gi-atitude,  that  the  Catholic  religion  is  useful  and 
beneficial  to  mankind,  in  her  regions  of  despair  and  darkness,  they 
say  that  it  never  can  bear  the  test  of  light  in  the  presence  of  equal 
education.  And  here  is  the  test :  when  I  say  conversions,  not  in 
boastful  terras,  but  which  we  ascribe  to  the  Almighty,  I  mean  those 
of  American  birth,  freemen  who  love  freedom,  who  would  not  sacri- 
fice legitimate  freedom  while  embracing  Catholicism — and  who,  un- 
derstanding both  sides  of  the  question,  have  not  hesitated  to  make 
sacrifices  of  worldly  interests  and  advantages — for  what  purpose  ? 
To  bear  testimony  to  the  truth  which  they  had  examined  and  which 
came  under  their  notice,  and  by  an  act  of  simple  faith  embraced. 
Not  for  worldly  motives.  And  here  is  the  field  and  theatre,  the 
sphere  on  which,  it  was  said,  it  could  not  stand ! 

We  all  know  that,  from  the  time  of  Archbishop  Carroll  to  the 
present  day,  there  have  been  numerous  converts.  In  New  England^ 
East,  West,  South,  everywhere,  there  is  scarcely  any  congregatioui 
that  does  not  number  its  converts  ;  and  those  converts  take  bettfri- 
care  to  instil  their  faith  into  the  minds  of  their  children  than  those- 
who  receive  their  faith  IVom  Catholic  parents. 

What,  then,  is  the  condition  of  the  Catholic  Church  as  compared, 
with  the  time  of  Archbishop  Carroll  ?  Seventy  years  ago,  not  gpijig. 
out  of  this  period,  in  the  history  of  the  United  States  of  AiBerica,, 
was  the  first  occasion  on  which  the  Catholic  Church  was  tried  by 
such  circumstances. 

What  is  the  condition  to-day  of  the  Catholic  Church,  its  popular 
tion  made  up  of  three  elements?     Two  millions  three  hundred  and^ 
ninety-seven  thousand  five  hundred  souls.    Then  there  were  twenty- 
Vol.  II.— 9 


130  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

two  or  twenty-three  priests;  now  there  are  seventeen  hundred  and 
sixty-one  priests.  Then  there  was  no  bishop  to  ordain  priests,  if 
there  were  candidates ;  now  there  are  seven  archbishops  and  thirty- 
five  bishops.  There  were  but  the  four  churches  I  have  mentioned, 
and  now  there  are  nineteen  hundred  and  ten  churches,  besides  other 
stations  where  divine  worship  is  held,  to  the  number  of  eight  hun- 
dred and  ninety-five.  Then  in  the  Cathohc  Church  there  was  not 
a  Catholic  seminary  for  the  training  of  Levites  for  the  sanctuary ; 
now  there  are  thirty-seven  seminaries  appropriated  exclusively  to 
the  training  of  youth  to  serve  both  God  and  man.  Then  there  were 
no  colleges ;  now  there  are  twenty-four,  incorporated  by  the  States 
in  which  they  are  placed.  Then  we  had  but  one  female  academy ; 
now  we  have  one  hundred  and  thirty.  But  it  is  unnecessary  to  go 
on,  and  give  other  evidences  of  progress ;  these  are  sufticient. 

Here,  then,  are  circumstances  which  I  adduce  to  refute  the  calum- 
ny expressed  abroad  as  well  as  at  home — a  calumny  against  light 
and  liberty,  as  if  the  Catholic  Church  were  necessarily  inimical  to 
Protestant  or  any  other  liberty — a  charge  against  the  Catholic 
Church,  which,  it  is  said,  may  thrive  when  protected  and  surrounded 
by  the  patronage  of  civil  government,  as  in  Catholic  countries,  and 
■which,  persecuted,  flourishes  like  certain  weeds,  growing  and  pro- 
ducing the  most  vegetation  when  trampled  on.  They  say  we  in- 
crease when  persecuted  on  one  side,  and  receiving  the  patronage  of 
civil  government  on  the  other.  They  say  that  the  Church  cannot 
win  its  own  battles,  and  cannot  meet  the  steady  gaze  of  a  free  people 
and  an  enlightened  age.  This  is  the  calumny  refuted  in  making  the 
exhibit  of  statistics  regarding  the  condition  of  the  Catholic  Church 
in  the  United  States. 

Now  as  to  our  prospects.  Notwithstanding  the  poverty  of  Cath- 
olics, they  have  succeeded  in  producing  the  results  to  which  I  have 
referred — I  will  not  say  in  spite  of  light  and  knowledge,  but  in  hai'- 
imony  with  them,  during  the  period  of  seventy  years  under  this 
great  and  extensive  republic.  What,  then,  is  the  prospect  with  re- 
gard to  the  Catholic  religion  ?  The  prospect  is,  that  it  is  going  on 
increasing  by  the  medium  of  native-born  Catholics  in  this  country. 
Tbe  prospect,  with  superior  advantages,  and  the  benefit  of  instruc- 
tion in  almost  every  part  of  the  country,  and  the  presence  of  priests 
whei*e  it  is  necessary,  looking  to  spiritual  interest,  for  them  to  le- 
side,  that  CathoHcs  will  instil  into  their  descendants  the  knowledge  of 
iheu*  religion  and  the  lessons  of  virtue  which  tiiey  have  received,  and 
which  they  prize  more  than  life.  And  this  rehgion  will  extend,  not 
by  miraeuloufi  means,  but  will  hold  its  own  from  the  moment  that 
immigration  diminishes.  It  will  not  lapse  and  fall  away  into  indift'er- 
ence  and  infidelity,  of  which  writers  have  so  much  reason  to  complain. 

My  impression  is,  however,  that  immigration  will  diminish.  That 
it  will  cease,  is  not  at  all  probable ;  for  the  relations  of  kindred  are 
too  numerous  to  suppose  that  there  will  not  constantly  be  persons 
passing  from  one  side  of  the  Atlantic  to  the  other,  even  should  they 
not  expect  any  temporal  advantages  by  the  change. 


CATHOLIC   CHURCH   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES.  131 

Iramigration,  as  I  have  said,  will  diminish.  The  country  has  had 
enough  of  it.  The  welcome  is  not  so  cordial  as  it  was ;  the  hand  of 
kindness  of  other  days  is  not  stretched  out  any  more,  and  the  immi- 
grants feel  that  they  are  not  now  so  ardently  welcomed.  This  will 
restrain  them  to  some  extent.  On  the  other  hand,  the  population 
of  Ireland  has  been  much  thinned,  so  many  having  been  driven  from 
her  soil  by  famine,  or  interred  in  her  bosom  by  pestilence ;  and  this 
will  influence  the  immigration  from  that  country  not  a  little,  while 
they  will  be  restrained  by  motives  of  religion  and  philanthropy  from 
coming  hither,  in  consequence  of  the  reception  which  awaits  them. 
The  tliird  reason  is,  that  the  governments  of  Europe  will,  as  far  as 
may  be  in  their  power,  employ  their  influence  for  the  same  purpose. 
Although  in  the  darkened  minds  of  political  economists,  who  arrange 
things  according  to  profit  and  loss,  it  may  have  been  the  doctrine  of 
the  British  that  the  extensive  grazing  farms  were  adapted  to  the 
purpose  of  improving  the  breed  of  cattle,  much  moi-e  profitably  to 
the  proprietor  than  the  crowded  neighborliood  of  peasants,  yet  there 
was  famine  one  side  and  pestilence  in  the  rear  of  famine.  They  who 
could  escape  had  every  inducement  to  leave  the  land  for  broad 
sheepwalks,  for  which  they  were  occupied. 

But  there  are  such  things  as  wars.  Wars  do  occur.  Nations  find 
it  more  profitable,  if  not  in  a  pecuniary  sense,  in  a  spirit  of  national 
pride,  to  have  a  numerous  hardy  and  brave  peasantry,  to  meet  the 
enemy  against  whom  they  will  not  be  strong  enough  to  contend. 
It  is  not  at  all  probable  that  if  Great  Britain  could  have  recourse  to 
its  favorite  recruiting  ground  in  1855,  with  the  same  results  of  success 
as  under  Wellington  in  1815  and  preceding  years,  in  that  contingency 
it  is  not  at  all  probable  that  the  British  army  would  not  have  been  able 
to  take  the  Redan  at  Sebastopol.  The  failure  was  not  for  the  want  of 
bravery,  but  a  want  of  force;  and  this  exhibits  that  nation,  so  reck- 
less of  the  lives  of  her  own  people,  descending,  and  almost  consigned, 
to  the  second  rank,  whereas  she  was  formerly  in  the  first.  I  think 
these  considerations  will  operate  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic  to 
diminish  immigration  ;  and  the  burden  of  sustaining  the  Catholic 
religion  in  this  country,  in.  the  same  scale  of  progress,  will  devolve 
on  the  immigrants  now  in  this  countrj',  and  those  who  are  born  therein. 

Within  the  period  to  which  I  have  referred,  the  adherents  of  the 
Catholic  religion  have  evinced  no  special  love  for  that  state  of  society 
in  which  their  enemies  pretend  they  prosper  best.  If  any  one  says 
you  love  darkness,  point  to  your  colleges.  Was  it  the  love  of  dark- 
ness that  stimulated  a  poor  population  to  establish  those  institutions 
of  learning  ?  If  any  say  you  are  disloyal  to  the  country,  point  to 
every  battle  from  the  commencement  of  the  country,  and  see  if 
Catholics  were  not  equal  in  the  struggle,  and  as  zealous  to  maintain 
the  dignity  and  triumph  of  the  country  as  those  with  whom  they 
fought!  Nor  was  it  in  the  contest  with  Great  Britain  alone,  against 
whom  it  is  supposed  we  have  an  hereditary  spite,  but  against  Cath- 
olic Mexico  they  fought  with  an  equal  courage.  Although  they 
aimed  the  point  of  tfie  sword  at  the  breast  of  their  brother  Catholics, 


132  ARCHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

they  aimed  it  not  the  less,  and  in  every  contest  they  endeavored  to 
maintain  liberty  as  well  as  right.  Courage  is  one  side,  and  engaging 
in  the  contest  is  another.  And  when  allusion  is  made  to  their  social 
qualities,  may  you  not  point  as  an  answer  to  the  fact  that  when  pes- 
tilence and  plague  had  spread  their  dark  pall  over  your  cities,  they 
were  ready  to  go  with  others  into  the  glorious  work  of  charity  and 
humanity  ;  and,  if  necessary,  sacrifice  their  lives  to  mitigate  pestilence 
and  disease. 

On  that  score,  what  justification  can  there  be  to  say  that  they  love 
despotism  because  they  are  accustomed  to  it,  and  not  liberty,  be- 
cause they  never  realized  what  it  is  ?  Before  Columbus  discovered 
the  Western  Continent  there  was  a  people  in  Europe  acquainted 
with  the  rights  and  privileges  of  republican  government.  In  Italy 
there  was  a  republic  of  great  prosperity  before  the  discovery  of 
America.  If  no  other  instance  could  be  alluded  to,  there  was  one 
little  republic  (San  Marino)  installed  in  the  Papal  States.  How  . 
long?  For  fourteen  hundred  years  she  has  continued  to  preserve 
her  liberty.  Though  Catholic,  she  is  against  the  one-man  power. 
Her  supreme  authority  is  not  given  into  the  hands  of  one  man,  but 
two,  because  her  people  love  equality,  and  one  man  might  deceive 
them  in  matters  of  control.  The  whole  republic  is  not  much  larger 
than  the  District  of  Columbia,  yet  she  has  maintained  her  govern- 
ment and  freedom  for  fourteen  hundred  yeaj's.  She  is  too  just  and 
wise  to  be  disturbed,  and  too  insignificant  to  excite  the  jealousy  of 
her  more  powerful  neighbors.  Yet  these  people  have  had  their 
periods  of  filibustering,  and  troubles  growing  out  of  feuds  with  some 
neighboring  bai'ons.  Notwithstanding,  they  have  kept  on,  and  are 
not  afraid. 

And  now  speaking  of  this  republic,  which  is  an  enlargement  of 
such  a  model,  what  should  be  the  desire  of  every  man  who  loves 
her?  It  should  be  what  the  Catholic  religion  desires — no  more 
light  than  she  possesses,  no  more  liberty  than  the  laws  by  which 
this  country  has  made  such  astonishing  progress ;  leaving  religion 
to  take  care  of  its  own  concerns,  every  denomination  managing  its 
affairs  in  its  own  way.  Prospering  as  no  country  has  ever  prospered, 
what  ought  to  be  the  wish  of  every  man  who  loves  his  countiy  ? 
That  she  may  remain,  preserving  her  liberty  and  the  laws  of  justice 
and  equality  as  long  as  the  Republic  of  San  Marino,  and  as  great  a 
century  hence  as  she  designs  to  aspire. 


LECTURE  ON  THE  LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF 
DANIEL    O'CONNELL. 

DELIVERED    IN    THE  ACADEMY  OF  MUSIC,  NEW    YORK,  ON    THE 
EVENING  OF  JUNE  11,  1856. 

The  Life  and  Times  of  Daniel   O'Connell  furnish  a  theme  for 
the  grouping,  into  one  subject,  of  the  most  remarkable  and  import- 


LIFE   AND   TIMES    OF   o'cONNELL.  133 

ant  public  events  wliich  history  has  recorded  as  occurring  at  any- 
time between  the  birth  and  the  death  of  a  public  man.  I  regret  that 
the  task  of  presenting  those  events  in  a  condensed  and  yet  lu- 
minous form,  has  not  devolved  on  one  more  competent  than  I  am 
to  fulfil  it  in  a  manner  satisfactory  to  so  nunrerous  and  so  enlightened 
an  audience  as  the  one  I  have  the  honor  to  address.  If  we  begin 
by  speaking  of  the  times  of  O'Connell,  how  wonderful  are  the  pub- 
lic events  which  occurred  under  his  eye,  and  within  the  range  of 
his  personal  knowledge  !  For  example,  at  his  birth,  the  Catholic 
population  of  Ireland  were  under  the  inflictions  of  the  Penal  Code, 
which  had  continued  for  nearly  ninety  years,  and  had  exercised  its 
baneful  and  degrading  influence  on  three  successive  generations. 
It  combined — in  its  malignant  foldings  over  every  portion,  so  to 
speak,  of  the  mind  and  body  of  the  Catholics  of  Ireland — the  strong 
coil  of  the  anaconda,  with  the  subtle  sting  of  the  scorpion.  It  de- 
nied them  rights  of  property,  rights  of  domestic  order,  rights  of  edu- 
cation, rights  of  religion — in  short,  it  denied  them  every  right  except 
that  which  could  not  be  called  a  right,  but  a  necessity  ;  namely,  it 
aimed  at  making  them  paupers,  as  regarded  property  ;  barbarians, 
in  reference  to  science  and  general  education  ;  and  either  apostates 
from  the  Catholic  faith,  or,  adherents  thereto  under  the  disadvan- 
tages both  of  pauperism  and  ignorance. 

Details  of  specific  statutes  on  this  subject  would  be  out  of  place  in 
a  lecture  necessarily  so  brief  as  this  must  be.  But,  I  may  express 
the  whole  result  in  the  words  of  Edmund  Burke,  who  was  a  Pro- 
testant, although  he  never  ceased  to  be  a  lover  of  his  Irish  coun- 
trymen. He  says — "It  had"  (that  is  the  Penal  Code)  "a  vicious 
perfection.  It  was  a  complete  system — full  of  coherence  and  con- 
sistency ;  well  digested  and  well  disposed  in  all  its  parts.  It  was  a 
machine  of  wise  and  elaborate  contrivance,  and  as  well  fitted  for  the 
oppression,  impoverishment,  and  degradation  of  a  people,  and  the 
debasement,  in  them,  of  human  nature  itself,  as  ever  proceeded  from 
the  perverted  ingenuity  of  man." 

Under  the  operation  of  such  a  system,  which  had  been  in  force 
for  more  than  eighty  years,  Daniel  O'Connell  was  born,  in  1775. 
The  sword  of  the  American  colonies  was  unsheathed  in  resistance 
against  the  oppressions  of  Great  Britain  in  that  same  year.  O'Con- 
nell, on  all  public  occasions,  ascribed  the  mitigation  of  the  Penal 
Code  in  Ireland  to  the  successful  resistance  of  the  American  patriots. 
In  1777,  a  British  army,  in  its  pride  of  place,  surrendered  at  Sara- 
toga to  the  once  despised,  insulted,  and  calumniated  provincials. 
The  Penal  Code  was  relaxed  in  1778.  This  relaxation  was  not  the 
striking  ofi"of  Ireland's  letters,  but  simply,  a  lengthening,  by  a  link 
or  two,  of  the  chain,  which,  in  its  stringent  rivetings,  had  crushed 
her  energies.  It  gave  the  Catholics  power  and  dominion  over  the 
remnants  of  their  property,  of  which  they  had  not  been  legally  plun- 
dered during  the  three  previous  generations.  Byt  still  they  could 
not  acquire,  even  by  this  relaxation,  the  right  to  purchase,  or,  as  ten- 
ants, hold  any  freehold  interest. 


134:  AKCHBISnOP    HUGHES. 

In  1'782,  England  was  involved  in  war  with  other  enemies,  whose 
fleets  rode  triumphant  and  unopposed  in  the  British  Channel.  She 
required  twenty  thousand  seamen  and  active  landsmen  for  her  military 
service ;  and  in  order  to  obtain  them  from  Ireland,  she  relaxed  the 
rigor  of  the  Penal  Code  lor  a  second  time.  By  this  relaxation,  she 
permitted  the  Catholics  of  Ireland  to  open  schools  for  the  education 
of  their  youth  in  literature  and  religion — after  having  made  it  a 
crime  by  her  penal  laws,  during  the  previous  eighty  years,  for  any 
Catholic  to  teach,  or  to  be  taught,  in  Ireland  or  elsewhere.  If  want  of 
education  be  a  reproach  to  the  Irish  in  later  times,  this  historical 
fact  will  be  sufficient  to  assign  the  reason.  It  reverses  into  a  sad 
and  literal  sense,  so  far  as  the  Irish  are  concerned,  the  hollow  com- 
pliment of  Lord  Brougham  to  the  enlightening  genius  of  the  British 
people,  when,  proclaiming  the  progress  of  education,  he  announced 
that  the  "  schoolmaster  was  abroad ;" — the  schoolmaster  had 
been  literally  "  abroad"  from  Ireland  during  ninety  years.  His  at- 
tempt to  keep  school,  or  teach  any  person  in  Ireland,  Protestant  or 
Catholic,  any  species  of  literature  or  science,  was  punishable  by 
law  with  banishment ;  and  if  he  returned  after  banishment,  he  was 
subject  to  be  hanged  as  a  felon.  Under  these  circumstances,  it  was 
certainly  the  schoolmaster's  interest  to  be  "abroad."  But  if  any 
Catholic  child,  however  young,  was  sent  to  any  foreign  country  for 
education,  such  infant  child  incurred  a  corresponding  penalty — 
that  is,  a  forfeiture  of  all  right  to  property,  present  or  pros- 
pective. 

In  1792,  the  French  armies  defeated  their  enemies  at  every  point. 
The  Netherlands  were  conquered  ;  the  cannon  of  the  battle  of  Ge- 
raappe  was  heard  at  St.  James's,  and  the  wisdom  of  English  states- 
jnen  induced  them,  by  way  of  conciliating  the  Irish,  to  relax  the 
chain  of  the  Penal  Code  by  an  addition  of  two  or  three  other  links 
of  diminished  bondage.  By  this  relaxation  of  the  barbarous  code. 
Catholics,  for  the  first  time  in  a  century,  might  become  barristers, 
attorneys,-  and  solicitors ;  they  could  be  freemen  of  the  lay  coi'pora- 
tions, — the  grand  jury-box  and  magisti'acy  were  open  to  them,  and 
they  were  permitted  to  attain  a  rank  as  high  as  that  of  colonel  in 
the  army, — nay,  some  of  them  were  allowed  the  elective  franchise 
in  voting  for  members  of  parliament. 

lip  to  this  time,  concessions  to  the  great  body  of  the  Irish  people 
were  made  under  the  direct  apprehension  of  danger  to  the  British 
empire,  from  the  States  with  which  she  was  at  war.  O'Connell 
was  not  yet  of  age,  but  already  partial  freedom,  from  one  cause 
and  another,  began  to  dawn  on  his  unfortunate  country.  All  this 
he  had  seen,  and  part  of  this  he  was.  But  besides,  what  astonish- 
ing events  passed  before  his  eyes  on  the  stage  of  European  political, 
civil,  and  commercial  vicissitudes  during  his  life!  In  his  times  there 
was  the  French  Revolution,  with  all  its  wide-spread  and  terrific  con- 
sequences of  bloodshed,  war,  triumphs,  and  defeats.  He  was  still  in 
France,  as  a  student,  when  Louis  XVI.  was  executed  on  the  scaf- 
fold.    He  witnessed  some  of  the  horrors  of  the  revolution.     He  saw 


LIFE   AND   TIMES   OF   o'cONNELL.  135 

the  priesthood  of  his  Church  slaughtered  by  the  sanguinary  multi- 
tude, unchecked  by  the  disordered  councils  of  the  State.  He  wit- 
nessed, if  not  on  the  spot,  the  attempt  to  abolish  Christianity,  to  de- 
throne God  by  denying  His  existence,  and  to  substitute  for  the  wor- 
ship of  the  Supreme  Being,  a  symbolical  divinity,  called  "  Human 
Reason," — an  attempt,  the  folly  and  stupidity  of  which  were  almost 
more  than  its  blasphemy.  He  saw  the  Corsican  adventurer 
rush  into  this  chaos,  and  reduce  it  to  partial  order, — religion  reno- 
vated,— the  existence  and  worship  of  God  reinaugurated, — order 
re-established  amidst  what  had  been  anarchy, — and  this  adventurer, 
as  he  might  at  first  have  been  called,  rising  by  the  force  of  his  ge- 
nius, the  power  of  his  sword,  but  above  all,  the  permission  of 
God,  to  an  undisputed  sovereignty,  not  only  over  France,  but  al- 
most over  continental  Europe. 

O'Connell  was  a  sincere  Catholic,  and  the  buffetings  to  which  the 
Church  of  God  during  that  awful  period  was  exposed,  must  have  af- 
fected him  deeply.  The  deism  and  political  infidelity  which  had 
animated  most  of  the  cabinets  of  Europe,  for  half  a  century  previous 
to  the  outbreak  of  the  French  Revolution,  were  now  passing  under 
his  eye,  from  the  theories  inaugurated  by  Voltaire,  into  their  practi- 
cal results  on  society.  As  an  appropriate  beginning,  the  Jesuits 
had  already  been  •  suppressed,  at  the  period  of  O'Connell's  birth  ; 
but  he  lived  to  see  them  restored,  after  the  malignity  of  their  ene- 
mies had  been  confounded,  and  the  hostile  intrigues  of  Anti- 
Catholic  cabinets  had  been  broken  up  and  scattered  to  the  winds. 
The  blows  of  infidelity  reached  higher  marks,  and  he  saw  the  head 
of  the  Church,  Pius  VI.,  dragged  into  exile,  and  there  giving  up 
his  great  soul  into  the  hands  of  God.  He  saw  Pius  VH.  also  a  cap- 
tive under  the  hands  of  secular  power.  He  saw  that  British  govern- 
ment which  professed,  and,  no  doubt,  professed  sincerely,  such 
hatred  to  the  "  Pope  of  Rome,"  restoring  at  the  expense  of'  blood 
and  treasure  the  same  illustrious  exile,  Pius  VII.,  to  the  chair  of  St. 
Peter,  and  to  the  freedom  which  is  essential  to  the  head  of  the 
Church.  He  saw  a  successor  to  the  throne  of  Louis  XVI.  re- 
established in  the  halls  of  his  royal  ancestors ;  whilst  simul- 
taneously, the  great  conqueror  of  Europe,  who  had  dazzled  the 
Avorld  by  his  victories,  was  condemned  to  spend  the  last  few  years 
of  his  life  as  a  chained  eagle  on  a  desert  rock  in  the  ocean.  Two 
subsequent  monarchs  of  France  he  saw  driven  into  exile,  where  they 
died,  unacknowledged  by  the  great  nation  over  whom  they  had 
reigned. 

Confining  his  view  to  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  alone,  he  could 
not  fail  to  have  observed  the  contests  of  parties,  changes  in  politics, 
contradictions  between  principles  professed  by  either  party  in  their 
modification,  variation,  and  reversals,  according  to  different  times 
and  circumstances,  and  the  perpetual  struggle  between  Whigs  and 
Tories,  each  for  ascendency  over  the  other.  The  very  changes  in 
the  royal  families  of  Europe  were  awful  Ifessons  of  experience,  ex- 
hibited to  the  steady  gaze  of  Mr.  O'Connell,  and  no  man  was  better 


136  AKCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

fittetl  to  comprehend  the  deep  nioiial  and  political  meaning  which 
they  were  so  well  calculated  to  convey. 

But  it  is  not  surprising  to  me  that  Mr.  O'Connell  scarcely  ever 
alluded  in  his  speeches  or  writings  to  these  great  and  teriible  revolu- 
lutions,  which  were  changing  from  year  to  year  the  political  and  social 
condition  of  Europe.  Burke  had  indulged  philosophically  on  topics 
of  this  kind.  But  O'Coanell  had  but  two  predominant  ideas — loves : 
the  one  was  the  love  of  his  country,  the  other  of  his  creed, — and  in 
his  public  life,  these  two  became  one  and  indivisible. 

In  a  <;ountry  like  the  United  States,  in  which  there  is  no  distinc- 
tion of  creed ;  in  a  country  like  ours,  in  which  all  Christian  de- 
nominations are  equal  before  the  law ;  and  on  an  occasion  like  the 
present,  it  is  far  from  agreeable  to  me  to  have  to  allude  to  rival- 
ships  or  disagreements  between  English  and  Irish,  or  between 
Catholics  and  Protestants  among  the  western  islands  of  Europe. 

Yet  I  think  it  impossible  for  any  one  to  conceive  a  just  estimate 
of  the  chaiMcter  of  Daniel  O'Connell,  who  will  not  admit,  in  the  cir- 
cumstances of  his  life  and  times,  the  distinction  which  is  happily  out 
of  place  in  the  free  and  independent  States  of  the  American  Repub- 
lic. O'Connell  is  by  no  means  the  only  patriot  of  Ireland  ;  but  he  is 
the  only  patriot  who  combined  and  absorbed  into  his  policy  the 
sympathetic  impulses  of  religion  and  patriotism,  so  far  as  these  re- 
gai'ded  the  feelings  and  interests  of  the  great  mass  of  his  country- 
men. Others,  whose  names  it  would  be  hardly  necessary  to  men- 
tion here,  have  probably  excelled  him  in  rhetorical  and  eloquent 
periods  of  patriotism,  and  are  entitled  to  the  respect  which  is  due  to 
great  talents.  But  they  had  not  the  key  of  the  heart  of  Ireland — 
they  pleaded  and  spoke  under  circumstances  which  might  attest  indi- 
vidual devotion,  and  acquire  for  them  individual  feme,  but  so  far  as 
both  were  concerned,  they  were  but  "as  sounding  brass  and  a  tink- 
ling cymbal."  O'Connell,  as  a  mere  Irish  patriot,  was  throughout  his 
life  superior  to  any  of  the  illustrious  names  which  Ireland  has  been 
in  the  habit  of  cherishing — be  tliey  Burke,  Grattan,  Curran,  or  any 
of  the  others.  He  was  not  their  inferior  in  statesmanship,  jurispru- 
dence, or  eloquence.  But  he  was  their  superior  so  far  as  their  coun- 
try was  concerned ;  he  was  their  equal  or  more  in  patriotism, 
and  had,  at  the  same  time,  by  all  odds,  the  advantage  over  any 
rivals  in  opening  up  the  avenues  to  the  heart  of  the  Irish  people. 
He  was  a  Catholic  statesman  ;  they  were  Protestant  statesmen — 
honorable  men,  if  you  will,  but  shut  out  from  any  approach  to  the 
inner  doors  of  Irish  life.  O'ConnoU's  life,  from  the  commencement 
of  his  public  career,  seems  to  have  been  influenced  by  the  memory 
of  two  early,  but  perpetual  dreams — the  one  promising  a  hope  that 
he  should  release  liis  countrymen  from  the  bondage  which  had  been 
entailed  by  what  is  familiarly  called  the  "  Union," — the  other,  that 
he  would  be  enabled  to  rescue  his  fellow  Catholic  countrymen  of 
Ireland,  and  of  the  British  dominions,  from  the  thraldom  and  deg- 
radation to  which,  before  his  day,  they  had  been  subjected.  In  ac- 
complishing the  former,  he  was    disappointed  by  the  brevity  of 


LIFE   AND   TIMES    OF   o'cONNELL.  137 

human  life,  and  other  circumstances.  In  the  latter,  he  succeeded  ; 
and  during  his  life,  he  had  the  happiness  to  see,  mainly  through  his 
own  exertions,  the  altars  of  Ireland,  England,  Scotland,  and  the 
colonies  of  the  great  British  empire,  liberated  irom  the  degrading 
thraldom  to  which  by  iniquitous  legislation  they  had  been  previously 
subjected. 

If  with  all  his  patriotism  he  had  been  a  Protestant,  he  might,  like 
others,  have  distinguished  himself  by  most  eloquent  speeches  against 
the  wrongs  inflicted  by  the  State,  and  in  favor  of  the  rights  denied. 
But  then  he  would  have  risen  to  a  species  of  only  individual  noto* 
riety  and  general  admiration  as  a  patriotic  rhetorician.  He  would 
have  gone  up  as  a  blazing  rocket,  and  descended  as  a  mere  stick. 
Catholics  of  hardly  less  powers  than  his  have  exhibited  themselves 
in  this  way  ;  and  so  long  as  they  were  supposed  to  be  united  to  the 
heart  of  Ireland  by  deep  and  undoubted  sympathies,  they  were  suc- 
cessively sought  to  be  purchased  by  the  hostile  government  of  their 
country,  or  banished,  or  consigned  to  execution.  Ireland  has  suffered 
the  loss  of  many  able  and  profoundly  patriotic  men  devoted  to  her 
cause,  but  who  sacrificed  themselves,  or  even  this  public  interest  to 
the  results  of  their  individual  aspirations,  unsustained  by  any  pro- 
found acquired  sympathy  with  the  great  body  of  the  Irish  jDcople. 

O'Connell  was  none  of  these.  He  was  a  statesman  as  well  as  a 
l^atriot.  He  understood  that  in  the  briefest  possible  period  he  could 
get  himself  transported  to  the  gibbet  at  home,  or  to  the  Penal 
Colony  abroad,  for  the  crime  of  loving,  or  laboring  for  his  beloved 
country.  But  he  was  too  much  of  a  statesman  for  a  blundei*  like 
this.  He  comprehended  from  the  beginning,  that  in  order  to  effect 
great  and  radical  changes  in  the  community,  a  beginning  must  be 
made  under  the  progress  of  humane  ideas,  patiently  urged  and  pa- 
tiently waited  for  in  their  progressive  amelioration  of  the  social  and 
political  condition  of  a  great  State.  Hence,  with  all  the  natural  im- 
petuosity of  his  individual  character,  he  blended  the  calmest  and 
wisest  philosophy  of  statesmanship  into  his  policy,  in  arranging  the 
relations  of  the  means  he  intended  to  employ  to  the  end  which  he 
Avas  determined  to  accomplish.  For  twenty-three  years  after  his  ad- 
mission to  public  life,  and  his  recognition  as  a  distinguished  member 
of  the  Irish  bar,  he  seems  to  have  studied  out  the  best  means  where- 
by to  realize  the  dreams  of  his  life — Catholic  Emancipation,  and  the 
Repeal  of  the  Union  with  England. 

Let  us  begin  with  his  idea  of  Catholic  Emancipation. 

O'Connell  brought  no  hex-editary  influence  into  the  contest.  He 
was  not  a  Peer,  he  was  not  the  son  of  a  Peer.  But  he  had  the 
instinctive  consciousness  of  greatness,  which  talent  and  immense 
acquirement  were  calculated  to  inspire.  He  wished  to  break  the 
fetters  that  encircled  the  altars  and  the  limbsof  his  Catholic  country- 
men. The  task  was  immense.  The  resistance  which  it  compelled 
him  to  regard  as  being  necessary  to  overcome,  was  the  resistance 
of  a  certain  amount  of  wisdom  on  the  part  of  the  Catholic  clergy  of 
his  country  ;  the  resistance  of  the  dominant  party  in  Ireland,  the 


138  AECHBI8H0P   HUGHES. 

virulence  of  which  was  proverbial — the  Orange  party ;  the  resist- 
ance of  the  stolid  prejudices  of  the  English  yeomanry,  so  called; 
the  resistance  of  all  the  corporations  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland, 
namely,  the  resistance  of  the  estaJblished  church;  the  resistance  of 
the  British  navy  ;  the  resistance  of  the  army ;  the  resistance  of 
the  House  of  Commons — all  of  them  bound  by  an  oath  to  oppose 
the  idea  of  Catholic  emancipation  ;  the  resistance  of  the  House  of 
Lords ;  the  resistance  of  Peel,  and  Wellington,  and  Anglesey,  and 
Lord  Lyndhurst,  and  I  will  say  last,  but  not  least,  the  resistance  of  the 
British  monarch  himself — George  the  Fourth.  O'Connell  com- 
prehended, therefore,  what  he  should  have  to  encounter,  and,  as  I 
have  said  before,  he  began,  and  partially  and  prudently  laid  out  his 
project,  which  was  to  collect  a  few,  to  speak  into  their  ears  words 
of  patriotism,  of  truth,  and  of  justice;  and  as  he  began  the  emanci- 
pation of  the  Catholics  of  the  British  empire,  you  can  easily  imder- 
Btand  what  discouragement  it  was  that  he  could  scarcely  get  what 
was  called  a  house  to  hear  him,  and  a  house  in  those  days  meant 
ten  persons  of  an  audience ;  and  yet  undismayed,  when  he  found 
only  eight  he  was  not  discouraged,  but  rushed  into  the  street, 
caught  two  passers-by  and  brought  them  in  ;  and  then  he  began  that 
agitation  which  finally  ti'iumphed  over  the  apathy  of  his  countrymen, 
over  the  virulence  of  his  Orange  enemies,  over  the  antagonism  of 
the  British  Parliament  and  the  prejudices  of  the  British  people — 
finally  over  the  Commons,  the  Lords,  the  Cabinets  and  monarchs, 
till  that  same  George  the  Fourth,  with  an  oath  of  blasphemy,  was 
compelled — it  was  not  voluntary — to  sign  the  act  by  which  O'Con- 
nel  emancipated  the  Catholic  subjects  of  his  empire,  in  spite  of  his 
opposition  and  all  tbe  opposition  he  could  marshal. 

I  was  myself  among  those  for  many  years,  and  even  till  recently, 
who  thought  that  credit  should  have  been  given  much  more  than 
O'Connell  ever  awarded,  to  Wellington  and  Peel,  on  the  subject  of 
Catholic  emancipation ;  but  a  more  intimate  acquaintance  with 
documents  of  recent  publication  satisfies  me  that  they  yielded  most 
reluctantly.  And  when  we  consider  the  question  of  triumph,  in  a 
contest,  the  parties  to  which  are  so  unequal — an  individual  on  one 
side,  and  an  empire  on  the  other — and  consider  the  means  by  which 
that  triumph  was  brought  about,  it  would  be  worthy  of  any  states- 
man to  study  well  the  tactics  of  Daniel  O'Connell,  as  a  statesman 
and  a  politician.  This  is  the  only  solitary  case  in  history  in  which 
an  individual  has  been  able  to  accomplish  such  great  results  by  means 
entirely  moral  and  religious.  You  are  all  aware  of  those  maxims 
of  which  he  was  the  author;  how  he  used  to  say  things  which  im- 
patient and  hot-blooded  young  patriots  could  not  bear,  namely,  that 
"  a  crime  ought  not  to  be  committed  ;"  that  "  the  law  of  God  was  the 
best  guide  for  the  patriot ;"  that  "  whoever  commits  a  crime,  gives 
strength  to  the  enemy."  In  short,  he  went  so  far  as  to  say — though 
it  is  not  to  be  imagined  that  he  meant  it  in  a  literal  sense,  but  figu- 
ratively, and  for  the  benefit  of  his  own  impetuous  countrymen — "  that 
no  political  amelioration  was  worth  the  shedding  of  one   drop  of 


LIFE   AND   TIMES    OF   o'cONNELL.  139 

blood."  This,  of  course,  was  exaggeration  ;  but  taking  into  account 
that  he  had  to  begin  to  instruct  the  people,  that  the  circle  composed 
of  ten  auditors  repeated  Avhat  he  said — that  the  newspapers  took  it 
up — that  little  by  little  that  circle  enlarged  its  circumference,  till  it 
reached  the  most  remote  population  of  the  whole  island — you  must 
consider,  also,  that  those  poor  people,  during  so  long  a  period  of 
bondage,  had  been  utterly  unaccustomed  to  the  discussion  of  politi- 
cal questions  in  any  thing  like  a  popular  form — O'Connell's  task, 
the  most  delicate  ever  statesman  undertook  to  perform,  was  to  excite 
his  countrymen  up  to  a  certain  point  of  interest  and  zeal,  and  then  to 
restrain  their  impetuosity,  lest  it  might  go  too  far;  for  during  the 
whole  of  his  life  he  was  watched  by  a  thousand  argus  eyes  of  the  law 
— watched  in  his  conduct,  in  his  language,  to  see  when  and  Avhere, 
and  how  it  would  be  possible  for  government  to  throw  an  Attorney- 
general's  noose  around  his  neck,  and  bring  him  to  the  brief  end  to 
which  others  were  consigned  before  him.  But  those  he  avoided,  and 
if  you  will  understand  those  maxims  which  he  employed  so  frequently, 
you  will  perceive  that  these  were  maxims  of  wisdom,  but  furnishing 
no  evidence  that  he  himself  was  a  coward — he  was  not  a  man  des- 
titute of  nerve  and  bravery ;  but  he  was  a  wise  man,  and  he  knew 
that,  having  excited  up  to  a  certain  point  of  interest  his  countrymen, 
then  it  became  his  duty  to  restrain  and  guide ;  because,  if  at  any 
moment  he  had  said  the  word,  they  wei-e,  brave  and  impetuous 
people  as  they  are,  more  ready  for  the  battle  than  for  base  retreat. 

It  would  be  impossible  to  dilate  upon  the  various  prominent  points 
in  the  personal  life  of  Daniel  O'Connell.  I  have  already,  I  fear, 
exhausted  your  patience,  and  must  bring  the  portion  of  my  remarks 
that  remains  to  a  close.  O'Connell  entered  public  life  in  the  year 
1800.  His  fii'st  public  speech  was  against  the  Union.  He  was  one 
of  the  first  young  lawyers  professing  the  Catholic  religion  who  made 
their  appearance  at  the  bar,  and  for  a  long  time  he  was  hated  by 
the  hostile  judges  and  shunned  by  his  fellow-counsel.  But  it  was 
remarked  that  while  he  was  not  lucratively  employed,  he  was,  to  use 
the  language  of  one  of  his  fellow-ban-isters,  "  bottling  up,"  with 
great  industry  and  economy,  legal  knowledge  wherewith  to  perplex 
those  same  presidents  on  the  bench  and  their  colleagues. 

In  a  little  time  he  began  to  acquire  a  reputation  at  the  bar,  and 
for  twenty-three  years  he  continued  the  profession  of  the  law,  deriv- 
ing from  it  an  income  of  from  four  to  five  thousand  pounds  a  year. 
In  the  mean  time,  with  that  impetuosity  of  natural  temperament 
which  belonged  to  him,  and  with  that  fearlessness  which  distin- 
guished his  character,  he  had  incurred  the  displeasure  of  not  a  few 
among  his  rivals ;  and  in  consequence  of  having  spoken  once  dis- 
respectfully of  the  Corporation  of  Dublin,  he  had  to  meet  one  of  its 
members.  That  was  D'Esterre.  They  met  in  tlie  barbarous  duel, 
and  D'Esterre  fell  at  fhe  hands  of  O'Connell.  This  event  was  one 
of  the  subjects  of  regret  to  that  great,  religious  man,  up  to  the 
period  of  his  death.  It  is  true  that  at  the  same  time,  or  soon 
after,  he  accepted  another  challenge  from  Mr.  Peel,  afterwards  Sir 


140  ARCriBISHOP    HUGHES. 

Robert  Peel ;  and  they  had  arranged  to  meet  first  in  Ireland,  then 
on  the  Continent ;  but  the  future  minister  contrived,  or  it  was  con- 
trived for  him,  that  one  or  the  other  should  be  arrested  in  Dublin 
and  in  London,  and  he  never  kept  his  engagement.  I  mention  these 
circumstances  simply  to  show  that  O'Connell  had  nothing  in  his 
nature  of  what  the  world  sometimes  calls  "  the  white  feather,"  He 
was  not  afraid  of  any  thing,  but  he  was  a  wise  man,  and  after  a  brief 
period  ft-om  the  time  of  his  duel  with  D'Esterre,  he  recorded  a 
vow  in  heaven  that  he  would  never  accept  a  challenge  from  any  one  ; 
and  many  a  poltroon,  in  his  after  life,  both  in  the  British  Parlia- 
ment and  elsewhere,  took  advantage  of  his  vow  to  insult  him,  knowing 
very  well  that  they  were  exempt  from  the  retribution  which  he 
would  otherwise  have  inflicted. 

Mr.  O'Connell  has  been  variously  represented  by  many  persons. 
Some,  taking  up  the  pages  of  calumny  which  his  enemies  published, 
looked  upon  him  as  a  species  of  monster.  Those  who  knew  him 
well,  knew  that  he  was  a  highly  refined  and  accomplished  gentle- 
man— a  man  of  eminent  talents — a  man  of  the  most  enlarged  and 
benevolent  feelings  as  a  philanthropist.  During  his  practice  at  the 
bar,  whenever  those  same  Orange  enemies  of  his  had  a  difficult 
cause  to  manage  in  the  Four  Courts  of  Dublin,  Daniel  O'Connell 
was  their  man.     They  selected  him,  and  Avere  never  disappointed. 

In  the  mean  time,  and  whilst  O'Connell  was  laboring  with  patience, 
and  under  the  greatest  disadvantages,  for  five  and  six  and  ten  years, 
to  accomplish  the  great  end  of  his  life,  he  did  not  postpone  the  op- 
portunity of  doing  good  to  others,  simply  because  he  could  not  as 
yet  realize  the  darling  object  near  his  heart.  In  1826  a  bill  for  the 
repeal  of  the  Test  and  Corporation  acts — which  was  a  bill  for  the 
relief,  not  of  Catholics  at  all,  but  of  those  Protestants  of  the  British 
empire  who  did  not  belong  to  the  established  church — that  is  to  say, 
of  the  dissenters — was  before  Parliament ;  and  although  O'Connell 
and  his  contrymen  were  still  themselves  in  fetters,  he,  by  the  advice 
of  his  spiritual  director,  Mr.  Lestrange,  got  up  a  petition,  signed  by 
800,000  Catholics,  and  sent  it  to  the  table  of  Parliament,  where  it 
reversed  the  decision  of  the  ministers,  and  enabled  him  and  his 
Catholic  countrymen  to  see  their  Protestant  fellow-citizens  of  the 
empire,  the  dissenters,  emancipated  before  themselves.  Afterwards 
when,  in  fine,  he  was  admitted,  and  when  the  restrictions  which  had 
been  imposed  upon  Catholics  were  reluctantly  relieved,  you  find 
O'Connell  and  all  his  influence  going  to  enlarge  the  liberties  of  the 
British  people,  I  speak  of  the  reforna  of  Parliament,  which  had  been 
the  object  of  desire  with  many  parties  for  more  than  half  a  century, 
and  which  would  not  have  been  granted  probably  till  this  day,  had 
it  not  been  for  Daniel  O'Connell.  They  speak  of  the  changes  that 
have  occurred,  but  who  is  there  that  can  appreciate  them  ?  And 
since  he  has  passed  from  this  life  and  is  gone,  and  men  enjoy  the 
benefits  of  his  labors,  how  few  there  are  who  appreciate,  at  their 
proper  value,  the  sacrifices  of  toil  and  care  and  talents  of  that  great 
man  for  the  accomplishment  of  the  ends  he  had  in  view,  and  of  the 


LITE   AND   TIMES   OF   o'cONNELL.  141 

advantages  of  whicli  they  are  now  in  the  enjoyment !  Before 
O'Connell's  time  every  Catholic  was  in  the  condition  of  a  serf.  Before 
O'Connell's  time  they  were  all  looked  upon  with  contempt.  No 
doubt  the  i-esult  of  his  labor  was  to  excite  perhaps  more  sharp  hos- 
tility, as  against  rivals,  because  he  took  tliat  population,  that  third 
of  the  British  empire — seven  millions  and  a  half  of  people — he  took 
them  in  the  palm  of  his  gigantic  hand,  and  placed  them  on  an  equality 
with  their  fellow-citizens.  Before  his  time  the  Duke  of  Norfolk  had 
no  right,  was  incompetent  to  discharge  the  office  of  a  common 
constable  ;  and  what  was  true  of  him  was  true  of  all  the  glorious  old 
Catholic  nobility  of  England.  But  O'Connell,  by  his  own  exertions, 
and  amidst  great  discoui-agement,  raised  them  up  to  an  equality  of 
which  they  and  their  successors  are  still  in  the  enjoyment.  Were 
ihey  grateful  ?  It  is  not  worth  while  to  inquire.  A  man  who  is 
conscious  of  a  right  and  noble  purpose  need  not  look  for  gratitude. 
Let  him  do  his  duty.  O'Connell  did  this,  and  did  it  in  a  manner 
that  reflected  honor  upon  his  nature  as  a  man,  and  the  religion  he 
professed  as  a  Christian.  I  have  this  to  say  of  O'Connell,  that  from 
the  begitming  to  the  end  of  his  life,  never  has  he  given  one  solitary 
counsel  which  any  human  being  has  had  reason  to  regret.  No  wife 
was  made  a  widow — no  child  was  made  an  orphan,  by  the  advice 
of  O'Connell ;  because  he  took  religion  for  his  guide,  and  for  the 
first  time  in  the  history  of  the  world,  he  applied  moral  means  for  the 
acquisition  of  all  that  the  constitution  afforded. 

It  might  be  said  that  he  was  tricky ;  for  instance,  when  the  British 
Parliament  set  their  minds  to  work  to  see  how  they  could  best  sup- 
press liis  Catholic  association,  they  passed  a  bill,  called  at  the  time 
the  Algerine  Act,  because  its  object  was  contrary  to  all  constitutional 
right.  It  prohibited  the  continuance  of  any  political  association  during 
more  than  a  period  of  fourteen  days.  Now,  here  Avas  an  unconstitutional 
enactment,  and  there  was  an  honest  man — was  he  bound  to  submit 
to  that  enactment  ?  As  far  as  it  was  law — and  he  was  a  prudent 
man — he  submitted  ;  but  he  understood  the  Act  better  than  its 
framers,  and  turned  it  against  them  and  to  his  own  account ;  be- 
cause, instead  of  having  one  association  permanent  in  Dublin — the 
law  alloAving  fourteen  days — he  multiplied  his  associations  over  the 
island,  eacli  of  them  remaining  in  session  thirteen  days.  Now,  this 
is  to  ray  mind  an  evidence  that  an  eminent  lawyer,  who  understands 
the  fundamental  principles,  the  elements  of  a  constitution,  can  go 
behind  a  hasty  enactment,  and,  if  the  legislator  is  ignorant  or  faith- 
less in  regard  to  its  principles,  to  take  advantage  of  his  legislative 
blunder.  But  this  was  not  the  only  case  ;  in  tact,  during  that  time 
there  was  a  contest  between  the  wiseacres  of  St.  Stephen's  and 
O'Connell ;  and  after  they  had  clubbed  their  heads  together  to  make 
laws  to  put  him  down,  the  story  was  next  day  in  the  papei's  that 
he  had  found  a  means  of  driving  a  coach-and-four  through  their 
statutes. 

Daniel  O'Connell  was  not  a  bigot  in  religion — he  was  a  liberal 
Catholic.     Do  not  misunderstand  me — my  idea  of  a  liberal  Catholic 


142  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

is  one  who  is  sincere  and  faithful  in  the  profession  of  his  faitli,  but 
Avho  recognizes  in  every  other  human  being  the  same  right  that  he 
claims  for  himself;  but  in  modern  times  a  liberal  Catholic  has  come 
to  be  understood  as  a  man  who  makes  no  distinctions  between  one 
creed  and  another.  O'Connell  was  none  of  these  ;  he  believed  in 
his  religion,  and  from  the  period  of  his  unfortunate  duel  to  the  close 
of  his  life  he  combined  the  edification  of  a  practical  Catholic  in  his 
private  moral  life  with  the  highest  duties  of  a  politician  and  a  states- 
man, and  that  is  what  scarcely  any  other  public  man  that  I  have 
read  of  has  ever  accomplished  before.  In  short,  O'Connell  was  one 
of  those  men  Avhom  the  world — that  is,  the  foreign  world — could 
hardly  comprehend,  from  the  calumnies  that  were  heaped  upon  him. 
I  remember  him  in  two  or  three  circumstances  of  private  life,  and  it 
may  perhaps  relieve  the  tedium  of  this  long  harangue  if  I  allude  to 
them.  The  first  time  I  met  him  was  in  London,  and  I  was  intro- 
duced with  a  determination  to  have  a  struggle  with  him  on  a  cer- 
tain question — that  was  on  the  asperity,  I  thought,  with  which  he 
spoke  of  certain  social  institutions  in  this  country,  and  I  told  him, 
after  the  ordinary  introduction,  "  You  are  not  surprised,  Mr.  O'Con- 
nell, that  while  you  hav»  many  friends  in  America,  you  have  some 
who  are  much  displeased  with  certain  of  your  public  remarks."  And 
he  asked,  "  Which  ?"  "  Well,"  I  replied,  "  they  think  you  are  too 
severe  upon  an  institution  for  which  the  present  generation  or  the 
present  government  of  America  is  by  no  means  responsible — I  jnean 
slavery."  He  paused,  and  said,  "  It  would  be  strange  indeed  if  I 
should  not  be  the  friend  of  the  slave  throughout  the  world — I,  who 
was  born  a  slave  myself"  He  silenced  me,  although  he  did  not 
convince  me.  I  afterwards  heard  him  in  the  House  of  Commons, 
and  there  he  was  the  great,  grave  senator.  You  would  suppose  he 
had  been  brought  up  from  childhood  an  Englishman,  he  was  so  calm 
and  unimpassioned. 

But  he  was  listened  to  with  profound  respect.  I  heard  him  again 
at  one  of  those  "  Monster  Meetings,"  as  they  were  called,  at  Donny- 
brook.  He  had  been  preceded  by  several  able  and  clever  oratoi-s ; 
for  Ireland,  and  especially  the  city  of  Dublin,  is  seldom  deficient  in 
able  orators.  When  he  spoke,  it  was  like  casting  oil  upon  the 
troubled  waters.  Those  who  had  preceded  him  had  aroused  and 
awakened  the  passions  of  that  crowd  of  not  less  than  two  hundred 
thousand  people.  But  when  he  spoke  he  stilled  their  stormy  pas- 
sions, and  allowed  them  all  to  go  home  in  good-humor. 

At  another  time  I  had  the  honor  of  being  invited  to  dine  at  his 
table.  Nothing  extraordinary  occurred  until  after  the  dessert,  when 
a  little  group  of  his  grandchildren,  I  suppose,  were  permitted  to  en- 
ter. They  closed  around  him  just  as  some  of  his  political  satellites, 
but  with  the  innocence  of  childhood.  He  had  a  hand  for  each  ;  one 
clinging  to  his  shoulder,  another  climbing  upon  his  knee.  And  he 
had  an  epithet  of  tenderness,  varied  from  one  to  the  other,  which 
surprised  me  more  than  any  eloquence  I  ever  heard.  In  the  lan- 
guage of  the  continent  of  Europe  there  are  diminutive  epithets  of 


LIFE   AND   TIMES   OF   o'cONNELL.  143 

tenderness,  but  I  never  dreamed  that  they  belonged  to  the  English 
language  until  I  heard  them  from  the  lips  of  O'Connell. 

I  met  him  again  on  another  occasion,  in  London,  at  a  large  dinner 
party,  wliere  there  were  a  number  of  members  of  Parliament  and 
distinguished  members  of  the  Catholic  nobility.  He  was  near  the 
lady  who  presided.  Towards  the  end  of  the  entertainment,  a  very 
warm  discussion  sprung  up  at  the  opposite  extreme  of  the  table,  on 
a  question  with  which  they  all  at  first  seemed  to  be  perfectly  fami- 
liar, but  jn  reference  to  which,  the  more  they  discussed  it,  the  more 
they  seemed  to  become  involved  in  cloud  and  fog.  The  dispute  had 
reference  to  a  character  in  one  of  Mr.  Cooper's  novels  (the  Pioneer), 
named  Leatherstocking,  and  the  specific  part  which  the  novelist  had 
made  liiin  play  in  the  work  just  alluded  to;  and  when  they  were 
fairly  "  at  their  wits'  end"  (O'Connell  in  the  mean  time  conversing 
with  the  lady  of  the  house),  a  reference  was,  by  common  consent, 
made  to  him.  After  hearing  both  sides,  he  commenced  to  stake 
out  the  whole  subject.  He  began  with  the  beginning,  traced  the 
characters,  distinguished  one  from  the  other  time  and  place,  till  at 
last  they  all  wondered ;  and  one  said,  "  How  is  it,  Mr.  O'Connell, 
that  you,  who  have  to  govern  Ireland,  and  who  have  to  meet  the 
Tories  in  Parliament,  and  do  this,  and  do  that — how  is  it  that  you 
are  so  perfect  in  a  matter  of  this  kind  ?"  He  said — and  I  mention 
it  for  the  benefit,  perhaps,  of  some  young  persons  who  may  be  en- 
gaged now  or  hereafter  in  the  same  career — he  said,  "It  is  probably 
owing  to  this,  that  the  habit  of  my  life  has  been,  to  arrange  all  mat- 
ters of  knowledge  according  to  chronology;  that  is,  to  see  the  order 
of  time  in  which  the  events  took  place.  As  a  lawyer,"  said  he, 
"  during  the  period  when  I  have  devoted  seventeen  hours  daily  to 
my  profession,  I  always  began  by  studying  the  chronology  of  the 
case — what  tiling  took  place  first — what  the  next — until  at  last  it 
has  become  such  a  practice  with  me,  that  although  I  just  glanced 
over  that  novel  of  Mr.  Cooper's,  it  has  fixed  itself  upon  my  mind  as 
if  it  were  a  law-case." 

Such,  but  very  imperfectly  presented,  was  Mr.  Daniel  O'Connell. 
I  do  not  say  that  he  had  not  his  faults ;  I  do  not  say  that  he  was  in- 
fallible, either  as  a  politician  or  a  statesman  ;  but  I  do  say  that,  "  take 
him  for  all  in  all,"  Ireland  never  produced  his  equal  before,  and,  I 
fear,  never  will  again.  And  I  say  further,  that  be  they  few  in  num- 
ber or  be  they  many,  I,  at  least,  shall  ever  claim  to  be  one  of  those 
Avho  cherish  a  profound  respect,  under  every  point  of  view,  for  the 
illustrious  memory  of  the  great  "liberator"  of  Ireland. 


144  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 


THE  RELATION  BETWEEN  THE  CIVIL  AND 
RELIGIOUS  DUTIES  OF  THE  CATHOLIC  CIT- 
IZEN, 

THE    SUBSTANCE  OF  A  LECTURE    DELIVERED  IN    PITTSBURGH, 
JUNE  27,  1856,  BEFORE  THE  ST.  PAUL'S  INSTITUTE. 

{From  the  Pittsburgh  Catholic.) 

[The  Most  Rev.  Archbishop  Hughes,  at  the  earnest  solicitation  of  the  mem- 
bers of  St.  Paul's  Institute,  delivered  a  lecture  before  that  body,  in  St.  Paul's 
Cathedral.  The  subject  he  chose  for  the  groundwork  of  his  lecture  was,  "  The 
Relation  between  the  Civil  and  Religious  Duties  of  the  Catholic  Citizen."  The 
lecture,  throughout,  was  marked  with  the  usual  ability  of  the  distinguished 
Prelate,  and  was  listened  to  with  breathless  silence  by  an  audience  of  about 
eighteen  hundred.  The  delivery  occupied  one  hour  and  twenty  minutes.  We 
regret  exceedingly  our  inability  to  lay  the  admirable  discourse  before  our  read- 
ers entire.  The  Archbishop  not  having  it  written  out,  we  made  an  attempt  to 
take  down  a  report  of  it ;  but  on  taking  up  the  daily  papers  next  morning,  we 
found  that  nearly  all  had  a  report  of  it,  and  on  comparing  our  notes  with  them, 
found  them  to  be  more  full  than  our  own.  Finding  this  the  case,  we  yielded 
in  favor  of  the  daily  press  ;  but  in  doing  so,  we  do  not  wish  it  to  be  understood 
that  the  report  is  any  thing  like  full,  nor  do  we  pretend  to  indorse  its  ac- 
curacy— but  it  is,  in  the  main,  as  nearly  correct  as  outlines  generally  are.] 

At  eight  o'clock  Archbishop  Hughes  entered  the  pulpit,  and  read 
a  portion  of  Scripture  from  the  22d  chapter  of  Matthew,  the  words 
of  which  were,  "  Render  unto  Caesar  the  things  that  are  Cajsar's, 
and  unto  God  the  things  that  are  God's." 

The  Archbishop  remarked  that  these  words  were  the  only  ones 
recorded  by  the  evangelists  at  all  analogous  to  the  subject  under 
consideration.  The  Pharisees  witnessed  the  influence  of  the  miracle.^ 
the  holiness  of  life,  and  the  doctrines  of  our  blessed  Redeemer,  and 
thought  to  place  Him  in  a  position  by  which  He  would  lose  credit 
with  those  who  loved  their  country,  or  with  the  government  under 
whose  yoke  they  were  groaning.  If  He  answered  yea  to  the  ques- 
tion, "Is  it  .lawful  to  give  tribute  to  Csesar?"  it  would  have  injured 
him  with  His  people,  for  they  bore  the  yoke  heavily.  If  He  had 
said  it  was  not  lawful,  they  would  have  accused  Him  of  want  of  loy- 
alty, and  sedition  against  tlie  government.  Thus  they  imagined 
they  had  laid  a  snare  for  Him.  But  He  knew  the  malice  of  their 
hearts,  and  demanded  of  them  that  which  was  the  sign  of  tribute, 
and  indicated  that  they  were  subject  to  Caesar.  This  same  hypocrisy, 
this  same  cunning  device,  this  treachery  of  purpose,  has  been  resorted 
to  in  every  age  to  the  present  day.  It  is  an  assumption  by  those 
who  wish  grounds  of  accusation  against  the  Church,  that  inasmuch 
as  Christians  recognize  the  spiritual  authority  as  the  authority  of 
God,  it  is  improper  to  recognize  any  other  except  as  subordinate  to 
the  higher  spiritual  authority,  and  therefore  the  Church  is  assailed 
on  grounds  of  divided  or  doubtful  allegiance.     The  first  cry  of  the 


DUTIES    OF   CATHOLIC   CITIZENS.  145 

Roman  people  was  that  the  Christians  were  enemies  of  the  empire 
and  their  fabulous  divinities.  Whoever  has  read  their  histories, 
knows  that  in  times  of  pestilence,  defeat,  or  danger,  the  cry  was  to 
"carry  the  Christians  to  the  wild  beasts,  for  it  is  with  them  that  the 
gods  are  displeased,"  In  subsequent  times,  we  know  this  has  been 
the  pretext  for  persecution  in  nearly  every  country,  even  in  coun- 
tries nominally  Catholic,  where  proud,  selfish,  worldly,  interested, 
designing  men  took  up  the  idea  that  the  power  of  the  Church  was 
overshadowing  and  subordinating  the  power  of  the  State.  This 
plea  has  excited  persecutions  unequalled  by  pagan  barbarity. 

Even  in  this  country,  continued  the  Archbishop,  the  idea  begins 
to  be  propagated,  and  credulous  and  simple-minded  people  believe, 
or  pretend  to  believe  it.  Now,  the  distinction  drawn  by  the  Saviour 
makes  man  subject  to  two  orders,  the  temporal  and  the  spiritual. 
The  first  regulates  man  in  his  duties  to  the  Church  and  to  God  ;  and 
the  second,  his  duties  to  man  and  to  his  fellow-citizen.  If  the  fallacy 
of  the  Pharisees  had  any  basis,  it  must  have  been  this — that  the  spir- 
itual and  temporal,  are  rival  and  incompatible  orders  ;  that  the 
friend  of  one  must  be  the  enemy  of  the  other.  Hence,  in  some 
countries,  you  see  a  certain  enthusiasm,  not  real,  for  the  State — tlie 
State,  the  fountain  of  all  good — the  State,  the  lord  and  master 
before  whom  all  things  bend.  Where  this  idea  prevails  to  any  ex- 
traordinary degree,  it  is  pregnant  with  danger.  It  is  a  fancy,  a  con- 
ception of  schemers.  It  is  not  the  proper  idea  of  the  State.  Chris- 
tianity and  reason  teach  that  the  two  orders  are  perfectly  compatible. 
God  is  the  author  of  religion,  and  through  religion  the  author  of 
those  precepts  and  laws  to  be  obeyed  by  men.  God,  then,  is  the 
author  of  civil  government.  If  this  be  true,  how  could  he  institute 
two  antagonistic  orders,  and  oblige  man  to  be  loyal  to  both.  God  is 
the  author  of  civil  government,  and  man  by  every  manifestation  of 
his  nature  is  a  being  for  society.  Society  is  a  necessity,  and  cannot 
exist  without  government  to  execute  them.  Consequently,  all  laws, 
spiritual  and  temporal,  come  from  God.  Some  are  uncertain  whether 
law  comes  direct  from  God — we  hold  it  does.  If  both  orders  come 
from  God,  they  do  not  necessarily  conflict.  If  a  conflict  arise,  it 
must  be  on  the  encroachment  of  one  on  the  legitimate  rights  of  the 
other.  But,  in  the  spiritual  order,  we  recognize  the  most  s.alutary 
principle  for  the  maintenance  of  the  temporal.  Suppose  we  did  not 
believe  in  the  spiritual  life  ;  suppose  men  were  atheists  ;  what  force 
would  government  have  ?  where  would  be  the  bond  to  bring  the 
civil  law  to  bear  on  men's  consciences?  Where  would  be  the 
sacredness  of  an  oath  ?  the  obligations  of  truth  ?  of  honesty  ?  of 
any  civil  virtue  ?  Where  the  reasons  which  would  restrain  a  man 
of  cupidity  from  enriching  himself  at  the  expense  of  his  neigh- 
bor's property  ?  You  may  say  that  the  law  has  a  penalty  for 
such.  But  the  penalty  is  visited  upon  him  only  when  he  is  detected. 
We  know  that  human  laws  do  not  go  beyond  the  overt  act.  I  may 
covet  my  neighbor's  goods,  but  the  law  cannot  detect  or  punish  me. 
The  law  has  nothing  to  do  with  me  till  I  stretch  forth  ray  hand  under 
VOL.  II.— 10 


146  AKCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

the  observation  of  a  witness,  to  accomplish  what  ray  heart  conceived. 
So  you  see,  to  protect  society,  the  luiman  law  must  repose  on  the 
eternal  basis  of  spiritual  law,  whose  witness  is  the  eye  of  One  who 
penetrates  into  the  deepest  recesses  of  the  soul.  Were  it  not  for  this 
influence,  human  law  would  be  weak  and  inefficient  to  restrain 
crime. 

These  orders,  continued  the  Archbishop,  are  auxiliary,  instead  of 
antagonistic,  and  it  should  be  the  policy  of  wise  governments  to 
encourage  the  religious  principle,  since  in  that  the  State  has  its 
highest  security.  Society  is  kept  together  by  the  unspoken  but 
efiBcient  voice  of  the  spiritual  word  in  her  heart,  even  when  it  is  not 
audible. 

It  is  supposed  that  the  Catholic  citizen  must  be  a  contradiction  in 
himself  Permit  me  to  say  that  our  modern  education  in  history, 
legislation,  and  jurisprudence  is  so  lamentably  poor  that  truth  is  re- 
placed by  the  grossest  error.  More  especially  in  this  country,  it  is 
supposed  that  the  Catholic  religion  is  the  ally  of  every  thing  despotic 
and  arbitrary.  Never,  under  ray  notice  or  knowledge,  has  she 
sanctioned  despotism,  tyranny,  or  oppression.  The  best  proof  of  this 
is  that  the  Catholic  Church  found  the  inhabitants  of  the  world  the 
oppressed  victiras  of  sucb  tyranny.  Everywhere  there  was  despot- 
isra.  She  took  society  and  infused  into  it  those  elements  which 
are  the  basis  of  all  true  society.  Her  writers  have  laid  down  the 
true  principles  of  freedom  and  law  raore  clearly  than  any  other 
writers  of  jurisprudence  not  trained  up  in  her  schools.  There  was 
no  such  thing  as  an  irresponsible  sovereign  of  Europe  when  there 
was  but  one  Church  over  the  whole  world.  At  that  very  moment 
when,  as  we  are  told,  freedom  dawned  upon  the  world,  governments 
became  irresponsible  to  the  spiritual  power.  The  meaning  of  that 
freedom  was  to  gather  all  the  influence  and  irresponsibility  into  the 
State  and  take  all  away  from  the  Church. 

The  fact  that  there  was  not  a  single  irresponsible  government  in 
Europe  at  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century,  ought  to  be  suffi- 
•cient  answer  to  the  assertion  that  Catholics  are  lovers  of  bondage. 

Another  idea  advanced,  remarked  the  Archbishop,  is  that  the 
•Catholic  in  his  own  raind  must  be  in  conflict  in  the  discharge  of  his 
•political  duties.  It  is  want  of  candor,  judgment,  study,  that  induces 
such  a  behef.  They  say  that  the  Catholic  has  a  double  ally  in  his 
iheart,  that  he  is  ever  in  a  position  where  his  religion  asks  him  to  do 
one  thing,  and  the  State  another. 

But  the  Catholic  religion  has  no  particular  form  of  government 
to  recognize.  She  operates  by  a  spiritual  ])ower.  As  time  grew  on, 
she  brought  about  that  amelioration  which  has  elevated  the  Chris- 
tian Church.  When  Christ  came,  sla\»ery  was  everywhere.  Little 
by  little,  the  Church  began  to  operate  on  that  condition  of  things, 
and  slavery  had  disappeared  frora  earth,  at  least  from  Europe,  at  the 
beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century.  The  Catholic  religion  has  no 
doctrine  on  the  subject  of  governraent — no  doctrine  to  inculcate  this 
or  that -course  of  policy  in  human  aflfairs — no  more  than  our  blessed 


DUTIES  OF   CATHOLIC   CITIZENS.  147 

Redeemer  had.  It  teaches  that  God  is  to  be  obeyed  rather  than 
man.  But  that  suggests  a  case  where  man  may  expect  us  to  obey 
a  law  in  violation  of  God's  commands.  Yet  the  Church  will  not  al- 
ways have  recourse  to  rebellion.  We  have  before  us  the  example  of 
the  martyrs,  who,  when  commanded  by  the  temporal  authorities  to 
hold  their  peace,  answered,  "If  it  be  lawful  to  obey  God  rather 
than  man, judge  ye,"  and  went  on  repeating  M-hat  they  had  said. 
Yet  they  still  obeyed  the  civil  government.  How?  By  dying! 
by  submitting  to  the  consequences!  We  see  the  Church  in  the 
first  three  centuries  going  through  such  an  apprenticeship.  Rebel- 
lion was  never  preached.  While  governments  changed,  they  sub- 
mitted to  all. 

I  would  not  depreciate  the  temporal  authority,  but  I  would  not 
even  put  it  in  comparison  with  the  authority  which  embraces  man's 
eternal  being.  The  spiritual  is  far  more  important  than  the  tempo- 
ral, but  the  temporal  can  be  sanctified  as  the  auxiliary  of  the  spir- 
itual. The  man  that  is  truest  to  God,  is  truest  to  the  State.  We 
read  of  Chlorus,  governor  of  Britain,  that  when  an  edict  came  from 
Rome,  commanding  the  persecution  of  the  Christians,  he  promul- 
gated a  decree  that  a  test  should  be  made  to  discover  them,  and 
many  were  weak  enough  to  comply  with  the  test.  These,  the  wise 
and  far-seeing  pagan  ruler  dismissed,  from  his  presence,  "  how  can  I 
rely  on  you,  when  you  have  proved  yourselves  traitors  to  your 
God  ?"  But  to  those  who  had  openly  avowed  themselves,  he  ex- 
tended a  larger  confidence  than  ever  before. 

Referring  to  the  objections  he  had  enumerated,  he  said,  these  guns 
ought  not  to  be  discharged  in  an  age  and  a  land  like  this.  If  ever  there 
was  a  country  which  had  no  pretext  for  mooting  such  points,  it  is  this. 
The  Almighty  has  favored  this  people  with  broad  lands,  free  insti- 
tutions, and  a  Constitution  on  which  the  happiness  of  the  people 
is  based.  Put  all  these  aside,  and  for  the  first  time  in  the  history  of 
the  world,  the  government  leaves  the  spiritual  order  intact.  We 
read  of  some  governments  tolerating  religion,  whereas  the  wise 
founders  of  ours  avoided  this — leaving  the  spiritual  free  and  intact 
to  produce  its  own  effects  undisturbed  by  human  legislations. 
They  did  not  even  tolerate,  because  that  would  have  implied  that 
they  had  the  power  to  do  the  reverse.  They  only  asked  men  to 
discharge  their  civil  duties.  This  was  enough  ;  and  how  unreasona- 
ble and  unprofitable  to  raise  a  hue-and-cry  about  Catholicism — a 
religion  which  in  every  country,  from  the  rising  to  the  setting  of  the 
sun,  is  faithful  to  all  governments — a  religion  that  has  been  before 
history  and  the  world  for  eighteen  hundred  years.  It  is  unrea- 
sonable and  unwise  to  attempt  to  throw  suspicion  on  such  a  religion, 
as  if  some  mystery  was  concealed  in  it.  If  followed  up,  it  will  bring 
confusion  into  the  national  family.  If  applied  to  one  Church,  why 
not  to  another  ?  Even  civil  strife,  perhaps,  might  come,  though  I 
would  scarce  think  of  such  a  thing. 

Such  efforts  will  not  tramp  out  such  a  religion — a  religion  which 
survived  the  Avhole  power  of  the  Roman  empire,  and  was  not  hurt 


148 


AKCHBISHOP  HUGHES. 


by  it.  You  may  make  martyrs — ^^you  might  make  apostates,  but 
they  would  be  mean,  dastardly  hypocrites.  It  would  extend,  not 
destroy,  the  creed  it  battled  against.  Such  is  the  testimony  of  all 
history. 

His  Grace  defined  his  idea  of  a  good  citizen  at  length,  and  then 
proceeded  to  note  another  objection. 

They  say  the  Catholic  is  entirely  subjugated  to  his  spiritual  ad- 
visers— that  he  will  obey  what  Bishop,  Priest,  or  Pope  directs. 
They  look  at  it  as  a  man  in  a  deliriunT  of  fever,  and  imagine  what  is 
going  on  in  their  own  disordered  brain  to  be  real.  Why  should  not 
the  Catholics  love  their  country  ?  They  have  sacrificed  as  much — 
have  shed  their  blood  as  freely,  in  proportion  to  their  numbers,  as 
any  other  denomination.  And  they  obey  in  temporal  matters  their 
Priests  and  Bishops,  who  have  altogether  another  mission — whose  it 
is  to  bring  him  to  God — to  make  him  a  good  Christian,  and  hence,  of 
necessity,  a  good  citizen  !  To  think  that  they  should  stoop  to  the 
low  tricks  of  politicians  !  No  evidence  can  be  offered  to  show  it. 
Such  a  charge  is  a  foul,  vile  calumny.  Every  Catholic,  however 
humble,  knows  it.  He  knows  he  can  vote  for  whom  he  pleases,  and 
he  ought  to  make  his  election  according  to  the  end  for  which  gov- 
ernment was  established — the  common  good.  But  oh !  forbid  it, 
Almighty  God !  that  Priests  and  Bishops  should  stoop  to  direct  him 
in  a  province  entirely  his  own. 

After  some  further  remarks,  he  concluded  by  addressing  the 
young  men  of  St.  Paul's  Institute^  in  substance,  as  follows : 

Young  men,  you  will  never  be  faithful  to  your  country,  if  not 
faithful  to  your  God.  But  by  an  upright  and  honorable  course  in 
your  religion,  you  will  give  guarantee  of  a  corresponding  fidelity 
in  temporal  affairs.  You  will  become  good  citizens,  valuable  mem- 
bers of  society,  and  fulfil  the  highest  measure  of  your  duty.  At  the 
end  of  life,  the  temporal  order  will  sink  away,  and  you  will  rise  to 
the  spiritual.  You  are  created  for  eternity,  and  in  discharging  the 
duties  of  both  orders,  you  shall,  in  divine  mercy,  be  acquitted  in 
presence  of  your  Maker. 


UECTURE  ON  ST.  PATRICK, 

DELIVERED  IN  IRVING  HALL,  NEW  YORK,  ON  SUNDAY  EVENING, 
MARCH  17, 1861,  BEFORE  THE  CATHOLIC  LIBRARY  ASSOCLA.TION. 

[The  Rt.  Rev.  Dr.  Lynch,  Bishop  of  Charleston,  S.  C,  was  in^ited  by  the 
New- York  Catholic  Library  Association  to  deliver  a  lecture  for  the  benefit  of 
the  Society,  on  St.  Patrick's  Day,  1861  ;  but  in  consequence  of  the  non-arrival 
of  the  steamer  on  which  the  Bishop  took  passage  for  New- York,  his  Grace 
Archbishop  Hughes,  volunteered  Ms  services  instead,  and  delivered  the  follow 
ing  discourse.] 

Ladies  and  Gentlemen, — You  cannot  expect  from  me,  on  so 
brief  a  notice,  any  thing  like  the  lecture  that  would  have  been  de- 


LECTURE  ON    ST.   PATRICK.  149 

livered  here  tonight  by  the  distinguished  and  learned  Bishop  of 
Charleston,  if  something  had  not  occurred  on  the  way  to  prevent 
his  arrival.  As  we  expected  hini  to  deliver  the  panegyric  at  the 
Cathedral,  and  waited  in  hope  until  the  last  moment,  so  it  has  been 
here ;  and  it  is  scarcely  an  hour  since  I  felt  impelled,  however  im- 
perfectly, to  represent  him  on  this  occasion. 

The  twilight  of  St.  Patrick's  Day  of  1861  has  already  fully  closed 
in  upon  us ;  but  as  the  sun  (which  in  our  meridian  at  least  has  been 
brigl)t)  travels  upon  his  way  westward,  and  wherever  his  beams  fall 
upon  the  earth — there  the  festival  of  St.  Patrick's  Day  is  celebrated. 
It  is  so  here  ;  it  is- so  over  the  continent  of  Europe;  it  is  so  in  the 
Indies,  in  Hindostan,  up  to  Behring's  Straits,  and  among  the  islands 
of  the  Pacific.  Though  Ireland,  the  island  of  which  he  is  the  patron 
saint,  is,  comparatively  speaking,  as  small  as  a  pin's  head,  yet  the 
fame  of  St.  Patrick  goes  around  the  world  with  the  scattered  popu- 
lation of  that  island.  The  most  powerful  nation — the  nation  with 
the  most  extended  empire  on  earth — claims,  to  a  certain  extent  at 
least,  to  encircle  the  world,  and  to  be  like  one  of  those  straps  in  a 
machine  shop  which  runs  around  and  around,  turning  the  machinery,- 
without  end ;  but  I  tell  you  that  St.  Patrick's  Day  has  been,  and  is 
being  celebrated,  even  on  this  17th  of  March,  in  places  where  the 
tap  of  the  British  drum  has  never  been  heard. 

There  is  much  to  be  desired,  in  the  biography  of  Ireland's  apostle, 
with  reference  to  details;  and  those  who  speak  of  him  refer,  for  the 
most  part,  to  the  monument  w'hicb  he  has  left,  leaving  the  hearer 
to  judge  from  that  of  the  architect.  And  the  single  fact  that  in  no 
part  of  the  globe  has  his  name  been  forgotten  or  overlooked  by  any 
of  the  children  of  the  nation  of  which  he  was  the  apostle,  is  ample 
proof  both  of  the  faith,  and  of  the  attachment  to,  and  perseverance 
in,  that  faith  of  the  people  whom  he  rescued  from  superstition  and 
idolatry.  Hence,  I  say,  those  who  speak  of  the  saint  refer  generally 
to  the  faith  of  the  island  which  he  converted,  and  certainly  no  evidence 
could  be  stronger  or  more  favorable.  No  other  nation  has  carried 
its  national  faith,  in  good  and  evil  repute,  to  the  extreme  boundaries 
of  the  habitable  world,  as  the  Irish  people  have  carried  theirs.  They 
may  be  few  in  one  locality,  but  they  are  more  numerous  in  another; 
and  even  if  there  be  but  three  or  four  together,  or  even  one  alone, 
on  the  17th  March,  he  celebrates  St.  Patrick's  Day. 

But  you  are  familiar  with  the  theme  of  X.\\q  faith  of  Catholic  Ire- 
land, and  I  will  not  enlarge  upon  it.  England,  America,  Australia — 
every  country  in  the  world — has  evidence  of  its  strength  and  bright- 
ness. But  have  you  ever  heard  of  the  charity  of  this  same  people, 
distilled  and  imbued  into  the  hearts  of  his  converts  in  the  days  of 
St.  Patrick  and  through  his  ministry,  and  preserved  by  their  de- 
scendants ever  since  ?  Who  ha§  e>ier  spoken  to  you  about  this 
charity  ?  Those  who  know  it  are  so  familiar  with  it  that  they  hardly 
think  it  worth  while  dwelling  upon  ;  but  to  me  it  seems  a  theme 
which,  with  a  reasonable  time  for  preparation,  could  be  developed 
into  something  at  once  entertaining,  instructive,  and  edifying. 


150  ARCHBISHOP   HUdHES. 

Faith,  we  are  told  by  the  Council  of  Trent,  is  the  root  of  justifi- 
cation ;  because,  without  faith,  there  can  be  no  growth  of  charity. 
Faith  is  the  root ;  and,  as  the  tree  of  life,  springing  from  this  root, 
grows  fi'ora  little  to  greater,  it  becomes  adorned  with  branches  and 
buds,  and  flowers  and  fruits,  prominent  among  which  is  holy  charity. 
Yet  without  faith  for  the  radix,  the  tree  cannot  be  so  adorned — 
cannot  flourish. 

Of  course,  the  mission  of  an  apostle  to  a  pagan  nation  is  first,  ne- 
cessarily, a  mission  of  faith.  They  must  first  believe,  and  then,  if 
they  are  faithful  to  their  belief,  there  will  easily  grow  up  charity, 
and  love,  and  hope,  and  all  the  Christian  virtue^.  For  this  reason 
it  is  that  in  the  life  of  St.  Patrick  very  little  is  said  about  charity ; 
but  any  one  knowing  any  thing  of  the  history  of  that  people  whom 
St.  Patrick  was  the  instrument  of  ransoming  from  paganism,  will 
know  that  the  virtue  of  charity  never  flourished  in  any  land  so  con- 
stantly and  ubiquitously  as  it  did  in  Ireland.  It  would  almost  seem 
as  if  Almighty  God  had  permitted  that  people,  even  as  pagans,  to 
inherit  a  certain  amount  of  natural  humanity,  kindness,  and  hospital- 
ity, greater  than  that  given  to  others.  I  will  quote  from  the  laws 
of  the  country  enacted  before  Christianity  was  introduced  to  show 
this.  We  do  not  know  much  about  their  civil  codes,  but  there  was 
one  prominent  code — the  Brehon  Laws — which  is  better  preserved 
in  books  of  antiquity,  and  about  which  more  is  known  than  any 
other ;  and  among  other  things  to  be  found  in  this  code  is  this :  At 
that  period  there  were  but  few  turnpikes  or  high-roads,  and  certainly 
no  railroads  at  all ;  and  the  custom  had  grown  up  that  the  stranger 
on  his  journey  should  find  hospitality  wherever  nig)it  overtook  him. 
Anci  in  order  to  secure  this  right  of  the  traveller,  the  Brehon  law 
enacted  that  no  family  should  move  from  the  house  it  then  occupied 
without  giving  several  months'  notice,  lest  the  traveller,  not  knowing 
of  the  change,  should  arrive  in  the  night  and  find  the  house  desert- 
ed. This  shows  the  very  humane  disposition  of  the  people.  A  sec- 
ond evidence  of  their  natural  kindness  and  humanity  is,  that  neither 
St.  Patrick  nor  any  of  his  associates  or  successors  were  ever  molested 
in  their  mission  for  the  propagation  of  the  Christian  doctrine.  The 
soil  of  Ireland  has  never  been  moistened  with  a  drop  of  the  martyr's 
blood,  except  where  it  has  been  shed  by  the  sword,  or  by  the  author- 
ity of  foreign  invaders.  And  another  thing  is  that,  even  until  this 
day,  under  all  her  trials  and  privations,  Ireland  has  never  produced 
a  man — layman,  priest,  or  bishop — who  became  the  founder  of  any 
sect  opposed  to  the  faith  of  his  country  and  of  his  Church. 

You  know  the  biography  of  St.  Patrick  as  well  as  I  do,  and  I  need 
not  dwell  upon  details.  At  the  period  of  his  death  the  country 
which  he  had  found  a  pagan  island  began  to  exhibit  the  fruits  of  liis 
labor,  not  in  faith  alone,  but  ifl  charity  also.  From  an  early  period 
in  the  sixth  century,  down  to  nearly  the  middle  of  the  tenth,  Ireland 
was  the  school  of  Europe.  When  I  say  the  school  of  Europe,  I  do 
not  mean  to  say  that  there  were  no  learned  men  elsewhere ;  there 
were,  perhaps,  more  learned  men  in  other  countries.     But  it  was  the 


ST.    PATRICK.  151 

period  when  barbarism,  the  cold,  frozen  barbarism  of  the  North, 
rushed  down  to  invade  and  to  destroy  every  monument  of  learning, 
and  science,  and  faith  which  Christianity  had  already  erected  or  perpet- 
uated from  the  ruins  of  the  Roman  empire.  Turbulence  and  confusion 
were  universal ;  and  an  eminent  German  writer,  one  standing  amongst 
the  highest  and  greatest  of  German  scholars,  says,  that  during  this 
period  of  300  years,  learning,  and  religion,  and  piety  fled  from  every 
Christian  country  on  the  continent  to  take  refuge  in  the  country 
that  St.  Patrick  had  so  recently  brought  under  the  dominion  of 
Christ;  and  he  uses  a  curious  figure  to  describe  what  he  means; — 
he  says  that,  owing  to  the  disturbances  and  calamities  that  prevailed 
on  the  continent,  the  scholars  and  men  who  des#ed  learning,  whe- 
ther secular  or  religious,  fled  to  Ireland,  as  weary  troops  go  into 
winter  quarters  for  safety. 

Of  course,  it  is  not  popular  in  what  is  called  "Printing  House 
Square"  to  tell  all  the  truth,  but  the  truth  is  on  I'ecord ;  and  it  is  in 
every  great  library  in  Europe — that  during  this  period  of  two  or 
three  hundred  years,  they  fled  to  Ireland,  and  were  received  and 
educated  there. 

And  did  they  supply  themselves  with  clothing  ?  Not  at  all.  Did 
they  pay  their  masters  ?  Their  masters  did  not  want  pay.  Did 
they  pay  their  board  ?  No ;  such  a  thing  was  unknown.  They 
were  required  to  do  none  of  these  things ;  but  they  were  received 
and  educated  because  they  were  advocates  for  learning,  and  wished 
to  be  instructed  themselves.  And  whatever  may  have  been  the  de- 
tails of  the  arrangements,  we  know  that  thousands  and  thousands 
from  other  countries  were  thus  instructed,  and  that  the  very  founders 
of  many  of  the  institutions  now  called  scientific  universities,  &c.,  in 
England,  and  France,  and  Italy,  were  educated  in  Ireland. 

After  this  period,  you  know  that,  for  the  first  time,  as  far  back  as 
history  goes,  Ireland,  too,  fell  into  the  common  condition  of  the  na- 
tions at  that  time.  The  Northmen,  principally  Danes,  invaded  and 
took  possession  of  England,  which,  it  appears,  was  not  then  a  very 
diflicult  task,  and  then  invaded  and  occupied  Ireland.  Wherever  they 
got  ground,  and  were  not  prevented,  their  policy,  their  principle, 
I  might  almost  say,  their  very  instincts — coarse,  hardy,  determined, 
brave  barbarians,  as  they  were — was  to  overthrow  every  seat  of 
learning,  every  church  and  convent,  and  to  burn  to  ashes  the  ancient 
monuments  that  had  been  accumulated  in  those  establishments. 
Desolation  alone  marked  their  progress. 

The  contest  between  the  people  and  the  invaders  lasted  a  good 
while,  but  finally,  the  Irish,  provoked,  no  doubt,  by  those  sacrilegious 
acts,  aroused  themselves,  and  under  the  command  of  their  nominal 
SQvereign,  drove  the  Danes  into  the  sea. 

From  that  time  until  another  calamity  overtook  them  the  interval 
was  short.  That  was  the  treachery  of  one  of  their  own  princes,  and 
the  invasion  of  another  adventurer  from  the  neighboring  island. 
Call  him  Henry  II.  if  you  will ;  but  he  did  not  think  it  worth  his 
while  to  speak  of  his  royalty  when  invading  Ireland.     A  man  named 


152  ARCHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

Strongbow,  with  a  few  adherents,  gained  a  footing  in  the  country, 
which  became,  in  time,  what  has  been  called  the  Pale.  I  do  not 
know  the  exact  derivation  of  the  word,  but  it  was  intended  to 
mark  the  boundary  between  the  invaders  and  the  people  of  the 
country. 

Now,  it  is  a  fact,  that  neither  the  Danes  nor  the  English  really  con- 
quered Ireland.  The  English,  to  a  certain  extent,  conquered  it,  but 
they  did  not  complete  the  task  in  a  workmanlike  manner.  If  they 
had  entirely  conquered  it,  the  whole  of  it  would  have  been  con- 
quered, and  all  the  people  brought  under  the  English  laws.  But 
they  did  not  desire  the  benefit  of  English  law.  English  laws  will 
take  advantage  of^ou  wherever  they  can,  and  where  you  need  pro- 
tection, there  are  no  English  laws. 

But  we  will  pass  from  that.  It  was  not  so  bad,  after  all,  as  the 
calamity  which  succeeded.  We  come  to  the  reign  of  Queen  Eliza- 
beth, who  was,  if  I  may  use  the  expression,  the  first  who  had  the  man- 
liness to  conquer  the  whole  island.  But,  in  the  mean  time,  did  charity 
wax  cold  ?  Did  the  people  of  the  country  forget  what  they  owed  to 
the  influence  ofthe  Christian  religion,  and  to  the  progress  of  educa- 
tion ?  Certainly  not.  I  would  detain  you  too  long  were  I  to  give 
you  instances  to  prove  that  they  still  continued  what  they  had  been 
after  their  conversion  ;  but  I  may  mention  one  fact. 

When  Elizabeth  spread  her  dominion  over  the  land,  she  found  in 
one  town,  Armagh,  a  university  (the  name  university  was  not  com- 
mon then,  but  the  name  of  the  institution  was  equivalent  to  it),  in 
which  the  Irish  people,  under  all  their  trials,  had  contrived  to  pro- 
vide means  of  free  education  and  free  support  for  every  person  who 
came  to  drink  at  the  fountains  of  knowledge  and  religion.  It  is 
known  that  there  were  seven  thousand  persons  studying  in  the 
schools  of  Armagh.  There  were  fourteen  townships,  the  rents  and 
income  of  which  went  to  this  educational  institution  to  meet  the  ex- 
penses of  those  persons  who  came  to  Ireland  for  instruction.  And 
dear  Elizabeth,  upon  extending  her  dominion  to  that  part  of  the 
country,  confiscated  townships,  and  destroyed  the  university — all,  of 
course,  by  way  of  promoting  the  welfare  of  the  poor  Irish !  She 
took  the  townships  to  herself,  and  she  extinguished  the  university  ; 
that  was  her  work. 

And  since  then — but  I  will  not  harrow  up  your  feelings  by  recall- 
ing to  your  recollections  the  o{)pressions  and  persecutions  that  have 
been  deliberately  framed  and  heartlessly  executed  against  the  peo- 
ple of  Ireland.  With  them,  I  suppose,  you  are  sufficiently  familiar  ; 
and  if  I  speak  of  charity,  I  ought  not  to  say  anything  that  would 
tend  to  excite  a  feeling  of  resentment  for  injuries  long  gone  by. 
That  would  not  be  Christian  at  any  time,  and  it  would  be  entirely 
out  of  place  to-night.  But  you  know  it  all.  You  are  aware  that 
since  her  time,  and  especially  under  her  drivelling  successor,  James 
I.,  there  is  no  oppression  or  persecution  that  has  not  been  inflicted 
upon  Ireland.  Not  that  James  was  much  worse  than  other  men ; 
but  he  was  imbecile.    Elizabeth  had  attempted  to  settle  the  district 


ST.    PATRICK.  153 

of  Ireland  with  Englishmen,  and  to  make  a  colony  there.  She  could 
not  do  it.  But  James,  the  Scotchman,  becmcse  he  was  a  Scotch- 
man, drove  out  the  Irish  people,  and  established  a  colony. 

I  will  not  go  into  details,  but  I  will  conclude  this  historical  rela- 
tion by  saying  that,  take  Ireland,  from  North  to  South,-  from  East 
to  West,  there  is  not  an  acre  that  has  not  been  confiscated  by  the 
English  government  two  or  three  times.  And  after  that' policy  has 
been  pursued — after  they  have  taken  away  the  soil  by  which  the 
people  lived,  and  given  it  to  others,  then  their  writers  began  to  say 
that  Ireland  was  poor,  and  that  the  Irish  were  beggars. 

It  was  under  these  circumstances  that  the  preaching,  and  the 
teaching,  and  the  charity  which  St.  Patrick  had  infused  into  this 
people  had  opportunities  of  showing  themselves.  If  all  were  wealthy, 
who  would  want  alms  ?  If  all  were  reduced  to  the  same  low  level 
of  poverty,  who  could  help  another  ? 

Ireland  was  as  a  nation  crushed  between  two  millstones — the 
lower  one  stationary  and  Catholic ;  the  other  one  revolving,  and  the 
very  reverse  of  Catholic.  But  there  was  a  means  of  escape.  Let 
them  quit  the  lower  and  Catholic  millstone,  and  the  Protestant  mill- 
stone would  not  grind  them.  You  all  know  the  result.  When  their 
lauds  were  confiscated,  when  the  titles  of  their  nobility  and  their 
nobility  themselves  were  abolished,  when  their  gentry  were  reduced 
down  to  the  condition  of  the  farming  classes  and  the  farmers  to  the 
condition  of  paupers, — when  all  that  occurred,  surely  there  was  an 
opening  for  the  exercise-  of  Christian  faith  and  charity,  and  even 
then  Ireland  kept  her  eye  beaming  full  upon  both,  always.  Nor 
was  the  work  of  education  neglected  even  then.  Their  young  men 
were  forbidden  to  be  educated  at  home,  and  they  Avere  forbidden 
to  be  educated  abroad.  If  the  young  man  went  abroad  and  came 
back  an  educated  man,  by  stealth,  he  was,  if  discovered,  condemned 
to  prison  or  banished,  as  the  first  gentle  remonstrance ;  and  if  he 
came  back  a  second  time,  he  was  to  be  hanged !  The  schoolmaster, 
too,  was  liable  to  the  same  penalties. 

You  have  all  heard,  especially  in  that  queer  literature  which  has 
made  the  Irish  character  and  society  a  stock  for  promoting  laughter, 
wherever  the  English  language  is  spoken,  descriptions  of  what  are 
called  Hedge  Schools.  What  is  the  origin  of  Hedge  School  ?  I 
will  tell  you.  The  meaning  of  Hedge  School  was  a  school  kept  in 
the  shelter  of  a  hedge,  every  student  attending  which,  though  he 
translated  Homer  into  Irish,  and  Irish  into  Greek  and  Latin  (though 
perhaps  he  did  not  speak  English  very  correctly),  had  to  bring  a 
turf  with  him  as  his  contribution  to  the  fire  to  warm  the  school  by 
the  hedge.  The  origin  of  the  Hedge  School  was  to  give  the  master 
and  his  pupils  an  opportunity  of  making  their  escape  in  case  the 
constable  was  at  hand.  There  was  no  fear  of  their  being  caught  at 
the  door.  Education  was  still  cherished,  though  under  many  dis- 
advantages. Still,  there  were  eminent  scholars  in  the  country, 
Avho,  as  they  could  not  live  at  home,  distinguished  themselves 
abroad. 


154  ARCHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

This  charity  is  an  obscure  theme.  It  is  not  one  well  calculated 
to  arouse  the  feelings  very  much ;  but  it  is  a  very  edifying  one,  and 
worthy  of  all  praise.  "When  Ireland  was  reduced  to  the  condition 
that  I  have  described,  with  her  large  population,  many  in  entire  dis- 
tress, homeless,  houseless,  penniless,  what  was  the  resource?  It 
was,  in  the  language  of  the  country,  to  go  "  from  door  to  door ;" 
and  I  think  I  may  say  with  safety  both  to  my  reading  and  to  the 
memory  which  took  notes  of  these  things  in  early  life,  that  in  hardly 
any  part  of  Ireland  could  a  poor  beggar  apply  at  a  farmer's  house, 
or  at  any  other  house,  without  receiving  some  assistance.  It  is  not 
simply  the  amount  of  the  donations  given  that  is  to  be  taken  into 
account,  but  the  fact  that  the  country  was  imbued  with  that  feeling 
of  sympathy  and  charity,  which,  instead  of  sneering  at  the  beggar 
because  he  was  poor,  took  him  in,  compassionated  and  assisted  him. 
There  was  sympathy  for  him,  even  where  the  means  of  the  donors 
might  not  warrant  any  large  almsgiving. 

Now,  then,  I  say  that  charity,  though  seldom  spoken  of  on  occa- 
sions like  this,  has  been  the  oil  that  has  fed  and  supplied  the  lamp  of 
Irish  faith ;  for  faith  without  works  is  dead  in  itself.  On  every  side, 
80  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  read,  this  feeling  of  charity  prevailed. 
There  was  no  compulsion,  but  those  who  had  anything,  even  a  loaf, 
would  divide  it  willingly  with  those  who  had  nothing. 

Queen  Elizabeth,  with  her  masculine  understanding  and  energetic 
will,  found,  what  she  had  not  read  of  in  the  history  of  her  country, 
that  there  were  beggars  all  over.  She  succeeded  the  old  tyrant, 
Henry  VIII.,  and  she  complained  that  her  Royal  Highness  was  as- 
sailed everywhere  by  paupers.  She  could  see  nothing  but  beggars, 
and  she  wrote  to  her  Parliament,  begging  them,  in  the  name  of  hu- 
manity, to  do  something  for  them.  At  last  she  enjoined  upon  them 
to  make  a  law,  taxing  the  people  for  their  support ;  and  that  was 
the  beginning  of  the  Poor  Laws.  Ireland  needed  no  such  law.  She 
had  learned  from  the  teaching  of  St.  Patrick  that  law  of  charity  and 
brotherly  feeling,  sanctified  by  the  character  of  the  Christian  reli- 
gion. That  was  the  Irish  Poor  Law,  and  under  that  law  we  have 
heard  of  no  instance,  amidst  all  the  sufferings,  and  persecutions,  and 
privations  of  the  Irish  people,  of  a  multitude,  or  even  of  an  indivi- 
dual, starving  or  perishing  because  there  was  no  Poor  Law  in  Ire- 
land. And  I  will  say,  too,  that  famine  and  fever  never  desolated 
that  island  of  ancient  faith  and  charity  until  after  the  Poor  Laws 
were  there  enacted  by  Lord  John  Russell  and  his  associates.  Under 
those  laws  millions  have  perished  before  the  eyes  of  the  government, 
and  the  very  bread  of  charity  sent  from  these  shores  would  not  be 
admitted  by  the  hard-hearted  English  ministry  of  the  day,  unless  it 
should  pay  the  regular  d«ty  at  the  Custom  House. 

I  am  aware  that  poverty  is  a  great  calamity.  Extreme  poverty 
is,  in  my  opinion,  the  greatest  calamity  that  can  fall  upon  a  Christian 
nation,  except  it  be  extreme  wealth.  That  is  a  greater ;  but  both 
are  bad,  unless  men  have  their  hearts  impregnated  with  the  spirit  of 
the  Christian  religion — the  one  to  bear  their  trials  properly,  and  the 


ST.    PATRICK.  155 

other  to  make  a  good  use  of  the  gifts  intrusted  them,  for  the  con- 
solation and  relief  of  their  fellow-beings. 

But  look  at  the  play,  if  I  may  so  call  it,  of  Christian  devotion  and 
social  sympathies,  which  has  been  going  on  in  Ireland  for  the  last 
i300  years.  If  I  could  I  would  paint  it ;  but  though  it  comes  up  be- 
fore my  recollection  in  colors  that  would  delight  the  eye  of  an  angel, 
the  chapter  is  yet  unwritten. 

How  often  have  I  seen  poor  parents,  with  three  or  four  children, 
going  about,  as  I  have  already  mentioned,  from  door  to  door,  receiv- 
ing relief  from  every  one !  How  often  have  I  seen  as  many  as  seven 
or  eight  visits  between  sunrise  and  sunset  at  a  house,  itself  in  very 
moderate  circumstances !  How  often  have  I  seen,  with  my  own 
eyes,  that  wherever  the  night  overtook  those  people,  and  they  found 
a  house,  it  was  somehow  or  other  contrived  that  they  should  have 
the  privilege  of  a  bed,  protection  for  the  night,  and  something  to 
eat  in  the  next  morning  before  they  went  away !  How  well  and 
how  often  do  I  remember  hearing  the  password — the  signal  between 
those  iinfortunate  beings  and  those  who  were  just  barely  less  unfor- 
tunate than  they  were  themselves,  namely  :  "  I  want  a  little  help  for 
God's  sake  !"  that  password  was  hereditary  in  the  minds  of  St. 
Patrick's  converts  and  their  descendants.  When  it  came  to  that, 
anything  would  be  granted  ;  because,  even  grace  itself  cannot  in- 
spire a  higher  motive  for  a  generous  and  charitable  action  than  the 
motive — for  God's  sake.  And  the  reason  is  obvious ;  I  need  hardly 
dwell  upon  it.  How  many  do  we  meet  constantly  who  are  in  need 
of  aid,  and  how  many  of  them  are  worthy  of  that  aid  on  their  own 
account  ?  I  suppose  very  few.  There  may  be,  and  are  some,  but  we 
don't  know  them.  We  only  know  that  the  Christian  man  with 
the  faith  and  charity  of  the  Lord  in  his  heart  will  see  them,  as  it 
were,  through  God.  He  may  say  in  his  thoughts  :  "  I  don't  know 
what  kind  of  a  person  you  are,  but  I  know  that  God  created  you, 
you  are  my  fellow  being ;  I  would  not  aid  or  prompt  you  to  any 
iniquity,  but  even  if  you  should  be  unworthy,  I  do  not  aid  you  for 
your  own  worthiness,  but  for  God's  sake."  And  these  words — for 
God's  sake — are  the  passwords  in  Ireland. 

For  a  long  time  past  the  country  has  been  divided  into  several 
religions — Catholics,  Protestants,  Presbyterians,  Methodists.  Well, 
although  the  Catholics  have  been  the  ground-to-dust  people,  yet  the 
others,  too,  have  suffered,  and  now  and  then  they  would  be  found  in 
the  train  I  have  spoken  of,  going  from  door  to  door.  The  Catholic 
beggar  would  say  :  "  Ma'am,  I  want  a  little  help  for  God's  sake  ;" 
it  could  not  be  much  ;  the  means  were  limited ;  and  the  other  would 
say  :  "  Ma'am,  I  want  a  little  help."  This  shows  you  how  deeply  it 
is  engraved  on  the  hearts  and  souls  of  that  people ;  the  Catholic 
would  make  no  distinction  between  the  beggars,  but  would  always 
sanctify  her  alms  in  giving  it,  and  supply  the  omission  of  the  applicant 
for  help,  thus :  "  This  is  for  God's  sake." 

All  this  is  what  I  call  the  play  of  humanity,  of  Christian  charity, 
of  forbearance,  of  hospitality,  lodgings,  such  as  they  were,  for  the 


156  ARCHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

poor,  "  a  little  help,"  as  they  called  it,  for  those  in  need  ;  and  all 
this  in  the  hands  of  a  person  who  had  time  to  develop  the  subject 
properly,  would  present  an  exhibition  of  Christian  fortitude  and 
virtue  such  as,  perhaps,  no  country  on  the  face  of  the  globe  has  ever 
presented  or  excelled.  I  speak  not  now  simply  of  faith,  for  I  do 
think  and  believe  that  if  Ireland  had  become  hard-hearted  at  any 
time  to  the  poor,  or  forgetful  of  Christian  charity,  her  faith  would 
have  died  out ;  for  her  charity  has  been  to  her  faith  like  oil  to  the 
lamp. 

And  it  is  now,  they  say,  that  things  are  brightenning  up,  and  that 
the  people,  having  been  pretty-well  thinned  out  by  fevei's,  famines, 
emigration,  and  what  they  call  extermination,  that  is,  the  landlords 
throwing  them  out  upon  the  roads,  are  becoming  better  off.  I  should 
not  be  sui-prised  if  those  who  remain  would  fare  a  little  better ;  and 
I  would  be  glad  that  they  should  become  prosperous  in  the  tempo- 
rary order,  but  God  forbid  that  they  should  ever  forget  the  noble 
faith  and  holy  charity  which  have  come  down  to  them  from  the 
days  when  St.  Patrick  raised  the  Cross  of  Christ  on  their  island ! 

Your  society,  and  the  society  with  which  you  are  intimately  con- 
nected, have  in  view  a  twofold  object,  charity  and  the  dissemination 
of  knowledge.  Your  library,  rightly  managed,  and  properly  en- 
couraged, may  be  a  source,  if  not  of  very  large  information,  at  least 
of  a  protecting  influence  for  those  wishing  to  read.  The  society  of 
St.  Vincent  de  Paul  suggests  in  another  form,  the  highest  model 
ever  presented  by  the  world  for  tlie  imitation  of  individual  charity. 
St.  Vincent  de  Paul  was  one  who  in  his  own  life,  did  more  than 
almost  any  one  else  for  the  virtue  of  charity,  laid  down  a  foundation, 
and  presented  motives  to  attract  thousands,  and  perhaps  by  this 
time  millions,  to  the  sacred  work,  without  any  earthly  recompense. 
This  work  of  charity  he  carried  on  continually,  even  down  to  the 
redemption  of  the  galley  slaves — for  he  went  on  board  the  galleys 
and  sought  to  put  the  manacles  upon  his  own  hands  and  to  go  to 
Africa,  in  order  to  release  the  Christians  who  had  been  taken  by  the 
corsairs,  fearing  that  in  their  calamity  and  weakness  they  might  be 
tempted  to  deny  Christ.  But  charity  is  not  a  national  virtue  ;  it  is 
a  Christian  virtue.  It  belongs  to  all  countries,  and  although  I  have 
spoken  of  it  to-night  with  especiel  reference  to  Ireland,  I  have  not 
spoken  so  with  the  intention  of  denying  its  existence  elsewhere.  No 
other  country,  however,  can  present  anything  like  a  parallel  to 
Ireland  as  a  field  to  bring  out  the  virtue  of  Christian  charity  if  it 
were  in  ;  and  that  is  the  reason  why  I  have  so  spoken. 

But  in  speaking  of  any  Christian  virtue,  whether  faith,  hope,  or 
charity,  the  Catholic  knows  no  distinction  of  nations,  and  any  such 
distinction,  intentionally  made,  is  just  so  much  less  Catholic  than  it 
ought  to  be.  Every  man  has  his  country,  either  the  land  of  his  na- 
tivity or  the  land  of  his  adoption,  and  to  it  he  is  bound  by  every  tie 
of  honor  and  loyalty,  even  to  the  sacrifice  of  his  life.  That  is  in  the 
human  order.  But  in  the  divine  order  we  do  not  know  any  geo- 
graphy.    There  is  no  geography  for  the  Catholic  as  a  Catholic.    As 


ST.    PATRICK.  157 

a  Catholic,  he  embraces  his  brother  Cathohc  who  is,  perhaps  at  this 
very  hour,  celebrating  the  Holy  Mysteries  in  the  capital  of  China, 
for  the  old  Church  has  been  reopened  there,  the  same  as  if  he  were 
in  New  York.  He  believes  all  that  we  believe,  all  the  doctrines  that 
our  common  mother  the  Church  teaches. 

But  if  there  is  any  trouble,  we  will  fight  China  any  time,  as  we  did 
Mexico.  In  Mexico  we  had  priests  on  our  side  and  they  had  priests 
on  theirs ;  and  our  prisoners,  when  they  were  Catholics,  were  treated 
as  Catholics,  kindly,  with  every  spiritual  consolation ;  and  their  pris- 
oners, when  they  came  to  our  priests,  were  treated  in  the  same 
way,  the  day  after  they  had  stood  in  battle  array  against  each  other. 
So  it  is  that  the  faith  and  charity  of  the  Catholic  Church  are  not  in- 
vaded or  conquered  by  war. 

And  in  our  own  country,  wbere  there  has  been  lately  so  much 
excitement  (all  of  which,  I  trust,  will  terminate  amicably),  they  di- 
vide it  into  two  parts,  calling  them  North  and  South,  and  they  talk 
of  division  and  civil  war.  Well,  there  is  but  one  rule  for  a  Catholic 
wherever  he  is,  and  that  is,  to  do  his  duty  there  as  citizen.  But  no 
matter  how  wide  or  hoAV  deep  they  may  in  their  political  aspirations 
and  schemes  contrive  to  present  the  chasm  dividing  the  North  from 
the  South,  or  how  impassable,  the  Catholics  on  both  sides  of  the  line, 
though  they  may  not  be  very  distinguished  engineers,  will,  as  far  as 
religion  is  concerned,  throw  a  bridge  over  that  chasm. 


SERMONS. 


A  SERMON  ON  THE  FESTIVAL  OF  ST.  PATRICK. 

PREACHED   IN  ST.   JOHN'S   CHURCH,  PHILADELPHIA,    MARCH   17, 
1835,  BY  REV.  JOHN  HUGHES. 

Philadelphia,  March.  17th,  1835. 
Rev.  Sir — A  few  among  the  crowded  audience,  who  this  day  listened  to  the 
very  eloquent  discourse  in  which  you  have  portrayed  mth  the  fire  of  devotion 
the  merits  of  Ireland's  Apostle,  as  well  as  the  vn-ongs  of  that  unhappy  country  ; 
imwilling  that  the  gratification  they  have  experienced  themselves,  should 
be  totally  lost  to  others  who  were  deprived  of  the  opportunity  of  attending  on 
that  occasion,  respectfully  request  a  copy  of  your  panegyric  for  the  press. 
We  are.  Rev.  Sir,  very  respectfully, 

Your  humble  servants, 

Jos.  G.  Nancrede, 
*  John  P.  Owens, 

W.  W.  Haly, 
S.  B.  Davis, 
To  Rev.  John  Hughes.  M.  A.  Frenaye. 

Philadelphia,  March  18th,  1885. 
Gentuemen — I  have  great  pleasure  in  complying  with  your  wishes  in  regard 
to  my  sermon  on  the  festival  of  Ireland's  Apostle. 

I  am,  gentlemen,  veith  great  respect, 

Your  obt.  servant, 
Messrs.  Jos.  G.  Nancrede,  M.  D.  John  Hughes. 

John  P.  Owens, 
W.  W.  Halt, 
S.  B.  Davis, 
M.  a.  Frenaye. 


SEEMON. 

"  Go  forth  out  of  thy  country  and  from  thy  kindred,  and  from  thy  father's 
house,  and  come  into  the  land  that  I  will  show  thee.  And  I  will  make  of  thee 
a  great  nation,  I  will  bless  thee  and  magnify  thy  name,  and  thou  shalt  be 
blessed." — Genesis,  xii.  1. 

The  history  of  the  Irish  nation  furnishes  so  many  traits  of  resem- 
blance to  that  of  the  ancient  Jews, — the  mysterious  path  by  which 
the  invisible  hand  of  Providence  conducted  our  Saint  to  the  field  of 
his  immortal  labors,  has  so  many  points  of  correspondence  with  the 
history  and  vocation  of  Abraham, — that  the  promises  of  Almighty 
God  to  the  father  of  the  faithful,  would  seem  to  have  been  literally 
fulfilled  in  the  great  Apostle  of  Ireland.  "  Go  forth  out  of  thy 
country  and  from  thy  kindred,  and  out  of  thy  father's  house,  and 
come  into  the  land  that  I  will  show  thee,  and  I  will  make  thee  a 


SERMONS.  159 

great  nation,  and  I  will  bless  thee  and  magnify  thy  name  and  thou 
shalt  be  blessed." 

Greatness,  whether  national  or  individual,  has  different  meanings, 
according  to  the  case  and  circumstances  in  which  the  word  is  used. 
The  Egyptians,  the  Persians,  the  Greeks,  the  Romans  of  antiquity, 
wei"e  great  nations ;  each  excelling  in  something  peculiar  to  itself. 

Their  brilliant  achievements,  whether  in  arts  or  arms  ;  the  extent 
of  their  dominions,  and  the  pomp  of  their  kings  and  courtiers,  are 
all  but  too  apt  to  catch  the  eye  of  youthful  admiration,  and  thus 
create  a  prejudice  which  cont'onnds  jjoicer  with  greatness,  and  which 
the  philosophy  of  riper  years  finds  it  difficult  to  eradicate  from  the 
mind.  The  power  which  those  nations  possessed  was  human,  tempo- 
rary, perishable ;  oftentimes  engendei'ed  in  crime,  and  upheld  by 
cruelty.  It  would  be  injurious,  therefore,  to  the  perfection  of  the 
Supreme  Being,  to  suppose  that,  in  promising  to  make  Abraham  a 
great  nation,  he  did  not  contemplate  greatness  of  a  very  different 
order  from  that  to  which  I  have  just  alluded. 

The  distinction  is  necessary  when  we  wish  to  understand  those 
promises  which  God  made  and  fulfilled  in  their  true  meaning, 
towards  the  people  of  his  choice.  According  to  the  tfmporal  order, 
they  do  not  seem  to  have  been  distinguished  by  any  of  those  daz- 
zling attributes  of  temporal  greatness,  which  we  behold  in  some 
other  nations  of  antiquity.  They  were  once  and  again  under  the 
yoke  of  foreign  bondage.  They  were  oftentimes  stubborn  and 
ungrateful,  and  chastisement  followed  quickly  in  the  footsteps  of 
transgression.  Accordingly,  we  tind  them  at  intervals  oppressed, 
now  by  their  own  rulers,  and  now  under  the  lash  of  the  triumphant 
barbarian,  who  knew  not  the  God  of  their  leader  Moses,  or  their 
father  Abraham. 

But  view  their  history  in  connection  with  the  order  of  Divine 
greatness,  and  mark  how  distinguished  they  were.  God  had  sus- 
pended the  laws  of  nature  for  their  deliverance  from  Egypt  and  ; .  e- 
servation  in  the  desert !  He  held  communion  with  them — he  taught 
them.  To  their  exclusive  charge  he  committed  the  Faith  and  the 
Hope  of  the  world's  redemption.  When  all  had  gone  astray,  he 
chose  them  as  the  representatives  of  the  human  race  ;  and  when  ev- 
ery other  bond  had  been  severed,  there  remained  this  last  link  in  the 
chain  of  truth  and  mercy,  which  still  connected  earth  with  heaven, 
time  with  eternity,  mail  with  his  God.  The  ladder  of  vision,  by 
which  angels  were  ascending  and  descending,  rested  on  their  hal- 
lowed soil ;  and  no  wonder  that  they  could  not  sing  their  national 
songs  by  the  rivers  of  Babylon — no  wonder  that  their  country  should 
be  dear  to  them,  and  that  the  wandeiing  child  of  Abraham,  even  at 
tliis  day,  should  shed  the  bitter  tear,  while,  resting  by  the  wayside,  he 
looks  towards  the  distant  coast  and  remembers  Sion ! 

The  festival  which  we  are  this  day  assembled  to  celebrate, 
and  the  national  associations  connected  with  it,  suggest  to  every 
mind  the  sense  in  which  the  text  may  be  applied  to  the  Apostle  of 
Ireland.     He,  too,  left  his  country,  his  kindred,  and  his  father's 


160  AECUBISHOP   HUGHES. 

house,  and  came  to  a  land  which  God  had  shown  him.  The  children 
of  that  land,  like  those  of  Israel,  have  passed  through  the  Red  sea, 
not  of  water,  but  of  blood  and  persecution,  Ireland  has  seen  the 
gushing  torrent  of  her  mountains,  and  the  tranquil  stream  of  her  val- 
leys turned  into  the  rivers  of  Babylon,  and  heard  the  insulting 
stranger  ask  for  her  national  songs,  whilst  her  harp  was  suspended 
on  the  willows — its  chords  all  broken,  in  sign  of  captivity.  Many 
of  her  sons,  too,  are  scattered  among  the  nations  of  the  earth ;  men 
who  loved  her  too  well  to  grace  by  their  presence  the  triumphant 
tyranny  of  her  oppressors ;  men  who  bled  by  the  sympathy  of  the 
heart  at  every  stab  which  they  saw  inflicted  on  our  dear,  dear  Erin. 
But  wherever  they  are  found,  whether  in  the  deep  solitude  of  the 
western  forest,  or  on  the  shores  of  distant  India,  the  emotions  which 
awoke  in  the  breast  of  Babylon's  captive  at  the  remembrance  of 
Sion,  were  never  deeper  or  holier  than  those  which  the  returning 
festival  of  Ireland's  Saint  causes  to  throb  in  the  bosom  of  her 
exile.  Other  days  he  devotes  to  fortune  and  to  fame,  but  the  anni- 
versary of  St.  Patrick  is  sacred  to  the  land  of  his  nativity.  Under 
whatever  sky  he  roams,  his  heart,  on  this  day,  feels  the  magnet  of  his 
country,  and  isensitive  to  the  attraction — true  as  the  needle  to  the 
pole — turns  away  to  dwell  among  the  graves  of  his  fathers,  to  re- 
visit the  home  of  his  childhood,  the  scenes  and  companions  of  his 
youth. 

With  regard  to  the  birth-place  of  the  illustrious  servant  of  God, 
St.  Patrick,  whose  festival  the  Church  this  day  celebrates,  I  find  that 
the  authorities  are  various  and  contradictory.  To  enter  into  a  dis- 
cussion on  the  merits  of  the  respective  claims,  is  as  much  opposed  to 
ray  own  views  of  propriety  as  it  would  be  uninteresting,  not  to  say 
tedious  and  unpleasant  to  yourselves.  Was  he  born  in  Scotland,  as 
appears  to  be  the  most  generally  received  opinion?  Or  was  he  a  na- 
tive of  Brittany  in  France,  as  some  ancient  records,  and  the  circum- 
stance of  his  having  been  the  nephew  of  St.  Martin,  Bishop  of  Tours, 
Avould  seem  to  establish  ?  These  are  questions,  on  the  solution  of 
which  it  does  not  become  me  to  enter  on  an  occasion  like  the  present. 
Let  it  sufiice  to  say,  that  different  countries  have  claimed  the 
honor  of  having  given  him  birth.  But  what  is  certain  is,  that 
wherever  he  was  born,  Ireland  was  the  theatre  of  his  apostolic  labors 
— Ireland  is  the  land  which  he  reclaimed  from  paganism,  and  pre- 
sented to  the  living  God  as  one  of  the  greenest  laurels  that  ever 
decked  the  brow  of  triumphant  Christianity.  What  is  certain  is,  that 
in  his  old  age,  when  about  to  rest  from  his  labors,  he  reclined  his 
weary  head  on  the  lap  of  Ireland, — that  she  possesses  the  deposit  of  his 
sacred  ashes ;  and  whilst  she  keeps  vigil  by  the  hallowed  urn  that 
contains  them,  she  is  content  that  other  nations,  if  they  will,  should 
dispute  for  the  glory  of  having  rocked  his  cradle. 

It  appears  that  his  parents  had  settled  in  Scotland,  and  that  about 
the  sixteenth  year  of  his  age  he  was  captured  and  carried  into  Ii-e- 
land  by  a  band  of  pirates — that  here  he  was  sold  into  captivity. 
God  thus  far  permitted,  that  like  another  Joseph  in  Egypt,  he  should 


SERMONS.  •  161 

first  be  a  slave  in  the  land  wliich  he  was  destined  to  deliver  after- 
wards from  more;  than  Egyptian  bondage.  His  occupation  during 
the  period  of  his  servitude,  as  we  learn  from  his  own  confessions, 
was  herding  cattle  on  the  mountains. 

The  fabulous  and  absurd  biographies  of  this  distinguished  servant 
of  God,  professing  to  be  of  high  authority,  but  evidently  written  by 
some  enemy  of  our  country  or  his  religion,  ought  to  be  branded 
with  their  true  stamp  of  spuriousness  and  forgery  ;  and  it  is  to  be  re- 
gretted that  an  attempt  has  been  made  to  circulate  a  work  of  this 
character,  even  in  the  United  States.  The  genuine  documents,  if 
they  were  ever  abundant  for  such  a  work,  have  disappeared  centu- 
ries ago,  either  in  the  Danish  destruction  of  monasteries  and  manu- 
scripts in  the  ninth  and  tenth  centuries,  or  by  the  more  refined  and 
deliberate  malice  of  the  invading  successors.  What  I  state  of  St. 
Patrick  rests  on  the  authority  of  the  fragments  of  his  own  writings 
that  have  come  down  to  us;  or  on  that  of  Alban  Butler,  who  sifted 
the  materials  on  which  he  drew,  with  the  discrimination  of  a  scholar 
and  the  criticism  of  a  stoic.  From  these  we  learn  that  his  condition, 
at  an  early  age,  was  such  as  I  have  just  described — that  of  a  slave. 
But  a  lesson,  which  experience  teaches,  and  which  few,  unhappily, 
are  Vtilling  to  learn,  is,  that  every  situation  has  its  advantages  and 
graces,  and  that  oftentimes  the  occurrence  which  we  deplore  with 
the  most  intense  grief,  is  that,  precisely,  which  in  the  end  is  most 
for  our  good.  So  it  was  with  our  Saint  during  his  captivity.  Here 
it  Avas,  in  the  loneliness  of  his  occupation,  that  he  had  leisure  to  re- 
flect on  the  fickle  tenure  of  human  happiness,  and  the  instability  of 
human  things.  He  is  but  a  youth,  and  he  is  already  torn  from  the 
embraces  of  his  fond  parents,  from  all  the  relations  of  home  and 
country,  and  compelled,  in  a  strange  land,  to  obey  the  will  of  a  pagan 
and  barbarian.  Here  it  was,  when  his  tender  body  was  sinking  un- 
der the  inclemency  of  the  seasons  and  the  hardships  of  his  lot ;  when 
his  young  heart  was  breaking  in  the  sad  memory  of  family  endear- 
ments, which  were  never,  as  he  supposed,  to  be  enjoyed  again  ; 
when  snatched  away,  unexpectedly  and  forever,  from  all  the  objects 
of  his  early  afi*ections,  he  felt  that  every  gentle  tie  that  binds  man 
to  the  earth  had  been  rudely  severed  ;  here  it  was,  as  we  learn  from 
his  confessions,  that  Faith  directed  his  mind  and  heart  to  an  object 
which  never  changes — never  deceives,  and  Charity  claimed  those 
aflections  of  his  youth,  which  misfortune  had  already  left  without  a 
rival  object  beneath  the  sky.  His  humility  does  not  permit  him  to 
mention  in  his  confessions  the  interior  consolations,  the  pure  light  of 
the  Holy  Ghost  that  must  have  flowed  in  upon  his  soul  during  this 
period  of  his  probation,  when  we  behold  him  a  shepherd  boy  on  the 
bleak  mountains  of  pagan  Ireland,  like  another  Moses  tending  the 
flocks  of  Jethro,  and  like  Moses,  too,  in  treaty  with  his  God  for  the 
deliverance  of  a  great  people. 

The  termination  of  his  sutFerings  and  servitude  at  length  arrives, 
and  he  is  again  i-estored  unexpectedly  to  the  embraces  of  his  fond 
but  afliicted  parents.    The  world  again  presents  its  charms  and  allure- 
VOL.  II.— 11 


162  "        ARCHBISHOP   HUGHra. 

merits  ;  but  his  affections  are  preoccupied.  He  had  given  his  heart 
to  God  ;  and  nothing  could  now  induce  him  to  recall  or  divide  the 
offering.  Religion  had  stooped  to  console  him  in  the  dark  hour  of 
his  distress,  and  having  hailed  her  with  a  lover's  devotion,  he  clings 
to  her  with  a  lover's  constancy.  His  purpose  of  devoting  himself  to 
the  ministry  of  Jesus  Christ  and  making  Ireland  the  theatre  of  his 
mission,  is  opposed  by  his  friends  with  all  the  arguments  and  en- 
treaties which  worldly  wisdom  could  inspire.  But  in  vain.  Having 
chosen  the  Lord  for  the  portion  of  his  inheritance,  he  is  insensible 
to  every  species  of  remonstrance.  It  was  about  this  time  also,  as  he 
tells  us  in  his  confessions,  that  the  will  of  Heaven  was  more  clearly 
indicated  to  him  in  a  vision,  in  which,  like  St.  Paul  in  reference  to 
Macedonia,  he  saw  the  Genius  of  Ireland  beckoning  him  to  come  and 
preach  the  gospel  on  her  shores.  But  knowing  that  it  is  unlawful 
to  preach  without  having  been  sent — that  no  man  taketh  this  honor 
to  himself  except  he  be  called  of  God,  as  Aaron  was,  by  a  public  and 
legitimate  appointment — he  subdues  the  ai'dor  of  his  zeal  to  pro- 
claim Christ,  he  enters  on  a  course  of  patient  study  and  preparation, 
under  the  guidance  of  his  uncle,  St.  Martin  of  Tours,  and  receives, 
finally,  the  ordination  of  deaconship  and  priesthood.  Instead, 
however,  of  presenting  himself  immediately  on  the  field  of  his  labors, 
we  find  him  journeying  to  Rome  to  receive  authority  and  commis- 
sion to  preach,  from  the  successor  of  hiyn  who  "  being  once  con- 
verted" was  to  "  confirm  his  brethren,"  of  him  whose  superior 
privilege  it  was  to  feed,  not  only  the  lambs,  but  the  sheep  of  Christ's 
universal  fold.  Our  Apostle  had  become  acquainted  with  the  Irish 
national  character,  and  having  discovered  with  the  eye  of  prophetic 
discrimination  the  rich  and  enduring  materials  of  which  it  was 
composed,  and  which  were  so  well  adapted  to  the  spiritual  edifice 
that  he  was  about  to  rear,  he  begins  like  a  wise  architect  by  laying 
the  foundation  on  that  rock  of  Peter,  against  which  an  infallible 
promise  had  declared  that  "  the  gates  of  hell  should  not  prevail." 
He  received  the  apostolical  authority  and  benediction  at  the  hands 
of  Pope  Celestine  about  the  year  427. 

He  now  bids  adieu  to  Rome  and  Italy,  crosses  the  Alps,  takes  a 
final  leave  of  those  distinguished  servants  of  God  who  had  been  his 
preceptors,  and  from  whose  society  he  had  derived  so  much  edifica- 
tion and  delight.  But  Ireland  was  the  long-clierished  object  of  his 
zeal,  and  neither  time  nor  space,  nor  the  society  of  saintly  men, 
must  keep  him  estranged  any  longer  from  the  people  of  his  choice. 
Behold  him  then,  at  length,  alighting  from  the  ship,  and  standing 
alone  on  the  beach  of  that  pagan  island.  An  apostle  of  Christianity 
viewed  in  such  circumstances,  and  at  such  a  moment,  presents  one  of 
those  grand  spectacles  of  moral  sublimity,  to  which  the  whole 
history  of  human  enterprise,  guided  by  human  motives,  furnishes  no 
parallel.  The  comforts,  friends,  wealth,  and  honors  that  he  has  left 
behind  him,  contrasted  with  the  privations,  hardships,  poverty,  igno- 
miny, and  probable  martyrdom,  that  array  themselves  in  the  pros- 
pect before,  exhibit,   in  connection  with  his  choice,  a  phenomenon 


SEEMONS.  163 

in  the  moral  order,  which  your  dark,  cold,  earthly  philosophy  cannot 
comprehend,  much  less  explain.  Christianity  had  made  some 
slight  progress,  previous  to  his  coming,  but  idolatry  according  to 
the  rites  ofdruidism  was  still  the  religion  of  the  country. 

It  remained  for  the  hand  of  Patrick  to  pluck  up  the  pagan  super- 
stitions of  the  land,  and,  as  this  operation  would  necessarily  wound 
the  national  passions  to  the  very  quick,  was  it  not  probable  that  these 
would  burst  forth  in  a  hurricane,  and  overwhelm  with  destruction 
tlie  rash  mortal  who  had  dared  to  invade  their  ancient  dominion  ? 
Would  not  the  kings,  and  people,  and  princes  league  together,  in 
the  words  of  the  psalmist,  against  the  Lord  and  against  his  Christ  ? 
Would  not  the  mystery  of  redemption  be  rejected,  and  would  not 
a  prompt  if  not  cruel  death  be  the  recompense  of  him  who  had 
undertaken  to  proclaim  it  ?  These  are  questions  Avhich  suggest 
themselves  to  those  who  regard  things  according  to  human  pru- 
dence, bat  which  never  agitate  the  mind  of  an  apostle.  He  goes 
forth  on  the  strength  of  his  commission,  with  no  breastplate  of  pro- 
tection but  his  innocence,  no  armor  but  humility  and  prayer. 
Impressed  with  the  divine  conviction  that  he  who  loses  his  life  for 
Christ's  sake  shall  save  it,  he  is  a  conqueror  before  the  battle  has 
begun. 

It  was  with  these  equipments  and  in  this  spirit  that  St.  Patrick 
landed  on  the  shores  of  Ireland,  and  planted  the  standard  of  the 
cross  where  the  Roman  legions  had  never  ventured  to  plant  the  im- 
perial eagle.  He  takes  his  march  through  the  island,  preaching 
Christ  and  Him  crucified,  and  the  multitude  of  believers  that  follow 
in  the  train  of  his  ministry  seems  to  bring  back  the  days  of  Jeru- 
salem and  Pentecost.  He  preaches  a  doctrine  of  mysteries  too 
sublime  to  be  comprehended  by  the  feeble  powers  of  created  un- 
derstandings, he  proclaims  a  doctrine  of  morals  stern  and  intolerant 
towards  the  passions  of  the  human  breast,  and  the  tide  of  those  pas- 
sions is  forthwith  arrested,  as  if  by  the  voice  of  God  saying :  "Hereto 
thou  shalt  come,  but  no  further  ;  and  here  thou  shalt  break  thy  proud 
and  swelling  waves." 

Thus  did  lie  continue  for  half  a  century,  during  which  he  labored 
in  the  work  of  the  ministry,  preaching  the  word  of  life,  forming 
congregations,  ordaining  priests,  founding  monasteries,  and  encour- 
aging to  the  practice  of  the  counsels  as  well  as  the  commandment  of 
the  gospel,  until  he  saw  the  whole  nation,  moved  by  unanimous 
impulse,  bowing  the  neck  to  the  sweet  yoke  of  Jesus  Christ. 

So  rapidly  did  the  work  of  evangelizing  proceed,  that  the  altars 
of  idolatry  seemed  to  crumble  at  his  approach,  and  temples  for  the 
worship  of  the  true  and  living  God  to  spring  up  from  their  ruins, 
at  his  departure.  The  smoke  of  pagan  incense  which  but  yesterday 
rose  through  the  thick  foliage  of  the  consecrated  grove,  to-day  is 
seen  no  more.  The  glens  no  more  echo  back  the  rude  sounds  of 
the  druid  priest  and  bard,  but  in  grove  and  glen,  in  the  valley  and 
on  the  mountain  side,  the  incense  of  the  heart's  devotion  rises  in  ado- 
ration and  praise  of  the  holy  name  of  him  who  liveth  and  reigneth. 


164  ARCHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

These  Avere  tlie  evidences  of  our  apostle's  labors,  these  the  miracles 
of  his  zeal,  which  even  during  his  life  burst  forth  to  the  gaze  and 
admiration  of  astonished  Christendom.  To  speak  in  detail  of  his 
ministry  would  swell  the  subject  beyond  the  limits  which  the  occa- 
sion has  prescribed.  I  might  trace  him  to  the  remotest  boundary 
of  the  northern  coast,  carrying  the  word  of  life  to  the  poor  inhabit- 
ants of  the  very  mountains  on  which  he  once  obeyed  the  voice  of  a 
stern  taskmaster.  I  might  present  him  to  you,  standing  before  the 
National  Congress  at  Tara,  like  another  St.  Paul,  in  the  Areopagus 
with  them  of  the  "  Unknown  God."  To  form  an  estimate  of  his 
labors,  it  is  sufficient  to  know  that,  aided  by  the  grace  of  heaven,  he 
effected  an  entire  intellectual  revolution  in  the  minds  of  a  whole 
l^eople  ;  that  he  modelled  the  affections  of  a  nation's  heart  into  a  ha- 
tred of  all  they  had  loved,  andinto  a  love  of  all  they  had  hated — all 
the  self  denying  precepts  of  the  Holy  Gospel.  This  in  the  merciful 
designs  of  Providence  was  his  privilege  ;  and  this,  so  long  as  religion 
shall  last,  this  shall  be  the  indestructible  monument  of  his  praise. 
Scarcely  had  the  Apostle  of  Ireland  rested  from  his  labors,  when  we 
see  the  nation  turned  into  one  vast  school  of  science  and  religion, 
for  the  education  of  Western  Europe.  The  princes  of  other  coun- 
tries were  her  pupils,  and  if  England  feel  proud  in  the  recollection 
of  her  immortal  Alfred,  to  Ireland  belongs  the  higher  pride  of  having 
formed'his  mind  by  education.  Her  schools,  like  her  heart,  were 
open  to  the  votaries  of  learning  from  every  land.  She  sends  forth 
apostles  of  science  as  well  as  of  religion,  to  found  universities  and 
preside  in  them,  of  which  those  of  Oxford,  Paris  and  Pavia  are  in- 
stances. During  nearly  three  centuries  subsequent  to  her  embra- 
cing Christianity,  we  find  those  ramparts,  behind  which  religion  and 
civilization  took  shelter  from  the  furious  incursions  of  northern  bai'- 
barism,  defended  in  a  great  measure,  by  those  sons  of  Christian 
Ireland  who  had  caught  the  impulse  of  her  apostle's  sanctity  and 
zeal.  We  read  of  them  in  Britain,  Gaul,  Switzerland,  the  Low 
Countries,  and  Italy  itself;  everywhere  trimming  the  sickly  lamp  of 
science,  and  lifting  up  the  torch  of  revelation,  until  Ireland  became 
known  in  the  ecclesiastical  writings  of  the  times  as  the  "  Island  of 
Saints  and  Doctors." 

These  are  the  evidences  of  St.  Patrick's  successful  labors.  Under 
his  ministry  we  see  the  Church  of  Ireland  rising  on  the  ruins  of 
ancient  idolatiy,  and  for  more  than  two  hundred  years  towering  on 
the  western  boi'ders  of  Europe  as  a  pillar  of  celestial  fire,  diffusing 
its  heat  on  every  side,  and  flinging  its  light  back  to  the  very  gates 
of  Rome,  the  portals  of  the  shrine  from  which  the  spark  had  been 
originally  borrowed.  The  history  of  fourteen  hundred  years  attests 
that  the  faith  of  St.  Patrick  has  never  ceased  to  abide  in  the  land  of 
our  fathers.  It  may  have  lost  in  elevation,  but  it  lias  gained  in  so- 
lidity. It  has  become  a  pyramid  of  strength,  against  which  the  rage 
of  persecution  has  been  as  impotent  as  that  of  the  wandering  Arab 
against  the  pyramid  of  the  desert.  It  is  the  monument  of  St. 
Patrick  ;  there  it  has  stood,  there  it  will  stand,  alone,  unchanged  and 


SERMONS.  165 

indestructible,  amidst  the  ruius  of  all  other  memorials  which  time 
and  tyraimy  have  scattered  around  its  basis. 

The  destruction  of  the  national  archives,  either  by  the  Danes  or 
their  successors,  was  complete;  and  it  is, only  by  the  incidental  allu- 
sions to  Iieland,  which  are  mixed  up  with  the  annals  of  other  coun- 
tries, that  we  can  form  an  idea  of  what  she  once  was,  contrasted 
with  what  she  is,  and  has  been  for  centuries.  Thus,  for  instance,  at 
the  council  of  Constance  of  1414,  the  English  ambassadors  claimed 
the  right  of  precedency  over  those  of  France,  and  were  sustained  in 
the  claim,  exclusively  on  the  ground  that  their  master  was  Lord  of 
Ireland :  "  for  Europe,"  says  the  manuscript  account  of  the  pro- 
ceedings i^reserved  in  the  libiary  of  Westminster,  "  was  originally 
divided  into  four  kingdoms  ;  Rome  for  the  first ;  Constantinople  for 
the  second  ;  Ireland,  xchich  has  novo  passed  into  the  English,  tor  the 
third ;  and  Spain  for  the  fourth." 

The  ecclesiastical  annals  of  continental  Europe  from  the  fifth  to 
the  ninth  and  tenth  centuries,  abound  with  incidental  testimonies, 
highly  honorable  to  the  learning,  piety,  generosity,  and  magnanimity 
of  the  Irish  nation.  That  Ireland,  long  before  tlie  introduction  of 
Christianity,  was  in  possession  of  letters,  laws,  literary  institutions, 
heraldry,  music,  and  medicine,  has  been  acknowledged  by  some  of 
the  most  learned  antiquarians,  foreign  as  well  as  native.  In  fact, 
the  rapid  progress  of  the  gospel,  and  the  prompt  conversion  of  the 
whole  nation  to  Christianity,  under  the  ministry  of  its  first  apostle, 
would  be  altogether  inexplicable  on  any  other  hypothesis.  The  history 
of  that  religion  in  its  difi"usion  among  the  nations,  attests  with  scarcely 
an  exception  that  its  first  preachers  were  immokted  to  the  ignorance 
and  ferocity  which  they  had  come  to  eradicate.  The  miracles  of 
the  apostles  in  other  lands  seem  but  to  have  accelerated  their  mar- 
tyrdom. The  brightness  of  revelation  was  too  dazzling  for  eyes  so 
long  accustomed  to  thick  darkness ;  and  the  manner  it  was  received 
in  Ireland  is  an  indirect  evidence  that  she  must  have  been  in  a 
state  of  better  preparation,  that  her  intellect  must  have  been  lipen- 
ing  and  her  heart  mellowed  and  improved  by  the  influence  of  her 
own  hereditary  arts  and  institutions.  It  does  not  appear  that  in 
proclaiming  the  mystery  of  redemption  our  apostle  had  to  encoun- 
ter the  slightest  opposition,  either  from  the  people  or  from  the 
public  autliorities.  He  is  not  only  allowed  to  preach  to  the  poor,  in 
private,  he  appears  before  the  national  assembly,  he  is  heard  with 
patience,  and  dismissed  on  his  errand  of  mercy  without  either  threat 
or  prohibition.  Ireland  alone  appears  to  have  been  able,  fi-om  the 
first,  to  gaze  with  an  eagle's  eye  on  the  superior  light  of  Christianity, 
until  her  understanding  became  convinced  of  its  truth,  and  her  heart 
enamored  with  its  celestial  beauty.  This  is  an  instance  of  intellect- 
ual and  moral  superiority  without  a  parallel  in  that  age,  among  any 
other  people  on  the  dark  map  of  Western  Europe.  Other  nations 
dug  the  martyr's  grave  for  their  first  missionaries,  but  Ireland  never 
raised  her  hands  against  the  Lord's  anointed  ;  and  until  the  sword 
of  persecution  fell   upon  her  own  neck  in   the   16th  centui-y  here 


166  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

was  a  virgin  soil,  that  had  never  been  moistened  by  so  much  as  one 
drop  of  the  martyr's  blood.  Neither  can  her  prompt  abandonment 
of  idolatry  be  ascribed  to  fickleness,  which  never  was  an  attribute 
of  hers.  Having  bowed  to  the  majesty  of  truth  as  received  from 
her  first  apostle,  centuries  of  adversity  bear  testimony  to  the  unal- 
terable perseverance  of  her  choice.  Iler  oppressors  have  freighted 
their  ships  with  systems  of  religion,  for  her  adoption  and  use ;  patron- 
age offered  the  golden  prize ;  and  when  this  failed,  power  took  up 
the  rod  of  iron  and  scourged  her; — still  she  rejected  them.  Neither 
the  bribes  of  patronage,  on  the  one  side,  nor  the  scourge  of  perse- 
cution on  the  other,  could  sliake  the  constancy  of  her  fii-st  love ; 
and  amidst  the  contradictory  systems  of  human  religions,  which  have 
distracted  the  Christian  family  from  the  commencement,  it  is  a 
proud  recollection  that  not  so  much  as  one  heresy  can  claim  an 
Irishman  for  its  author,  or  Ireland  for  its  birth-place. 

Begin  with  the  commencement  of  Christianity,  trace  the  current 
of  ecclesiastical  history  downward  to  the  present  day,  and  you  will 
find  that  there  is  not  another  country  on  the  face  of  the  globe  which 
did  not  at  some  time  px'oduce  an  heresiarch,  the  founder  of  a  new 
sect,  except  poor,  oppressed,  calumniated,  but  faithful,  constant 
Ireland. 

The  history  of  Ireland's  political  calamities  is  the  history  of  the  "• 
last  700  years.  The  Danes  had  made  occasional  and  ruinous  incur- 
sions during  the  ninth  and  tenth  centuries.  Literature  had  conse- 
quently declined,  and  the  golden  age  of  the  Irish  Church  had  passed 
away.  The  people  and  clergy,  it  is  said,  had  become  degenerate  in 
morals  at  the  epoch  oil  the  civil  invasion.  But  when  we  come  to  examine 
the  original  authority  on  which  these  charges  are  founded,  we  find 
them  to  have  been  all  foreigners,  with  one  single  exception.  Henry 
II.  wished  to  become  a  reformer  of  the  Church,  and  on  this  plea 
obtained  or  forged  a  Avorthless  document  from  Pope  Adrian  IV., 
authorizing  him  to  invade  Ireland.  For  the  charges  of  immorality, 
then,  against  the  Irish  clergy,  we  have  the  writings  of  Englisli  monks, 
addressed  to  English  prejudices  and  forwarded  to  an  English  Pope, 
to  promote  the  ambitious  views  of  an  English  king — these  are  the 
original  documents. 

Now,  there  is  one  important  fact  which  stands  at  the  head  of 
Ireland's  misfortunes,  and  which  seems  to  me  amply  sufficient  to 
refute  these  charges,  or  at  least  to  show  that  they  are  grossly  exag- 
gerated. It  is  the  very  application  of  Dermott,  king  of  Leinster,  to 
the  English  monarch.  It  is  well  known  that  the  provincial  king  did 
not  invoke  the  aid  of  foreign  arms,  until  after  he  had  been  dethroned 
and  expelled.  But  why  had  he  been  expelled  ?  Because  he  had  been 
abandoned  by  his  allies  and  his  people.  And  why  had  he  been 
thus  abandoned  ?  Because  he  had  violated  the  laws  of  God,  by  an 
act  of  public  and  scandalous  immorality.  And  if  the  public  moral 
feeling  was  powerful  enough  to  drive  hini  from  his  kingdom  and 
countiy  for  that,  which,  horrible  as  it  was,  would  hardly  have  been 
a  blemish  on  the  diadem  of  royalty  elsewhere — I  ask,  whether  a 


SEEMONS.  16T 

nation  in  which  this  happened,  couhl  have  been  as  depraved  and 
immoral  as  its  enemies  represent  ?  At  all  events,  the  traitor  and 
the  invader  soon  returned,  the  one  with  the  sword  of  ambition,  and 
the  other  Avith  the  dagger  of  revenge,  and  the  national  independence 
of  Ireland,  unguarded  and  unsuspecting,  was  briefly  assassinated. 
Here,  then,  is  the  first  link  in  the  unbroken  chain  of  Ireland's  politi- 
cal disasters ;  and  notwithstanding  what  foreign  writers  have  said 
in  reference  to  the  degenerate  morals  of  the  Irish,  at  this  period,  it 
furnishes  strong  grounds  for  the  conclusion  that  if  morality,  virtue, 
the  sanctity  of  the  marriage  relation  had  been  less  prized  m  Ireland, 
this  prince  would  not  have  been  expelled  from  her  shores  for  their 
violation  ;  or  if  in  the  neighboring  country  they  had  been  more 
prized,  England,  like  Ireland,  would  have  shrunk  back  from  the  prof- 
fered hand  of  a  traitor  and  adulterer,  and  the  invasion  by  Henry 
the  Second  at  least  would  never  have  been  heard  of. 

I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  the  extraordinary  piety  of  the  first  ages 
of  Christianity  in  Ireland  had  not  passed  away.  I  do  not  say  that 
abuses  of  a  local  character,  and  in  numerous  instances,  had  not  in- 
vaded even  the  sanctuary  itself.  On  the  contrary,  we  find  the  Irish 
church  in  a  spirit  of  self-aocusation  acknowledging  and  bewailing  the 
guilt  of  its  people.  We  find  her  assembling  her  Bishops  in  a  provin- 
cial council,  and  there  confessing  that  she  Aac? sinned,  that  she  must 
have  sinned,  otherwise  God,  who  punishes  in  mercy,  would  not  visit 
upon  her  the  materials  of  oppression,  which  her  prophetic  eye  seem- 
ed to  discover  in  the  perspective  of  futurity.  But  to  my  mind  this 
was  an  evidence  o^  faith,  rather  than  licentiousness.  It  speaks  the 
contrite  heart  of  a  David,  when  he  bowed  in  silence  to  the  insulting 
language  and  stoning  of  the  wicked  Achitophel.  She  could  have 
dashed  the  chalice  of  bitterness  from  her  lips,  but  like  him  who  ago- 
nized in  the  garden,  she  seemed  to  say,  Not  my  will  but  thine,  O  God, 
be  fulfilled.  By  the  acts  of  this  council,  it  appears  that  the  Irish  had 
been  in  the  habit  of  purchasing  slaves,  brought  from  the  neighbor- 
ing coast  of  Britain,  and  sold,  sometimes,  by  their  own  relatives  and 
even  the  parents.  If  Ireland  could  feel  remorse  for  her  share  of 
this  crime,  she  must  liave  been  very  different  from  the  description 
given  of  her  by  the  pen  of  foreign  enmity.  And  yet,  by  the  lan- 
guage of  her  Bishops,  on  the  occasion  referred  to,  she  seems  to  have 
felt  that  the  crime  of  holding  slaves  was  sufficient  to  bring  upon  her- 
self the  curse  of  bondage.  Hence,  by  a  decree  of  this  council,  it  was 
ordered  that  all  the  English  slaves  throughout  the  island  should  be 
set  at  liberty.  Having  British  slaves  in  her  possession  and 
British  tyrants  approaching  her  shores,  she  hears  a  voice  saying, 
"  What  thou  dost,  do  quickly,"  and  with  a  presentiment  that  her  own 
hands  should  soon  feel  the  riveting  manacles,  the  last  noble  use 
she  made  of  their  freedom  was  to  strike  away  the  chains  of  all  her 
own  captives.  Thus  did  the  independence  of  Ireland  expire  like  the 
dolphhi,  that  displays  its  richest  colors  in  the  agonies  of  dying;  or,  it 
I  may  venture  on  a  holier  comparison,  rivalling  in  its  last  hour  the 
charity  of  a  Stephen  in  his  martyrdom.     But  did  the  spirit  of  inde- 


168  ARCHBISHOP  HUGHES. 

pendence  die  ?  Never !  Oppressed  in  the  city,  it  fled  to  the  moun- 
tains— persecuted  for  hundreds  of  years,  it  never  has  been,  it  never 
can  be,  extinguished  on  the  Irish  shores. 

It  became  the  companion  of  tliat  foith  which  had  come  from  heaven ; 
and  whilst  the  one  brought  boundless  submission  to  the  rule  which 
the  chastising  hand  of  God  had  established,  the  other  inspired  a  na- 
tional feeling  of  broad,  un\^'avering,  indomitable,  eternal  resistance 
to  the  misnde  of  man  in  "  brief  authority  "  which  neither  God,  nor 
justice,  nor  reason,  nor  nature  had  ever  sanctioned. 

The  crimes  that  have  been  recorded  in  Irish  history  to  the  prejudice 
of  the  national  character,  are  more  the  crimes  of  the  laws  than  of  the 
people.  According  to  the  laws,  Irish  birth  Avas  a  crime,  education  was 
a  crime,  property  was  a  crime, religion  was  a  crime.  And  under  the  op- 
eration of  those  almost  infernal  laws,  Ireland  was  pinioned  down  to 
the  earth  ;  trodden  and  trampled  on  by  the  iron  hoofs  of  oppression's 
stalking-horse,  whilst  the  heartless  rider  sat  with  a  visage  as  fixed 
and  cold  as  the  chiselled  marble.  What  he  called  a  crime  was  not  a 
crime ;  it  was  reason  and  nature  pleading  against  tyranny.  What 
he  called  the  voice  of  rebellion,  was  not  the  voice  of  rebellion ;  it 
was  the  groans  of  the  captive  he  was  torturing.  He  stripped  her  of 
property  and  then  mocked  ?it  her  destitution.  He  robbed  her  of  ed- 
ucation, and  then  ridiculed  her  ignorance!  He  made  the  infant 
fatherless  and  wrecked  the  widow's  heart;  and  then  laughed  at  the 
desolation  !  But  though  he  could  chain  the  neck  and  manacle  the 
hands  of  Ireland,  yet  he  never  could  stultify  her  understanding,  nor 
persuade  her  that  she  was  either  justly  or  wisely  governed.  Though 
he  could  press  her  blood  from  the  wounds  he  had  inflicted,  and  try 
to  cover  the  livid  marks  of  liis  cruelty  with  the  ink  of  calumny,  yet 
he  could  neither  destroy  her  chai"acter  nor  reduce  her  people  into  a 
nation  of  serfs.  But  there  are  two  principles  which  she  cherished  in 
the  secret  of  her  lieart  beyond  the  tyrant's  reach;  the  one  is  the 
love  of  freedom,  the  other,  unbroken  attachment  to  the  faith  of  her 
first  apostle.  We  may  hope  that  the  flag  of  freedom,  under  the  pro- 
tection of  wise  laws  and  abetter  government,  will  again  wave  on  the 
green  hills  of  that  unhappy  country ;  and  we  may  predict  that  the 
faith  of  St.  Patrick  shall  continue  to  be  the  faith  of  Ireland,  when 
the  religions  of  the  British  Parliament  shall  be  forgotten,  or  remem- 
bered only  to  convince  incredulous  posterity  that  legislatures  have 
dared  to  invade  the  prerogatives  of  God,  in  attempting  to  dictate 
what  a  nation  should  believe. 

But  in  despite  of  all  the  blasting  influence  of  bad  laws  and  bad 
government,  how  often  do  we  see  the  genius  of  Ireland  bursting  like 
a  sun  through  the  clouds  which  enveloped  it !  There  is  no  depart- 
ment of  religious,  moral,  or  intellectual  greatness  that  has  not  been 
adorned  by  the  contributions  of  Irish  devotion  or  of  Irish  genius. 
Shall  it  be  censurable  in  us  to  call  up  the  memory  of  these  things, 
when  it  is  recollected  that  we  celebrate  the  national  festival  of  people 
who  have  been  pre-eminent  in  misfortune,  only  because  they  have 
been  pre-eminent  in  fidelity  to  the  religion  received  from  their  first 


SERMONS.  159 

apostle  ?  But  let  us  not  forget  in  this  happy  country,  where  legal 
persecution  is  nnknowii,  where  our  creed  constitutes  no  disqualifica- 
tion, with  what  zeal  and  exactitude  we  should  attend  to  the  duties 
of  that  holy  religion  which  was  the  consolation  of  our  fathers  when 
they  were  suffering  for  its  sake.  Let  us  respect  ourselves,  and  others 
will  respect  us.  Let  us  frown  upon  those  unhappy  men  who  acquire 
far  from  the  salutaiy  influence  of  their  religion  and  their  relations, 
habits  of  selt-degradation,  which  bring  odium  and  ignominy  on  the 
whole  body,  and  confirm  the  prejudices  of  those  who  have  studied 
only  caricatures,  and  have  never  had  an  opportunity  of  being  ac- 
quainted with  the  genuine  national  character.  If  you  should  have 
an  occasion  to  speak  to  only  one  such,  tell  him  that  his  country 
bluslies  for  him,  that  his  religion  blushes  for  him ;  and  if  he  is  insensible 
to  this,  let  him  be  cast  off  and  disowned,  as  a  reproach  to  both.  But 
let  us  all  be  mindful  of  our  duties  as  churchmen  and  citizens ;  our 
pilgrimage  will  be  but  short  in  this  world,  and  it  is  not  of  much  im- 
portance whether  it  be  passed  on  this  side  of  the  ocean  or  the  other, 
provided  that  by  our  fidelity  to  our  God  we  are  found  worthy  at  its 
close  to  be  called  to  the  rest  of  that  better  country  that  awaits  us 
beyond  the  grave. 


r 


SERMON    IN    ST.   PATRICK'S     CATHEDRAIi, 
NEW    YORK. 

ON  THE  FEAST  OF  SS.  PETER  AND  PAUL,  SUNDAY,  JUNE  29,1851. 

[The  Cathedral  at  the  honr  when  Mass  began  was  filled,  and  in  most  places 
crowded,  by  a  congregation  desirous  of  seeing  again  their  Archbishop,  and  of 
hearing  his  first  sermon  on  his  return  from  Europe.  The  following  is  the  best 
report  of  his  sermon  that  appeared  in  print.] 

After  reading  the  Gospel  for  the  day,  the  Archbishop  proceeded : 
Beloved  Brethren,  it  is  to  me  a  pleasing  coincidence,  that  on  the 
first  day  on  which  I  have  the  pleasure  of  addressing  you  again,  the 
Cliurch  celebrates  and  honors  the  martyrdom  of  those  glorious 
Apostles,  before  whose  shrine  it  has  recently  been  my  privilege  to 
offer  prayer  to  God.  This  is  a  festival  day,  on  which  the  Church 
does  honor  to  the  martyrdom  of  Peter  and  Paul — commemorates 
the  anniversary  of  the  day  on  which,  after  having  given  up  all  else 
dear  to  them  for  their  Master  and  his  cause,  they  gave  up  life  itself 
— the  one  beheaded,  the  other  crucified — but  who,  out  of  regard  for 
his  one  crime  of  denying  his  Master,  begged  that  he  might  not  be 
crucified  in  the  same  form,  but  with  his  head  towards  the  earth. 
The  Church,  however,  has  an  object  higher  than  simply  commemo- 
rating the  glorious  virtues  of  her  founders,  which  is,  to  lay  before  us 
constantly  the  relations  which  they  bore  to  Christianity  and  to  the 
Church — to  encourage,  constantly,  by  their  example — to  raise  us  up 


170  ARCHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

to  something,  if  not  like  the  blessed  Lord  Himself,  who  ought  to  be 
our  perfect  model — still,  at  least,  to  those  who,  notwithstanding 
their  weaknesses,  performed  the  duties  which  they  owed  to  their 
Creator,  and  whom,  for  their  subsequent  fidelity,  Christ  selected  as 
the  pillars  of  His  Church — the  one,  to  be  the  foundation  of  it,  and 
the  other,  the  clarion  voice  of  divine  inspiration  for  the  nations 
of  the  world — the  great  apostle  of  the  Gentiles.  That  portion  of 
the  Scriptures  which  I  have  read,  designates  the  office  of  St.  Peter, 
from  the  lips  of  our  divine  Lord  and  Saviour.  The  mode  in  which 
He  proceeded  to  implant  the  heavenly  truths  in  the  hearts  of  His 
apostles,  was  one  of  gradual  approach,  suggesting  something,  and 
then  eliciting  something,  just  as  a  mother  teaches  her  child,  suggest- 
ing a  word,  in  order  that  it  may  be  repeated.  And,  though  our 
divine  Saviour  knew  what  was  in  the  hearts  of  the  apostles,  in  re- 
gard to  Himself,  and  even  in  Peter's  heart,  notwithstanding  his  for- 
mer denial  of  Him,  He  asks,  "  Whom  do  men  say  that  I  am  ?"  and 
after  their  answer.  He  asks,  "  But  whom  do  you  say  that  I  am  ?" 
By  a  generous  impulse,  Peter  replied,  "Thou  art  Christ,  the  Son  of 
the  living  God  ?"  Then  Christ  tells  Peter  who  He  is,  and  says, 
"  Thou  art  Peter,  a  rock,  and  on  this  rock  I  will  build  my  Church, 
and  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail  against  it."  Oh,  blessed  de- 
claration by  our  divine  Saviour !  oh,  sweet  assuiance  of  infallible  faith  ! 
oh,  security  for  every  struggle  in  which  the  Church  may  be  engaged 
— "  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail  against  it."  Christ  has  built 
it  on  a  rock,  and  that  rock  is  Peter.  It  is  nearly  two  thousand 
years  since  this  was  said,  and  during  all  that  time,  what  might  have 
been  anticipated  from  the  words  of  our  blessed  Lord  have  not 
ceased  to  occur.  He  does  not  say  the  gates  of  bell  shall  not 
attack  the  Church.  Far  from  it.  But  by  the  words  "shall  not 
prevail,"  it  would  seem  it  was  His  will  that  the  Church  should  be 
perpetually  engaged  in  struggles  and  contests,  and  all  that  He  did 
"was  to  secure  it  against  defeat  and  overthrow.  And,  in  fact,  if  you 
■will  trace  the  history  of  the  Church  and  of  Christian  economy,  you 
will  find  that  in  every  period  and  in  every  century  the  Church 
has  never  been  out  of  struggles  whilst  carrying  out  the  object  of  its 
institution.  But  the  Church  has  no  pleasant  mission  to  discharge 
towards  the  men  of  the  world — the  men  of  the  earth.  They  pos- 
sess, indeed,  the  immortal  spirit,  the  spirit  which  dies  not — but  they 
are  made  of  earth,  and  to  earth  they  will  return.  And  after  their 
fall  we  know  what  they  are — men  subject  to  passion,  disposed  to  be 
proud  of  themselves — arrogant  and  proud  men — men  such  as  they 
seem  to-day. 

It  is,  therefore,  of  necessity  that  under  every  form  the  Church 
should  be  opposed,  because  it  contradicts  the  passions  and  inclina 
tions  of  all  classes  of  men.  It  began  by  self-denial;  and  tell  me  any 
thing  more  difficult  than  self-denial.  It  began  by  teaching  man  hu- 
mility; and  tell  me  if  it  is  easy  to  divest  ourselves  of  arrogance.  Its 
first  principle  was  that  of  charity — love  to  all  men,  even  to  our  ene 
mies  ;  and  this  at  a  time  when  the  world  knew  no  distinction,  ex- 


SERMONS.  171 

cept  friends  and  enemies,  and  it  was  not  to  be  expected  that  the 
vindictive  man  should  give  up  his  revenge,  nor  that  the  rich  man 
should  be  disposed  to  part  with  his  property  for  the  benefit  of  liis 
fellow-creature,  who,  less  fortunate  in  the  gifts  of  the  world,  liad  no 
claim  upon  him,  except  community  of  race.  But  if  these  be  the 
feelings  of  mankind  in  general,  how  much  more  did  the  precepts  of 
the  Church  apply  to  tliose  whose  situations  in  life  elevated  them 
above  the  mass  of  mankind,  such  as  kings,  and  emperors,  and  con- 
querors, who  are  responsible  to  nothing  but  their  own  changing  ca- 
piices  and  their  own  corrupt  will!  Accordingly  the  Church  had 
hardly  been  launched  in  the  world  when  the  contest  began.  It  com- 
menced in  the  time  of  Peter,  who  was  brought  before  a  magistrate 
and  scourged,  and  it  has  continued  from  that  time  to  the  present ; 
and,  notwithstanding  what  lying  historians  may  say  about  the  tem- 
poral might  of  the  Church,  full  often  when  she  has  been  assailed,  the 
successors  of  St.  Peter  have  been  obliged  to  flee  and  hide  themselves 
in  caverns  in  the  Apennines,  where  they,  nevertheless,  continued  to 
launch  forth  their  denunciations  against  the  crimes  of  kings  and 
emperors. 

This  has  been  the  battle  of  the  Church  in  its  outward  relations ; 
but  how  much  more  subtle  has  been  the  contest  between  heresy  and 
truth  !  When  Christ  said  that  the  gates  of  hell  should  not  prevail 
against  the  Church,  it  is  understood  that  He  meant  to  signify  that 
the  Church  should  not  only  ultimately  triumph  in  all  its  contests,  but 
that  it  was  the  infallible  and  trustworthy  depository  of  revelation — 
that  is,  that  He  would  speak  to  us  through  the  Church,  which  He 
made  the  depository  of  all  divine  truth.  The  Church  is  not  only  the 
depository  to  preserve,  but  the  channel  to  communicate ;  and  it  has 
its  interpreters  to  explain,  when  necessary,  all  that  Christ  revealed 
for  the  sanctification  of  man.  Hence,  He  said  He  would  .be  with 
the  Church  to  tlie  end  of  the  world ;  and  hence  it  is,  that  implicit 
obedience  to  the  authority  of  the  Church  is  necessary.  In  this  im- 
plicit obedience,  not  only  do  we  do  what  reason  justifies,  but  we 
fulfil  the  precepts  of  the  divine  Master  Himself,  and  those  of  the  in- 
spired writers.  The  Church  has  not  been  conquered.  She  has  been 
tried — her  power  has  been  tested  in  every  way  that  the  perverted 
heart  of  man  could  conceive ;  externally,  internally,  intellectually, 
morally,  politically,  in  every  way,  for  there  is  no  power  on  earth 
that  has  not  in  turn  attempted  to  assail  the  Catholic  Church.  Du- 
ring a  period  of  three  hundred  years,  nearly  all  the  successors  of 
St.  Peter  gave  up  their  lives  for  their  faith  ;  and  after  that,  when 
Christianity  and  the  Church  were  tolerated — nay,  taken  into  favor 
by  emperors  and  others  of  high  earthly  influence — heresies  and  the 
blending  of  the  principles  of  the  faith  with  paganism  were  attempted. 
In  those  controversies  the  Church  had  much  to  sufier ;  and  yet,  af- 
ter the  contest,  she  is  found  triumphant.  Xeither  under  Nero,  nor 
his  successors  in  blood,  did  the  gates  of  hell  prevail  against  the 
Church.  Xeither  under  Arius,  nor  others  who  attempted  to  conupt 
the  faith,  did  the  gates  of  hell  prevail  against  the  Church.     Then 


173  AKCHBISIJOP   HUGHES. 

came  the  contest  between  the  expiring  pagan  light  of  the  old  Roman 
empire,  and  the  barbarian  darkness  of  the  invading  hordes  of  the 
north,  which  continued  as  late  as  the  fifteenth  or  sixteenth  century ; 
but  neither  had  the  false  light  the  power  to  corrupt  the  Church, 
nor  could  the  darkness  obscure  its  teachings. 

His  Grace  then  referred  to  the  subtle  enemies  which  the  Church 
has  had  to  contend  with  in  later  times,  and  said  the  great  outbreak 
of  the  French  revolution  made  indiscriminate  war  on  all  beliefs ;  but 
that  was  open,  and  although  the  hands  that  assailed  the  Church  were 
stained  with  blood,  they  at  least  did  not  disguise  the  spirit  by  which 
they  were  actuated.  They  did  not  acknowledge  themselves  to  be 
actuated  by  the  spirit  of  hell,  because  they  denied  the  existence  of 
bell,  but  they  acknowledged  their  hatred  of  religion,  and  of  all  that 
pertained  to  it.  But  to-day  there  is  a  dark  adversary  which  it  has 
to  contend  with,  which  professes  to  harmonize  with  everything — 
with  Atheism  or  Catholicity.  It  is  a  monster  of  the  naturalistic  and 
pantheistic  order,  that  resolves  all  things  into  an  abstract  humanity. 
Every  thing  which  man  does  is  but  a  phase  of  their  one  professed 
principle  of  being.  Man,  human  nature,  humanity — these  it  pro- 
fesses to  harmonize,  and  it  employs  every  means  to  control  and  gov- 
ern especially  the  weak  States  of  Southern  Europe.  It  is  combined 
with  secret  societies,  bound  by  horrible  oaths;  and  the  people  who 
really  love  their  government,  religion,  and  country,  stand  between 
two  governments.  But  yet  there  is  no  apprehension,  for  a  moment, 
that  the  gates  of  hell  shall  prevail  against  the  Church.  No,  dearly 
beloved  brethren,  this  species  of  warfare  has  tried  the  successors  of 
St.  Peter  too  long  to  leave  cause  for  solicitude.  The  one  who  now 
occupies  his  chair  feels  secure  in  his  position,  in  the  midst  of  all  the 
agitations  around  him ;  and  if  it  had  been  your  privilege,  as  it  has 
been  mine,  to  have  so  recently  and  so  intimately  communed  with 
him,  and  with  the  venerable  members  of  the  Sacred  College,  who 
sympathize  with  him  in  all  his  joys  and  sorrows,  you  would  perceive 
that  they  are  the  only  tranquil,  calm,  and  self-possessed  public  men 
in  Europe.  They  do  not  say  there  may  not  be  more  convulsions — 
on  the  contrary,  several  of  them  think  there  will  be — but  they  en- 
tertain no  anxiety  as  to  the  result.  It  would  be  impossible  for  you 
to  behold  without  veneration  the  peace  that  is  manifested  by  these 
holy  men,  and  especially  the  Holy  Father  himself,  in  whom  is 
blended  the  highest  majesty  with  the  profoundest  humility. 

Oh,  how  blessed  in  the  midst  of  these  things,  for  one  from  a  re- 
mote part  of  the  world  to  spend  a  few  days  or  a  few  months  in  that 
Eternal  City,  surrounded  by  such  men,  interested  by  such  associ- 
ations, that  he  cannot  turn  round,  even  on  material  objects,  without 
being  reminded  of  so  much  ;  but  principally  how  glorious  and  con- 
soling it  is  to  find  himself  coming  into  communion  with  men  from 
the  opposite  side  of  the  globe  during  the  ceremonies  of  holy  week, 
when  he  witnesses  whatever  is  touching  and  edifying,  during  the 
time  in  which  the  sorrows  of  the  Saviour,  and  his  passion,  are  com- 
memorated by  the  Head  of  the  Church  himself,  and  those  around 


SERMONS.       1  173 

him.  How  grand  is  the  contemplation,  when  yow  behold,  partly  by 
accident,  men  from  all  parts  of  the  globe — all  finding  themselves  at 
hotne — all  in  the  presence  of  their  j^arent!  If  you  read  books  about 
holy  week  in  Rome,  they  will  tell  you  that  the  spectacles  are  rather 
a  kind  of  public  pageant.  It  is  true,  that  when  these  holy  things 
are  presented  to  the  spectator,  every  feeling  of  sanctity  is  taken 
away  from  them  by  the  mob  of  strangers  who  go  there  at  that  period, 
to  gratify  the  eye  and  their  curiosity  by  their  wild  and  unmannerly 
staring.     But  it  is  the  mob  who  do  this. 

But  these  ceremonies  are  not  of  the  kind  which  they  are  repre- 
sented to  be,  but  are  full  of  deep  meaning,  full  of  most  consoling  in- 
struction to  the  heart  of  the  stranger,  who,  though  he  may  have 
charge  of  a  portion  of  the  Church  of  God,  finds  himself  in  the  pres- 
ence of  him  who  has  entire  guidance,  not  only  of  the  lambs,  but  of 
the  sheep  of  the  whole  flock.  I  will  speak  of  one  instance  which  oc- 
curred. After  washing  the  feet  of  the  poor  men  it  is  customary  to 
prepare  a  repast  for  them,  and  the  waiter  on  table  is  the  Pope.  It 
is  no  special  order,  but  it  is  a  privilege,  for  distinguished  members 
of  the  Church  to  hand  the  dishes.  On  this  occasion  you  could  see  a 
Bishop  from  China,  next  you  would  see  the  Patriarch  of  Jerusalem, 
then  a  Bishop  from  Holland,  another  from  Africa,  another  from 
America,  all  ialling  in  by  chance,  and  all  glad  of  the  privilege  of 
taking  part  in  the  ceremony,  which  shows  the  universality  of  the 
Church. 

And  on  this  day,  how  glorious  it  is  that  men  of  all  nations — your 
countrymen  as  well  as  others — find  themselves  under  the  dome,  the 
majestic  dome,  of  St.  Peter's,  which  seems  to  have  been  built  to 
express  the  unity,  and  strength,  and  magnitude  of  the  Catholic 
Church — that  dome  under  which  the  devout  Christian  of  every 
country  and  climes  looking  up,  sees  the  inscription,  Ta  es  Petrits^  et 
super  hanc  Petrani  cedificaho  ecclesiam  meam.  Who  is  there  that, 
under  these  circumstances,  does  not  feel-  a.  species  of  holy  joy  and 
gratitude  to  God,  in  the  very  relations  he  sustains  to  a  spectacle  so 
unique  and  unparalleled? 

I  would  hardly  do  justice  to  my  own  feelings,  if  I  did  not  here 
express  my  gratitude  for  the  kindness  I  have  received  as  everywhere 
else  so  especially  in  that  Eternal  City,  during  my  visit  to  Europe. 
There  is  one  fact  I  must  mention,  that  I  have  been  the  first  elevated 
to  the  title  of  Archbishop  in  this  country  who  has  sought  and  received 
the  sacred  symbol  from  the  handsof  the  Holy  Father  himself,  instead 
of  from  the  hands  of  the  Cardinal  Vicar  of  Rome.  This  is  but  one 
of  many  instances  of  kindness ;  and  I  have  reason  to  believe  that 
amidst  all  the  thi-eatening  of  revolutionary  storms  the  Holy  Father 
casts  his  eyes  often  on  this  side  of  the  ocean,  and  beholds  with  a 
pleasure  that  he  does  not  conceal,  the  extension  of  the  faith  and  the 
fidelity  of  the  Catholics  of  this  country,  scattered  though  they  be,  to 
the  centre  of  the  Apostolic  unity,  as  well  as  the  just  and  kind  spirit 
that  actuates  the  government,  imposing  no  restrictions  on  the  faith, 
and  offering  no  obstacles  to  the  free  exercise  of  our  holy  religion 


174  ifRCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

such  as  it  meets  with  elsewhere.  I  know  that  it  is  a  consolation  to 
the  heart  of  the  Holy  Father,  and  I  trust  that  henceforward  it  Avill 
continue  to  be  so,  and  that  we  shall  continue  to  partake  of  all  the 
sacred  institutions  of  Rome  itself — for  there  is  nothing  at  Rome 
except  \<-hat  I  have  mentioned,  that  is  not  here — we  have  the  institu- 
tions, the  ordinances,  the  sacraments,  the  means  of  grace ;  but  .at 
Rome  there  are  special  associations.  It  is  the  city  of  Nero  and  Peter 
— Nero  foe  the  moment,  Peter  for  all  eternity.  I  trust,  I  say,  there- 
fore, that  we  will  feel  it  not  only  our  duty  to  fulfil  our  obligations 
to  the  Church,  but  to  soothe  the  heart  of  that  good  man  who  was 
the  first  to  extend  liberty  and  privileges  to  a  people  who  showed 
their  ingratitude  and  their  unworthiness  by  attempting  to  subvert  his 
throne,  and  to  overturn  all  social  order. 

One  thing  is  worthy  of  remark  in  Europe.  In  all  the  old  countries, 
those  who  thought  the  existing  social  order  was  an  impediment  in 
the  way  of  developing  the  privileges  of  humanity,  have  turned  round 
and  proclaimed  that  the  question  is  not  now  about  liberty,  but  that 
the  first  and  most  vital  is  about  society.  The  question  that  is  asked 
is,  not  how  much  or  how  little  there  is  to  be  of  liberty,  but  whether 
societv  is,  or  is  not,  to  be  destroyed.  But  it  is  very  well  understood 
that  if  the  revolutionary  principle  prevails,  it  will  not  result  in  an 
increase  of  liberty,  but  will  end  in  the  destruction  of  all  that  is 
essential  to  human  society.  At  this  moment  the  question  is,  shall 
society  be  saved,  or  shall  it  perish  ?  In  all  this  there  is  a  return — 
among  infidels — even  among  the  Protestants  themselves,  in  the 
highest  places — among  a  large  class  of  Catholics,  who  had  become 
jealous  of  the  power  of  the  Church — there  is  an  evident  return  to  one 
idea  :  that  unless  religion  be  at  the  basis,  there  is  no  longer  security 
for  any  right  which  is  sacred  or  essential  to  the  happiness  of  man — 
no  security  for  families  for  the  subordination  of  children — no  security 
for  the  rights  of  education — no  security  for  commerce — no  security 
for  virtue,  for  truth,  for  innocence,  for  government.  And  if  there  is 
no  secrity  for  government,  man  i-eturns  to  his  original  ashes,  or 
sinks  into  an  unprotected  savage.  Theae  things  are  understood;  and 
as  far  as  outward  things  are  concerned,  this  is  a  good  augury  that 
the  Church  is  to  be  again  triumphant — that  its  great  Head  will  re- 
construct and  consolidate  even  the  outward  bearing  of  that  see  which 
was  founded  by  St.  Peter,  and  inherited  by  his  successors,  all  sus- 
tained by  the  power  of  the  original  grant.  That  is  the  rock  on 
which  the  Church  is  founded,  and  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail 
against  it. 


SERMON  ON  ST.  PATRICK'S  DAY,  1852. 

We  are  assembled  here  this  morning  to  implore  the  blessing  of 
God,  and  to  invoke  the  benediction  of  St.  Patrick,  to  whom  this 
Cathedral  is  consecrated.     Churches  and  oratories  are  always  conse- 


SERMONS.  175 

crated  to  God,  but  generally  under  the  invocation  of  some  distin- 
guisht'd  servant  of  his,  who,  during  this  life,  walked  in  the  perfection 
of  the  divine  law,  and  whose  labors,  aided  by  God's  cares,  not  only 
illustrate*]  the  religion  that  he  professed,  preached,  and  consecrated, 
but  also  bequeathed  an  example  woi'thy  of  all  imitation  to  those  who 
come  after  him.  Among  these  servants,  the  Apostle  of  Ireland  is 
peculiarly  distinguished,  not  that,  comparing  him  with  other  saints, 
there  seems  to  be  any  great  difference  found  in  fidelity,  but  because 
circumstances  resulting  from  his  labors  have  distinguished  his  apos- 
tleship  more  than,  perhaps,  any  other  of  those  who  propagated  the 
teachings  of  Christianity  after  the  days  of  the  chosen  twelve.  I  need 
not  enlarge  before  you  on  the  circumstances,  or  time,  or  place  of  his 
nativity.  I.  need  not  dwell  on  the  incidents  of  his  life,  with  which, 
for  the  most  part,  you  are  familiar.  I  need  not  speak  of  his  study 
under  the  guidance  of  St.  Martin  of  Tours,  his  own  uncle,  or  of  his 
voyage  to  Rome  in  order  to  obtain  the  divine  benediction  from  the 
Vicar  of  Chi'ist  on  the  work  to  which  he  had  been  miraculously 
called,  by  the  invitation  of  the  people,  through  the  medium  of  the 
bishop  ;  nor  need  I  dwell  on  the  subsequent  portion  of  his  long  and 
laborious  life.  Enough  it  is  to  say — and  this,  for  the  most  part  you 
know  already — that  during  the  period  of  his  labors  in  Ireland,  he 
changed  a  pagan  into  a  Christian  nation,  and  a  Christian  nation  not  in 
the  cold  sense  of  a  feeble,  doubtful  Christianity,  but  a  Christian  nation, 
80  pronounced  in  its  title,  so  decided,  so  devout,  so  firm,  so  zealous  for 
the  propagation  even  of  those  doctrines  which  they  had  just  received 
from  Heaven,  that  places  it  alone  almost  in  all  that  has  resulted  from 
the  preachings  and  teachings  of  the  blessed  Saint  Patrick.  Other 
nations  shed  the  blood  of  their  apostles — Ireland  hearkened  to  his 
teachings,  weighed  his  evidence,  and  bowed  themselves  down  at  the 
foot  of  the  cross,  which  he  preseuted  as  the  symbol  of  his  mission. 
Other  nations  in  time  gave  out  adversaries,  who,  after  having  lit  their 
candles  at  the  lamp  illumined  by  Saint  Patrick,  turned  their  light 
against  the  very  source  from  which  it  was  derived,  and  became  preach- 
ers of  heresy ;  raising  altar  against  altar,  in  the  very  land  in  which 
they  had  first  drank  at  the  fountain  of  truth.  Not  so,  however,  among 
the  disciples  of  Saint  Patrick  in  Ireland.  A  heresiarch,  born  on  the 
soil  consecrated  by  his  labors,  is  unknown,  history  has  not  discovered 
him,  because  he  never  appeared  before  men.  But,  on  the  other 
hand,  we  may  consider  the  results  of  this  first  apostolical  mission 
■with  profit  and  advantage  to  ourselves.  In  the  first  place,  we  are 
sometimes  led  to  imagine,  that  from  the  time  the  Son  of  God 
preached  the  doctrines  of  eternal  life  on  the  earth,  every  thing  should 
be  re-established  in  innocence,  that  his  followers  should  be  able  to 
make  a  wide  range  of  untainted  atmosphere  around  them,  so  that 
sin  should  be  banished  wherever  the  Gospel  was  preached  ;  or,  at 
least,  that  the  order  of  the  world  should  be  so  much  improved,  that 
wickedness  should  no  longer  be  able  to  triumph  over  justice,  and  in- 
nocence, and  truth.  If  to  bear  trials  of  this  kind  be  the  proving  of 
the  gold  of  individual  virtue — if  it  be  tlie  test  by  which  God  proves 


116  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

the  fidelity  of  a  soul,  which  he,  in  his  providence,  leans  upon  with, 
I  might  alrilost  say,  a  heavy  and  crushing  hand  ;  and  if  such  a  soul 
still  adheres  to  God — oh  !  that  is  the  fine  gold  coming  through  and 
from  the  crucible  of  its  trial.  And  if  it  be.  thus  in  individual  life,  it 
is  the  same  when  we  extend  the  comparison  to  whatever  nation  or 
different  ages  and.  people  of  the  world.  There  is  no  doubt  that  one 
of  the  greatest  temptations  in  the  way  of  sustaining,  not  infidelity 
precisely,  but  of  throwing  dark  clouds  on  the  briglitness  of  God's 
countenance  in  the  government  of  the  world,  is  a  history  like  that 
of  individual  man ;  but  that  of  a  nation  such  as  Ireland,  furnishes 
the  densest  clouds  through  which  the  atmosphere  of  faith  has  to  pass 
in  acknowledging  and  adoring  the  divine  supremacy  of  the  power  of 
God.  Alas!  even  then,  how  little  do  we  understand — how  weak  are 
our  thoughts — how  imperfect  our  vision — how  little  we  comprehend 
that  "  the  ways  of  God  are  not  the  ways  of  man,"  and  that  "  his 
thoughts  are  not  as  our  thoughts;"  and  that  as  heaven  is  exalted 
above  the  earth,  so  the  wisdom  and  goodness  of  God  is  exalted  above 
men,  or  above  what  men  can  conceive  I  Otherwise,  how  would  it  be 
possible,  if  Saint  Patrick  brought  the  true  faith  to  Ireland,  and  if  his 
spiritual  charge  has  not  ceased  since  that  time,  from  generation  to 
generation — if  the  faith  which  he  taught  is,  to  this  day,  cherished 
with  tenacity  strong  as  life — and  if  it  be  true  that,  iu  consequence  of 
this  devotion,  this  tenacity,  this  constancy,  this  firmness,  all,  or  nearly 
all,  the  temporal  calamities  which  have  crushed  down  that  nation  to 
the  earth  have  resulted — does  it  not  seem  hard,  that  God  should  not 
interpose — that  he  should  not  sometimes  vindicate,  if  not  the  un- 
worthy creatures  who  serve  him,  at  least  the  majesty,  and  dignity, 
and  holiness  of  the  truth  which  they  profess  ?  Does  it  not,  I  say, 
seem  strange  to  the  dark  reason  and  wisdom  of  man  that  God  should 
not  interpose — that  even,  in  our  own  day,  he  should  fatigue  our 
patience,  so  that,  when  famine  has  multiplied  sepulchres  over  that 
land,  we  should  say  "  This  is  the  end  ?"  No ;  next  year  comes  plague 
and  pestilence — then,  "  Oh,  certainly  this  is  the  end."  No  ;  next 
year  fury  and  fanaticism  come  in  on  the  ruins  of  a  prostrate  people 
lo  prove  their  patience,  and  with  honor  and  riches  to  tempt  the 
soul  of  the  poor  man  and  his  children,  in  his  desolate  cabin  on  the 
mountain.  And  we  dare  not  say  that  this  is  yet  the  end.  It  is  in 
this  respect,  I  say,  that  the  subject  presents  a  theme  for  contempla- 
tion far  more  important  than  any  repetition  of  the  life  and  gloiious 
deeds  of  that  great  saint  under  whose  patronage  this  cathedral  is 
consecrated. 

Oh !  how  admirable  is  the  providence  of  God  in  all  things !  Those 
•  tired  spirits  who  are  scandalized  at  such  things  as  I  have  alluded  to, 
wish  all  light — wish  to  see  every  thing  in  absolute  light ;  and  they  do 
not  reflect  that,  for  a  just  vision,  a  portion  of  darkness  is  just  as 
necessary  to  us  as  a  portion  of  light.  Were  it  all  light,  men  would 
become  blind,  just  the  same  as  were  it  all  darkness.  But  God,  abid- 
ing in  the  happiness  of  his  own  eternal  and  infinite  existence,  and  at 
the  same  time  thinking  of  us,  and  disposing   of  things  physical, 


SERMONS.  177 

moral,  anrl  temporal,  in  a  way  of  -wisdom  of  which  we  have  no  con- 
ception, allows  the  scene  to  shift,  and  we  behold  now  the  sunshine 
of  Providence,  and  now  what  we  may  call  its  showers  and  shadows 
on  the  earth.  But  of  all  things  that  would  be  unreasonable,  the 
most  unreasonable  would  be  for  a  believing  man,  a  Christian  man,  a 
Catholic  man,  a  man  who  reads  and  knows  the  holy  Scriptures ;  to 
look  for  human  prosperity  in  this  world,  whether  as  regards  nations 
or  individuals,  as  the  sign  of  God's  appi'obation  or  God's  love.  Far 
from  it.  There  is  reason  to  fear,  that  when  God  permits  men  or  na- 
tions to  prosper  to  the  extent  of  their  desires,  it  is  a  mark  of  his  dis- 
favor ;  it  is  not  that  he  puts  a  snare  in  their  way,  but  because  they 
have  set  their  hearts  upon  prosperity  as  their  god ;  and  he  withdraws 
every  thing  that  can  hinder  them  from  realizing  all  their  so-called 
happiness.  Then,  it  is  known  that  prosperity  engenders  pride,  and 
that  pride  kills  the  soul  of  him  who  harbors  it ;  that  prosperity 
furnishes  the  way  of  gratifying  our  passions ;  and  the  man  who 
places  his  heart  on  such  things,  is  the  enemy  of  his  own  spiritual 
existence. 

Time  passes  on,  and  after  the  day  when  first  St.  Patrick  landed  on 
the  Irish  coast,  to  this  period,  how  many  generations  have  passed 
this  life !  And  where  have  they  gone  ?  Have  they  gone  to  the 
condition  in  which  the  same  inequality  shall  prevail — in  which  the 
patience  of  God  shall  be  still  withheld,  permitting  evil  to  triumph  ? 
or  have  they  gone  to  an  inheritance  of  happiness  or  misery,  according 
to  the  use  made  of  the  means  accorded  to  them  ?  Oh,  let  no  man 
say  there  is  no  future  life  ;  let  no  man  say  thei'e  is  not  a  future  state, 
in  which  the  eternal  justice  of  God  shall  prevail,  and  regulate,  and 
repair,  and  correct,  and  judge  all  these  horrors  and  iniquities  which 
prevail  in  this  world  of  strife,  where  innocence  is  crushed  by  guilt, 
weakness  by  strength,  and  where  falsehood  triumphs  over  truth. 
God  exists  for  this  purpose ;  and  the  very  mysteries  of  His  provi- 
dence, which  we  have  witnessed  l^ere  to-day,  are  an  evidence  which 
renders  it  certain,  independent  of  the  revelations  of  the  light  of 
reason  itself,  that  there  is  to  be  a  future  judgment,  in  which  virtue 
shall  have  its  reward  and  impiety  its  penalties.  It  is  just  as  certain 
as  that  there  is  a  God  in  heaven.  What  consequence,  then,  will  it 
be,  after  a  few  years,  to  man,  that  he  may  have  suffered  a  little  in 
iliis  world  ? — because  even  the  moments  of  his  sufierings  abridge  the- 
period  of  his  exile,  and  he  will  soon,  if  a  virtuous  man,  if  a  pious 
man,  and  a  man  who  adores  and  loves  God,  he  will  soon,  I  say,  be 
at  the  end  of  his  pilgrimage,  and  enter,  as  the  Gospel  of  this  day 
expresses  it,  "  into  the  joy  of  his  Lord."  And  then  the  seasons  will 
come  and  succeed  each  other,  and  the  tides  repeat  their  ebbing  and 
flowing,  and  the  ocean  shall  be  agitated  by  tempests,  years  succeed 
years,  and  centuries  centuries.;  but  in  that  happy  state  in  heaven 
there  is  no  change — no  ntore  death — no  more  sickness — no  more 
oppression — no  more  bondage — no  more  inflictions  on  truth — no 
more  guilt  crushing  down  innocence — but  man  will  be  with  his 
God,  and  will  rest  with  his  God  for  all  time.  And  perhaps-  the  fii'St 
Vol.  U.— 13. 


178  ARCHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

bright  truth  that  will  be  revealed  to  his  emancipated  soul,  when 
standing  in  the  presence  of  his  Creator,  will  be  the  mysterious  way 
in  which,  when  he  thought  that  God  was  forsaking  him,  God  was 
bringing  him  round  to  the  end  of  his  creation.  It  may  be  in  the 
iirst  bright  light  in  which  he  will  see  how  much  God  was  his  friend 
when  he  thought  that  his  heavenly  Father  had  forsaken  him.  And 
this  we  may  with  reason  believe,  and,  at  any  rate,  we  are  bound  to 
believe  it ;  because  we  know  that  God  is  infinite,  wise,  and  merciful, 
and  we  may  have  reason  to  adore  Him,  for  all  time,  for  those  very 
afflictions  which  seem  to  double  as  calamities  tracking  the  footsteps 
of  the  great  apostle  of  Ireland,  and  those  who  labored  with  him  and 
after  him,  in  propagating  the  kingdom  of  our  Saviour.  Oh,  there 
is  nothing  in  the  world  that  can  upraise  and  elevate  a  soul  like  reli- 
gion ;  there  is  no  good  unconnected  with  religion  ;  there  is  no  real 
ambition  that  can  be  gratified  except  in  religion.  In  religion,  those 
who  have  attained  the  greatest  glory,  were  those  who  had  the  least 
ambition,  and  had  no  conception  of  attaining  it  in  their  day.  The 
apostle  of  Ireland,  when  he  travelled  with  weary  footsteps  from 
hamlet  to  hamlet,  across  mountains  and  over  rivers,  toiling  in  his 
holy  ministry,  had  no  conception — unknown  and  undistinguished, 
as  he  then  was — that  fourteen  hundred  years  after  there  should  be 
such  a  family  as  now  surrounds  God's  altar  on  shores  so  distant ; 
that  his  name  should  be  there  as  familiar  as  that  of  their  own  parents ; 
and  not  only  that  the  sons  and  daughters  of  the  land  which  was  con- 
secrated by  his  labors,  but  that  the  whole  Catholic  Church — for  to- 
day there  is  not  an  altar  in  that  Church  in  which  the  name  of  St. 
Patrick  is  not  revered,  and  in  which  his  intercession  is  not  invoked — 
should  endeavor  to  strengthen  themselves  against  the  strifes  of  the 
world,  by  following  the  bright  example  which  he  left  behind  him. 
What  is  the  fame  of  Caesar  compared  with  this  ?  As  long  as  the 
church  shall  exist,  the  name  of  that  distinguished  servant  of  God 
will  be  recorded  in  her  annals,  and  will  be  pronounced  with  rever- 
ence ;  and  above  all,  perhaps  there  is  not  a  name  among  the  early 
.apostles  of  nations  so  universally  diffused,  or  cherished  with  such 
deep  Christian  affection,  as  the  name  of  St.  Patrick,  the  patron  saint 
x)f  Ireland.  St.  Augustine,  in  England,  is  spoken  of  by  those  who 
remain  in  that  nation  attached  to  the  faith  he  taught — they  cherish 
Jiis  memory,  and  the  Church  reveres  him ;  but  still,  his  labors  are 
.almost  obliterated,  and  a  barren  system  is  substituted  for  the  holy 
iaith  which  he  brought  from  Rome,  and  propagated  in  England. 
In  Germany,  St.  Boniface  is  cherished ;  but  still,  though  the  Church 
cherishes  him,  the  special  results  of  his  teachings  are  circumscribed 
to  the  nation  ;  but  the  Germans  venerate  the  apostle  by  whose  labors 
llieir  forefathers  were  saved  from  the  darkness  of  paganism  :  and  so 
with  others.  But  the  very  misfortunes  of  a  temporal  kind  that  have 
fallen  on  Ireland  have  sent  forth  the  children  of  that  unhappy 
country  to  every  clime,  and  to  every  latitude,  from  the  north  to  the 
south  pole;  and  wherever  they  are  found — and  they  are  found  more 
or  less  everywhere — not  only  do  they  cherish  fond  memory  for  the 


SERMONS.  179 

apostle  of  their  native  land,  but  they  propagate  it,  and  make  the  in- 
fection as  if  it  were  contagious,  so  that  those  who  would  not  other- 
Avise  have  had  any  knowledge  of  St.  Patrick  become  thus  desirous 
to  enter  into  those  feelings,  and  to  join  in  celebrating  the  anniver- 
sary festival  of  the  apostle  of  Ireland.  Meantime,  who  knows  what 
may  be  the  influence  of  the  prayer  of  that  illustrious  saint  near  the 
throne  of  God  ? — who  knows  what  may  be  this  prayer  ? — who  knows 
but  that  he  is  watching,  Avith  the  solicitude  which  belongs  to  the 
saints,  their  condition,  and  that  it  may  be  owing  to  his  intercession 
with  God  that  they  are  for  a  little  time  afflicted,  in  order  that  they 
may  be  made  more  secure  of  that  eternal  felicity  and  glory  which 
he  now  possesses,  and  which  he  would  necessarily,  under  the  influ- 
ence of  divine  charity,  desire  that  they  should  also  approach  and  be 
made  partakers  ?  Let  ns,  therefore,  dearly  beloved  brethren,  cast 
from  our  eyes  all  that  filmy  obstacle  to  a  clear  Christian  vision.  Let 
us  not  judge  the  things  of  God  as  we  would  those  of  men.  Man  must 
reward  quickly,  if  at  all,  for  time  is  short ;  or  if  he  punishes,  he  must 
punish  quickly.  But  God  has  patience.  He  is  eternal.  He  has  no 
limitation  of  time  wherein  to  do  justice  to  truth,  and  innocence,  and 
piety,  or  to  vindicate  His  own  attributes  in  the  punishment  of  crime 
and  impiety.  Let  us  put  away  all  human  modes  of  vision,  and  with 
hearts  elevated  to  God,  let  us  see  these  things  in  the  higher  range 
of  eye,  in  the  clearer  region  of  our  holy  faith ;  and  then,  even  in  the 
calamities  that  have  befallen  Ireland,  we  may  see  much  for  which 
to  adore  God,  much  for  which  to  be  pleased,  even  in  this  life.  But, 
perhaps,  in  eternity  alone,  the  whole  mystery  of  God's  providence 
shall  break  forth  upon  us  as  the  deepest  evidence  of  His  greatness 
and  His  patience,  when  we  thought  him  unkind  and  forgetful. 


SERMON  ON  THE  OCCASION  OF  THE  DEDICATION 
OF  ST.  PATRICK'S  CHURCH,  FORT  HAMILTON, 
N.  Y.,  1852. 

Beloved  Brethren — I  am  about  to  read,  as  the  subject  of  the 
remarks  I  intend  to  make,  the  121st  Psalm,  in  which  David  professeth 
his  joy  for  the  Church  : 

1.  I  rejoiced  at  the  things  that  were  said  to  me.  We  shall  go  into  the  house 
of  the  Lord. 

2.  Oar  feet  were  standing  in  thy  courts,  0  Jerusalem. 

3.  Jerusalem,  which  is  built  as  a  city,  which  is  compact  together 

4.  For  thither  did  the  tribes  go  up,  the  tribes  of  the  Lord ;  the  testimony  of 
Israel,  to  praise  the  name  of  the  Lord. 

5.  Because  their  seats  have  sat  in  judgment,  seats  upon  the  house  of  David. 

6.  Pray  ye  for  the  things  that  are  for  the  peace  of  Jerusalem  ;  and  abund 
ance  for  them  that  love  thee. 

7.  Let  peace  be  in  thy  strength  ;  and  abundance  in  thy  towers. 

8.  For  the  sake  of  my  brethren  and  of  my  neighbors,  I  spoke  peace  of  thee. 

9.  Because  of  the  house  of  the  Lord  our  God,  I  have  sought  good  things  for  thee. 


180  AECHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

I  cannot  better  commence  my  reraai'ks  than  by  congratulating  the 
scattered  Catholics  of  this  neighborhood  on  the  ceremony  that  they 
have  this  day  witnessed  in  the  dedication  of  a  temple  to  the  living 
God,  and  in  the  service  of  the  true  religion  in.  which  they,  and,  should 
they  continue  where  they  are,  their  children  may  address  Him  in 
spirit  and  in  truth.  I  congratulate  them,  and  I  congratulate  the  zeal- 
ous and  laborious  pastor  who  has  placed  himself  at  their  liead,  and 
taken  perhaps  a  larger  portion  of  the  toils  necessary  to  accomplish 
this  undertaking.  It  is  not  to  be  expected  that  I  should  enter  into 
the  details  connected  with  the  prosecution  of  the  work  and  its  final 
accomplishment.  From  me  you  Avill  expect  rather  that  I  should  turn 
my  words  to  the  end  and  purpose  of  what  forms  the  beginning  of 
temples  that  have  been  raised  to  the  honor  of  Almighty  God  ;  and  in 
that  view  it  is  impossible  not  to  be  struck  with  the  language  of  the 
royal  prophet,  who  seems  to  break  forth  into  ecstacies  of  divine  inspi- 
ration when  he  says,  "My  soul  hath  rejoiced  in  the  things  that  have 
been  said  to  me.  Who  shall  go  into  the  temple  of  the  Lord  ?  "  It 
was  well  known  that  the  royal  king  and  prophet  was  to  bring  the 
house  and  temple  to  the  use  and  service  of  his  Creator,  and  that  until 
he  laid  the  foundation  of  tlie  temple  of  Jerusalem,  there  was  no 
temple  upon  earth  in  which  the  true  God  was  acknowledged  and 
honored  with  truth  and  worship.  It  is  well  understood  that  he 
wrote  by  inspiration,  and  discharged  the  duties  of  the  historian  as 
well  as  of  the  prophet. 

Tlie  language  employed  by  the  royal  prophet  could  not  have  ap- 
plication exclusively  to  the  temple  of  Jerusalem.  Its  object  was  for 
a  brief  period.  It  was  not  the  true  temple ;  but  was  the  pre- 
paration for  the  true  temple.  It  was  true  for  its  time,  but  it 
was  not  the  true  and  everlasting  temple,  but  only  the  type  and 
figure  of  that  of  holy  Zion.  Even  Jerusalem's  temple  was  but  the 
type — the  material  type — shadowing  forth  obscurely  the  spiritual 
grandeur  of  that  universal  temple,  that  holy  house  of  God — the 
Church — which  extends  from  the  rising  to  the  setting  of  the  sun ; 
and  which,  properly  speaking,  has  no  adequate  time  to  which  to  re- 
strict its  worship  except  heaven  which  spans  us  above.  What  is 
it  that  made  the  house  of  God  so  glorious  in  the  estimation  of  the 
divine  prophet  ?  What  is  it  that  rendered  this  temple  glorious  ?  It 
is  not  the  richness  of  the  materials  Avhich  adorn  the  temple  of  Al- 
mighty God ;  for  gold,  in  the  sight  of  God  is  not  gold  ;  it  is  of  no 
more  value  than  the  meanest  portion  of  the  earth  out  of  which  it  is 
dug  up.  It  is  not  this,  therefore,  nor  is  it  the  splendor  of  architect- 
ure with  which  Christian  piety  and  Christian  faith  and  genius  have  con- 
structed and  adorned  those  wondrous  edifices  called  cathedrals,  and 
the  other  temples  consecrated  to  the  Almighty.  We  know  it  is  not  this. 

What  is  it  that  renders  the  temple  so  desirable  that  the  soul  of  the 
prophet  rejoiced,  when  he  was  told  that  he  should  have  the  privilege 
of  entering  into  the  house  of  his  Lord  ?  It  is,  that  in  the  house 
which  is  truly  God's  house  God  is  truly  worshipped.  It  is,  that  in 
that  house  which  is  truly  God's  house.  His  love  is  made  known,  and 


SERMONS.  181 

in  tliat  house  He  liolds  a  special  communion  with  those  who  wish  to 
serve  and  obey  Him ;  and  here  it  is,  upon  this  ground,  that  I  con- 
gratulate you,  and  ye  scattered  people,  the  members  of  that  better 
house  of  God — the  holy  Catholic  Church — upon  your  faith  and  obe- 
dience. In  the  very  altar  before  which  you  kneel,  you  will  have  all 
— all  that  constitutes  the  glory  of  the  holy  Catholic  Church.  Here 
you  will  have  the  true  sacraments  of  God.  Here  you  will  have  the 
sovereign  worship,  such  as  is  due  to  God,  and  to  none  besides.  Let 
me  explain  this.  In  the  first  place,  with  regard  to  the  pure  word  of 
God — when  you  assemble  here  and  the  minister  of  religion  instructs 
you  in  your  duties,  he  simply  tells  you  what  God  has  revealed,  and 
what  he  requires  you  to  believe.  He  does  not  come  here  to  preach 
his  own  ideas  or  opinions ;  for  then  indeed  it  would  be  the  house  of 
man  and  not  the  house  of  God.  He  does  not  come  here  to  speculate 
or  to  discover  new  readings  in  the  sacred  text,  but  he  comes  here  as 
one  sent,  and  although  the  eighteenth  century  has  passed  away  since 
the  origin  of  the  commission,  yet  he  can  show  his  credentials  as 
perfect  and  as  valid  as  if  they  had  been  received  in  the  first  century. 
He  is  sent,  therefore;  and  if  he  is  sent,  for  what  purpose?  Is  it  to 
improve  the  intellect  of  his  congregation  by  speculation  and  intro- 
ducing human  philosophy  and  the  improvements  of  science  into  the 
knowledge  and  revelation  of  Almighty  God,  which  cannot  be  im- 
proved ?  He  is  sent  with  a  message  from  your  Redeemer  and 
Creator^  and  he  partakes  of  that  commission  which  says,  "Go  ye  and 
preach  to  all  nations."  Teach  them.  And  how  could  he  teach  them, 
unless  he  knew  the  lesson  he  was  appointed  to  communicate  ?  How 
could  he  teach,  if  he  had  only  to  submit  his  opinions  to  those  who 
should  hear  him  ?  We  know  very  well  that  if  God  had  not  become 
man  for  our  redemption,  that  in  snch  a  case  we  could  do  nothing 
better  than  speculate.  But  Christ?  came  to  teach.  He  taught,  and 
did  not  reason  or  speculate.  He  did  not  ask  men,  through  the  tor- 
tuous course  of  human  eloquence,  to  come  round  to  his  views;  but 
he  proved  that  he  was  God  by  the  power  which  he  exercised  over 
nature  and  things.  He  proved  who  he  was,  and  then  he  said,  "  These 
are  the  things  which  you  have  to  believe,  and  he  that  believeth  and 
is  baptized  shall  be  saved,  and  he  that  believeth  not  shall  be  con- 
demned." 

The  grandeur,  therefore,  of  the  temple  of  the  house  of  God  is  pure 
truth,  pure  teaching ;  and  in  this  there  is  no  teaching  throughout  the 
whole  Catholic  Church  that  is  not  here.  In  this  the  congregation, 
though  it  consist  but  of  fifty,  there  will  be  found  those  who,  unknown 
and  unrespected,  are  members  of  the  great  Christian  community 
which  existed  since  the  beginning  of  Christianity,  and  which  now  exists 
from  the  rising  to  the  setting  of  the  sun  ;  and  no  empire  ever  existed, 
and  none  can  ever  exist,  of  such  extent  as  that  spiritually  free  and 
unfettered  communion  cemented  together  by  the  attraction  of  divine 
and  original  truth,  delivered  to  the  Church  by  the  establishment  of 
the  holy  sacrament  and  supreme  worship.  Unquestionably,  the 
doctrine  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  is  here,  and  the  ministers  of 


182  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

God  who  shall  address  you  from  this  place  will  tell  you,  and  teach 
you,  what  God  requires  you  to  believe,  and  what  God  requires  you 
to  do.  If  God  had  not  revealed  himself  to  us,  we  might  liave 
believed  as  we  saw  fit ;  but  he  has  revealed  himself  to  us,  and, 
therefore,  it  is  no  longer  permitted  to  people  to  act  according  to 
their  own  caprices.  This  was  the  privilege  of  pagans,  but  it  is  not 
the  privilege  of  Christians.  After  that  revelation  we  have  no  right 
to  say,  in  the  arrogance  and  pride  of  our  own  conceit,  I  can  judge  foi* 
myself.  We  have  no  right  to  use  such  language,  because  we  might 
do  so  in  case  God  had  not  sent  his  only-begotten  Son  into  the  world 
to  teach  and  to  save  the  world.  Thei'efore,  the  truths  of  the  Apostolic 
and  Catholic,  or  Universal  faith,  will  be  heard  here  the  same  as  if  all 
the  ancient  doctors,  and  bishops,  and  popes  stood  by  as  witnesses, 
that  it  is  the  faith  they  have  received  from  Christ  and  from  his  body. 
With  regard  to  the  moral  precepts  of  religion,  you  know  it  is  the 
duty  of  the  minister  to  inculcate  them,  and  to  impress  upon  you  the 
necessity  of  observing  the  decalogue — the  commandments  of  God.  I 
am  aware  there  is  in  the  world  at  this  day  an  idea  that  religion, 
true  religion  and  belief,  is  something  that  must  have  growth  in  the 
heart  of  each  one,  and  no  doubt  it  has ;  but  the  first  stage  verges 
into  indifference,  the  second  into  infidelity,  the  third  into  paganism, 
and  the  fourth  into  barbarism.  Each  one  looks  for  religion  in  him- 
self, and  he  looks  to  this  form  and  that  principle,  and  time  goes  on, 
and  his  mind  becomes  changed,  and  what  he  looks  at  at  one  time 
as  truth,  he  will  not  look  at  at  another  in  the  same  light.  Thus,  he 
is  the  sport  of  his  own  misconceptions  of  divine  truth  until  the  end 
of  his  life.  They,  at  this  day,  pretend  thafit  is  an  individual  con- 
cern— and  no  doubt  it  is  as  to  the  responsibility  of  human  action, 
separately  regarded ;  but  they  ought  to  know  that  Christ  made  re- 
ligion an  outward,  standing,  visible,  universal  institution,  so  that 
any  man,  no  matter  where  he  is  born,  can,  if  he  will,  find  the  holy 
house — that  city  and  house  of  God  spoken  of  in  the  rapturous  lan- 
guage of  the  divine  prophet  which  we  have  just  heard.  Religion, 
therefore,  this  true  religion,  exists  independently  of  you  and  me. 
Here  it  is  in  the  world,  and  we  may  embrace  it  or  reject  it ;  but 
whether  we  do  so  or  not,  does  not  affect  her  institutions  or  sover- 
eignty, nor  destroy  the  house  of  God.  The  Church  is  independent 
of  us,  for  the  Church  is  the  house  of  the  Lord,  and  it  is  for  us  to 
avail  om-selves  of  the  privilege  of  entering  in.  Now,  with  regard  to 
the  teaching  that  will  be  heard  in  this  place,  are  you  aware,  or  do 
you  reflect  upon  it,  that,  notwithstanding  the  variety  of  languages, 
and  the  individual  characteristics  of  those  who  are  the  ministers  of 
the  Catholic  Church,  that  there  is  but  a  repetition  of  one  ceremony 
round  the  globe  ?  There  are  no  contradictory  doctrines,  and  although 
there  may  be  a  Church  here,  and  another  there,  and  although  one 
minister  may  be  more  learned  or  moi"e  eloquent  than  anotlier,  and 
although  one's  voice  maybe  strong  and  another  weak,  yet  there  is  no 
discord,  no  variety.  These  are  but  the  outward  striking  senses  of  the 
medium  through  which  He  teaches.     Who   teaches  through   His 


SERMONS.  183 

great  medium  ?  Our  divine  Saviour,  and  no  one  else.  When  he 
sent  His  apostles,  He  said,  "  I  send  you,  go  ye,  and  teach  all  nations 
to  observe  all  things  whatsoever  I  have  commanded  you,  and  lo,  I  am 
with  you  all  days  to  the  end  of  the  world." 

Now,  when  the  author  of  divine  truth  is  the  teacher  of  the  Church, 
how  can  there  be  any  contradictions  ?  Nor  is  there,  for  God  can- 
not contradict  Himself;  and  therefore  we  see  two  religions,  the  one 
contradictory  and  false,  and  the  other  true.  With  regard  to  the  other 
object,  the  glory  of  the  Christian  temple  and  house  of  the  Lord, 
I  have  remarked  that  there  are  to  be  administered  the  true  sacra- 
ments. Now,  the  sacraments  in  the  Catholic  Church  are  institutions 
imbued  by  the  Son  of  God  with  supernatural  efficacy,  and  adminis- 
tered under  outward  signs  so  as  to  recognize  them,  and  by  which 
grace  is  conveyed  individually  to  the  souls  of  those  who  receive  them 
worthily.  This  is  the  general  definition  of  the  sacraments.  In 
prayer  we  may  do  all  that  is  possible  for  us  to  do  in  petitioning 
God  to  forgive  our  sins ;  but  He  has  instituted  a  sacrament  of  penance, 
by  which  those  who  are  stricken  with  compunction  are  forgiven  their 
sins.  This  was  instituted  because  He  is  our  Sovereign,  and  because 
He  did  not  save  us  individually  and  in  a  specific  manner  two  thou- 
sand years  before  we  came  into  existence.  But  the  merits  of  that 
passion  which  occurred  two  thousand  years  ago  are  preserved  in 
His  Church,  and  when  we  came  into  existence  by  original  guilt,  if 
we  apply  to  His  mercy,  and  He  responds  to  us  by  His  own  efficacy, 
and  the  merits  of  His  death  upon  the  cross,  that  is  done  under  the 
sacraments. 

Sacraments  are  not  ceremonies  merely ;  they  are  indeed  out- 
ward forms,  but  they  have  their  exterior  part,  which  is  the  work  of 
man,  but  the  interior  efficacy  is  the  work  of  God ;  and,  while  the 
minister  pours  water  upon  the  person  baptized  with  outward  forms, 
Christ,  who  authorized  him,  touches  his  guilty  soul  with  His  blood, 
and  washes  away  his  guilt  and  sin.  If  this  be  not  removed,  there  is 
a  barrier  insurmountable  and  everlasting  between  God  and  that 
soul,  for  God  will  have  no  communication  with  sin.  How  is  it  that 
guilt  is  to  be  removed,  then  ?  It  is  through  Christ  alone  that  it  can 
be  removed.  He  has  appointed  the  sacrament  of  penance,  in  which 
He  has  directed  His  ministers  to  exercise  His  own  prerogative,  as 
He  has  declared,  "W  hose  sins  you  shall  forgive,  they  are  forgiven,  and 
whose  sins  you  shall  retain,  they  are  letained  unto  them ;"  implying, 
that  under  outward  forms  Christ  Himself  is  present,  cleansing  and 
removing  the  crimes  that  weigh  heavily  on  the  heart.  Is  there 
nothing  more  in  this  temple  ?  Oh,  yes,  verily.  Here  is  the  fulness 
and  the  perfection  of  sovereign  adoration  to  God.  Many  of  you, 
perhaps,  have  no  conception  of  the  Catholic  Church,  with  regard  to 
the  acts  of  public  liturgy  or  sanctuary.  Many  are  brought  up  under 
circumstances  which  furnish  no  inducement  to  examine,  and  imagine 
that  the  Catholic  Church  is  a  place  of  convenient  meeting,  to  hear 
sermons,  or  to  chant  hymns  in  praise  of  the  Almighty,  or  to  recite 
and  offer  up  holy  prayers.     No  doubt  all  these  are  appropriate  iu 


184  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

such  a  place  ;  but  many  of  you  have  no  conception  of  what  consti- 
tutes the  dignity  and  glory  of  the  Catholic  Church  in  such  a  myste- 
rious manner.  What,  then,  is  this  ?  It  is,  dearly  beloved  brethren, 
the  sacrifice  of  our  altar,  called  the  Mass.  Those  who  understand 
what  it  is,  know  with  what  profound  feelings  of  veneration,  and 
respect,  and  recollection,  they  should  assist.  Those  who  do  not 
understand  it,  look  upon  it  as  a  succession  of  very  unmeaning  cere- 
monies— seeing  the  priest  dressed  in  his  robes,  passing  to  the  right 
and  to  the  left,  and  sometimes  kneeling  and  sometimes  standing.  They 
do  not  understand — they  do  not  comprehend  this.  They  have  never 
studied  or  examined  it ;  and  therefore  it  may  be  fit  and  appropriate, 
both  for  one  and  the  other,  I  should  refer  to  them  at  some  length. 
Put  away  the  idea  of  sacrifice  out  of  religion,  and  in  reality  you 
have  nothing  left,  for  there  is  nothing  to  distinguish  the  temple  of 
the  Lord  ;  for  supposing  you  imagine  this  absent,  you  may  hear  a 
very  learned  discourse  that  is  not  exclusively  to  be  heard  in  the 
temple ;  you  may  indulge  in  the  duty  and  in  the  consolation  of  the 
exercise  of  prayer,  but  prayer  you  can  offer  up  to  God  in  your  cham- 
bers, and  it  is  sometimes  as  acceptable.  Therefore,  prayer  does  not 
designate  the  house  of  God.  Should  it  be  sacred  poetry,  should  it 
be  divine  music,  should  it  be  words  of  praise  to  the  Almighty — that 
very  music  and  those  very  words  can  be  applied,  and  have  been  ap- 
plied to  others  besides  the  Almighty.  The  world  can  praise  heroes, 
and  they  have  done  so  with  music  more  splendid  and  more  divine, 
considered  in  relation  to  art  and  science,  than  that  which  has  been 
appropriated  to  religion.  There  is,  therefore,  in  these  three  depart- 
ments, nothing  which  distinguishes  the  house  of  the  Lord  from  that 
of  man.  If  you  pray,  you  ask  of  God  favors ;  but  do  you  not  peti- 
tion for  benefits  from  public  authorities,  and  what  is  that  but 
prayer  ? 

It  does  not  designate  the  house  of  God,  nor  does  it  draw  any  dis- 
tinction between  God  and  man.  You  praise  Hina  in  psalmody  and 
canticles,  but  do  you  not  praise  your  great  heroes  ?  Do  you  not,  in 
poetry  and  prose,  praise  and  almost  deify  statesmen  who  rise  upon 
the  wave  of  time,  and  seem  to  dance  in  view  of  those  who  witness 
him,  until  the  wave  is  over?  I  do  not  say  that  you  praise  him  unde- 
servedly; but  I  make  the  remark  to  show  that  neither  in  piaise  nor 
any  thing  in  the  house  of  our  God  can  you  distinguish  its  divine 
Master,  except  you  introduce  the  idea  of  sacrifice.  What  is  sacrifice  ? 
Sacrifice  is  the  supreme  worship  of  God.  It  is  nothing  more  nor 
less.  He  Himself  appointed  sacrifice  in  the  ancient  law.  It  was  not 
in  itself  the  fulness  of  divine  worship,  but  it  was  the  type  of  that 
which  afterwards  became  the  fulness.  It  was  not  in  itself  that 
which  constitutes  the  pleasing  victim,  but  it  introduced  the  presence 
of  that  victim — our  divine  Saviour  Jesus  Christ.  His  is  the  sacrifice 
and  He  is  the  high  priest  of  religion,  and  there  is  no  other  high- 
priest  but  He,  except,  indeed,  such  as  He  has  delegated  to  carry  out 
upon  the  earth  the  outward  mission  and  oflice  of  his  eternal  priest- 
hood, united  to  the  oi'der  of  Melchisedec.  The  Church  never  pretended 


SERMONS.  185 

to  deiive  one  iota  of  original  authority  from  any  thing  recorded  in 
the  pages  of  the  New  Testament.  She  is  older  than  that.  This 
country  was  an  independent  country  before  it  framed  its  constitution, 
and  it  is  absurd  to  suppose  that  this  country  must  prove  its  independ 
ence  by  reference  to  documents  of  its  own  which  could  not  have 
existed  if  it  had  not  been  independent  before.  So  with  regard  to 
the  Church  and  the  New  Testament.  It  is  her  Scriptures.  She  has 
wiitten  it  herself.  It  was  written  to  her  own  children,  already 
Christians,  and  she  has  cherished  and  preserved  it,  for  it  is  so  far  a 
duplicate  of  the  language  which  the  Holy  Ghost  had  inscribed  on 
her  own  heart  and  conscience.  Therefore  it  is  that  from  the  Churcli 
we  know  what  is  divine  worship,  as  well  as  from  the  Scriptures,  for 
it  is  an  impious  attempt  to  suppose  that  after  sixteen  hundred  years, 
the  Church  did  not  know  the  meaning  of  her  own  documents.  It  is 
an  impious  and  absurd  idea  to  suppose  that  she  cherished  in  her 
hands  documents  and  testimony  to  overthrow  her  authority  when 
interpreted  by  her  enemies.  It  was  not  bread  that  w^as  delivered 
for  us,  for  Christ  said,  "  This  is  my  blood  of  the  New  Testament, 
which  shall  be  shed  for  many  for  the  remission  of  sins."  It  was  not 
wine  that  was  shed  for  many  for  the  remission  of  sins.  It  was  blood  ; 
and  that  same  blood  Christ  presented  to  his  apostles  in  the  chalice  of 
benediction;  and  then  constituted  them  his  priests.  He  said  to 
them  alone,  "  Do  this  for  the  commemoration  of  me." 


SERMON  IN  ST.  FRANCIS  XAVIER'S  CHURCH, 
NEW  YORK,  JAN.  7th,  1853, 

FOR  THE   BENEFIT  OF  THE  NEW   PARISH   SCHOOL-HOUSE. 

"  But  if  any  man  have  not  care  of  his  own,  and  especially  of  those  in  his  own 
house,  he  hath  denied  the  faith,  and  is  worse  than  an  infidel." — 1  Tim.  v.  8. 

It  is  very  seldom  that  even  in  the  Holy  Scriptures  we  find  conse- 
quences apparently  so  harsh  as  resulting  from  the  neglect  of  an 
ordinary  duty.  The  Apostle  makes  use  of  language  which  at 
first  would  seem  to  be  unintelligible.  If  there  be  any  thing  in  which 
men  are  liable  to  be  indifferent,  it  is  in  taking  care  of  their  own — 
first  of  themselves,  and  next  of  those  who  are  precisely  in  the  situ- 
ation that  is  here  alluded  to ;  and  yet  the  Apostle  does  not  hesitate  to 
suppose  that  the  duty  could  not  be  neglected,  and  does  not  hesitate 
to  denounce  the  consequences  of  its  neglect  in  language  more  severe 
than  it  is  easy  to  find  throughout  the  pages  of  the  Holy  Scriptures. 
Many  persons  believe  that  it  is  an  exaggerated  form  of  expression, 
but  I  cannot  apply  any  such  rule  of  criticism  to  the  words  of  the 
Apostle.  St.  Paul  does  not  write  about  the  things  of  this  world  to 
provide  for  the  settlement  of  children.  St.  Paul  is  not  interested  in 
men  who  have  households,  that  they  should  be  well  furnished, 
for  that  would  be  unworthy  of  his  inspiration  ;  but  he  writes  to  a 


186  AECHBISHOP   HUGHES 

convert  from  Paganism,  or  Judaism,  to  the  faith  and  religion  of  Jesus 
Christ. 

The  Most  Rev.  Archbishop,  at  great  length,  proceeded  to  explain 
the  duties  incumbent  upon  parent's  in  attending,  with  scrupulous 
care,  to  the  religious  education  of  their  children  at  an  early  age,  and 
went  on  to  say : 

We  are  living  in  a  country  and  placed  among  denominations  en- 
tirely disagreeing  with  ours,  both  as  regards  the  theory  of  religion 
and  the  mode  in  which  God  would  have  it  preserved  ;  nor  yet  are 
they  agreed  among  themselves ;  so  that  while  the  State  has  paid 
attention  to  the  education  of  our  future  citizens,  the  State  has 
hitiierto,  by  necessity  or  choice,  been  unwilling  or  unable,  to  admit 
the  most  essential  element  of  Christian  knowledge  into  the  teachings, 
of  our  schools.  She  professes  to  teach  no  religion,  and  yet  she  is 
offended  if  we  say  this  is  a  retrograde  step  towards  the  barbarism  of 
pagan  ages.  She  is  rampant  if  we  say  this.  But  she  will  have  no 
sectarianism,  and  it  so  happens  that  in  the  relation  of  creeds  in 
this  land,  there  is  no  Christianity  left  if  you  exclude  all  sectarianism; 
and,  therefore,  to  exclude  all  sectarianism  is  to  exclude  everything 
that  pertains  to  be  Christian  in  the  whole  length  and  breadth  of  this 
land.  The  State  has  imagined  that  this  would  satisfy  our  fellow 
Protestant  citizens,  and  certainly  it  ought ;  but,  if  the  Apostle  is  to 
be  relied  upon,  this  will  not  satisfy  us.  They  have  thrown  overboard 
the  idea  of  a  perpetual  and  true  religion  in  the  world — they  have 
rejected  the  idea  of  a  Church  as  a  divine  corporation,  instituted  by 
Christ  to  preserve  those  truths  which  were  sent  from  heaven  for 
the  benefit  of  the  child.  They  imagine  that  religion  has  become  an 
individual  affair,  and  hence  one  of  their  great  principles  is  that  all 
men  should  search  the  Scriptures.  And  by  the  very  word  search  do 
they  not  intimate  that  they  have  it  not  ?  If  they  were  possessed  of 
this  religion,  would  it  be  necessary  to  search  for  it  ?  For,  if  it  be 
religion,  it  must  be  something  revealed,  and  not  discovered  by  long 
and  deep  mystic  study.  We  regard  it  as  a  published  outward  lact, 
but  they  as  an  individual  concern. 

Another  principle  of  their  religion  is  that  God,  from  all  eternity, 
has  predestined  certain  specific  individuals  to  come  into  the  world, 
and,  having  been  predestined,  that  they  shall  be  effectually  called ; 
and  this  being  the  stern — but  as  they  suppose — and  I  will  not  ques- 
tion their  right,  the  just  and  merciful  ordination  of  God,  of  course 
man  cannot  resist,  no  matter  whether  religiously  educated  or  not. 
It  is  his  privilege,  they  say,  to  choose  his  religion,  or  to  choose  any 
religion;  and  whether  he  be  educated  or  not,  if  he  happened  to  be  of 
the  number  of  those  whom  God  has  ordained  from  all  eternity,  he 
cannot  disappoint  himself  of  the  result  of  that  eternal  decree.  Hence, 
therefore,  with  them  it  is  an  easy  matter  to  send  their  children  to 
schools — even  pagan  schools,  for  upon  this  hypothesis  it  cannot  in- 
terfere with  the  end  of  their  creation.  We,  therefore,  complain  that 
they  will  not  condescend,  in  their  public  administration  of  this  im- 
portant trust  of  education,  in  which  we  are  supposed  to  contribute 


BERMONS.  tB*l 

our  sliare  of  the  expense,  to  look  at  the  subject  from  the  same  point 
at  which  every  Catholic  must  regard  it.  If  they  cannot  accomplish 
that  object  which  the  Catholic  parents  find  it  incumbent  upon  them- 
selves to  insist  upon,  let  them  relinquish  it,  and  say,  "This  system 
suits  us,  and  to  a  certain  extent  is  in  harmony  with  our  religious 
convictions ;  but  we  will  not  impose  upon  you  the  means  that  would 
be  necessary  to  educate  your  children,  and  deny  the  common  right 
to  have  them  educated  according  to  your  own  convictions.  We 
will  not  tax  you  at  all,  and  if  we  do  in  the  aggregate,  in  which  the 
parents  all  agree  in  the  same  faith,  then  we  shall  give  you  a  portion, 
simply  reserving  to  ourselves  the  right  to  say  you  shall  not  waste 
the  public  money  in  the  mere  inculcation  of  your  specific  doctrine  of 
truth."  This  would  be  reasonable,  but  it  is  certain  that  no  State  can 
ever  release  parents  altogether  from  the  obligation  of  educating  their 
children  in  a  Christian  manner ;  and  it  is  certain  that  in  our  State  it 
is,  if  any  thing,  less  possible  than  elsewhere.  I  can  imagine  that  in  a 
State  where  there  is  only  one  religion,  you  can  well  organize  a  system 
of  public  education,  and  either  leave  out  religion,  or  introduce  it, 
which  no  one  will  object  to;  but  in  a  community  made  up  of  such  a 
variety  of  doctrine  as  ours,  it  would  be  utterly  impossible,  perhaps, 
to  introduce  religion  into  schools  in  which  sections  are  represented, 
without  introducing  at  the  same  time  sources  of  strife  that  would 
render  the  management  of  the  schools  utterly  impracticable. 

I  do  not  now  discuss  the  question  how  far  under  these  circumstances 
the  State  has  the  right  to  tax  citizens,  and  against  their  will  enter  so 
deeply  upon  that  sacred  ground,  which  is  well  secured  by  the  Consti- 
tution, viz.,  religious  rights  and  freedom  of  conscience ;  and  which 
freedom  of  conscience  ought  to  leave  a  clear  way  for  Christian  Catho- 
lic fathers  to  have  their  sons  and  daughters  educated  as  their  con- 
sciences dictate,  provided  they  do  it  at  their  own  expense,  I  enter 
not  upon  that  question,  but  I  say  that  education,  even  of  the  secular 
order,  accomplishes  its  end  better  when  administered,  wherever  it  is 
possible,  under  the  sanction  of  religion.  Why  is  this  ?  Because  the 
Church  regards  man  not  as  a  being  of  time,  but  it  takes  the  whole 
man — his  whole  destiny,  body  and  soul,  time  and  eternity — and  so 
when  she  establishes  a  school,  how  does  she  regard  the  pupil  ?  Why, 
her  first  and  great  principle  is  to  prepare  him  not  only  for  the  State, 
but  for  the  high  destiny  which  is  to  be  an  everlasting  citizen  of  the 
immortal  realms  of  his  God. 

The  Church,  therefore,  in  her  teaching,  lays  the  groundwork  of 
good  citizenship.  She  teaches  the  child  not  to  lie,  and  at  the  same 
time  teaches  him  that  God  abominates  liars.  So  Avith  regard  to 
every  virtue,  especially  those  that  have  a  social  tendency,  there  is  a 
groundwork  of  faith  and  religion  laid  down,  which  the  State  can 
never  provide,  for  the  State  and  all  the  States  of  the  universe  can- 
not make  a  man  honest,  or  an  honest  man.  The  Church  can  do 
both.  Him  whose  education  she  has  presided  by,  she  can  train  up 
in  honesty ;  and  if,  at  any  time,  he  should  fall  away,  she  has  the 
power,  by  invisible  means,  to  bring  him  back  to  the  path  he  has 


188  ARCHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

deserted.  The  State  can  do  neither.  It  can  punish  a  rogue,  but  it 
cannot  make  an  honest  man,  nor  an  upright  citizen  ;  and  even  that 
punishment  it  cannot  always  accomplish  ;  and  still  less  will  it  be  able 
to  do  so,  when  a  future  generation  shall  have  taken  the  place  of- 
that  which  now  exists.  Men  of  highly  cultivated  minds,  and  know- 
ing all  arts  and  artifices,  now  escape  from  exposure,  and  the  State 
has  not  even  the  power  to  punish  a  rogue,  but  only  the  rogue  who 
has  not  the  cunning  to  evade  her  jurisdiction.  Can  the  State  ex- 
pect the  future  generations  will  be  as  upright  as  their  predecessors  ? 
I  tell  you  that  the  great  men  of  the  country  and  their  associates, 
although  they  differed  widely  from  any  thing  that  is  Catholic,  never- 
theless, they  believed  and  acted  upon  the  principle,  that  where  there 
is  no  religion,  no  faith,  no  belief,  as  the  basis  of  morality,  civic  in- 
tegrity, and  high-minded  and  disinterested  patriotism,  are  not  to  be 
looked  for  as  a  general  rule.  Sufficient  evidence  can  be  adduced, 
that  the  State  is  not  rendering  a  service  to  mankind  in  establishing 
schools,  and  permitting  religion  to  come  to  the  door,  and  there  stop 
and  not  enter.  I  would  commend  to  your  attention  the  obligations 
which  are  imposed  upon  you  by  your  parents,  of  transmitting  your 
faith  to  your  children,  and  then  to  see,  whether  the  State  aid  you  or 
not,  how  best  you  can  discharge  these  obligations. 

The  Church  has  invariably  kept  this  in  view.  When  there  was  but 
one  religion,  although  human  science  had  not  so  large  a  scope  for  the 
exercise  of  its  power,  and  although  even  the  knowledge  of  religion 
might  be  limited,  yet  it  was  as  much  a  matter  of  course  as  food  being 
provided  for  your  children,  that  they  should  know  all  the  mysteries  of 
the  Christian  faith,  and  that  they  should  practise  them,  so  far  as  de- 
pended upon  their  parents.  This  was  perfectly  well  understood,  and 
at  the  same  time,  when,  from  distress  or  other  circumstances,  the 
parents  wei'e  unable  themselves  to  fulfil  the  requirements  of  education, 
then  it  happened  in  the  beautiful  economy  of  our  common  laith, 
that  men  and  women  of  the  highest  education  were  prepared  to  de- 
vote themselves  to  the  task — not  for  the  salaries  that  this  world 
could  give  them,  but  for  the  love  of  God,  and  for  the  love  of  those 
young  souls  who  had  been  brought  into  being,  and  who  might 
otherwise  be  left  ignorant  of  the  divine  inheritance  of  faith.  They 
devoted  tlieir  whole  lives  to  the  tedious  and  slow-wasting  occupa- 
tion of  teaching  that  which  is  true,  to  promote  the  glory  of  God,  and 
the  welfare  of  their  feliow-beings.  These  things  have  existed,  and 
although  it  is  impossible  that  we  can  have  them  to  any  great  ex- 
tent, yet  I  am  happy  and  proud  to  witness  the  evidence  of  your 
sympathy  upon  the  subject ;  and  the  time  is  coming,  and  not,  I  be- 
lieve, far  distant,  when  every  Catholic  parent,  rich  and  poor,  will 
have  the  opportunity  of  having  his  sons  and  daughters  educated  in 
schools,  in  which  the  State  may  not  say  to  religion — that  is,  the 
Catholic  religion — as  was  said  to  the  ocean,  "  Thus  far  shalt  thou 
come,  and  no  further." 

The  infusion  of  religion  into  education  \^ill  assist  science,  for  re- 
ligion will  purify  and  elevate  the  ideas  of  the  student,  and  will  make 


SERMONS.  •  189 

a  cultivated  intellect  a  blessing  to  the  age,  and  not  a  curse,  as  it  now 
is.  Religion  will  sanctify  all  which  would  otherwise  be  wasted,  for 
I  confess  tliat  all  science,  apart  from  religion,  however  useful  it  may 
be,  is  of  the  smallest  possible  account.  The  State,  in  proposing  edu- 
cation, takes  man  by  sections,  and  degrades  him  down  to  the  race 
of  certain  useful  domestic  animals,  the  breed  of  which  is  to  be  im- 
proved by  premiums  from  the  State  authorities.  It  looks  at  man,  and 
values  him  for  what  ?  For  his  immortal  soul  ?  Not  in  the  least, 
fur  it  has  nothing  to  do  with  his  immortal  soul.  It  values  him  for 
his  usefulness — he  is  to  be  a  useful,  rational,  intellectual  animal,  and 
in  the  space  between  the  period  of  his  acquired  education  and  his 
death,  by  his  knowledge,  and  his  enterprise,  and  devotion  to  his 
own  interests,  lie  is  to  accomplish,  successfully  and  powerfully, 
any  enterprise  he  may  undertake,  and  thus  become,  through  the 
medium  of  selfishness,  an  example  of  activity,  the  result  of  which 
must  b'j  beneficial  to  the  whole  community  at  large.  I  defy  any 
man  to  say  that  the  State  has  raised  its  soul,  if  it  has  a  soul,  to  a 
higher  consideration  of  education  than  that ;  and  I  ask,  if  the  dig- 
nity of  man  is  not  oifended  by  such  an  estimate  ?  Therefore,  it  is 
evident,  that  although  we  may  have  tolerated  the  practice  of  seeing 
Catholic  children  go  to  these  schools,  because  necessity  has  required 
it,  that  Catholic  parents  should  be  upon  their  guard,  and  exert  them- 
selves by  every  means  to  supply  what  has  been  denied  them  in  the 
schools ;  for  experience  has  taught  and  proved  that  the  teaching 
even  of  the  pastor  once  a  week  is  counteracted  by  the  unteaching 
and  the  negativeness  the  children  acquire  during  the  other  six  days. 
This  is  beyond  a  doubt,  for  it  is  matter  of  boast  with  many  of  those 
men  who  are  advocates  of  this  public-school  system,  that  it  is  wast- 
ing away  the  growth  of  the  Catholic  Church,  and  that  it  is  impossi- 
ble for  the  Catholic  Church  to  succeed  in  this  country,  because 
what  they  call  their  republican  American  education  destroys  the  in- 
fluence of  divine  faith,  whether  derived  from  the  public  teachings  of 
the  Church,  or  from  the  piety  and  parental  afiection  of  the  domestic 
circle.  They  boast  of  it ;  and  have  we  a  right  to  deny  it  is  so  ? 
There  can  be  no  doubt  of  it.  But  we  tell  those  gentlemen  also,  in 
return,  that  the  same  ruin  is  overtaking  their  own  children.  I  could 
prove  by  indisputable  facts  that  thei*e  is  a  falling  ofi" — I  will  not  say 
from  Catholicism — but  fi'om  Christianity,  that  is  quite  perceptible 
in  tracing  the  progress  of  these  schools.  I  quote  one  single  instance 
from  reliable  authority.  Nearly  the  whole  class  by  which  the  Pro- 
testant ministry  was  formerly  supplied  has  disappeared  altogether ; 
and  although  they  have  places  and  pensions  in  theological  semina- 
ries, they  cannot  find  candidates  to  accept  them — although  they 
have  education  and  position  offered  to  them,  the  race  of  pious  young 
men,  as  they  used  to  be  called  twenty  'years  ago,  has  died  out,  and 
this  fact  is  acknowledged.  They  know  not  what  is  to  be  the  conse- 
quence if  Providence  should  not  raise  up  candidates  to  continue 
iffeir  ministry.  What  is  the  effect  of  these  schools  but  to  create  an 
absolute  indifference  as  to  all  divine  revelation  ?   A  negativeness.    It 


190  AECQBISHOP  HUGHES. 

may  not  strike  the  observer  so  immediately,  because  there  is  still  a  tone 
in  the  country — a  vague  respect  and  a  vague  reverence  for  the  Bible ; 
but  tlien  this  reverence  you  will  find,  even  among  those  who  are 
appointed  to  teach  its  meaning,  amounts  to  nothing  but  whatever 
you  please.  Each  one  is  the  judge — each  one  is  to  search — there  is 
no  clerical  teaching  out  of  the  Church  ;  and  the  fact  is,  they  have 
departed  from  whatever  was  possibly  affirmative  in  their  creed  to  such 
an  extent,  that  now  there  is  scarcely  a  single  doctrine  which  they 
would  think  it  worth  while  to  defend  ;  and  if  they  did,  they  could 
not  defend  it,  because  all  authority  is  lost,  except  the  authority  of 
the  Bible,  and  the  authority  of  the  Bible  is  precisely  an  authority 
for  or  against,  as  every  man  thinks  proper  to  attach  a  meaning  to 
the  words  he  reads.  The  race  of  pious  young  men  is  disappearing  ; 
and  is  it  to  their  gratification  that  their  children  are  thus  falhng 
away  into  indifference  and  skepticism — is  it  a  compensation  to  them 
that  Catholic  children  are  involved  in  the  same  ruin  ?  If  they 
understood  the  question  as  we  do,  I  am  satisfied  they  would  unite 
with  us  by  every  means  by  which  we  could  prepare  for  the  duties 
of  civil,  social,  and  domestic  life,  those  children  who,  in  the  provi- 
dence of  God,  are  consigned  to  be  brought  up  in  the  faith  and  un- 
der the  care  of  their  parents.  Then  you  would  retain  good  citizens 
to  the  State,  and  true  Christians  to  the  Ciiurch,  and  the  race  of 
mockers  at  religion  would  soon  be  diminished.  Then  your  house 
would  become  respectable.  Then  your  age  will  become  reverenced ; 
whereas,  if  this  system  goes  on  for  half  a  century  longer,  with 
the  impulses  so  natural  to  the  spirit  of  this  country,  children 
before  they  are  fifteen  years  of  age,  coming  from  these  schools, 
will  forget  the  endearing  names  of  father  and  mother,  and  look  upon 
their  parents  as  only  their  fellow-citizens,  nothing  better  than  them- 
selves. Domestic  reverence  for  all  authority  disappears  with  the 
contemptuous  regard  that  the  public,  by  its  great  influential 
opinion,  has  expressed  upon  education ;  and,  for  this  reason,  I  say 
to  you  tliat  I  thank  God  that  you  have  manifested  so  numerous  and 
so  zealously  your  sympathy  with  the  undertaking  of  a  Christian  Cath- 
olic school  for  your  children  in  your  neighborhood.  I  hope  the 
time  is  coming  when  they  will  be  multiplied,  and  be  at  least  as  near 
the  Church  to  which  you  bring  your  offspring  to  consecrate  them  to 
God  in  Holy  Baptism,  You  must  have  a  care  of  your  own,  and  es- 
pecially those  of  your  household,  under  the  penalty  which  I  pray 
God  in  His  infinite  goodness  to  avert  from  you. 


SERMONS.  191 

SERMON  PREACHED  IN  THE  CATHEDRAL,  BAL- 
TIMORE,  AT  THE  OPENING  OF  THE  FIRST 
NATIONAL  COUNCIL,  IVLAY,  11th.   1852. 

[Having  read  as  his  text  the  first  portion  of  the  lOth  chapter  of  St.  John,  the 
Archbishop  spoke  as  follows.] 

The  Avords  which  I  have  just  read,  Christian  brethren,  are  true, 
not  because  they  are  written  in  the  Gospel  of  St.  John,  but  they  are 
written  in  the  Gospel  of  St,  John  because  they  are  true,  and  because 
before  any  evangelist  put  pen  to  paper,  by  inspiration  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  they  were  true.  The  evangelists  had  not  pretended,  at  any 
time,  to  give  us  a  full  development  of  all  the  acts  and  all  the  teach- 
ings of  their  divine  Master,  but  after  His  ascension,  and  after  the 
descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  after  the  Church  had  already  been 
extended,  without  a  written  syllable  of  the  Xew  Testament,  God 
moved  certain  of  them,  either  apostles  or  the  immediate  disciples, 
to  put  on  record  certain  things,  many  of  which  the  writers  remem- 
bered, had  seen,  or  heard,  and  those  who  were  not  witnesses  had 
heard  from  others  who  were.  And  they  had  made  record  of  these 
things.  In  the  passage  which  I  have  just  read,  our  divine  Saviour, 
as  was  his  habit,  in  addressing  the  multitude,  mingled  things  future 
with  things  present,  and  also  not  unfrequently  with  things  past ;  for 
you  must  remember  our  divine  Saviour  did  not  appear  in  the  world 
as  a  teacher  simply  to  the  generation  which  lived  when  he  taught, 
but  to  that  which  was  to  succeed.  The  Son  of  God,  when  he  appeared 
in  the  flesh,  appeared  as  a  consumraator  of  the  religion  begun  with 
Adam,  or  had  now,  according  to  prophecy  and  the  economy  of  God, 
accomplished  its  appointed  purpose.  But  he  was  the  consummator  of 
this  religion.  Towards  him  it  all  tended,  and  in  him  it  all  centred. 
The  straining  eyes  of  the  expecting  prophets  looked  for  him,  their  gaze 
was  constantly  bent  towards  the  horizon  of  the  future,  to  know,  and,  if 
possible,  to  see  such  indication  as  would  mark  the  period  when  the 
lieavens  would  rain  down  the  Just  One,  and  cause  the  earth  to  bud  forth 
the  Saviour.  Their  religion  was  the  religion  of  anticipation,  comprised 
in  the  form  of  types,  and  having  reference  to  the  futui'e.  To  us  it 
is  past.  He  appeared,  therefore,  as  a  consummator  of  one  dispensa- 
tion, and  the  founder  of  another,  not  difierent  in  piinciple,  but  as 
materially  essential.  The  first  would  be  true,  if  the  second  had  not 
come ;  and  the  second  would  not  have  been  founded  in  truth,  if  it 
had  not  been  preceded  by  the  former. 

The  Son  of  God  was  the  living  connection  of  those  two  dispensa- 
tions. Whether  as  a  living  preacher  to  the  multitude  of  disciples 
ready  to  believe  the  words  which  dropped  from  his  lips,  or  to  the  in- 
credulous and  proud  persons  who  refused  to  hearken,  whatever  he 
said  was  applicable  to  the  present,  and  was  pei'fectly  intelligible ; 
but  we  find  that  till  even  after  his  resurrection  the  disciples  conceived 
no  higher  object  of  his  coming  than  to  restore  the  kingdom  of 
Israel, — forgetting  when  Israel  lost  the  kingdom,  the  sign  of  prophecy 


192  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

was  fulfilled,  and  thai  they  should  then  look  out  for  the  promise 
of  the  nation.  Another  thing,  he  showed  the  promise  of  the  future. 
When  he  said  Abraham  longed  to  see  his  day,  had  seen  it,and  was  glad, 
they  said,  by  the  comparison  of  time,  Thou  art  not  yet  fifty  years 
old,  and  hast  thou  seen  Abraham  ?  His  answer  discharged  his  mis- 
sion in  this  respect,  "  Before  Abraham  was,  I  am."  And  so  little 
did  they  understand,  this  was  openly  denied,  and  from  their  concep- 
tion of  the  Abrahamite  faith  and  t)ie  declaration  of  the  prophets, 
they  considered  this  as  blaspjiemy.  So  now  he  is  speaking,  in  this 
chapter,  to  the  people,  and  his  language,  of  all  other  teachings,  is 
most  simple  and  intelHgible, — no  strained  nor  far-fetched  metaphor, 
but  words  understood  in  the  simple  pastoral  life,  terms  in  the  famil- 
iar language  of  the  tribe,  borrowed  from  the  shepherd's  field,  giving 
the  express  meaning  he  wished  to  convey.  He  warns  them  of  dan- 
gers and  intimates  his  mission,  and'speaks  of  things  to  better  tlieir 
fortunes,  and  concludes  this  portion  of  the  chapter  by  saying  there 
shall  be  one  fold  and  one  shepherd.  Now,  they  understand  the 
words,  for  they  are  the  most  obvious,  but  they  did  not  understand 
the  meaning  in  which  the  divine  Teacher  applied  them.  How  could 
they  know  the  purpose  for  which  the  divine  Saviour  applied  those 
simple  but  expressive  words  ? 

We  sometimes  imagine  that  great  privileges  were  enjoyed  by  those 
■who  lived  in  the  time  and  place  of  the  Son  of  God ;  and  there  are 
persons  ^\■ho  even  say  that  if  they  had  heard  the  word  of  life  declared 
and  the  way  of  eternal  salvation  pointed  out  by  Him,  they  would 
then  believe.  In  many  respects  our  position  is  stronger,  and  we 
have  a  better  understanding  of  these  things  than  if  we  had  then 
lived.  The  reason  is,  all  the  miracles  of  the  divine  Redeemer  are 
established  through  Him  as  the  messenger  of  God.  The  testimony 
of  Him,  as  the  God-man,  as  the  Word  manifested  in  the  flesh,  are  as 
strong  to  us,  nay,  I  may  say  stronger  to  us,  than  if  we  had  witnessed 
them  with  our  own  eyes.  They  are  our  proof  as  well  as  theirs,  and 
the  human  testimony  of  facts  recorded  is  attested  and  approved 
under  .circumstances  which  have  no  possibihty  of  doubt.  They  are 
not  facts  for  those  only  who  witnessed,  but  for  the  next  century,  and 
for  all  time.  I  do  not  say  they  make  the  same  sensibility  of  impression, 
but  as  to  the  proof  of  the  events  there  is  no  difference  as  to  the  advan- 
tages they  confer.  Eighteen  hundred  years  have  passed  away,  and 
in  tracing  the  consequences  of  our  Saviour's  teaching,  in  the  institu- 
tions which  he  had  established  in  His  Church,  and  in  the  manner  of 
preserving  the  Church,  we  find  one  xminterrupted  accomplishment 
of  what  His  contemporaries  did  not  understand. 

We  find  at  the  commencement  that  the  idea  which  he  threw  out 
in  a  familiar  discourse  to  the  people  as  to  what  should  be  the  inevitable 
consequence  of  His  ministry  has  been  eternally  accomplished,  from 
the  day  the  Holy  Ghost  descended  on  the  holy  Apostles  and  kindled 
the  light  of  divine  faith,  giving  illumination  to  the  understanding, 
and  strengthening  their  weak  and  vacillating  hearts.  The  subject  of 
the  discourse  is  the  Church,  not  in  its  general  attributes  considered 


SEEM0N8.  193 

in  connection  with  the  events  to  flow  from  it,  through  the  Son  of 
God,  but  its  everlasting  foundation.  There  was  but  a  glimpse,  a  mere 
sketch,  of  that  great  divine  plan  which  he  came  on  earth  to  execute. 
There  was  seen  but  a  part  by  part  of  the  mutual  relations  of  the 
whole.  It  did  not  all  come  out  until,  according  to  his  promise,  he 
should  send  the  Paraclete,  the  Spirit  of  Truth,  which  should  guide 
them  into  all  truth,  and  abide  with  them  forever.  It  is  understood 
that  on  the  day  of  Pentecost  the  Church,  which  until  that  time  had, 
as  it  were,  been  moulded  into  form,  to  which  was  given  shape  and  pro- 
portions, but  whicli,  as  yet,  according  to  His  appointment,  stood 
forth,  as  we  may  conceive  the  first  man  stood  forth  prominent  of  the 
human  race.  When  God  formed  his  model  from  the  slime  of  the 
earth,  he  breathed  life  and  soul  into  him ;  and  then  man  was  awaken- 
ed to  the  consciousness  of  his  being,  destiny,  and  origin.  So  the 
word  of  God.  It  was  on  the  day  of  Pentecost  that  the  Scriptures 
mentioned  no  more  darkness,  no  more  haste  after  light,  which  was 
at  that  time  communicated. 

If  there  was  any  thing  that  seemed  to  press  on  the  heart  of  the 
divine  Redeemer  more  than  another,  it  was  the  unity  of  the  dis- 
ciples. In  the  seventeenth  chapter  of  St.  John,  after  speaking  of  it 
in  various  forms,  he  at  last  gives  utterance  to  the  fulness  of  soul  to 
His  Eternal  Fatlier  : — "  As  He  and  the  Father  are  one,  so  He  and 
His  disciples  were  one ;"  and  not  only  this,  but  He  prays  that  "  they 
all  may  be  one,  as  Thou,  Father,  in  Me,  and  I  in  Thee,  that  they  also 
may  be  one  in  us:  that  the  world  may  believe  that  Thou  has  sent 
me."  Therefore,  there  is  nothing  invisible,  nothing  foreshadowed. 
Not  the  unity  which  binds  the  soul  in  ecclesiastical  unity  to  God, 
but  a  unity  which  stands  out  in  the  sight  of  the  world.  The  founda- 
tion of  the  Church,  then,  is  clearly  obvious,  for  we  know  that  re- 
ligion is  founded  on  the  veracity  of  God.  It  takes  its  origin  from 
what  may  be  termed  apostolicity — that  is,  mission — and  which  sent 
the  first  missions.  Read  again  the  holy  pages  of  Scripture,  and  you 
will  find  the  Son  of  God  did  not  arrogate  to  himself,  because  he  ap- 
peared in  human  form,  the  origin  of  His  mission,  but  He  made 
known  whatever  he  had  heard  fiom  His  Father.  Pie  said  His  Father 
sent  Him.  He  was  a  minister  from.  God,  and  He  sent  others  to  carry 
on  the  work,  having  received  His  mission  from  the  Creator  of  us  alL 
You  do  not  find  Christ  attempting  to  make  converts  until  he  had 
proved  His  authority  by  His  miracles.  He  was  sent  from  God,  an(J 
was  God ;  and  consequently  mankind  are  bound,  wherever  there  is 
the  grace  of  hearing,  to  believe  in  His  testimony,  and  obey.  After 
this  He  makes  known  His  doctrine,  and  you  will  see  the  feature  of 
unity  always  insisted  upon.  A  few  disciples  around  Him ;  Pie  is  the- 
centre.  Others  hsten  to  the  heavenly  words  which  He  utters — be- 
lieving they  are  aggregated  to  unity,  and  add  so  many  to  the  oi-igir 
nal  society ;  and  from  the  day  of  Pentecost,  when  the  Holy  Spirit 
appeared  as  a  substitute  for  the  Son  of  God's  mysterious  absence,, 
wherever  grace  has  operated  on  the  mind  of  man,  the  number  has. 
been  constantly  increased.  If  a  Jew,  he  must  bid  adieu  ta  the  ayn^- 
Vol.  n.— 13 


194:  AKCIIBISHOP   HUGHES. 

agogue,  and  enter  into  tlie  new  and  blessed  covenant.  If  a  pagan,  he 
must  renounce  his  false  religion.  It  is  not  enough  merely  to  believe, 
and  say,  "  Let  me  alone,  I  will  remain  where  I  am,"  but  the  Scriptures 
make  known  the  condition  of  salvation.  He  must  believe  with  his 
heart  unto  righteousness,  and  follow  the  examples  of  the  divine  Re- 
deemer. Therefore,  however  men  believe,  but  shrink  from  a  prac- 
tice of  the  truth,  it  cannot  be  pleasing  to  God,  and  beneficial  to  His 
creatures.  No  doubt  the  design  of  our  divine  Saviour  was  to 
restore  our  fallen  nature,  and  bring  us  back  to  union  with  God.  In 
order  to  accomplish  this,  we  approached  two  objects :  first,  to  teach 
man  to  know  himself;  and  secondly,  to  enable  him  to  serve  God. 
When  I  say  to  know  God,  I  do  not  mean  the  infinite  capacity  to 
comprehend,  but  to  know  God  as  He  is  tOAvards  »is. 

Paganism  has  a  conception  of  a  great  first  cause;  and  even  in  our 
own  day,  pagan  terms  are  applied  to  Him.  He  is  called  Sovereign, 
Supreme  Being,  which  implies,  simply,  sovereignty  in  his  relations 
towards  us.  But  the  Son  of  God  taught  us  that  God  is  our  Father. 
He  is  made  known  as  a  being  interested  in  us  from  all  eternity,  as 
our  Creator,  and  these  things  are  calculated  to  win  and  attract  us  to 
obedience.  He  and  the  Father  are  one ;  and  the  ground  of  faith, 
and  the  ground  of  any  positive  religion,  must  necessarily  be  by  au- 
thority. And  if  you  leave  out  authority,  whatever  you  call  it — 
faith,  opinion,  or  persuasion — it  is  no  foundation  competent  to  sus- 
tain the  duties  of  religious  life.  Duty  is  obvious  from  the  unity  of 
its  origin.  When  men  tell  you,  as  they  do,  that  there  is  no  specific 
doctrines  required  to  be  believed  by  our  divine  Saviour,  they  do  not 
intend,  but  the  remark  is  calculated,  to  destroy  all  belief  in  revela- 
tion ;  for  it  is  manifested.  God  and  the  Saviour  being  one.  He 
would  not  reveal  a  plurality  or  contradiction  of  doctrine ;  and  as 
Christianity  flows  from  a  single  source,  and  as  God  is  the  author  of 
truth,  any  society  which  is  formed  on  the  basis  of  that  truth  cannot 
be  fraud.  Unity  of  doctrine  and  faith  are  incorporated,  and  resides 
•with  us  in  His  Church :  not  on  learned  speculations  of  doctors,  and 
new  readings,  but  on  the  veracity  of  God.  We  cannot  understand 
the  mysteries  of  divine  revelation  ;  but  God,  who  is  truth  and  in- 
finitely wise,  declares  it  is  important  for  us  to  believe  one  doctrine, 
and  reason  tells  us,  from  the  moment  we  obtain  the  highest  pi-ivi- 
lege  of  our  intellect,  that  we  should  bow,  as  a  holocaust,  to  the  di- 
vine testimony.  So  even  our  intellects  should  be  brought  into  the 
capacity  of  faith. 

The  Church,  from  its  commencement,  has  been  one  in  its  faith  ;  and 
you  will  do  well  to  note  the  distinguished  unity  of  the  Church  from 
any  other  unity.  You  will  find  in  religious,  philanthropic,  and  politi- 
cal associations  a  certain  unity,  for  a  time  and  space — a  unity  de- 
pendent on  the  voluntary  knot  of  the  members;  and  this  plainly  shows 
that  provision  is  made  for  dissolutions.  It  is  knot  an  element  of 
self-preservation  ;  it  is  not  an  element  of  extension.  It  may  last,  but 
the  unity  is  for  some  particular  motive,  to  be  regulated  by  expedi- 
■ency.     Henee,  for  a  comparatively  short  time,  there   may  be  unity 


SERMONS.  195 

from  design,  a  visible  unity.  This  is  accidental,  there  is  no  obligation 
to  reserve  it,  as  long  as  interest  requires  they  may  be  united.  But 
on  the  other  hand,  we  see  on  every  side,  whether  from  scliism  or 
heresy,  whether  an  attempt  is  made  by  men,  by  their  own  authority 
to  carry  the  doctrines  of  God  out  of  unity,  a  progressive  dissolution 
is  observable.  In  the  Catholic  Church,  one  of  Apostleship,  as  long  as 
this  unity  is  in  existence,  there  will  be  found,  until  the  end  of  the 
world,  those  who  will  engender  disturbances  in  its  unity ;  and  past 
history  shows  how  many  disturbers  there  have  been,  not  bound  by 
the  tie  of  Christianity,  but  the  unity  of  hatred,  men  who  imagined 
that  they  could  inflict  a  mortal  wound  on  the  Son  of  God.  If  an  at- 
tack is  to  be  made,  all  at  once  there  is  a  spontaneous  coalition  of 
hearts.  All  in  the  union  of  passions  are  as  feeble  as  inefficient, 
in  attempting  to  overthrow  the  sheepfold  or  destroy  the  flock 
of  the  Son  of  God.  This  faith,  which  is  one,  is  not  simply  one  by 
virtue  of  sentiment,  but  one  in  outward  profession.  This  faith, 
which  unites  the  Church  of  Christ  as  a  sheepfold  under  one  shep- 
herd, takes  its  origin  from  Him  ;  and  hence,  whatever  a  Catholic  is 
required  to  believe,  he  cannot  profess  to  believe  as  an  opinion  of  his 
own.  He  is  required  to  believe  in  the  sense  God  has  revealed  it ; 
and  this  is  tlie  reason  why,  the  teaching  being  the  same,  the  belief 
is  the  same ;  and  in  this  it  is  seen  to  the  world,  that  God  sent  His 
Son  into  the  world  for  its  salvation.  You  have  not  dwelt  sufficiently 
long  on  the  importance  of  unity  as  a  divine  mark,  and  which  has 
continued  to  manifest  itself  as  singular  to  the  world. 

How  rare  it  is  to  find  a  few  men,  not  absolutely  decided  on  any 
topic  or  fact,  who  are  able  to  agree  !  How  natural  is  the  diversity 
and.  discrepancies  between  mind  and  mind !  How  difficult  to  get 
men  to  unite.  And  yet  the  Son  of  God,  on  the  principle  laid  down  as 
the  rule  and  model  of  His  Church,  has  secured  unity,  which,  at  the 
same  time,  is  susceptible  of  extension  to  all  ages  and  to  the  ends  of 
the  earth.  You  see  before  you  many  of  the  first  pastors  of  the  holy 
Catholic  Church,  coming  from  within  limits  extending  from  sea  to  sea 
— the  most  of  them  never  met  together  before.  Many  of  them  were 
brought  up  amid  different  sounds  of  language.  But  in  the  unity  of 
faith  there  is  no  necessity  to  examine  what  is  the  belief  And  this 
limited  spectacle  of  the  unity  would  not  be  different,  if  all  the  bish- 
ops of  the  Avhole  Catholic  Church  were  here  assembled.  And  this 
is  to  be  attributed  to  the  fiict  that  they  believe  the  teachings  of  the 
Son  of  God,  and  because  the  Church  is  one,  and  because  there  is  no 
necessity  to  examine  and  compare  records.  '  All  were  brought  up 
under  the  same  guidance,  and  under  the  Holy  Spirit  upon  the 
Church  of  God.  They  are  all  united  in  one  sheepfold,  and  under 
the'  guidance  of  one  Shepherd.  God  made  us  one,  by  the  unity  of 
truth.  The  Church  must  be  holy  as  well  as  one.  She  must  be 
apostolic,  because  she  is  derived  from  Christ  and  his  apostles.  She 
must  be  universal,  because  we  know  that  the  truth  of  divine  reve- 
lation does  not  shine  for  a  day,  and  then  fade ;  and  because  the 
teachings  of  the   Son  of  God,  and   the  Apostles,  were  true  in  the 


196  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

streets  of  Jerusalem  or  Samaria,  and  because  tlie  trutli  does  not 
change.  It  would  be  inconsistent;  we  do  not  desire  to  look  out  for 
improvements  in  these  things,  wliich  God  has  promised  for  us  to  the 
present  day.  The  Church  extends  her  tents  to  the  ends  of  the  earth, 
God  is  in  the  sheepfold  and  is  the  pastor  of  the  flock,  and  those  who 
enter  in  by  Him  have  eternal  life. 

I  am  aware  of  the  objections  which  have  been  urged  to  this  view 
of  the  subject.  It  is  said  :  "  Really,  after  all,  this  monotony  of  be- 
lief cannot  be  pleasing  to  God ;"  and  they  point  out  for  imitation 
pretended  philosophers,  and  the  variety  with  which  God  has  diver- 
sified all  portions  of  creation.  They  say  the  spring  brings  forth 
every  hue  of  flowers,  charming  the  eyes  and  giving  perfume  to  the 
atmosphere  by  their  sweetness.  They  say  He  has  studded  the  fir- 
mament with  stars,  which  difter  from  one  another  in  effulgence  and 
distance.  They  say  God  gives  man  soul  and  mind  of  his  own, 
and  it  is  not  right  to  cramp  it  with  a  scope  of  less  power ;  that  He 
has  diversified  the  leaf  and  the  human  countenance,  giving  a  gen- 
eral resemblance,  but  a  particular  difference  to  them  all.  But  these 
pretended  arguments  are  groundless.  They  forget  that  they  con- 
tribute to  the  giving  way  of  faith,  which,  like  an  iceberg,  melts 
away  in  the  direction  of  skepticism,  atheism,  and  pantheism,  in  an  age 
which  does  not  think  proper  to  dispute  about  any  doctrine  of  Christ. 
Instead  of  endeavoring  to  induce  a  belief  in  Deity,  they  carry  away 
hundreds  and  thousands  of  persons  of  infirm  purposes.  They  never 
look  at  the  plurality  in  unity,  nor  consider  that  all  are  governed  by 
the  same  law.  Arguing  from  their  premises,  every  star,  now  regu- 
lated by  harmony,  would  take  its  own  course,  instead  of  imaging 
forth  God's  glory  at  night,  like  a  host  of  brilliant  sentinels,  indicating 
to  us  a  mark  of  that  power  which  we  revere,  and  elevating  the  high 
nonceptions  due  to  Him  by  whom  we  were  all  created. 

But  the  truths  of  God  emancipate  the  human  mind,  and  set  his 
soul  at  liberty ;  and  man  is  bound  to  do  the  best  he  can.  Some  men 
are  caught  by  the  dazzling  of  phrase.  They  are  deceived  by  the 
cry  of  progress,  which  sounds  like  something  grand.  The 
maxims  pass  current.  Nobody  questions  them.  But  God  emanci- 
pates the  mind,  and  tells  man  to  be  free.  You  might  as  well  at- 
tempt to  manacle  the  sunbeams^  or  fetter  the  ocean,  as  to  frustrate 
the  design  of  God.  We  are  responsible  to  Him  for  the  use  we 
make  of  that  freedom.  When  the  doctrine  is  presented,  are  we  not 
free  to  embrace  it  ?  We  should  abide  by  the  grace  of  God,  which 
speaks  to  our  hearts.  If  we  co-operate  with  that  grace,  do  we  not 
enjoy  freedom  ?  But,  i-eligion  in  a  corrupt  age,  and  in  the  world, 
means  that  you  are  not  free,  unless  you  reject  what  the  Son  of  Man 
taught.  And  they  say,  in  equivalent  language,  though  history  ap- 
proves the  Son  of  God  by  His  miracles,  a  man  is  not  to  believe  until 
he  examines  into  the  details  before  the  tribunal  of  his  reason,  and 
then  he  may  reject  or  adopt  it,  as  he  thinks  proper.  It  is  in  this 
Court,  outside  of  the  Church  of  God,  there  may  be  some  sincerity 
and  strong  convictions,  but  even  in  the  name  of  Christ  itself,  there  is  not 


SERMONS.  197 

a  single  principle  m  sucn  a  system  which  can  be  called  faith.  Yet  God 
says,  without  faith,  it  is  impossible  to  please  Him.  Faith  is  one, 
and  He  says  there  is  one  Lord,  one  faith,  and  one  baptism.  But  if 
you  take  me  out  of  faith  to  try  me,  you  throw  me  on  my  own  spec- 
ulations ;  and,  unless  I  am  under  your  bad  philosophy,  I  believe  my 
own  interpretation  of  the  Scriptures.  But  do  not  tell  me,  for  time 
and  eternity,  I  must  not  believe  in  the  things  of  God. 

There  is  not  only  a  unity  of  faith,  but  a  unity  of  the  Sacraments, 
having  God  for  their  author.  A  belief  in  this  unity  has  brought  to- 
together  these  Bishops,  over  dreary  deserts  and  the  wide  ocean,  to 
speak  with  one  heart  and  with  one  voice,  after  having  invoked  the 
light  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  which  they  have  so  often  invoked  ;  and^this  is 
an  evidence  that  the  sheepfold  is  one,  as  is  also  the  Shepherd.  I 
do  not  mean  to  say  that  any  man  is  the  shepherd.  Our  divine  Sa- 
viour is  the  Bishop  and  Pastor  over  our  souls.  That  is  an  interior 
unity  ;  but  for  the  outward  Church,  for  the  testimony  which  is  to 
convince  the  world,  God  sent  Him— for  the  world  cannot  close  its 
eyes  to  the  fact.  There  are  not  many  pastors  and  many  shepherds, 
but  they  are  all  particles  of  the  one  Pastorship.  Another  form  of 
unity  in  the  Church  of  Christ  is  the  succession  of  the  Apostles, 
some  of  them  Apostles  themselves  to  different  and  pagan  nations. 
They  are  endowed  each  with  a  part  of  the  undivided  episcopacy,  for 
in  faith  and  sacraments  unity  is  traceable  as  with  a  pencil  of  the  sun- 
light. They  meet  here  as  the  early  Apostles  met.  They  meet 
as  brethren,  to  examine  into  the  affairs  of  the  Church ;  and 
when  the  propter  time  comes,  they  do  not  say  their  decisions 
shall  be  in  the  name  of  Christ  our  Lord,  but  that  they  blend  in 
great  confidence  a  knowledge  of  the  Divine  aid ;  and  in  the  joint 
name  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  themselves,  they  promulgate  the  de- 
cisions. So  subsequent  councils  will  meet  to  define  the  doctrines  of, 
faith. 

The  same  rule  will  be  followed ;  not  one  of  sympathy,  and  gener- 
ally of  sentiment,  because  here  there  is  a  diversity  of  individual 
character,  as  much  so  as  among  the  same  number  of  men  elsewhere. 
Yet  truth  and  faith  animate  all — that  truth  which  fills  all  space, 
and  is  colorless,  but  which,  when  brought  together  by  persons,  re- 
flects different  shades  of  opinions.  Looking  at  the  old  ministers  and 
buildings  of  an  anterior  age,  the  lights  in  the  windows  represent  ev- 
ery color  of  the  sunbeams,  when  brought  within  the  observation  of 
the  human  eye ;  yet,  on  entering  them,  there  is  seen  no  tint  or  color 
when  the  hght  has  passed  through.  The  Apostles  are  but  individual 
particles  for  a  special  portion  of  the  flock — ^for  the  individual  unity 
which  pertains  to  the  government  of  the  Cliurch.  You  kngw  how 
Christ  formed  His  little  flock.  He  called  His  twelve  disciples,  Peter 
included,  and  told  them  to  declare  the  truth  to  all  nations ;  and  He 
said  to  them  collectively  what  He  would  do  for  them,  and  what 
power  they  should  have.  Then,  to  give  the  last  stamp  to  abide  the 
mark  of  unity,  He  took  Peter,  not  withdrawing  the  prerogative 
conferred  as  a  simple  Apostle,  designating  him  from  all  the  rest,  and 


198  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

making  him  the  chief.  He  said  to  him,  that  whatsoever  he  bound 
on  earth,  should  be  bound  also  in  heaven ;  and  whatsoever  he  should 
loose  on  earth,  should  be  loosed  also  in  heaven.  And  when  the  ar- 
dent and  generous-hearted  Apostle  declared  to  the  world  who  Christ 
Avas,  the  Saviour  said  to  him:  "Thou  art  Peter,  and  upon  this 
rock  I  will  build  my  Church,  and  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  pre- 
vail against  it,  and  I  will  give  to  thee  the  keys  of  the  Kingdom  of 
Heaven." 

Also,  "  Satan  hath  desired  to  sift  thee  as  wheat.  I  pray  that  thy 
faith  fail  not ;  thou  being  once  converted,  confirm  thy  brethren."  If 
it  is  true  that  Christ  has  but  one  sheepfold,  it  is  equally  true  that  He 
appointed  one  sheplierd  in  the  person  of  Peter,  in  the  visible  and 
outward  common  of  the  Church,  intended  to  strike  the  world  with 
conviction,  and  to  persuade  mankind.  After  His  resurrection  the  Sa- 
viour conversed  with  Peter,  and  asked  him  whether  he  loved  Him 
inore  than  these  (the  Apostles),  and  Peter  answered,  "  Yes,  Lord, 
thou  knowest  that  I  love  thee."  The  Master  put  the  question  three 
times,  and  each  time  makes  reference  to  His  flock.  To  the  first  and 
second.  He  said,  "  Feed  my  lambs,"  and  to  the  third,  "  Feed  my 
sheep."  The  lambs  and  sheep  constitute  the  whole  flock,  and  in  tins 
figure,  the  unity  of  the  sacraments  and  the  subordination  to  the 
Apostle  are  apparent.  If  this  was  the  intention  of  Christ,  whether  as  a 
Chui-ch  or  a  sheepfold,  it  is  manifest  that  Peter,  as  the  outward  maui- 
festatipn,  was  appointed  as  the  one  shepherd.  Consequently,  it  is 
that  which,  although  Peter  was  invested  with  a  portion  of  the  apos- 
tolic power  as  regards  order,  establishes  the  claim  to  the  successor 
ship  of  St.  Peter;  and  in  the  unbroken  episcopacy  of  the  Church, 
we  all  acknowledge  the  superiority  of  him  who,  by  an  unbroken 
succession,  has  inherited  from  St.  Peter. 


SERMON  ON  THE  OCCASION  OF  THE  DEDICA- 
TION OF  ST.  FRANCIS  SERAPH'S  CHURCH, 
NEW  YORK,  APRIL  14th,  ;i853. 

The  first  verse  of  the  121st  Psalm  is  in  these  words  : 

"  I  have  rejoiced  in  the  things  that  were  said  to  me.  We  shall  go  into  the 
house  of  the  Lord." 

This,  my  dear  brethren,  is  the  language  of  the  royal  prophet, 
which  the  Church  has  considered  appropriate  and  set  apart  for  oflices 
such  as  those  in  which  you  have  now  been  engaged.  As  yet,  when 
the  inspired  prophet  wrote  those  words,  there  was  not  upon  this 
earth  a  single  temple  consecrated  to  the  honor  and  the  adoration  of 
the  true  and  the  living  God.     It  was  his  privilege  to  project  such  a 


SERMONS.  199 

temple,  under  Divine  direction,  although  it  was  not  his  privilege  to 
see  tliat  great  work  accomplished  ;  but  the  very  thought  of  it  made 
his  heart  glad,  and  he  breaks  forth  in  poetic  inspiration,  with  the  ex- 
clamation tliat  he  rejoiced  in  the  things  that  were  said  to  liim,  and 
that  we  should  go  into  the  house  of  the  Lord.  It  is  a  great  honor 
conferred  upon  a  man  that  he  should  be  made  capable  of  doing  any 
thing  calculated  to  promote  the  Divine  honor,  because  God  has  no 
need  of  men's  offerings,  and  because  He  is  infinitely  rich  in  power 
and  in  glory,  whether  men  adore  or  do  not  adore.  Nevertheless, 
it  was  conferring  upon  men  a  singular  privilegethat  God  should  have 
put  it  in  their  power  to  make  an  offering  pleasing  to  the  Divinity;  and 
it  was  this  thought,  not  simply  of  the  material  edifice,  but  of  its  im- 
port and  its  meaning,  which  gladdened  the  heart  of  the  inspired  and 
the  royal  prophet.  We  require  not  to  be  told  that  God  is  not  con- 
fined within  the  walls  of  a  temple ;  and  it  is  not  necessary  that  some 
one  should  say  to  us,  the  whole  universe  is  the  only  appropriate 
temple  for  its  Creator,  and  from  every  part  it  reflects  back  eviden- 
ces of  His  glory  and  His  power.  We  undex'stand  all  that ;  but 
nevertheless  it  has  been  His  will  that  man  should  set  apart  certain 
portions  of  this  earth  sacred  to  His  honor,  and  erect  to  Him  a  tem- 
ple according  to  His  own  divine  plan,  which  was  then  the  only 
temple  upon  the  globe  consecrated  to  His  service.  Yet  it  would  be 
a  mistake  to  suppose  that  the  inspired  writer  restricted  his  pro- 
spective glance  to  the  glory  of  that  temple  which  his  son  saw  com- 
pleted and  dedicated.  It  was  not  that  stupendous  work,  the  glory 
of  Israel,  on  the  holy  Mount  Zion — the  temple — it  was  not  this  as  a 
material  structure  that  ravished  the  eye  of  the  inspired  prophet,  but 
it  was  that  true  temple,  that  true  Chui'cli  and  true  religion  of  the 
God  whose  direction  he  was  obeying,  and  in  the  effort  to  accomplish 
which  his  heart  exulted  at  the  prospect  that  there  should  be  a  house 
of  the  Lord,  and  that  he  should  be  privileged  to  enter  into  it. 

The  cei'eaionies,  dearly  beloved  brethren,  appropriate  to  an  occasion 
like  this,  have  reference  more  to  the  living  edifice — the  living  temple 
of  the  Holy  Ghost — the  Church  of  Christ — and  each  of  you,  as  a 
temple,  than  to  these  perishable  materials.  Time  will  cause  them  all 
to  crumble  away ;  but  there  is  another  house  of  the  living  God — the 
spiritual  edifice — which  is  rising,  day  by  day,  and  which  is  indestruct- 
ible and  eternal.  The  prayers,  and  the  sprinkling  of  the  walls  outside 
and  within,  have  all  reference  to  the  purity  of  soul  with  which  the 
worshipper  in  the  house  of  God  should  approach  and  surround 
his  sanctuary.  This  is  the  whole  bearing  of  the  entire  ceremonial ; 
and  in  this  sense,  although  there  is  a  temple  here  and  another  there, 
as  the  wants  of  the  faithful  make  it  necessary  that  they  should  be 
multiplied,  there  is  upon  the  earth  but  one  house  of  God,  and  there 
is  but  one  temple,  properly  speaking,  and  there  never  was  more ; 
because  religion  being  a  communication  from  God  to  man,  it  must 
necessarily  be  consistent  with  itself;  and  whether  it  was  before  the 
coming  of  our  Redeemer,  or  since  His  coming,  it  never  can  be  in 
contradiction  with  one  portion  in  reference  to  another.     We  speak 


200  ARCHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

of  the  Jewish  law  and  the  Jewish  rehglon  asif  tliey  were  sometliing 
different  from  ours;  and  they  were  different  in  one  respect — differ- 
ent in  the  order  of  time — different  as  the  morning  dawn  is  distinct 
from  the  noonday  brilliancy  of  that  sun  that  shines  now  over  our 
heads.  The  Jewish  religion  was  but  the  introduction,  the  aurora, 
the  beaming  forth  to  the  world  of  a  religion,  the  promise  of  a  re- 
ligion, the  hope  of  a  religion,  which  directed  the  eye  of  the  people 
to  look  forward  to  futurity  for  the  coming  of  Him  who  was  to  be 
the  fulfilment  and  the  perfection  of  all  its  types,  figures  and  cere- 
monies ;  and  in  this  sense  it  might  be  considered  that  Christianity 
would  have  taken  the  world  by  surprise,  if  it  had  not  been  expected. 
It  was  not  like  a  heresy  that  springs  up  unanticipated  in  any  age, 
but  it  was  looked  forward  to ;  and  in  this  sense  it  may  bo  said  tliat 
the  Christian  religion  would  not  be  true  if  it  had  not  been  preceded 
by  the  Jewish,  just  as  the  Jewish  religion  had  its  truth  in  its  prom- 
ise, and  in  the  fulfilment  and  univei'sality  of  the  religion  of  Christ, 
extending  to  all  nations,  and  to  be  perpetuated  until  the  end  of 
time.  The  worship  of  the  one  religion  was  not  distinct  in  pnnciple 
from  the  worship  of  the  other,  the  only  difference  being  that  the 
Christian  faith  is  perfect,  and  the  fulness  of  divine  truth  and  the  ful- 
ness of  grace,  and  the  fulness  of  life,  are  in  actual  possession,  not  in 
anticipation,  as  they  were  before.  This  is  the  only  difference ;  and 
on  this  account — although,  for  the  necessities  of  men  scattered  as 
are  the  inhabitants  of  this  globe — it  is  essential  that  there  should  be 
a  Church  from  one  distance  to  another,  wherever  the  name  of  God 
is  known,  and  wherever  he  has  worshippers.  Nevertheless,  there  is 
but  one  Church  proper ;  and  were  it  possible  for  the  two  hundred 
millions  who  believe  in  the  communion  of  the  saints  and  in  that 
Church  to  assemble  under  one  mighty  Catholic  dome  to  receive 
them  all,  a  scattered  Church  would  not  be  necessary ;  and  if  they 
be  diversified,  it  is  only  as  regards  locality,  as  regards  time,  and  as 
regards  space ;  but  what  is  in  one  Church  is  in  all. 

There  are,  indeed,  many  speakers  to  proclaim  the  Gospel ;  but 
the  Gospel  is  one  Gospel,  and  it  has  no  contradiction  ;  and,  in  that 
one  Church  of  God  to  which  we  have  been  called,  its  voice  is  the 
voice  of  harmony,  from  the  rising  to  the  setting  of  the  sun,  and  there 
may  be  many  priests  appointed,  the  outward  ministers  of  continuing 
the  work  of  sacrifice ;  but  they  are  appointed  by  Him  who  was 
Priest  forever,  according  to  the  order  of  Melchisedech,  even  our  di- 
vine Lord.  They  are  His  representatives,  and  tlirough  them  He  is 
the  only  one,  and  tiie  only  High  Priest,  rendering  to  God  adoration 
and  sublime  honor  in  the  mysteries  of  the  Christian  sacrifice.  There 
are  many  altars,  so  to  speak,  buttliereis  but  one  victim.  There  are 
many  priests,  but  there  is  but  one  priesthood.  There  are  many 
churches,  but  there  is  only  one  Church.  There  are  many  bishops,  if 
you  will,  but  there  is  only  one  unbroken  episcopacy — Christ,  our  Sa- 
viour, being  the  Bishop  and  Pastor  of  our  souls;  and  it  is  tliis  idea 
more  than  any  other  material  glory  appertaining  to  Zion's  temple, 
which  inspired  the  royal  prophet  to  exclaim  in  exultation,  that  he 


SEKMONS.  201 

rejoiced  in  the  things  that  were  said,  that  we  sliould  "  go  into  tlie 
house  of  the  Lord;"  and  it  is  upon  this  account,  dearly  beloved 
brethren,  that  you  too  should  rejoice  upon  this  day,  in  which  you 
have  the  consolation  of  entering  for  the  first  time  into  your  enlarged 
and  improved  Church,  in  which  you  have  obtained  space  in  order 
that  more  souls  may  be  admitted  within  the  sound  of  the  everlast- 
ing word  of  truth,  and  in  sight  of  the  tabernacle  of  your  God. 

It  is  on  this  day  that  you  all  rejoice  and  sympathize  in  the  lan- 
guage of  the  inspired  writer  at  entering  into  the  house  of  the  Lord. 
I  congratulate  you  upon  the  success  of  your  undertaking.  It  is  a 
blessing  for  you,  and  it  will  be  a  blessing  for  your  children  ;  and  I 
cannot  inaugurate,  so  to  speak,  the  improvements  you  have  made, 
more  fitly,  than  by  exhorting  you  to  conceive  rightly  of  that 
great  eternal  temj^le  which  is  the  Catholic  Church  of  God.  If 
there  be  but  one  God,  there  can  be  but  one  religion.  If  you 
admitted  two  Gods — a  confliction  of  two  supreme  and  eternal 
beings — if  you  were  subject  to  such  an  absurd  error  as  this — oh, 
then,  you  can  easily  conceive  as  a  consequence,  that  each  God  would 
have  his  own  religion,  and  that  there  would  be  contradiction ;  but 
if  there  be  but  one  God,  as  your  faith  teaches,  then  you  know  that 
from  His  adorable  lips  but  one  truth  can  have  emanated ;  and  if  there 
be  but  one  Saviour,  who  established  the  Church,  then  you  know  that 
no  other  has  had  a  right  at  any  time  to  establish  another  Church  in 
opposition  to  His,  unless  that  other  one  should  claim  power  from 
some  other  Deity,  distinct  from  Him  who  came  to  be  the  ransom 
and  the  teacher  of  mankind. 

Cherish,  then,  dearly  beloved  brethren,  cherish  that  high  and  holy 
appreciation  of  the  grace  of  Almighty  God,  which  called  you  to  the 
communion  of  that  one  universal  and  eternal  and  holy  temple,  your 
own  Church.  Knowing  that  it  was  His  mercy  and  His  favor  that 
called  you,  in  preference  to  so  many  others,  who  are  either  left  in 
darkness,  infidelity,  and  paganism,  or  who,  even  in  the  partial  light  of 
Christianity,  have  turned  away  from  the  living  waters  of  eternal 
life,  and  attempt  to  dig  cisterns  for  themselves,  which  were  not 
competent  to  contain  water,  cling  to  that  eternal  rock,  cherish  it, 
and  impress  upon  your  children  a  just  appreciation  of  it.  Teach 
them  to  be  Catholics,  and  well-instructed  Catholics.  Teach  them  to 
practise  their  religion,  and  let  the  first  holy  lesson  of  the  Christian 
mother  to  her  child  be,  to  pronounce  the  name  of  the  adorable  Trin- 
ity, and  making  the  sign  of  the  Cross — the  first  great  act  of  public 
profession  of  belief  and  participation  in  the  membership  of  that  one 
Church,  the  prospect  of  which  through  hundreds  and  thousands  of 
years  so  dazzled  the  eye  of  the  royal  prophet,  that  he  breaks  forth  as 
if  unconscious  almost,  but  in  the  ardor  of  his  spirit  as  one  enchanted 
and  enraptured  by  the  view,  in  the  exulting  language  which  I  have 
employed,  "  I  have  rejoiced  in  the  things  that  were  said  to  me. 
We  shall  go  into  the  house  of  the  Lord."  Let  it  be  to  you,  dearly 
beloved  brethren,  the  "  house  of  the  Lord ;"  hearken  to  what  God 
will  say  to  you  through  the  voice  of  His  ministers,  in  this  place ; 


202  ARCHBISHOP  HUGHE8. 

and  if  you  will  make  your  necessities  known  to  your  God,  He  is 
here — He  will  be  here.  He  has  vouchsafed  and  condescended 
to  make  His  abode  amongst  men,  and  it  is  upon  this  altar  that 
you  can  present  your  petitions,  and  through  the  merits  of  Christ, 
who  shed  His  blood  upon  Cavalry,  and  who  is  to  be  daily  mys- 
tically immolated  upon  this  altar — you  will  obtain  every  benefit 
of  soul  and  body  which  God  will  deem  expedient  for  your  ultimate 
sanctitication. 

Let  me  exhort  you,  then,  to  put  away,  for  all  future  time,  every 
species  of  disagreement  among  yourselves.  I  know  there  have  been 
times  when  a  discontented  spirit,  to  a  certain  extent,  prevailed  in 
this  congregation.  I,  rejoice  that  these  times  have  passed  away,  and 
that  you  have  seen  how  expedient  it  was  that  you  should  hearken  to 
the  legitimate  authority  of  that  one  Church  to  which  you  are  so 
proud  and  so  happy  to  belong.  Cherish  that  spirit.  Nothing  in 
the  Church  of  God  can  be  carried  by  force,  nothing  by  contention, 
nothing  by  strife,  but  every  thing  by  equal  and  impartial  justice  to- 
wards all — every  thing  by  the  spirit  of  meekness,  by  the  spirit  of 
patience,  and  by  that  spirit  which  indicates  that  God  rules  in  the 
hearts  of  those  who  profess  to  be  His  adorers.  Let  this  be  your  reso- 
lution from  this  day  forward,  and  many  untold  blessings  will  be  im- 
parted to  you  by  Almighty  God.  Through  the  medium  of  your  re- 
ligion, untold  blessings  will  descend  to  your  children,  and  they  will 
be  brought  up  in  the  fulness  of  Christian  faith.  Christian  piety,  and 
Christian  order.  They  will  be  a  comfort  to  you  while  they  are  yet 
children,  and  that  same  religion  which  you  will  have  taken  pains  to 
inculcate  in  their  minds,  when  you  become  advanced  in  life,  will 
come  back  to  you  in  the  affection,  in  the  support,  and  in  the  kind- 
ness which  these  childi*en,  when  grown  up,  and  when  you  shall  be 
in  the  decline  of  life,  will  exhibit  to  you.  But  if  you  allow  them  to 
grow  up  without  a  knowledge  of  religion,  you  need  not  be  surprised 
if  one  day  they  will  turn  you  from  beneath  that  roof  under  which 
you  had  neglected  to  impress  upon  them  their  obligations  to  God, 
their  obligations  to  society,  their  obligations  to  their  parents  and  to 
themselves.  The  one  Church  is  the  universal  school,  in  which  God 
inculcates,  through  the  outward  organization  of  the  ministers  of  His 
Church,  those  lessons  so  beneficial  to  man  so  long  as  he  is  upon  this 
earth,  and  so  important  to  him  in  view  of  his  eternal  destiny  in  the 
world  that  is  to  come. 

Cherish  these  doctrines,  dearly  beloved  brethren.  To-day  let 
your  hearts  rise  and  expand  in  holy  gratitude  to  God,  who  has  ena- 
bled you  to  accompUsh  this  undertaking.  Chant  His  praises ;  and, 
if  you  have  favors  to  ask — and,  no  doubt,  the  consciousness  of  hu- 
man imperfections  will  impress  upon  you  that  you  stand  in  need  of 
them — ask  them  in  humility,  prayer,  and  union,  with  the  sacrifice 
which  is  to  be  offered  upon  this  altar,  and  ask  the  divine  Victim,  to 
appeal  to  His  eternal  Father  for  mercy  towards  us.  It  is  thus  that 
you  will  internally,  as  well  as  externally,  consecrate  your  Church  to 
God,  that  is,  consecrate  your  own  hearts — consecrate  your  affec- 


EKMONS.  203 

tions — for,  says  the  Holy  Spirit,  you  are  the  temples  of  the  Holy 
Ghost ;  and,  of  course,  you,  and  each  one  of  you,  is  infinitely  more 
precious  than  tens  of  thousands  of  churches  like  this,  as  a  mere  ma- 
terial structure.  Let  all,  then,  be  consecrated  to  God  this  day. 
Let  this  be  the  commencement  of  a  long  period  in  which  religion 
will  prosper  in  this  church — in.  which  piety  will  be  extended — in 
which  the  old  and  the  young  will  all  blend  together  harmoniously, 
their  voice  of  gratitude  and  their  voice  of  prayer  towards  God, 
who  has  favored  their  undertaking,  and  this  day  crowned  it  with 
success. 


SERMON  ON  THE  OCCASION  OF  THE  CONSE- 
CRATION OF  ST.  JOHN'S  CHURCH,  PHILA- 
DELPHIA, MAY  22d,  1853. 

Consecration  is  the  act  of  separating  from  profane  or  common 
use  something  to  be  appropriated,  by  prayer,  ceremonies,  and  the 
benediction  of  the  Church,  to  the  worship  of  Almighty  God.  Fi'om 
the  beginning  it  was  appointed,  by  divine  ordinance,  that  places, 
vessels,  instruments  to  be  used  in  the  divine  service,  should  be  set 
apart  with  special  blessing  as  consecrated.  The  idea  on  which  this 
divine  institution  is  made  appreciable  to  us,  is  that,  by  original 
sin,  man  himself  had  fallen  from  primitive  sanctity — that  is,  from  the 
habitual  consecration  in  which  he  had  been  created — and  that 
all  other  creatures,  animate  and  inanimate,  destined  for  his  use, 
had,  in  their  several  degrees,  partaken  of  the  malediction  pronounced 
against  him  in  consequence  of  his  fall;  and  further,  that  the -re- 
moval of  this  species  of  interdict,  whether  from  man  himseltj  or  from 
the  beings  and  things  destined  for  his  use,  was  to  be  effected  through 
the  merits  of  the  Redeemer  and  the  ministry  of  grace,  of  which  He 
is  the  source  and  the  fountain. 

Hence,  under  the  new  law,  when  the  consecration  regards  man 
himselti  it  is  accomplished  through  the  medium  of  the  sacraments ; 
and  thus  all  the  members  of  the  Church  are  taken  from  the  ranks  of 
those  upon  whom  the  primitive  sentence  was  still  incumbent,  and 
are  consecrated  to  God  by  baptism.  When  the  consecration  appertains 
to  temples,  or  sacred  places,  or  altars,  it  is  effected  through  the  es- 
pecial benedictions  of  the  Church.  Persons  untrained  in  the  knowl- 
edge of  Catholic  doctrines,  are  sometimes  confounded  in  their 
thoughts  by  these  sacred  lights  and  ceremonies,  and  it  occurs  to 
them  not  uufrequently  to  inquire  whether  or  not  inanimate  things 
can  be  made,  in  any  sense,  partakers  of  an  attribute  which  is  piimi- 
tively  and  essentially  peculiar  to  God  Himself — that  is,  holiness. 
.  They  imagine  that  the  Holy  Scriptures  give  no  sanction  to  such  an 


204  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

idea  and  yet  our  blessed  Lord  (Matt.  vii.  6)  says  :  "  Give  not  holy 
things  to  dogs ;"  and  in  the  twenty-third  cliapter,  seventeenth  verse, 
he  interrogates  the  Pharisees  as  to  wl)ich  is  the  greater,  the  gold 
offered  in  the  temple,  or  the  temple  which  sanctifies  the  gold ;  the 
gift  placed  on  tlie  altar,  or  the  altar  which  sanctifies  the  gift.  In 
the  twenty-seventli  chapter,  fifty-third  verse  of  the  same  Gospel, 
as  well  as  in  the  Apocalypse  and  in  the  ancient  Testament,  Jerusa- 
lem is  called  the  Holy  City  ;  and  St.  Peter  (2d  Ep.  i.  13),  speaking 
of  the  mountain  on  which  the  transfiguration  of  our  Lord  took  place, 
calls  it  the  Holy  Mountain.  St.  Paul  (1st  Ep.  Tim.  iv.  4)  desig- 
nates Christians,  in  general,  as  Saints,  not  because  of  their  individual 
virtues,  but  because  they  have  been  consecrated  to  God  by  baptism. 
He  reminds  them  that  their  bodies  and  members  are  temples  of  the 
Holy  Ghost.     (1st  Ep.  Cor.  vi.  19.) 

We  may  consider,  then,  that  this  creation,  with  man  as  its  sovei*- 
eign,  coming  originally  from  the  will  and  by  the  word  of  Almighty 
God,  was  essentially  the  proper  temple  for  the  celebration  of  this 
divine  worship ;  because  so  long  as  man  remained  in  subjection  and 
obedience  to  his  Creator  he  was  pure,  and  fitted  to  be  the  inter- 
preter and  high-priest  of  the  entire  visible  creation. 

By  the  fall  of  our  first  parents,  every  thing  was  changed.  Man 
had  voluntarily  subjected  himself  to  the  dominion  of  sin.  His  Crea- 
tor denounced  against  him  the  penalty  of  death,  both  as  regai'ded 
his  soul  and  his  body.  The  very  earth,  and  air,  and  elements,  and 
to  a  certain  extent,  the  living  creatures  which  had  been  made  for 
his  use,  were  changed  into  instruments  of  trial  for  him,  as  if  they  had 
all  partaken  of  his  crime.  Hope  only  remained,  the  promise  of  a  Mes- 
siah was  given,  and  that  Messiah  was  to  stand  in  the  midst  of  this 
fallen  universe  as  the  Redeemer,  High  Priest,  and  Restorer  of  all 
that  should  be  saci'ed. 

We  are  not  to  conceive  of  the  Christian  religion  as  having  had  its 
origin  from  the  commencement  of  what  is  called  the  Chi-istian 
Church.  The  true  religion  under  the  patriarchs,  and  as  specifically 
established  among  the  Jewish  people,  was  also  the  religion  of  Christ, 
according  to  the  order  of  time,  and  as  preparatory  for  His  coming. 
It  abounded  in  rites,  ceremonies,  and  sacrifice,  and  through  His 
ministers  alone,  they  were  rendered  acceptable  to  God.  In  the  va- 
rious rites  of  benediction,  dedication,  consecration,  and  sacrifice,  all 
was  rendered  agreeable  to  God,  through  the  merits  of  the  Saviour 
of  the  world. 

When  He  came  on  earth,  however — when  the  Word  Avas  made 
flesh,  and  dwelt  among  us.  He  imparted  the  reality  to  what  had 
been  hitherto  but  the  figure  of  true  and  divine  worship.  Hence, 
the  institution  of  the  Sacraments,  by  which  individual  souls  ai'e 
gathered  into  the  fold  of  truth,  and  consecrated  to  God ;  and  hence, 
being  constituted  into  one  sheepfold  under  one  Shepherd,  the  va- 
rious sacramental  institutions  by  which  the  divine  life  is  preserved, 
nurtured,  and  increased  into  the  perfection  of  sanctity ;  and  hence, 
too,  even  as  regards  inanimate  things,  the  divine  institution  of  dedi- 


ERM0N8.  "^  205 

eating,  blessing,  and  consecrating  even  inanimate  things,  so  as  "  that 
they  also  shall  acquire,  not  an  intrinsic,  but  a  relative  sanctity,  re- 
sulting from  the  sacred  purposes  for  which  they  are  set  apart." 
Among  them  the  Christian  Church  or  temple  necessarily  holds  the 
first  place.  After  the  consecration,  the  ground  on  which  it  stands 
is  no  longer  profane  or  common  earth,  but  sacred  as  the  precincts  of 
the  burning  bush,  which  Moses  saw  on  the  mountains. 

Now  the  sanctity  of  the  temple  is  but  in  the  order  of  means  to  an 
end.  The  temple  has  reference  to  the  sanctuary,  the  sanctuary  to 
the  altai-,  the  altar  to  the  sacrifice  that  is  offered  upon  it,  the  sacri- 
fice to  Jesus  Christ,  who  is  at  once  the  high-priest  and  victim, 
restoring  to  God  the  supreme  homage  of  which  original  and  actual  sin 
had  deprived  Him.  Certainly,  man,  even  if  he  had  persevered  in  in- 
nocence, could  not  have  been  capable  of  rendering  to  his  Creator  a 
worship  so  worthy  of  divine  acceptance ;  and  regarding  the  subject 
under  -this  light,  the  Church  in  her  ofiices  of  Holy  Saturday  does 
not  hesitate  to  make  use  of  the  words,  that  the  fault  of  our  first  pa- 
rents was  a  happy  fault,  since  it  gave  occasion  to  such  and  so  great 
a  Redeemer  and  Mediator  between  God  and  man. 

If  we  look  to  the  grounds  on  which  the  Church  is  justified  in  using 
language  like  this,  we  shall  find  them  in  the  institution  for  which 
our  Christian  temples  are  constructed — namely,  and  principally,  the 
sacrifice  of  man,  and  the  administration  of  the  sacraments. 

To  appreciate  this  properly,  we  must  regai'd  our  divine  Saviour 
as  having  o^ered  Himself  a  propitiation  for  the  sins  of  the  world. 
If  He  olfered  Himself,  then  was  He  a  priest ;  and  this  the  Holy 
Scriptures  assure  us,  when  they  designate  Him,  as  by  an  especial 
title,  "  a  priest  forever,  according  to  the  order  of  Melchisedech." 
If  He  offered  Himself,  then  was  he  also  a  victim  as  well  as  a  priest ; 
and  being  thus  both  priest  and  victim,  being  at  the  same  time  God 
and  Man,  He  was  necessarily  competent  to  restore  fallen  humanity 
to  its  lost  inheritance,  and,  at  the  same  time,  to  make  adequate  rep- 
aration in  the  divine  as  well  as  in  the  human  ministry,  which  He 
exercised.  For  the  offerings  even  of  Adam,  in  the  days  of  his 
innocence,  would  have  been  simply  those  of  a  sinless  human  being, 
but  then  human  only.  Next,  the  victim  w^hich  he  might  offer 
would  necessarily  be  a  purely  human  victim ;  and  there  would  be 
between  the  Godhead  adored  and  the  mode  or  the  means  of  adora- 
tion an  infinite  disparity ;  whereas,  when  His  own  beloved  Son,  in  whom 
He  was  well  pleased,  took  upon  Himself  the  ministry  of  reconcilia- 
tion, our  humanity,  by  virtue  of  the  incarnation  in  the  person  of 
Christ,  acquired  the  attributes  of  infinite  perfection  appertaining 
to  the  Divinity  itself,  so  that  the  victim  thus  provided  was  in  all 
respects,  worthy  of  the  acceptance  of  God.  And  the  same  is  to  be 
said  of  the  High  Priest,  who  made  and  offered  Himself  that  victim 
for  reparation  of  the  Divine  honor,  outraged  by  the  sins  of  me;i,  and 
for  this  reconciliation  with  their  Creator.  Hence,  the  consecration 
of  the  Church  is  relative  and  subordinate  to  the  offering  of  the  sac- 
rifice ;  and  the  offering  of  the  sacrifice  is  in  the  order  of  supreme. 


206  ARCHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

divine  adoration,  as  appointed  by  our  blessed  Saviour,  when,  after 
the  institution  of  this  sacrifice.  He  appointed  a  priesthood  to  con- 
tinue it,  saying,  "Do  this  in  commemoration  of  me  !" 

It  is  hardly  necessary  that  I  should  proceed  to  inform  you  that 
this,  and  this  alone,  is  supreme,  divine  adoration ;  that  in  this, 
the  victim  and  the  priest  are  no  other  than  our  blessed  Lord  Him- 
self; that  we,  who  are  appointed  as  His  ministers,  in  every  act  of 
religion,  but  especially  in  the  act  of  offering  the  sacrifice  of  the  Mass, 
understand  that  we  are  but  his  ambassadors  or  agents,  performing 
outwardly  and  in  His  name  the  functions  of  divine  adoration  to  which 
He  gives  true,  intrinsic  efficacy.  It  is  true  that  there  are  in  the 
Church  many  priests,  and  many  temples,  and  many  altars ;  but  it  is 
equally  true,  that  there  is,  properly  speaking,  but  one  altar,  one  vic- 
tim, one  priesthood,  one  sacrifice,  of  which  the  Redeemer  of  the 
world  is  Himself  the  invisible,  supreme,  and  eternal  Pontiff. 

Nor  is  it  to  be  supposed  that  this  sacrifice  is  to  be  restricted  to 
the  death  of  our  Redeemer  on  the  cross.  No  doubt,  its  origin  and 
efficacy  are  derived  from  and  connected  with  the  immolation  on 
Mount  Calvary.  But  in  the  fifth  chapter  of  the  Apocalypse,  the 
Apostle  St.  John  describes  the  vision  of  the  altar  in  heaven,  and  the 
Lamb  thereon  offered  as  a  victim,  and  surrounding  priests  with 
all  the  appurtenances  of  a  sacrifice.  If  it  be  said  that  spiritual  vic- 
tims are  all  that  we  can  offer,  namely,  thanksgivings,  prayer,  and 
the  praises  of  God,  the  answer  is  obvious,  that  these  are  dispositions 
of  spirit  universally  approved  and  recognized.  But  they  are  abso- 
lutely distinct  from  the  sacrifices  which  the  Scriptures  record  of 
Abel,  Noe,  Abraham,  Job,  and  the  Jews,  who,  whilst  they  cherished 
those  dispositions,  offered  also  in  an  outward  and  sensible  manner 
sacrifices  to  God.  Nay,  it  is  manifest  that  all  their  sacrifices  had 
reference  to  the  real  Victim,  described  in  the  book  of  the  Apoca- 
lypse (xiii,  18),  the  Lamb  slain  from  the  commencement  of  the 
world. 

According  to  the  teaching  of  St.  Paul,  all  the  ancient  rites  of  sac- 
rifice are  called  by  that  name  only  because  they  related  to  the  only 
high-priest  and  victim,  Jesus  Christ.  To  His  mediation  and  to 
His  ministry  their  eyes  and  their  hopes  were  directed  by  the  whole 
ceremonial  of  the  Jewish  law.  They  were  symbols  of  hope  and  of 
faith,  having  reference  to  a  future  reality,  which  we  now  possess. 
And  hence,  St.  Paul  already  says,  in  comparing  the  Christian  altar 
to  the  Jewish  (Heb.  xiii.  10),  "We  have  an  altar  of  which  they  can- 
not partake  who  serve  in  the  tabernacle." 

The  ground  of  the  error  which  rejects  the  sublime  doctrine  of  the 
sacrifice  of  the  Mass  in  the  Christian  Church,  is  the  refusal  on  the 
part  of  those  who  are  separated  from  her  communion  to  recognize 
the  real  presence  of  Christ  in  the  Eucharist.  But  if  there  be  one 
article  of  Christian  doctrine  which  can  be  proved  beyond  reasonable 
objection  from  the  naked  expressions  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  it  is 
the  particular  doctrine  of  the  real  presence. 


SERMONS.  207 


SERMON  ON  THE  OCCASION  OF  LAYING-  THE 
CORNER-STONE  OF  THE  CHURCH  OF  OUR 
LADY  OF  IMMACULATE  CONCEPTION,  STAR 
OF  THE  SEA,  BROOKLYN,  N.  Y.,  JULY  17,  1853. 

My  Dear  Bkethren — I  can  have  no  hope  that  my  voice  will  be 
able  to  reach  the  boundaries  of  an  assemblage  as  large  as  this  which 
I  see  before  and  around  me.  With  silence  on  your  part,  the  few 
words  which  I  have  to  address  you  may  be  heard  to  a  certain  dis- 
tance ;  but  if  there  should  be  the  least  disturbance,  it  will  be  im- 
possible for  you  to  hear  me,  although  I  sliould  wish  my  voice  to  be 
trumpet-loud,  that  you  might  know  the  sentiments  which  this  aus- 
picious occasion  has  awakened.  Who  will  say  henceforth  that  the 
love  of  God,  the  faith  of  God's  Church,  the  zeal  for  His  glory,  are 
diminished  on  the  soil  of  freedom  and  liberty  ?  Who  will  dare  to 
say  so,  seeing  as  I  see  such  a  multitude  of  people  as  now  surrounds 
me  ?  And  what,  dearly  beloved  brethren,  what  has  brought  you  to 
this  scene  ?  Was  it  mere  curiosity  ?  No  doubt  some  may  have 
been  attracted  even  by  curiosity  to  come  here,  but  who  knows 
whether  they  shall  not  carry  away  with  them  something  more  solid, 
something  more  advantageous  to  themselves,  than  the  gratification 
of  an  appetite  for  novelty.  We  have  just  laid  the  corner-stone  of  a 
Church,  not  a  temple,  tor  the  Pagans  had  temples,  but  we  have 
none.  We  have  a  Church  composed  of  many  buildings,  if  you  will, 
of  many  multitudes,  if  you  will,  but  still  only  one  Church,  neither 
more  nor  less  ;  and  therefore  this  is  not  the  laying  the  corner-stone  of  a 
new  temple,  or  a  mere  temple  of  worship.  It  is  that,  if  you  will,  but 
it  is  more :  it  is  part  of  the  universal  and  everlasting  Church  which 
Jesus  Christ  founded  on  earth,  and  which  is  called  the  Catholic 
Church.  It  is  one  Church  ;  the  worshippers  in  that  one  Church  be- 
ing of  various  lineage,  various  climates,  various  colors  and  complex- 
ions even,  but  still  the  people  of  one  divine,  universal,  and  eter- 
nal Church.  And  if  there  could  be,  by  possibility,  an  edifice  on 
earth  capacious  enough  to  hold  them  all — one  single  Church — they 
would  find  themselves  perfectly  in  harmony  as  to  every  rite  of  wor- 
ship, and  a  second  Church  would  not  be  necessary. 

Such,  dearly  beloved  brethren,  is  the  thought  awakened  in  my 
mind  by  the  circumstances  of  this  occasion,  in  which  it  would  seem 
as  if  every  thing  co-operated  to  make  it  one  of  the  most  solemn,  one 
of  tlie  most  stirring  instances  of  Catholic  zeal  that  has  been  wit- 
nessed, I  will  not  say  simply  in  the  city  of  Brooklyn,  but  I  will  say 
in  the  archdiocese  of  New  York.  For  though  I  have  been  present 
on  many  similar  occasions — ceremonies  of  laying  corner-stones — I 
confess  I  have  seen  nothing  before  that  has  approximated  to  the 


208  AECIIBISHOP  HUGHES. 

ideal  of  the  solemnity  of  such  a  ceremony,  or  to  be  compared  with 
what  I  now  witness,  and  with  what  is  around  me.  And  what,  dearly 
beloved  brethren,  is  the  meaning  of  all  this  ?  Oh,  I  infer  from  it  a 
glorious  m'eaning ;  I  infer  from  it  that  no  change  of  skies,  no  transi- 
tion from  one  place  to  another,  can,  by  possibility,  destroy  or  di- 
minish in  the  heart  of  the  Catholic  the  feeling  of  love  which  he  has 
for  his  God,  and  the  feeling  of  zeal  which  he  has  for  his  religion. 
The  more  that  religion  is  persecuted  on  earth,  the  dearer  it  becomes 
to  him ;  and  hence,  sometimes  the  attempt  is  made  to  account  for 
Catholic  zeal,  where  Protestant  governments  attempt  to  crush  and 
persecute  our  religion.  But  there  is  nothing  of  the  kind  here  ;  we 
are  as  free  as  all  the  rest — as  free  as  the  Mormons,  as  free  as  the 
Presbyterian,  as  free  as  the  Methodist,  as  free  as  any  people  who 
call  themselves  by  any  name.  And,  in  the  absence  of  all  persecu- 
tion, why  is  it  that  such  a  multitude,  such  a  sea  of  upturned  faces, 
present  themselves  here  before  me  to-day  ?  Why  is  it  ?  Because 
of  the  instinct  of  Catholic  faith,  the  divine  instinct  communicated  in 
its  germ  in  baptism,  and  which  abides  in  the  hearts  of  those  who 
have  been  baptized  ;  because,  although  we,  you  and  I,  are  but  the 
beings  of  a  day,  still  we  do  not  separate  ourselves  from  our  ances- 
tors in  the  faith  for  eighteen  hundred  years  who  have  passed  away, 
nor  are  we  separated  from  our  successors  in  the  faith  for  eighteen 
hundred  years  to  come.  Who  will  limit  the  time  ?  Through  all 
ages  of  the  world  in  which  our  successors  may  still  preach  the  same 
everlasting  doctrines  of  truth  which  the  Son  of  God  originally 
communicated  to  His  Apostles,  and  through  them  to  the  whole 
world. 

That  is  the  meaning  of  your  assemblage  to-day ;  and  I  regard 
this,  for  my  own  part,  as  a  most  auspicious  and  consoling  occasion. 
It  seems  as  if  every  thing  had  conspired  to  make  this  a  bright  and 
glorious  day  for  the  Catholics  of  Brooklyn — and  of  Brooklyn  alone 
shall  I  say  ?  No ;  but  of  the  Catholics  of  New  York,  and  of  the 
Catholics  of  the  United  States,  aye,  and  the  Catholics  of  Europe,  if 
they  ever  shall  know  of  this.  It  is  a  glorious  day  for  them  all — and 
why  ?  Because  of  the  evidence  of  such  zeal  as  yours,  because  of  the 
smiling  countenance  of  God  Himself  on  this  occasion ;  for  do  you 
not  see  how  beautifully  God  has  adapted  the  season  and  the  day  to 
such  an  occasion?  The  sun  in  his  glory  shines  in  the  west,  and  the 
moon  (pointing  to  the  heavens)  is  there,  borrowing,  by  anticipation, 
her  own  pure  light  reflected  back.  It  is  an  occasion  on  which  Na- 
ture, the  field,  the  ocean,  the  air,  and  light  and  shade,  all  contribute 
to  crown,  as  I  may  say,  the  spirit,  the  zeal,  the  fervor,  and  the  faith 
which  have  brought  so  many  of  you  here  on  this  auspicious  oc- 
casion. 

But  I  have  another  observation  to  make,  and  it  is  this:  that  we — 
you  and  I,  Catholic  brethren — live  in  an  age  in  which  there  is  a 
tendency  abroad  to  dispute  every  thing,  from  the  existence  of  God 
Himself  downwards.  And  those  who  do  not  recognize  the  com- 
munion of  saints  have  become  stupid  dupes  of  spiritual  rappers,  and 


SERMONS.  209 

all  such  things ;  and  you  must  preserve  the  faith  for  them  and  for 
their  posterity.  You  are  the  guardians,  you  are  the  repositories  of 
the  truth.  Though  they  yield  to  these  astonishing  deceptions,  let 
them  see  by  the  steadiness,  the  nobleness,  the  consistency,  the  order, 
and  the  mind  which  has  inliuenced  the  Catholic  faith.  Let  them 
see,  I  say,  and  compare  these  with  their  deceptions.  They  call 
themselves  strong-minded  people.  They  are  philosophers  for  the 
most  part.  What  kind  of  philosophy  is  theirs? — given  up  to  a 
superstition  of  that  kind.  And  that  is  but  one — for  there  are  ten 
thousand  others  ;  and  the  only  circumstance  entitling  it  even  to 
notice  is,  that  it  is  the  most  recent,  and  the  one  now  most  in  vogue. 
They  would  not  believe  in  the  intercession  of  the  saints  of  God, 
reigning  with  him,  for  their  own  brethren  on  earth,  but  they  believe 
in  the  noise  of  rappings.  They  can  believe  in  that ;  and  the  next 
hour  they  may  be  looking  at  you,  for  instance,  and  will  say: 
"What  a  superstitious  multitude!  Poor  ignorant  creatures."  Have 
you  ever  been  gulled  by  such  absurdities  ?  Has  any  Catholic  ever 
been  kept  under  the  influence  of  the  man  who  preached  the  second 
coming,  whose  name  is  Miller?  In  a  word,  Christian  brethren,  are 
you  not  the  repository  of  a  steady,  universal,  eternal,  divine  faith, 
which  will  become  at  length  the  landmark  for  the  guidance  of  the 
human  mind,  of  a  great  portion  of  this  great  American  people,  who 
are  now,  for  want  of  it,  ready  to  go  to  the  right  or  to  the  left,  just 
as  the  most  recent  deceiver  shall  have  abused  their  easy  credulity  ? 
That  is  your  office,  and  I  have  no  doubt  that  God  himself,  even  in 
this  day,  bestows  on  you  the  grace  to  discharge  this  dutj'  as  time 
will  advance  and  opportunity  ir^ay  serve.  It  is  not  merely  in  the 
ai'dor  which  you  have  manifested,  it  is  not  merely  in  the  multitude 
which  you  have  crowded  around  this  platform,  but  it  is  still  more 
in  that  abiding  principle  of  truth  recognized  and  believed,  not  by 
caprice,  but  by  faith,  that  I  see  this  result.  Oh !  that  faith  in  the 
Catholic  Church  !  Oh !  that  glorious  faith,  from  the  presence  of 
which  opinions  shrink  away  like  the  mists  of  the  morning  before  the 
rising  sun  !  Oh !  that  faith  of  everlasting  truth,  one  and  the  same, 
universal  and  existing  through  all  time,  because  it  is  the  Word,  the 
declaration  from  the  lips  of  God  himself,  and  therefore  cannot  be  a 
deception.  This  is  your  faith,  and  this  is  my  explanation  of  the 
reason  why  you  have  assembled  here  to-day.  For  what  purpose  ?' 
To  raise  a  temple.  I  have  explained  the  meaning  of  temple.  Call 
it  rather  a  wing  of  the  one  universal  Catholic  Church,  a  mere  little 
sacristy,  a  portion,  an  outlet,  an  enlargement  of  that  one  edifice 
which  constitutes  the  universal  Church  of  our  divine  Saviour.  This- 
is  the  object  for  which  we  have  assembled.  And  there  is  one  cir- 
cumstance which  I  will  refer  to  as  calculated  to  inspire  still  more 
your  zeal,  not  only  at  the  commencement,  but  till  the  crowning; 
stone  and  the  completion  of  this  great  work — and  it  is  this.  But» 
oh  !  why  may  I  not  require  that  an  angel  should  touch  and  purify 
my  lips  before  I  refer  to  it  ?  It  is,  that  in  this  country  and  else- 
where, the  divinity  of  Jesus  Christ  is  denied ;  and,  in  pi'oportion  as- 
Vol.  II.— 14 


210  AECHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

the  enemies  of  the  faith  multiply  their  blasphemies  against  God  and 
against  His  Church,  in  the  same  proportion  does  the  Catholic  Church 
ever  stand  out  firmly  and  strongly  against  every  approach  to  such 
an  apostacy.  Hence  it  is  that  we  know  and  profess  Jesus  Christ  to 
be  God  and  man.  He  is  God  from  eternity,  the  second  Person  in 
the  blessed  Trinity.  He  is  man  born  in  time,  conceived  by  the 
power  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  the  womb  of  the  Virgin,  and  that  Vir- 
gir)'s  name  is  Mary.  And  the  Catholic  Church  has  ever  taught,  and 
has  ever  held,  that  Mary,  being  the  mother  of  God,  though  in  one 
sense  the.  child  of  Eve — Eve's  daughter — yet,  as  she  was  to  be  the 
mother  of  God  incarnate,  He  had  preserved  her  immaculate,  un- 
touched by  the  stain  and  the  defilement  of  original  sin.  And 
hence  the  Clmrch,  from  the  beginning,  has  always  been  accustomed 
to  regard  Mary,  the  mother  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  as  conceived 
without  sin.  And  now,  so  far  as  I  know,  these  rude  foundations  are 
the  first  that  have  ever  been  laid  on  this  continent  in  attestation  of 
that  conviction,  and  faith,  and  feeling  of  the  Catholic  Church.  And 
this  Church  is  to  be  a  Church  dedicated,  when  completed,  to  the 
ever  blessed  Virgin  Mary ;  for,  though  only  a  human  creature  her- 
self, yet,  as  the  mother  of  the  Son  of  God,  the  Saviour  Jesus  Christ, 
conceived  without  the  slightest  stain  of  original  guilt,  surely,  Chris- 
tians, surely  the  title  of  this  Church  will  not  be  a  hindrance  to  your 
zeal  in  aiding  in  the  prosecution  of  the  work  till  its  completion.  On 
the  contrary,  I  can  have  no  doubt  that  wherever  the  Catholic  faith 
is  strong  in  the  hearts  of  men,  the  very  idea  of  leaving  only  one 
proof,  as  a  testimony  to  that  ancient  conviction  and  feeling  of  the 
Catholic  people  in  honor  of  that  sacred  mystery,  will  be  an  encour- 
agement, and  that  you  will  stand  by  this  undertaking.  You,  who  are 
Catholics  of  Brooklyn,  without  exception,  this  church  is  yours. 
You  have  others  already ;  but  you  will  want  more,  even  after  this  is 
completed.  By  what  do  you  stand  ?  Oh,  by  your  faith,  by  one 
another,  priest  by  priest,  and  man  by  man.  Whenever  occurs  any 
great  undertaking  like  this,  commenced  and  completed  especially 
under  auspices  so  felicitous  as  those  of  this  day,  you  will  not  rest 
'till  you  see  the  work  either  entirely  completed,  or  at  least  so  far  ac- 
•complished  as  to  be  beyond  the  range  of  possible  disappointment. 
I  am  astonished  to-day  myself,  to  see  the  multitude  here  around 
me — the  aged,  and  those  in  middle  life,  and  the  young — and  I  am 
delighted  that  in  the  neighborhood  even  of  this  great  city  of 
'Brooklyn,  there  are  some  fifteen  hundred  children  looking  on,  and 
in  the  innocence  of  their  life,  and  in  the  ardor  of  their  young  faith, 
raising  their  voices  to  God,  in  hope  that  this  work  shall  be  com- 
pleted, and  that  every  other  work  to  His  glory  shall  be  completed. 
Fifteen  hundred  children,  this  17th  day  of  July,  1853!  and  yet  I 
remember  the  period  when  in  this  city  of  Brooklyn,  great  as  it  has 
become,  great  as  it  is,  but  still  greater,  if  it  were  not  to  some  extent 
overshadowed  by  the  neighboring  city — I  say,  I  remember  the  time 
when  a  jpriest  came  to  Brooklyn  once  a  month,  and  said  Mass  in  a 
a'oom,  or  -some  private  corner,  to  the  few — some  ten,  or  a  dozen 


SERMONS.  211 

perhaps — of  Catholics  found  here.  And  now,  what  a  spectacle  is 
around  me  !  I  ask  you,  then,  dearly  beloved  brethren,  to  cherish 
the  sentiment  I  have  endeavored  to  impress  upon  your  mind  first ; 
but  I  ask  you  again,  are  you  prepared — on  the  right  hand  and  on 
the  left — before  me  and  all  around — ai-e  you  all  prepared  to  stand 
by  this  great  work  till  it  is  accomplished?  [Several  voices  an- 
swered, "  Yes,  yes,  we  are  ready  and  willing."]  Very  MXill,  your 
word  is  enough ;  when  you  say  it  I  know  you  will  do  it.  And 
when  this  church  is  completed,  the  church  itself  must  be  tributary 
to  another  church,  and  that  to  another,  and  that  to  another — so  I 
shall  put  no  limits  to  church  building  on  this  Long  Island  or  any- 
where else.  And  now,  my  dear  brethren,  I  had  no  intention  of  de- 
taining you  so  long  when  I  began,  because  I  am  exceedingly  weak ; 
my  chest  is  weak;  and  I  do  not  know  that  it  would  be  possible  for 
me  to  have  spoken  on  any  other  occasion  ;  but  I  could  not — such 
has  been  the  power  of  this  scene  over  my  feelings — resist  the  effort 
at  least.  And  if  I  have  not  corresponded  either  to  my  own  desires 
or  to  your  expectations,  I  know  you  will  kindly  and  indulgently  ac- 
count for  it.  And  now  I  will  give  you,  as  Catholics,  the  Episcopal 
benediction  with  the  fullness  of  my  heart.  It  is  not  necessary  that 
you  should  kneel,  but  at  least  raise  your  hearts  to  God  Almighty, 
and  ask  him  to  confirm  the  sentence  of  benediction  which  I  am 
about  to  pronounce. 


SERMON  IN  ST.  PATRICK'S  CATHEDRAL  ON  THE 
OCCASION  OF  THE  CONSECRATION  OF  THE 
BISHOPS  OF  BROOKLYN,  NEWARK,  AND  BUR- 
LINGTON, OCTOBER  30th,  1853. 

I  HAVE  taken  for  my  text,  on  this  occasion,  the  last  words  of  the 
second  chapter  of  the  First  Epistle  of  St.  Peter : — "  For  ye  were  as 
sheep  going  astray,  but  are  now  returned  unto  the  shepherd  and 
bishop  of  your  souls."  The  preceding  portions  of  this  chapter  had 
reference  to  the  ministry,  the  preaching,  and  the  priesthood  of  the 
Son  of  God ;  and  now,  in  conclusion,  he  speaks  of  the  Redeemer  as 
the  pastor  and  bishop  of  the  souls  of  those  who  believe  in  Him. 
Nor  is  this  word  pastor,  or  bishop,  to  be  understood,  as  many  other 
terms  in  the  sacred  writings,  as  a  figure  or  comparison.  It  is  to  be 
understood  in  its  simplicity,  meaning  the  fullness  of  all  that  it  ex- 
presses, literally  and  simply.  The  other  Apostles,  in  their  writings, 
have  also  inculcated  the  same  great  idea  of  the  episcopac\;  of  the 
Son  of  God,  But  I  am  not  aware  that  any  of  them  have  expressed 
the  whole  force  of  the  mission  and  the  ministry  of  Christ  in  such 
brief,  yet  comprehensive  terms.  The  Redeemer,  having  once  con- 
stituted himself  a  pastor,  is  always  a  pastor ;  but  the  word  pastor  is 
not  enough — "Bishop"  is  added;  and  "bishop"  implies  rule,  au- 


212  ARCHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

thority,  and  permanent  government ;  and  it  was  worthy  of  Peter, 
the  chief  of  the  apostolic  band,  to  explain  and  condense  in  such 
brief  but  expressive  terras  the  whole  oflBce  and  ministry  of  the  Son 
of  God.  What  did  he  mean  ?  Simply  that  air  episcopacy,  all  min- 
istry, all  priesthood,  all  deaconship,  all  species  of  order,  claiming,  or 
having  a  right  to  claim,  a  divine  commission,  must  be  derived  from 
the  plenitude  of  the  episcopacy  which  flows  from  its  divine  Author, 
In  Him  episcopacy  is  infinite.  It  is  His  of  right.  It  is  His  accord- 
ing to  tlie  attributes  of  the  divine  nature,  exercised  in  His  human 
nature  for  the  purpose  of  accomplishing  the  end  of  the  incarnation. 
All  other  episcopacy  is  derived  from  that.  And  how  is  it  derived  ? 
Christ,  without  dividing  the  plenitude  of  episcopacy  in  his  own 
character,  communicated  it  first  to  his  Apostles,  and  ordained  that 
they  should  have  the  favor  and  the  right,  as  the  wants  of  the  Church 
required,  to  communicate  it  to  other  parties,  and  to  leave  to  their 
successors  the  same  favor  and  right  of  communication  after  their 
death.  He  did  not  part  with  episcopacy  because  He  communicated 
it;  nor  did  they,  when  they  imposed  upon  a  new  Apostle  the  bonds 
of  solemn  consecration,  part  with  any  portion  of  it.  The  Conse- 
crator  loses  none  of  the  portion  of  the  episcopacy,  which  is  his — yet 
how  can  I  say  portioti  ?  It  flows  from  Christ  the  Infinite ;  it  is  in- 
capable of  being  divided.  Many  may  be  appointed  to  partake  of  it, 
but  it  is  itself  indivisible ;  it  may  be  extended  to  the  ends  of  the 
earth,  as  the  wants  of  God's  people  require  ;  but  it  is  not  diminished, 
drawn  out,  or  made  less  by  its  extension. 

On  a  day  like  this,  it  is  not  at  all  improper  to  cast  a  look  back  on 
the  circumstances  of  the  origin  and  primitive  divine  charter  of  the 
Christian  and  Catholic  Church.  If  we  would,  in  the  darkness  of  our 
own  mind,  light  a  lamp  to  guide  our  feet,  where  can  we  light  it  so 
well,  even  if  it  be  but  a  taper,  as  at  the  sun  which  illuminates  all  ? 
Every  one  in  the  least  familiar  with  scriptural  history,  the  corres- 
pondence with  it  of  ecclesiastical  history,  the  traditions  of  our 
Church  and  her  usages  (as  displayed  here  to-day),  will  know  that 
our  divine  Saviour,  from  among  his  disciples  at  large,  selected  a 
certain  number  that  were  yet  more  near  to  him  than  the  multitude, 
aad  that  from  those  he  chose  twelve  Apostles,  Himself  w-as  an 
Apostle.  He  was  (if  I  may  so  speak),  in  the  first  instance,  an 
Apostle  of  the  Church  of  Jerusalem ;  but,  with  consequences  of  that 
apostolate,  of  the  whole  world  and  of  all  generations.  He  was  a 
Bishop.  He  was  an  Apostle,  for  "  apostle  "  means  "  one  sent ;"  and 
you  all  know  what  emphasis  He  laid  on  His  divine  mission.  But 
sent  by"  whom  ?  By  a  person  having  no  authority  ?  No.  His 
eternal  Father  sent  him,  with  authority,  and  so  he  selected  those 
twelve  and  sent  them,  as  He  had  Himself  been  sent.  He  speaks  of 
their  power  as  of  His  own  ;  and  sometimes  remarked  that  greater 
things  than  He  had  done  they  should  do.  How  could  this  be,  un- 
less He  extended  to  them,  through  election  and  communication,  that 
true  and  undivided  episcopacy  which  the  Apostle  St.  Peter  has  so 
briefly  but  fully  and  comprehensively  described,  and  which  none  of 


SERMONS.  213 

tl)o  Others  possessed  in  the  same  plenitude.  In  the  fii"st  instance, 
the  twelve  were  all  equal — with  this  difference,  that  every  inspired 
writer  begins  the  enumeration  of  the  Apostles  with  the  name  of 
Peter ;  and  if  any  thing  is  to  be  said,  Peter  always  speaks  in  the 
name  of  the  rest.  But,  after  communicating  to  them  unitedly  a 
comniunication  in  his  own  episcopacy  and  apostleship,  He  then  ex- 
tended to  St,  Peter  prerogatives  singular  and  personal  which  He 
had  not  before  conferred,  nor  did  He  afterwards  confer  on  the  others. 
He  did  not,  however,  Himself  accomplish  the  fulness  (if  I  may 
so  term  it)  of  this  office.  Before  the  ascension,  He  spoke  of  the  ne- 
cessity of  sending  to  the  Apostles  the  Comforter,  or  Paraclete,  who 
should  bring  to  their  minds  all  things  requisite.  He  told  them  to 
remain  /  and  from  the  Ascension  to  the  day  of  Pentecost,  we  may 
look  upon  those  Apostles  (to  use  a  term  which  we  now  employ)  as 
Bishops  elect.  The  descent  on  them  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  in  the  visi- 
ble form  of  fiery  tongues,  was  required ;  when  the  Holy  Ghost  so 
descended,  then  they  were  consecrated,  and  then  Avas  given  to  them 
the  pow^er  to  communicate  to  their  successors  the  same  spirit  com- 
municated to  them  by  God  in  this  extraordinary  manner.  The  lim- 
its of  my  time  will  not  permit  a  full  development  of  all  that  presents 
itself  on  the  subject.  Suffice  it  to  say,  among  the  Twelve,  Christ 
had  chosen  one  Judas;  though  chosen  by  Christ,  Judas  fell,  and 
after  Christ  had  ascended  into  heaven,  the  Apostles  immediately 
felt  it  was  their  prerogative  to  select  and  consecrate  one  instead  of 
the  fallen  Apostle,  Peter,  of  course,  takes  the  lead  ;  he  presents  the 
subject,  confirms  the  choice,  and  Matthias  becomes  one  of  the  Apos- 
tles. Afterwards,  by  an  exti-aordinary  vocation,  Saul,  the  perse- 
cutor, is  overcome  by  the  divine  power,  struck  down  by  the  Truth 
which  he  had  opposed,  raised  iip  bytthe  hand  of  God,  and  consti- 
tuted an  Apostle ;  an  Apostle,  be  it  observed ;  not  as  an  independent 
character,  not  unconnected  with  the  corporation,  but  as  a  partaker 
of  the  same  power  (a  power  attested  by  the  performance  of  extra- 
ordinary miracles)  given  to  the  first  Apostles  themselves.  Now 
Paul,  thus  converted  to  God,  to  prove  the  ardor  of  an  Apostle,  has 
no  limits  to  his  labors,  or  the  success  with  which  God  crowned 
them.  He  ranges  from  city  to  city,  from  province  to  province,  an 
Apostle  that  is  "  sent."  But,  if  you  read  his  labors,  you  will  imme- 
diately perceive  that  the  moment  a  city  or  province  was  gained,  he 
remained  no  longer  in  that  city  or  province,  but  made  others  par- 
takers of  his  apostleship.  Thus  Titus  and  Timothy  were  made 
Apostles,  partaking  the  power  originally  communicated  by  Christ 
to  the  Twelve.  But  there  is  this  difference,  the  Apostles  were  sent 
to  an  unbelieving  and  corrupt  world,  and,  as  an  evidence  of  their 
mission  in  the  first  instance,  were  invested  wuth  miraculous  jDower. 
To  their  labors  no  limits  were  assigned ;  the  province  which  they 
were  to  convert,  either  actually  or  through  their  successors,  was  the 
whole  earth ;  tlieir  mission  extended  to  all  ages.  The  expectation 
which  the  divine  promise  had  excited  would  not  have  been  re- 
sponded to  liad  they  stopped  in  the  midst  of  their  career,  to  be 


214  AKCHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

Bishops  of  the  flocks  whom  they  had  brought  into  the  fold  of 
Christ,  Everywhere  they  went  as  conquerors.  They  appointed  a 
Bishop,  and  the  limitation  of  his  apostlesliip,  which  is  now  called 
the  diocese.  Titus  was  limited  to  one  place,  Timothy  to  another. 
Peter  established  Christianity  at  Antioch  (where  the  followers  of 
our  Saviour  were  first  called  Christians),  but  he  was  not  content  to 
remain  there ;  he  passed"  on  to  Alexandria,  and  there  founded 
another  glorious  Church.  Then  he  goes  to  attack  paganism  at  its 
very  headquarters;  for  he  is  sent  a  conqueror.  He  establishes  the 
Church  of  Rome.  And  while  every  other  See  founded  by  the 
Apostles  is  destroyed,  or  almost  entirely  so,  time  has  spared  that 
founded  by  Saint  Peter,  where  he  remained,  and  crowned  his  apos- 
tolate  by  a  glorious  martyrdom  under  the  Emperor  Nero.  Wiiat, 
then,  is  the  difference  between  Apostles  and  Bishops  ?  None  but 
this  :  There  is  but  one  episcopacy  through  all  time  and  place,  and 
every  Bishop,  by  right  and  consecration,  is  a  partaker  of  the  Apos- 
tleship. 

In  the  next  place,  we  perceive  that  these  primitive  Apostolical 
Sees  became  the  headquarters  (so  to  speak)  of  the  Christian  religion 
in  the  several  countries  where  they  were  established.  Thus  Antioch 
Alexandria,  Ephesus,  and  other  places,  became  great  central  and 
radiating  points  of  Cliristianity ;  and  the  local  Bishop  there,  in 
communion  with  his  colleagues,  penetrated  into  the  provinces,  and 
multiplied  centres  of  the  Episcopacy,  in  order  that  those  professing 
the  faith  should  not  be  too  far  removed  from  the  points  in  which 
authority  for  the  faith  they  professed  resided.  In  proportion  as 
those  subsequent  Sees  increased,  the  See  whence  they  had  been  de- 
rived acquired  more  ecclesiastical  prominence,  so  as  to  be  called  the 
Patriarchal,  or  Metropolitan  See,  and  the  other  Sees  paid  a  species 
of  deferential  submission  to  its  authority.  Such  is  the  simple  his- 
tory of  the  transition  from  Apostleship  to  Bishopric.  Woe  to  a 
Bishop  if  he  be  not  sent !  The  words  are,  "  Go,  and  preach  the 
Gospel."  Who  says  "go?"  He  that  was  authorized.  It  is  not 
only  grateful,  but  it  is  consoling  to  know  that  the  spectacle  of  this 
day  is  but  a  continuation  of  the  primitive  consecration  of  Bishops. 
Time  and  change  have  disturbed  the  whole  social  and  political  order 
of  the  world ;  but  this  stream  of  divine  origirv,  still  flows  in  every 
direction,  like  the  waters  of  the  rivers  of  God  in  the  garden  of 
paradise,  which  flowed  north  and  south,  and  east  and  west.  Christ 
is  the  i^servoir,  and  Avherever  the  stream  runs  it  blesses  the  land, 
and  blesses  the  people  who  acknowledge  the  som*ce  from  which  it 
rises. 

Is  not  the  spectacle  of  this  day  a  sermon  quite  suflicient  ?  Many 
of  you  remember  when  there  was  no  Bishop  in  New  York,  and  no 
great  motive  for  a  Bishop  coming  here.  But  the  successor  of  St. 
Peter,  casting  his  eye  over  the  earth,  perceived  a  necessity  for  not 
leaving  the  few  Catholics  who  were  then  here  without  a  Pastor  and 
Bishop  of  their  souls.  Here  one  was  sent.  What  were  the  Catho- 
lics at  that  time?     It  was,  I  believe,  in   1816,  and    through  the 


8EBM0NS.  215 

greater  part  of  New  Jersey  and  the  whole  of  New  York,  they  were 
supposed  to  be  from  ten  to  sixteen  thousand  poor  and  scattered 
foreigners  ;  yet  they  were  too  many  to  be  neglected.  How  many 
were  his  colleagues  (priests),  to  assist  and  support  him  ?  Only 
thiee  !  Time  has  passed  on.  The  first  Bishop  was  soon  succeeded 
by  another,  for  death  removed  him  ;  and  the  second  by  another,  who 
will  soon  be  removed.  Nevertheless,  the  faith  radiating  from  this 
centre,  passed  through  this  State  and  New  Jersey,  from  hamlet  to 
hamlet,  from  village  to  village,  from  city  to  city ;  until  now,  what 
was  then  so  insignificant  a  Bishopric,  is  a  Metropolitan  See ;  and 
however  unworthy  the  occupant  of  that  See,  he  will  not,  on  that  ac- 
count, restrain  the  expression  of  his  pride,  at  least  his  great  re- 
ligious joy,  at  perceiving  within  the  seven  past  years,  four  illustrious 
Sees,  offshoots  from  the  primitive  one  established  in  New  York  in 
1816.  There  has  been  a  similar  change  in  the  Diocese  of  Boston. 
So  that  there  are  now  nine  Bishops  in  a  region  where,  about  six  years 
ago,  there  were  but  two.  Thus  have  we  examples  inciting  us  to  go 
on,  spreading,  through  the  ambassadors  of  God,  the  plenitude  of 
Christ's  episcopacy  to  the  ends  of  the  earth.  Whose  episcopacy  is 
ours  ?  Whence  can  it  have  come,  if  not  from  a  divine  source  ?  The 
apostleship  was  extended.  There  was  one  Apostle — the  superior  of 
all  in  jurisdiction  and  authority.  To  him  and  all  his  successors  was 
given  the  power  of  the  keys  of  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven.  He  and 
they  were  charged  with  a  commission  reaching  to  the  present  day. 
Our  divine  Master  declared  that  Satan  desired  to  have  the  entire 
Apostolic  College  :  "  Satan  hath  desired  to  have  you,  that  he  may 
silt  you  as  wheat;"  and  then  turning  to  this  one,  He  said,  "I  have 
prayed  for  thee^  that  thy  faith  change  not,  and  thou  being  once  con- 
verted, confirm  thy  brethren."  This,  the  edifice  in  which  we  trust,  is 
sure  in  its  foundation,  magnificent  in  its  structure,  and  reaches  to  the 
sky.  Was  not  Christ's  mission  one  of  universality  V  But  take  away 
the  foundation  thus  provided,  and  universality,  community,  cannot  by 
any  possibility  exist.  They  speak  o^  Branches,  taking  their  com- 
parison from  a  tree.  But  all  the  branches  must  derive  life  from  a 
root.  What  would  you  say  of  a  cluster  of  branches  gathered  into 
one  heap,  without  a  living  organization  ?  Where  would  be  their 
vitality  ?  And  thus  the  Church  of  God  must  draw  its  existence 
from  one  root,  and  one  alone.  Even  the  system  of  our  world  was 
a  puzzle,  until  one  centre  was  discovered.  The  astronomer,  starting 
from  the  principle  of  unity,  ti'aces  the  laws  of  a  creation.  There 
must  be  unity — unity  in  every  thing — in  the  human  soul,  in  the 
family,  in  the  city,  in  the  State.  Wherever  there  is  not  unity,  there 
is  confusion.  What  else  can  there  be?  And  you.  Most  Reverend 
and  Right  Reverend  Fathers  (said  the  Archbishop,  turning  towards 
the  sanctuary),  if  you  were  not  in  communion  with  the  successor  of 
St.  Peter,  you  would  be  so  many  scattered  individuals,  each  liable 
to  be  led  away  by  his  own  fancies,  as  they  might  be  opposed  to 
those  of  his  brothers.  You  would  be  as  stones  brought  together  by 
an  architect  who  had  not  prepared  them,  so  that  they  would  fit, 


.216  ARCHBISHOP     HUGHES. 

eacli  to  another.  He  might  tind  two  to  fit,  but  he  would  not  find  a 
third ;  he  niight  find  three,  but  he  would  not  find  a  fourth.  The 
very  spectacle  of  to-day  proves  the  simplicity  of  the  design  of  God, 
and  warns  us  not  to  be  wiser  than  it  is  needful  to  be  wise.  You 
take  at  once,  and  without  hesitation,  your  places.  You  have  no 
comparison  of  doctrinal  views  to  make ;  no  inquiries  as  to  the  party 
to  which,  you  belong,  for  tiiere  is  no  party  in  the  Church  of  God. 
How  could  there  be,  when  in  that  Church  Christ  is  the  source  of 
Catholic  union  ?  Look  at  the  brilliant  examples  given  here.  Here 
are  three  Bishops,  natives  of  thi-ee  different  nations ;  here  is  a  dis- 
tinguished consecrator,  a  native  of  another.  And  they  meet  here, 
not  strangers  nor  foreigners,  but  lellow-citizens  with  the  Saints, 
built  on  the  foundation  of  ttie  Prophets  and  Apostles,  Jesus  Christ 
Himself  being  the  corner-stone.  And  hence  it  sounds  barbarous  to 
a  Catholic  ear  to  hear  o^  w  foreign  religion,  as  if  God  were  not  for 
all — as  if  His  faith  were  the  production  of  a  single  soil  or  clime! 
There  are  no  foreigners — there  is  no  distinction  in  the  Church  of 
God.  The  episcopacy  given  to  St.  Peter,  and  dispensed  by  him,  as 
rays  are  traced  back  to  the  sun,  is  traced  back  to  him  ;  and  there, 
in  him,  we  are  all  united,  all  at  home.  Even  in  the  small  number 
here,  there  is  a  sufiicient  tyi>e  and  evidence  of  the  universality,  the 
universal  unity  of  the  Catholic  Church.  Here  you  may  regard  the 
type  of  the  episcopal  arch,  where  one  stone  is  built  in  fitting  har- 
mony with  another.  One  may  be  larger,  more  or  less  polished  than 
another;  but  all  are  fitted  into  the  great  work  of  the  Catholic 
hierarchy,  the  strength  and  keystone  of  which  is  the  successor  of  St. 
Peter.  Were  that  keystone  wanting,  all  would  fall  to  pieces,  and 
you  might  trace,  the  ruin  without  being  able  to  account  for  the 
cause.  I  am  aware  it  is  said,  and  it  has  passed,  in  the  minds  of 
some,  into  a  truism,  that  to  be  subject  in  spiritual  matters  to  the 
supremacy  of  the  Pope,  is  to  be  necessarily  a  slave ;  for,  so  far  as 
the  order  of  the  episcopacy  is  concerned,  the  Pope  is  only  a  Bishop,  and 
to  submit  to  him  is  to  relinquish  a  portion  of  individual  freedom. 
Now,  out  of  the  Catholic  Church,  the  special  commission  to  Peter  is 
ignored,  or  receives  no  explanation  that  I  could  ever  hear.  But 
leaving  that,  nowhere,  save  in  communion  with  the  See  of  Rome,  can 
any  Bishop  exercise  his  episcopacy  with  true  freedom.  Need  I 
prove  this  ?  It  needs  no  proof.  There  have  been  heretics,  such  as  the 
Arians,  and  Nestorians,  and  Eutychians.  Some  have  preserved  their 
episcopacy ;  but  what  an  episcopacy !  Some,  without  being  here- 
tics, have  been  prompted  by  pride  to  oppose  the  Pope.  Look  at 
the  Greek  Church.  What  is  it?  Subject  to  the  nod  of  the  Czar. 
He  is  said  to  be,  in  his  private  life,  a  good  man,  but  with  his  iron 
will  he  controls  that  Church  as  he  does  his  army.  What  kind  of 
Bishops  are  they  in  that  Church  ?  I  do  not  deny  the  possibility  of 
their  being  real  Bishops ;  but  how  can  they  exercise  with  freedom  the 
functions  exercised  by  the  Apostles  ?  The  Apostles  respected  the 
temporal  authority,  but  asked  no  privileges  of  it.  They  asked  no 
permission  to  enter  a  pagan    empire,   and    preach  Christ  therein. 


SERMONS.  217 

Why  ?^  Because  they  were  Apostles  wlio  recognized  but  one  centre 
and  one  authority  for  their  mission.  Pass  to  another  country  where 
tlie  civil  power  is  not  despotic,  but  supposed  to  be  constitutional. 
Look  at  its  Sees,  which  of  old  were  proud  and  contentious.  Canter- 
bury was  punctilious  in  its  obedience  to  the  Pope ;  yet  contention 
was  frequent  in  Canterbury  and  York.  But,  since  the  Pope  has 
been  discarded,  and  they  have  fallen  under  the  authority  of  the 
Prime  Minister,  Canterbury  is  quiet,  tame ;  it  and  its  appendages 
are  passive  !  For  want  of  the  strong  arm  of  St.  Peter,  a  Presbyter, 
in  the  presence  of  his  Bishop,  may  deny  the  importance  of  baptism. 
Pass  to  another  country,  where  the  civil  power  does  not  meddle 
with  such  things.  What  will  we  see  there  ?  Questions  appertain- 
ing to  Bishops  brought  to  tiial.  And  Avhat  is  the  freedom  of  the 
accused  ?  He  falls  undet  the  caprice  and  predjudice  which  may 
happen  to  influence  the  m^ority  of  his  colleagues.  He  may  deserve 
or  not  their  condemnation, J^ut  he  will  feel  the  irresponsible  tyr- 
anny of  the  majority ;  he  nW^t  cringe,  or  be  crushed.  No ;  there 
is  neither  freedom  nor  episcopal  dignity  separate  from  the  centre  of 
Christian  unity.  This  is  not  broken,  as  if  Christian  unity  were 
the  decree  of  wise  men.  It  is  the  plan  of  the  divine  Archi- 
tect. 

The  scene  of  this  day  may  be  viewed  as  aflbrding  a  picture  of  the 
whole  Catholic  Church.  I  view  it  with  mingled  sadness  and  satisfac- 
tion. With  you,  my  friends,  I  feel  sadness  at  losing  two  priests  to 
whom  you  have  been  deservedly  attached,  the  Right  Reverend 
Bishop  of  Brooklyn,  and  the  Right  Reverend  Bishop  of  Newark. 
One  has  ministered  among  you  for  fourteen  or  fifteen  years.  I  need 
not  say  any  thing  of  him,  except  that  night  and  day,  at  early  dawn 
and  late  at  eve,  and  throughout  the  day,  his  ministry  has  occupied 
him ;  he  has  attended  to  your  sanctification,  waited  on  your  sick 
beds,  and  instnicted  your  children.  Besides,  he  has  been  to  me  a 
kind  friend  ;  for  several  years  he  has  been  my  vicar-general ;  and  I 
am  not  going  to  enlarge  on  feelings  which  should  be  mine  even 
more  than  yours,  were  I  to  speak  of  regret  at  his  elevation  to  a  su- 
perior post.  The  other  is  endeared  to  us  by  circumstances  of  a  dif- 
ferent kind.  Although  in  early  life  he  was  not  brought  up  in  the 
unity  of  the  Christian  fold,  yet  the  simplicity  of  his  heart,  and  the 
Tightness  of  his  intentions,  led  him  to  where  simplicity  of  faith  is 
alone  to  be  found.  I  had  not  seen  him  till  I  saw  him  in  Europe,  in 
1843.  Previously  he  had  been  in  the  Seminary  of  Saint  Sulpice. 
His  superiors,  who  had  a  high  idea  of  his  merits,  asked  me  to  let  him  be 
ordained  there ;  but  I  refused,  as  circumstances  seemed  to  me 
to  require  that  he  should  return  to  his  own  country,  and  be  among 
his  own  family.  He  spent  a  brief  time  in  our  seminary,  and  there 
he  was  ordained,  at  this  same  altar  whereat  he  is  now  consecrated. 
He  took  the  Lord  for  his  portion,  and  for  the  lot  of  his  inheritance; 
and  the  world  took  him  at  his  word,  and  left  him  no  other.  The 
duties  of  his  holy  office  absorbed  him  ;  yet  every  hour  he  could 
spare  was  devoted — to  what  class  ?     He  may  be  surprised  when  I 


218  ARCHBISHOP  HUGHES. 

say  that  he  had  a  clientele  of  his  own ;  poor  bound  boys  and  appren- 
tice girls,  to  whom  he  gave  many  a  day  and  hour  in  instructing 
them.  He  was  my  Secretary ;  and  considering  the  great  amount  of 
business  thrown  ou  the  Bishop  of  New  York,  and  my  incapacity  to 
attend  to  it,  I  will  say  briefly  that  the  diocese  of  New  York  owes 
a  debt  of  gratitude  to  the  Bishop  of  Newark.  A  third  has  been  ap- 
pointed Bishop  of  Burlington  in  Vermont ;  the  Right  Reverend  Doc- 
tor de  Goesbriand,  well  known  throughout  the  Church  in  this  country, 
and  deeply  regretted  in  the  late  missions,  which  have  been  rendered 
fruitful  by  his  apostolic  labors,  has  come  from  a  distance  to  bear  his 
distinguished  part  in  the  ceremonies  of  to-day.  I  have  no  doubt 
that  there  is  many  a  growing  hamlet  and  village  in  the  northwestern 
part  of  New  York,  whose  grief  for  their  lost  pastor  is  the  best  trib- 
ute to  his  zeal,  self-denial,  and  Christian  devotion. 

Our  cathedral  is  particularly  honored  ^o-day  by  the  presence  of 
many  illustrious  prelates  from  different  pArts  of  the  country.  For 
myself,  and  in  the  name  of  the  peoplejlfconored  by  the  presence  of 
so  many  illustrious  prelates,  I  return  them,  thanks.  But  there  is  one 
in  particular  to  whom  I  must  tender  my  most  profound  thanks — the 
consecrating  prelate,  the  distinguished  Nuncio,  who  stands  so  de- 
servedly high  in  the  confidence  of  our  present  iather,  Pius  IX.  He 
has  taken  from  my  shoulders  a  burden  in  giving  us  the  honor  of  his 
presence  and  ministry  to-day.  To  all  these,  I  know,  dearly  beloved 
brethren,  that,  with  me,  you  feel  grateful. 

I  now  close  this  sermon,  which  has  been  longer  than  the  state  of 
my  health,  and  the  length  of  the  ceremony  rendered  advisable. 
This  illustrious  consecrating  prelate  will  impart  to  you  the  Apostolic 
benediction.  The  blessing  of  God,  I  hope,  will  accompany  the  new 
prelates  to  their  Sees,  and  may  the  same  blessing,  gushing  forth  like 
living  waters,  rest  on  all  the  people  of  God !  Let  them  not  be 
afraid,  auspice  Maria.  Let  us  remember  the  ministry  in  this  coun- 
try is  placed  under  the  special  protection  of  the  Virgin  Mother  of 
God. 

I  wish  to  add  a  few  words:  The  clergy  and  laity  of  New  York 
have  been  desirous  to  pay  their  respects  in  some  formal  manner 
to  the  distinguished  apostolical  guest  now  present  amongst  us.  Here- 
tofore, it  has  not  been  in  my  power  to  fix  a  time  for  the  discharge 
of  that  pleasing  duty,  as  his  advents  were  generally  unexpected  and 
unannounced,  and  his  departures  more  sudden  than  he  himself  an- 
ticipated. But  now  I  am  permitted  to  say  that  he  will  remain  in 
New  York  during  the  present  week,  and,  perhaps  the  greater  por- 
tion of  the  next ;  and  as  he  has  kindly  accepted  the  invitation  to 
vi§it  several  establishments  for  Christian  education — schools,  and  as 
many  churches  as  it  will  be  possible  ;  on  this  occasion  there  Avill  be 
an  opportunity  for  the  clergy  and  people  of  those  different  churches 
and  institutions  to  present  to  him  those  expressions  of  profound  re- 
spect which  are  due  to  his  own  personal  merit,  but  which  he  will 
still  more  willingly  accept  in  the  name  of  that  illustrious  Pontiff, 
whose  representative  he  is. 


SERMONS.  219 


SERMON   ON   THE    OCCASION    OF    HIS    RETURN 
FROM  CUBA. 

DELIVERED  IN  ST.  PATRICK'S  CATHEDRAL,  MAY,  1854. 

"  I  am  the  good  shepherd.  The  good  shepherd  giveth  his  life  for  his  sheep. 
But  the  hireling,  and  he  that  is  not  the  shepherd,  whose  own  sheep  they  are 
not,  seeth  the  wolf  coming,  and  leaveth  the  sheep  and  flieth  ;  and  the  wolf 
snatcheth  and  scattereth  tlie  sheep  ;  and  the  hireling  flieth,  because  he  is  a 
hireling :  and  he  hath  no  care  for  the  sheep.  I  am  the  good  shepherd  ;  and  I 
know  mine,  and  mine  know  me  ;  as  the  Father  knoweth  me,  and  I  know  the 
Father  :  and  I  lay  down  my  life  for  my  sheep.  And  other  sheep  I  have,  that 
are  not  of  this  fold  :  them  also  I  must  bring  ;  and  they  shall  hear  my  voice  : 
and  there  shall  be  one  fold  and  one  shepherd." — John  x.  11-16. 

The  first  words  which  find  utterance  on  this  occasion,  prompted 
by  the  feelings  of  the  heart,  are,  on  my  part,  words  of  gratitude  to 
Almighty  God  for  His  protection  and  good  providence  during  that 
period  in  which  I  have  been  absent  from  the  post  that  is  so  dear  to 
my  heart;  gratitude  to  God  for  the  accomplishment  of  the  object  of 
that  absence;  and  I  shall  extend  this  expression  of  gratitude  to  the 
people  among  whom  I  have  sojourned,  for  nothing  could  be  more 
soothing  to  an  invalid  at  any  time,  although  to  me  so  unexpected, 
than  the  attention  and  kindness  which  I  everywhere  received.  I 
was  not  among  strangers,  but  among  friends ;  and  a  friendship  so 
delicate,  so  studious  to  anticipate  every  wish,  I  never  experienced, 
nor  did  I  suppose  possible.  Towards  those  I  should  give  public  ex- 
pression of  my  gratitude.  I  need  not  enter  into  details  ;  but  there 
is  one  in  particular — the  amiable,  the  learned,  and  saintly  Bishop  of 
Havana — to  whom  I  feel  under  obligations  which  it  will  never  be  in 
ray  power  to  repay.  Nor  to  those  alone  should  I  express  my  grati- 
tude, for  it  seemed  as  if  all  combined  to  take  away  from  absence  the 
feelings  with  which  it  is  accompanied.  I  knew,  indeed,  before  I  left, 
that  many  prayers  were  ofiered  for  me ;  that  orphans  raised  their 
hands  and  hearts  to  God ;  religious  communities  here — you,  your- 
selves— all  took  an  interest  in  the  occasion  which  prompted  my  de- 
parture ;  and  not  only  you,  but,  to  my  astonishment,  I  may  say  in 
the  South,  in  the  West,  and  in  the  East,  prayers  have  been  ofiered 
up  constantly  for  a  health  and  a  life  so  unimportant  as  mine.  For 
all  this  I  ought  to  be  grateful,  as  well  as  for  my  preservation  from 
accident  by  sea  and  land.  In  the  midst  of  multitudinous  accidents 
God  has  protected  me  ;  nor  will  I  say  that  this  happy  result  is  solely 
due  to  the  delicious  climates  in  which  I  have  sojourned  for  a  time, 
but  still  morp  to  the  prayers  that  God  has  heard  and  hearkened  to — 
prayers  that  have  been  answered  so  efiectively.  I  am  also  grateful 
that  during  my  absence  nothing  has  occurred  calculated  to  inflict 
deep  sorrow.  The  faithful  have  persevered  in  that  steady  course  of 
upright  conduct  which  has  won  for  them  the  respect  of  those  who 
have  no  sympathy  with  their  creed.     The  clergy,  also,  under  the 


220  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

prudent  guidance  of  him  who  was  charged  with  the  administration 
of  the  diocese  in  my  absence,  have  deserved  well  of  their  flocks  for 
their  zealous  care ;  and  all  that  rises  after  those  four  months  as  a 
subject  of  regret,  is  the  absence  of  some  to  whom  our  people  had 
been  long  in  the  habit  of  looking  up  for  a  certain  amount  of  protec- 
tion and  patronage.  Death,  the  destroyer,  has  been  among  you, 
and  in  this  particular  instance  has  selected  from  among  the  laity 
men  advanced  in  life,  whose  zeal  for  the  interests  of  the  community 
to  wbicli  they  were  so  much  attached,  render  them  ornaments  to 
this  community.  They  have  been  called  hence ;  and  while  we  feel 
that  their  absence  leaves  a  chasm,  a  void,  we  may  not  cease  to  hope 
that  others  wmII  take  their  place  in  the  high  sphere  of  usefulness  to 
which  they  had  devoted  a  large  portion  of  their  lives,  their  talents, 
and  their  pieans.  This  is  the  only  regret  I  feel — to  find  that  death 
has  been  among  you,  selecting  from  the  laity  those  whom  we  miirht 
be  least  disposed  to  spare ;  and  also  from  among  the  clergy  those 
who  were  in  the  prime  of  their  youth,  whose  years  seemed  to  prom- 
ise the  commencement  of  a  long  career  of  usefulness  in  the  service 
of  God.  But  this  ig  nothing  new  in  the  world — it  is  a  continuation 
of  what  has  been,  and  is  but  introductory  to  what  will  be ;  but  God 
never  permits  us,  even  if  we  should  be  negligent  in  the  performance 
of  our  duty,  to  remain  long  unadmonished,  not  merely  by  the  word 
of  the  minister  of  religion,  but  by  a  more  direct  warning — an  in- 
timation of  what  we  ai'e,  whence  we  came,  and  whither  we  are 
tending. 

In  reading  this  gospel  our  minds  are  directed  to  a  subject  of  ex- 
ceeding importance  to  us,  namely — that  God,  in  wliom  are  all  attri- 
butes infinitely  perfect,  has  one  attribute  which  He  has  communi- 
cated in  part  to  His  creatures,  without  divesting  himself  of  its  fulness. 
He  is  the  pastor  by  excellence,  yet  He  has  communicated  that  pastor- 
ship to  others  in  the  organization  of  the  Church  ;  he  has  sent  others 
on  that  same  divine  mission  He  came  to  fulfil.  He  has  constituted 
other  pastors  with  Him,  who  are  acting  by  His  authority  and  in  His 
name,  so  that  their  pastorship  is  undistinguished  from  His  own. 
Thus  it  is  that  in  all  that  pertains  to  religion,  man,  if  disposed  to  do 
what  is  right,  has  ample  grounds  of  hope,  because  he  has  to  deal 
with  One  wlio  desires  his  salvation,  and  who  has  provided  and 
brought  within  his  reach  all  tlie  means  necessary  to  its  accomplish- 
ment. Neither  is  it  to  be  supposed  that  this  power  of  pastorship  is 
limited  to  those  especially  consecrated  to  the  ministry — in  fact,  all 
power  on  the  earth  is  of  God  ;  and  whether  it  be  that  of  the  sove- 
reign or  the  rulers,  or  whether  it  be  that  of  the  father  of  the  family, 
whether  it  be  that  of  the  owner  of  slaves,  or  that  of  the  masters  of 
those  who  are  temporarily  placed  in  that  position  by  their  own  volun- 
tary act,  there  is  throughout  all  this  an  extension  of  the  pastorship  of 
God,  and  it  is  that  it  may  be  employed  for  His  glory  that  we  find  it 
thus  distributed  among  men.  Then,  if  men  have  this  authority 
over  others,  whether  it  be  over  children,  or  slaves,  or  servants,  they 
have  power,  and  that  power  is  from  God ;  and  because  it  is  from 


SERMONS.  221 

God  it  is  to  be  respected,  on  the  principle  of  conscience,  by  those 
who  are  subject  to  it. 

But,  as  Christians,  how  would  you  mistake  the  nature  of  that 
power  if  you  were  to  suppose  it  simply  the  result  of  good  fortune, 
the  recomp.ense  of  your  own  industry,  that  you  should  be  placed  in 
the  position  of  superior  and  master  !  Xo ;  it  is  not  for  this  purpose 
that  they  are  bound,  by  a  principle  of  conscience,  to  hearken  to  your 
authority,  to  obey  your  will  in  matters  consistent  with  the  will  of 
God;  but  they  know,  if  they  understand  their  religion,  that  the 
power  you  exercise  is  iDut  a  portion  of  the  supreme  power  that  be- 
longs to  God.  I  would,  therefore,  call  your  attention  to-day  to  this 
subject,  because  on  a  proper  understanding  of  it,  and  on  a  discharge 
of  the  duties  it  implies,  depend  the  hope  of  the  rising  generation, 
the  renovation  of  society,  and  the  diffusion  of  the  Spirit  of  God 
through  all  classes.  If  God  has  given  power  to  man,  it  does  not 
follow  tiiat  he  is  the  owner  or  proprietor  of  that  power ;  he  has  it 
with  certain  duties,  and,  beyond  all  question,  those  who  are  consti- 
tuted in  power  have,  at  the  same  time  that  the  power  is  real — that 
is,  from  the  source  of  all  power — a  responsibility  connected  with  it 
which  they  will  do  well  to  pay  attention  to.  Every  one  who  re- 
gards the  constitution  of  society  must  observe  how  God  has  insured 
its  continuance  by  a  reliance  upon  those  who  are,  of  those  who  come 
after  them,  Man,  at  his  birth,  is  the  most  helpless  of  all  living  crea- 
tures, whether  as  regards  the  weakness  of  his  body  or  the  feebleness 
of  his  intellect;  and  it  is  for  this  reason  that  God  has  imparted  those 
feelings  to  human  nature  which  give  play  to  all  the  noble  impulses 
and  affections  that  He  has  planted  in  our  breasts.  If,  generally 
speaking,  it  is  an  obligation  resting  on  the  individual  to  show  kind- 
ness to  a  stranger,  how  much  more  is  it  so  in  domestic  relations ! 
Is  not  the  father  of  the  family  invested  with  the  power  of  God,  so 
that  he  is  a  sovereign,  commanding  and  expecting  to  be  obeyed,  as 
he  should  be'?  And  if  this  be  the  case,  the  question  is  whether  God 
has  given  him  that  privilege  that  he  may  seek  for  pleasure,  while 
others  are  made  to  contribute  to  its  gratification :  the  question  is, 
whether  God  has  distributed  His  power  among  men  for  such  mean 
purposes  ?     Certainly  not. 

No  doubt  the  master  has  a  right  to  claim  obedience ;  but  at  the 
same  time  there  is  a  responsibility  which  God  intended  him  to  ful- 
fill— that  he  shall  extend  to  those  under  his  authority,  and  who  are 
liable  to  be  influenced  by  him,  every  means  by  which  they  shall  be 
enabled  also  to  fulfill  the  purposes  of  their  being  towards  Him  who 
created  and  who  redeemed  them; — instruction,  where  it  is  neces- 
sary ;  example ;  and,  after  example,  correction.  Oh  !  dearly  beloved 
brethren,  if  Christian  parents,  and  employers,  and  mastei's  were  im- 
pressed with  the  dignity  of  their  position,  with  a  proper  sense  of  the 
high  trust  Providence  has  deposited  in  their  keeping,  how  would 
the  whole  order  of  society  begin  to  be  renovated  by  the  practice  of 
primitive  virtues  ! — how  w^ould  servants  be  encouraged,  being  pro- 
vided with  the  opportunities  of  learning  the  truths  of  their  holy  re- 


222  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

ligion !  It  would  be  the  high  and  glorious  privilege  of  such  supe- 
riors to  furnish  them  with  the  means  of  enlarging  their  minds,  and 
becoming  more  and  more  grounded  in  the  principles  of  their  reli- 
gion. Instruction !  how  sad  and  lamentable  is  the  reflection  which  this 
subject  awakens,  when  I  look  back  upon  my  recent  expenience  among 
those  little  kingdoms,  those  sovereigns  of  a  family,  where  six  or 
eight  white  persons  occupied  the  mansion,  and  were  surrounded  by 
a  large  body  of  slaves,  four  and  five  and  six  hundred  constituting 
one  great  family,  in  which  the  master  was  the  sovereign,  with  a 
power  immense  for  good  or  evil !  I  do  not  pretend  to  say  that  the 
responsibility  of  such  a  position  is  overlooked,  for  I  have  been  de- 
lighted to  perceive  and  find,  in  more  than  one  place,  that  the  owner 
felt  the  responsibility  of  his  position  ; — that  he  had  procured  the  ser- 
vices of  a  clei'gyman ;  that  instruction  from  day  to  day  was  going  on 
among  those  who  were  as  dark  in  their  spirit  as  in  their  complexion, 
and  incapable  almost  of  understanding,  rendering  their  instruction  a 
tedious  task.  Nevertheless,  God  knows  their  position,  and  does  not 
hold  them  responsible  for  the  neglect  of  opportunities  they  have 
never  had.  Seized  in  their  own  country,  where  they  lived  in  igno- 
rance of  God — and  transported  from  it,  how  glorious  is  the  privilege 
of  the  master  who,  in  that  position,  might  introduce  them  to  a 
knowledge  of  their  real  dignity,  as  the  redeemed  creatures  of  our 
common  heavenly  Father!  While  we  all  know  that  this  condition 
of  slavery  is  an  evil,  yet  it  is  not  an  absolute  and  unmitigated  evil ; 
and  even  if  it  were  any  thing  more  than  what  it  is — a  comparative 
evil — there  is  one  thing,  that  it  is  infinitely  better  than  the  condition 
in  which  this  people  would  have  been,  had  they  not  been  seized  to 
gratify  the  avarice  and  cupidity  of  the  white  man,  I  have  taken 
pains  to  inquire  of  some  who  were  transported  to  Cuba  .during  the 
last  three  years,  whether  they  wished  to  return  to  their  own  coun- 
try, and  they  invariably  stated  that  they  did  not.  The  simple  rea- 
son of  this  is,  that  they  are  unprotected  there  from  a  perpetual  war — 
a  war  in  wliich  mercy  to  the  conquered  is  unknown,  so  that  the  cap- 
tive is  killed  the  moment  he  is  seized,  and  it  is  a  mitigation  of  the 
penalty  of  defeat  when  he  is  sold  into  foreign  bondage.  I  have  seen 
those  masters  impressed  with  the  conviction  of  what  they  owed  to 
those  creatures,  leaving  nothing  undone  that  kindness  could  prompt, 
at  the  same  time  that  they  provided  for  all  their  spiritual  and  tem- 
poral wants. 

And  here  it  is  worthy  of  consideration  that  the  dilFerence  in  the 
relations  and  obligations  of  those  who  own  slaves,  and  those  who  are 
masters  of  hired  servants,  or  the  parents  of  children,  is  rather  one 
of  degree  than  of  kind ;  the  obligation  reaches  them  all,  and  it  is  in 
this  way  they  can  use  the  power  which  God  has  given  them  for  the 
express  purpose  for  which  it  has  been  given  to  tliem,  for  instruction, 
example,  and  correction.  How  noble  are  the  prerogatives  of  an  en- 
lightened man,  who  has  the  power  and  the  will  to  perform  the  du- 
ties of  a  Christian  towards  those  who  so  greatly  depend  on  him,  to 
prepare  them  for  the  discharge  of  their  duties  in  this  life,  and  fur  thu 


SEKMONS.  228 

eternal  glory  for  -which  they  were  created !  Oh !  that  we  might  see 
the  impression  of  this  responsibility  brought  home  to  those  who 
have  authority  in  society — those  who  are  the  sovereigns  in  the  do- 
mestic circle — those  who  are  looked  upon  as  superiors  by  children — 
for  God  has  implanted  in  the  mind  of  the  child  a  feeling  of  reliance 
upon  its  parents,  an  impHcit  confidence  .in  their  wisdom,  in  order 
that  it  may  be  an  easy  task  for  parents  to  avail  themselves  not  only 
of  the  authority  they  possess,  but  of  that  beautiful  disposition  which 
they  find  in  the  hearts  of  the  young.  Let  us  all  endeavor  to  imitate 
the  pastorship  of  the  good  Shepherd — for  we  are  all  shepherds,  each 
in  his  own  sphere,  each  one  who  has  been  specially  intrusted  with 
the  care  of  others.  This  beautiful  example  of  our  divine  Lord 
should  be  an  encouragement  to  use  our  authority  for  the  good  of 
those  who  are  imder  us ;  it  should  not  be  used  so  as  to  become  a 
ground  of  condemnation  for  ourselves,  but  rather  make  it  an  occa- 
sion for  the  promotion  of  our  own  sanctitication,  as  becomes  good 
shepherds — good  in  our  own  humble  and  distant  way,  far  from  the 
great  Model,  yet  imitating  Him  in  the  performance  of  the  duties  of 
that  pastorship  which  He  has  committed  to  us  for  the  glory  and  ben- 
efit of  those  who  are  placed  under  our  authority.  Thus,  dearly  be- 
loved brethren,  the  ministry  of  our  pastorship  will  become  easy,  the 
disposition  which  religion  requires  shall  be  cultivated  around  every 
hearth,  and  every  family  become  a  church,  its  head  the  high-priest 
and  king,  protecting,  guarding,  and  instructing  those  who  consti- 
tute the  objects  of  his  affection  as  well  as  his  authority.  And  as  all 
society  is  composed  of  families,  it  is  obvious,  if  this  practice  were 
universally  adopted,  the  world  would  be  renovated;  and  we  Catho- 
lics, under  the  guidance  of  our  own  Shepherd,  would  soon  show  to 
the  world  an  example  far  more  jiowerful  than  any  argument  of  the 
schools.  The  deeds  of  Christians  is  the  argument  that  cannot  be  an- 
swered; and  we  should,  therefore,  become  models  to  each  other,  in  the 
practice  of  those  Christian  virtues  which  it  has  been  the  object  of  the 
good  Shepherd  to  cultivate  among  those  of  His  flock. 


SERMON  ON  THE  OCCASION  OF  THE  DEDICA- 
TION OF  ST.  STEPHENS  CHURCH,  28th  ST^ 
NEW  YORK,  MAY  21st,  1854. 

"  But  be  ye  doers  of  the  word,  and  not  hearers  only,  deceiving  your  own 
selves.  For  if  any  be  a  hearer  of  the  word,  and  not  a  dper,  he  is  like  unto  a 
man  beholding  his  natural  face  in  a  glass.  For  he  beholdeth  himself,  and  go- 
eth  his  way,  and  straightway  forgetteth  what  manner  of  man  he  was.  But 
whoso  looketh  into  the  perfect  law  of  liberty,  and  continueth  therein,  he  being 
not  a  forgetful  hearer,  but  a  doer  of  the  word,  this  man  shall  be  blessed.  If  any 
man  among  you  seem  to  be  religious,  and  bridleth  not  his  tongue,  but  decei  / 


224:  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

cth  his  own  heart,  this  man's  religion  is  vain.  Pure  religion  and  undefiled 
before  God  and  the  Father  is  this,  To  visit  the  fatherless  and  widows  in  their 
afliiction,  and  to  keep  himself  unspotted  from  the  world." 

These  words,  my  dear  Christian  brethren,  might  seem  at  fii-st  to 
have  but  little  connection  with  the  solemn  and  joyous  occasion 
which  has  brought  us  this  day  together  before  the  altar  of  God. 
They  form  the  epistle  of  the  Sunday,  and  though  not  selected  for 
the  ceremony  of  dedication,  they  may  nevertheless  furnish  us  with 
reflections  altogether  appropriate  to  this  solemnity,  which  ought  to 
excite  senliments  of  joy  and  thanksgiving  in  your  hearts,  and  in  the 
heart  of  your  respected,  learned,  and  zealous  pastor,  who  witnesses 
to-day  the  successful  accomplishment  of  his  labors  and  the  recom- 
pense of  his  many  solicitudes.  It  is  to  me  an  occasion  of  that  de- 
scription, and  I  do  not  know  how  I  could  better  discharge  the  obli- 
gations of  my  ministi'y  than  by  calling  your  attention,  on  this  first 
day  of  the  opening  and  dedication  of  St.  Stephen's  Church,  to  the 
purpose  for  which  churches  are  founded  and  completed.  The  Apo.s- 
tle,  instructing  those  who  had  been,  by  his  ministry  and  that  of  his 
associates,  converted  to  the  faith  of  Christ,  takes  occasion  already  to 
warn  them  against  a  possible  mistake,  and  he  makes  a  distinction 
which  runs  through  the  whole  of  that  portion  of  his  epistle  which 
you  have  just  heard.  He  has  before  the  contemplation  of  his  in- 
spired vision,  not  only  a  danger  of  that  period,  but  a  danger  which 
besets  the  faithful  through  all  time — namely,  the  danger  of  con- 
founding true  with  spurious  religion,  or  taking  the  profession  for 
the  practice,  the  name  for  the  substance ;  and  he  uses  an  illustration 
for  this  of  a  person  looking  at  the  reflection  of  his  countenance  in  a 
mirror,  and  who,  afterwards  going  forth,  forgets  "  what  manner  of 
man  he  was."  So  the  epistle,  speaking  of  religion,  intimates  clearly 
and  distinctly  that  religion,  by  itself  and  unfollowed,  unsustained, 
unsupported  by  the  discharge  of  the  obligations  which  it  imposes,  is 
the  reality  of  the  metaphor  which  he  employed  to  imply  the  possible 
mistake.  And  this  is  very  clear;  for,  if  you  read  another  verse,  you  will 
find  he  says  that  a  man  who  does  not  know  how  to  bridle  his  tongue — 
in  other  words,  a  pei'son  given  to  detraction,  to  slander,  or  uncharitable- 
ness  in  speech — that  such  a  man  deceives  not  his  neighbor — his  neigh- 
bor is  only  scandalized — but  he  deceives  his  own  heart ;  and  such  a 
man's  religion  is  vain.  We  can  easily  understand  that  religion  coming 
from  God  cannot  be  vain.  The  meaning  of  the  epistle  in  regard  to  such 
a  man  is,  that  he  has  made  it  what  God  has  not,  God  intended  it  to  be 
a  reality — he  has  taken  from  it  its  substance,  and  made  it  a  vanity,  by 
which  his  own  lieart  is  seduced.  It  is  not,  dearly  beloved  brethren, 
that  I  mean  to  dwell  upon  this  vice  to-day  ;  but  I  mean  to  infer 
from  this  mode  of  reasoning  of  the  inspired  Apost.le,  that  religion, 
in  order  to  accomplish  the  ends  for  which  God  permitted  her  to  de- 
scend from  the  holy  heavens  to  this  polluted  earth,  is  not  a  thing  of 
sentiment  merely,  but  that  it  is  the  beginning,  the  centre,  the  power 
that  should  rule  the  whole  .of  life,  no  part  of  which  is  beyond  the  in- 


SEEilONS.  225 

flnence  of  its  principles.  St.  James  did  not  speak  of  every  derelic- 
tion, but  he  takes  one  as  a  sample,  and  that  one  by  no  means  rare 
in  the  world,  and  he  intimates  distinctly  that  where  that  one  vice, 
as  a  sample — for  it  would  apply  to  others  far  more  at  variance  with 
the  principles  of  religion ;  but  he  selects  this,  and  intimates  that  moral 
rectitude  must  be  the  consequence  and  the  practice  of  a  man  who 
receives  God's  religion,  and  pi'eserves  it  as  God  gave  it,  not  making 
it  vain,  and  taking  away  from  it  its  best  part  and  power.  And 
then,  on  the  other  hand,  by  showing  an  indication  in  one  point  of 
conformity  between  the  practice  of  the  Christian  and  his  religion, 
he  says  religion  is  pure  and  undefiled;  and  this  is  not  the  whole,  but 
it  is  also  a  sample  of  the  correspondence  which  religion  sustains. 

The  point,  therefore,  to  which  I  would  this  day  direct  your  atten- 
tion is,  that  religion  is  essential  for  man ;  and  that  religion  in  any 
sense  less  than  that  embracing  the  holy  purpose  for  which  it  was 
communicated,  is  inefficient. 

These  things  are  particularly  necessary  to  be  kept  in  mind  at  a 
time  like  the  present.  We  live  in  an  age  in  which  there  is  a  wild- 
ness  of  speculation,  in  which  every  man  is  a  writer,  a  philosopher, 
and  in  which  all  subjects,  all  ideas  are  thrown  into  a  sort  of  eloquent 
confusion  ;  and  you  must  have  perfectly  clear  and  distinct  views  of 
the  whole  duty  of  man,  in  order  that  by  the  possession  of  them  you 
may  be  enabled  to  ward  off  the  stupid  sophistry  of  those  who  con- 
tend, on  the  one  side,  that  the  j^rofession  of  religion  is  sufficient, 
and,  on  the  other  side,  of  those  who  claim  that  the  practice  of 
morality  is  sufficient.  It  is  well,  however,  first  to  understand  what 
is  meant  by  religion.  The  very  word  implies  its  meaning — religio, 
to  bind,  or  i-e-bind,  to  re-attach.  And  what  is  the  meaning  of  tliis  ? 
That  by  religion  God  has  given  us  a  bond  of  union  to  Himself  by 
which  he  elevates  us  towards  Him ;  by  which  it  is  in  our  power,  by 
His  grace,  to  imitate  Him  as  far  as  w^e  can.  He  is  all  merciful ;  He 
is  all  just,  and  makes  justice  a  part  of  man's  duty.  He  is  all  truth,, 
and  He  tells  us  that  falsehood  offends.  This  is  the  communication  of 
religion.  It  binds  us  fast  to  God.  It  is  the  communication  of  His. 
\vill.  It  consists,  in  brief,  of  three  parts;  the  first  of  which  is  the 
dogma  which  He  has  revealed — that  dogma  which  the  incredulous 
infidel  and  skeptic  has  taken  such  pains  to  denounce  as  unnecessary 
for  man's  happiness.  And  yet  that  dogma  came  from  God.  And 
this  alone  is  the  foundation  on  whi^jji  religion  itself  may  be  consid- 
ered as  resting,  because  it  is  the  communication  of  the  knowledge 
of  God  as  He  is,  as  far  as  our  minds  would  be  capable  of  compre- 
hending that  communication.  This  attaches  us  to  God,^  makes  us 
understand  whence  we  come,  for  what  purpose  we  exist,  and  those 
primary  dogmas — not  opinions,  but  established  revelation ;  for  if 
opinions  were  all  that  could  be  presented  in  the  name  of  religion,  it 
would  not  have  been  worth  while  for  the  people  of  this  congregation 
to  make  the  sacrifices  necessary  to  erect  this  structure.  If  morality 
can  exist  in  the  world  without  religion,  this  is  a  waste  of  money,  as 
was  said  by  one  when  the  feet  of  our  Saviour  were  anointed. 
Vol.  II.— 15 


226  AKCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

But  there  is  more  necessary ; — it  is  the  inculcation  of  divine  truth 
that  makes  us  know  God,  comprehending  the  whole  range  of  mys- 
teries, beginning  with  original  sin  down  to  the  Incarnation ;  the  in- 
stitution of  the  holy  Eucharist — the  sacrifice  of  the  Mass — the  found- 
ing of  the  Church  of  Christ — these  are  mysteries  which  we  have  to 
believe  in.  But  then  the  graces  which  we  obtain  through  the 
merits  of  Christ  are  applied  to  us  in  the  institution  of  this  religion — 
those  graces  by  which  He  cleanses  the  soul  of  the  infant  from  origi- 
nal sin,  and  by  which  He  removes  the  deep  stains  of  sin  from  the 
breast  of  the  penitent  sinner  in  the  sacrament  of  penance — it  is  in 
•this  part  that  He  gives  us  the  divine  sacrament  of  the  altar — it  is  in 
this  part  that  when  the  soul  is  about  to  take  its  flight  to  another 
world,  by  the  prayer  of  the  priest  He  cleanses  that  soul. 

He  would  not  speak  of  the  affections  which  these  considerations 
were  calculated  to  awaken — of  the  close  union  of  spirit  which  sup-, 
ported  the  martyrs  who  had  died  for  Christ — of  the  holy  love  of 
those  virgins  who  had  devoted  themselves  to  him  ;  but  would  come 
to  the  next  part — 

The  outicard  obligation  religio7i  imposes  upon  all  its  professors. — 
Religion  not  only  bound  us  to  God,  on  one  hand,  but  to  our  fellow- 
creatures,  on  the  other;  for  where  did  we  find  our  duty  to  our  fel- 
lows but  springing  out  of  our  duty  to  God  ?  The  worldly-minded 
saw  religion  not  as  she  is,  but  as  reflected  in  the  lives  of  her  pro- 
fessors ;  and  when  they  saw  these  not  fulfilling  the  obligations  im- 
posed, they  looked  upon  religion  as  horrid ;  and  seeking  out  some 
example  of  a  moral  atheist,  they  contrasted  the  two,  and  then 
preached  that  men  may  be  moral  without  the  aid  of  religion.  But 
this  was  a  false  deduction.  They  should  not  allow  their  minds  to  be 
filled  with  such  doctrine;  and  for  this  reason,  that  outside  of  religion 
there  was  nothing  to  be  found  to  direct  us  what  morality  is. 
Some  would  say,  reason  was  sufiicient  to  direct.  Reason,  as  now 
with  us,  had  been  improved  by  Christianity.  But  even  so,  could 
a'eason  be  relied  upon  ?  Reason,  perverted  by  sin,  swayed  to  and 
ii"0  by  the  dark  passions  of  the  heart,  how  could  it  be  a  guide  to 
moral  actions  ?  Any  rule  of  morality  must,  if  true,  from  the  nature 
of  things,  be  universal;  it  could  not  be  a  rule  derivable  from  an  indi- 
vidual. Such  a  universal  and  fixed  standard  was  to  be  found  in  re- 
vealed religion  alone.  The  rule  which  permitted  one  man  to  do 
with  a  good  conscience  what  pother  might  not  do  with  a  good 
conscience,  could  not  be  a  rule  for  every  one. 

In  the  first  place,  religion  binds  us  to  God  as  the  author  of  faith, 
and  then,  as  a  consequence,  just  as  the  light  comes  from  the  sun,  so 
do  all  duties  rise  up  in  order  and  harmony ;  and  the  man  who  has 
true  religion  is  a  man  who  would  be  true  to  God,  and  to  his  coun- 
try next,  for  next  to  God,  a  man's  country  has  a  claim  upon  him  ; 
he  'W'ill  be  true  to  his  family,  to  his  neighbor,  and  to  his  friend,  and 
he  will  not  be  false  to  his  enemy.  And  all  this  is  the  deduction 
from  a  simple  principle,  perfectly  resulting  from  religion  ordering 
our  obligations,  and  thus  giving  us  grace  to  discharge  them,  so  that 


8EBMON8.  227 

when  the  period  of  life  shall  have  passed  away,  we  may  be  associ- 
ated with  God  forever.  This  is  not  any  new  doetrine :  it  is  a  doc- 
tiine  with  which  the  Fathers  of  the  Church  were  familiar  from  a  very 
early  period.  TertuUian,  with  that  nervousness  of  style  which  char- 
acterized him,  almost  taunted  the  persecuting  Romans.  He  said : 
"  You  mistake — you  have  a  suspicion  that  our  religion  will  be  in- 
jurious to  the  empire,  but  we  offer  the  holy  sacrifice  of  the  Mass  for 
you  when  you  are  sacrificing  our  martyrs ;  when  you  are  shedding 
our  blood,  we  pray  for  your  Caesar ;  we  offer  ourselves  to  aid  you  in 
repairing  any  disasters,  when  you  are  careless  about  them ;  we  go 
into  your  armies  and  fight  your  battles,  when  your  own  people 
refuse." 

We  find  St.  Chrysostom  enlarging  upon  the  same  subject,  and 
showing  that  no  society  can  exist  without  religion ;  that  there  is  no 
security  even  in  the  temporal  ordei* — for  that  is  the  point  of  view 
from  which  I  am  regarding  this  subject — and  he  gives  as  a  reason 
for  it,  that  when  God  revealed  i-eligion,  this  was  His  teaching. 
When  He  permitted,  as  a  punishment,  a  nation  to  be  involved  in 
idolatry,  still  He  preserved  the  idea  of  religion  ;  and  I  invoke  the 
testimony  of  all  mankind,  and  of  all  ages  and  creeds  and  sects,  for 
the  proof  of  this  fact — that,  according  to  the  testimony  of  mankind, 
there  is  no  standard  of  morality  in  principle  or  honor,  apart  from 
religion,  that  can  constitute  a  basis  of  safety  for  society,  or  protec- 
tion for  the  i-ights  of  man.  And  what  is  the  proof?  It  is  before 
our  eyes  at  this  very  day.  Those  men  say  that  honor  would  pi-event 
them  from  the  commission  of  a  sin  or  crime ;  that  it  would  make 
them  ashamed  to  do  a  mean  act ;  but  with  all  that,  they  oblige  the 
incumbent  of  office  to  begin  by  an  act  of  religion  in  taking  an  oath. 
This  is  because  his  reason  and  principle  of  honor  are  not  deemed 
sufficient.  And  that  act  of  the  oath  to  discharge  the  duties  of  his 
office  can  be  traced  back  to  the  pagan  times,  for  God  allowed  the 
feeling  to  remaiii  in  the  human  heart.  Therefore,  let  not  the  idea 
enter  your  minds  of  receiving  that  cant,  that  religion  is  something 
for  Sundays — very  good  for  private  purposes.  That  is  vain  religion, 
or,  rather,  infidelity.  And  a  vain  religion  is  what  would  imply  all 
these  obligations,  and  yet  conduct  varying  from  them.  Let  us  ap- 
preciate duly  this  distinction,  for  this  church  is  this  day  dedicated 
to  God  for  the  purpose  of  perpetuating  religion,  so  important  in  the 
attainment  of  your  salvation — so  important  in  the  hopes  of  your 
rising  families — so  important  to  you  in  the  prospective  view  of  your 
old  age.  In  short,  if  you  take  away  the  basis  of  religion,  morality 
is  at  an  end.  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  every  man  will  go  to  the 
whole  extent  of  immorality,  but  I  mean  to  say  there  will  be  no 
foundation  left;  that  there  are  certain  prime  tests  which  may  invade 
any  man's  breast,  in  which  neither  honor  nor  principle  will  sustain 
him.  There  are  certain  means  which  man  may  adopt  to  obtain 
liigh  offices,  which  religion  forbids  the  use  of  What  are  those  prin- 
ciples of  honor  which  you  talk  of  but  the  principles  infused  into  the 
world  by  the  Catholic  Church,  and  which   have  penetrated  into  so- 


228  AEOHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

ciety  that  no  longer  recognizes  the  authority,  the  source  from  which 
they  emanated  ?  Understand  that  no  amount  of  piety  will  be  suffi- 
cient in  the  sight  of  God  if  these  every-day  practical  duties  are  neg- 
lected. Cherish  religion  as  the  basis  and  rule  of  moral  life;  cherish 
it  as  the  prospective  safety  of  your  country,  for  what  would  become 
of  you  if  your  honor  or  your  principles  were  at  the  mercy  of  infi- 
dels ?  Even  Voltaire  trembled  when  he  thought  of  communities 
professing  the  principles  that  he  professed ;  but  they  are  still  very 
rife,  and  even  as  rife  in  this  city  as  in  any  other  part  of  the  world. 
Be  on  your  guard  against  them ;  remember,  religion  is  not  a  the- 
ory— it  is  that  by  which  you  reinvigorate  your  hearts.  But  then 
your  service  to  God  does  not  end  with  your  sacred  interview  with 
Him  in  the  holy  place;  you  must  discharge  all  those  duties  that  fami- 
lies and  friends  deserve  at  your  hands,  that  they  may  thus  under- 
stand that  the  practice  of  religion  is  the  surest  guard  for  the  safety 
of  their  country. 


SERMON  ON  THE  OPENING  OF  THE  FIRST  PRO- 
VINCIAL COUNCIL  OF  THE  PROVINCE  OP 
NEW  YORK,  OCTOBER  1st,  1854. 

I  READ  from  the  Gospel  of  this  day,  the  Seventeenth  Sunday  after 
Pentecost,  the  twenty-second  chapter  of  Matthew,  beginning  with 
the  thirty-fifth  verse. 

"  And  one  of  them,  a  doctor  of  the  law,  asked  him,  tempting  him :  Master, 
which  is  the  great  commandment  of  the  law  ?  Jesus  said  to  him.  Thou  shalt 
love  the  Lord  thy  God  mth  thy  whole  heart,  and  with  thy  whole  soul,  and 
■with  thy  whole  mind.  Tliis  is  the  greatest  and  first  commandment.  And  the 
second  is  like  unto  this :  thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself.  On  these  two 
commandments  dependeth  the  whole  law  and  the  prophets." 

The  first  provincial  council  of  the  ecclesiastical  province  of  New 
York  is  about  to  be  solemnly  opened  under  the  invocation  of  the 
Spirit  of  God,  which  you  have  been  all  requested  to  pray  for  during 
these  weeks  past,  for  unless  God  guide  our  deliberations  they  will 
not  have  His  blessing.  It  will  also  be  opened  under  the  solemn  in- 
vocation of  the  power  of  the  prayers  and  intercession  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin  Mary,  the  immaculate  mother  of  our  Iledeemer,  It  is  an  event 
in  the  history  of  the  Church  in  this  country.  There  are — there  must 
be — many  within  the  sound  of  my  voice  who  recollect  the  time  when 
there  was  no  bishop  in  all  that  is  now  this  province,  and  scarcely 
more  than  two  or  three  priests.  Contrasting  the  memory  of  that 
day  with  the  spectacle  which  you  now  witness,  these  persons  must 
be  struck  with  the  wonderful  development  and  progress  which  re- 
ligion has  made  within   this   interval.    There  is,  indeed,  no  new 


SERMONS.  '  229 

question  of  faith,  or  of  doctrine,  to  be  discussed  in  our  assembly. 
There  is  no  rising  heresy  to  be  met  by  the  testimony  of  the  bishops 
and  pastors  of  the  Catholic  Church.  But  the  new  relations  which 
have  sprung  up  in  consequence  of  the  multiplicity  of  bishoprics,  and,  of  ~ 
course,  the  great  increase  of  boundaries  between  one  diocese  and 
anotlier,  has  rendered  it  expedient  that  these  venerable  prelates 
should  assemble,  and  that  we  should  take  counsel  together  under 
the  invocation  of  that  divine  Spirit  of  God  as  to  the  things  which 
make  for  the  peace  of  Sion,  the  order  of  the  house  of  God,  and  the 
beauty  of  Jerusalem.  And  although  there  be  no  question  of  doc- 
trine before  this  council,  there  are  many  things  which  require  that 
kind  of  regulation  which  is  provided  for  in  the  economy  and  disci- 
pline of  the  Catholic  Church;  boundaries  and  the  relations  between 
one  diocese  and  another  to  be  settled,  so  that  there  may  be  no  con- 
fusion ;  an  increased  and  growing  zeal  is  to  be  encouraged  among  the 
clergy;  the  extension  on  every  side  of  the  knowledge  of  the  truth, 
and  the  means  by  which  men  may  come  into  closer  communion  with 
their  God,  and  by  which  they  may  be  enabled  to  accomplish  their 
own  salvation. 

These  are  matters  which  must  occupy  the  attention  of  the  assem- 
bled fathers  during  the  few  days  that  we  shall  have  the  happiness  to 
be  together,  and,  with  them,  of  their  learned  theologians  who  bring 
into  this  council  the  experience  of  their  ministiy  among  the  people 
for  years,  and  who  are  enabled  to  present  their  views  as  to  the 
breaches  of  discipline  to  be  repaired,  what  order  touching  sacred 
things  is  to  be  vindicated  and  established,  so  as  to  bring  every  thing 
into  perfect  uniformity  with  the  general  discii^line  of  the  Catholic 
Church.  On  such  an  auspicious  occasion  how  would  it  be  pos. 
sible  for  me  to  have  selected  words  from  the  sacred  Scriptures  more 
appropriate  than  those  which  the  very  Gospel  of  the  day — as  I'ead 
in  the  Mass — has  furnished,  and  which  you  have  just  heard  ?  For, 
after  all,  whatever  else  may  come  as  consequences,  the  primary  ob- 
ject is  to  set  before  you  the  words  of  our  divine  Saviour  to  those 
who  interrogated  Him,  not  from  a  sincere  desire  of  truth,  but,  as  often 
before  under  other  circumstances,  to  entrap  Him  in  His  words.  A  law- 
yer inquired  of  Him  which  was  the  great  commandment,  as  if  he  were 
prepared  to  follow  it  the  moment  he  heard  what  it  was ;  and  our 
divine  Saviour,  in  a  few  words,  in  that  simple,  touching,  but  full  and 
complete  style  which  Avas  peculiar  to  him  as  the  divine  Teacher, 
answered :  "  There  are  two ;  or,  rather,  ofie  with  a  consequence, 
and  that  one  is,  to  love  God  with  one's  whole  heart,  with 
one's  whole  soul,  with  one's  whole  mind.  This  is  the  first  and 
greatest."  And  you  will  observe  that  our  divine  Redeemer  speaks 
only  partially  of  the  other,  as  if  it  was  in  its  very  nature  a  conse- 
quence of  the  one  laid  down,  and  to  impress  upon  those  who  heard 
him  and  upon  us, — for  these  words  were  not  spoken  for  the  lawyer, 
but  for  his  disciples  of  all  ages,  to  impress  upon  him,  and  upon  us, 
that  the  man  who  loves  God  as  God  alone  deserves  to  be  loved, 
cannot  avoid  loving  his  neighbor  as  himself     If,  then,  this  be  the 


230  AKCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

whole  of  the  law  and  the  prophets,  how  would  it  be  possible  to  con- 
dense into  briefer  language  the  great  end  for  which  councils  are 
generally  called,  for  which  the  ministry  is  appointed,  for  which  the 
sacraments  have  been  instituted,  for  which  God  sent  forth  to  all  tbe 
world  teachers  to  echo  and  to  re-echo,  and  to  continue  to  echo  these  eter- 
nal truths  to  the  end  of  time  ?  And  therefore  it  is  that  in  the  few  re- 
marks which  I  shall  make,  I  shall  call  your  attention  to  that  partic- 
ular precept  of  our  divine  Saviour.  It  is  the  sura  of  Christian  pro- 
priety ;  it  is  the  perfection  of  the  evangelical  law ;  it  is  the  fulness 
of  the  spirit  of  divine  Christian  love ;  it  is  what  ouglat  to  be  the  study 
of  all  who  profess  to  be  the  disciples  of  the  Son  of  God ; — to  love 
God.  And  why  ?  Need  I  unfold  at  any  length  the  motives  which 
should  induce  the  creature  to  love  and  adore  the  Creator  ?  Would 
it  be  necessary  for  me  to  explain  to  you  how  God,  in  this  amiable- 
ness,  this  loveliness,  is  intinitely  amiable  ?  how,  in  short,  by  a  law 
peculiar  to  His  own  being — infinite  in  that  as  in  all  other  attributes — 
fle  has  prepared  the  hearts  of  men — that  is,  endowed  them  with  a 
capacity  for  that  highest  and  most  sacred  of  all  precepts  ?  how  He 
has  made  love  an  essential  want  of  the  human  soul,  and  how  he  has 
stamped  the  difference  between  that  love  which  has  Himself  and  His 
intinitely  perfect  attributes  for  its  object,  and  all  other  loves?  how 
all  other  loves  disappoint,  and  how  they  pass  away?  how  they  are 
fleeting  ?  how  they  are  unsubstantial,  though  sometimes  delusive  ? 
how  the  love  of  honor  is  but  the  glitter  which  tempts  the  imagination 
and  the  poor  wandering  mind  of  man  ?  how  wealth,  if  men  love  wealth 
— the  basest  species  of  love — beyond  the  reasonable  wants  of  human 
nature,  is  incapable  of  satisfying  ?  how  it  disappoints  and  corrodes,  and 
cannot  return  any  thing  like  happiness  to  the  man  who  sacrifices  the 
power  of  a  noble  heart  at  the  shrine  of  that  base  idol ;  how  all  these 
species  of  love,  of  human  love,  even  the  love  of  parents,  must  pass 
away  and  die  out ;  and  then  nothing  remains  of  that  heart  which 
God  made  so  capable  of  love,  except  himself?  It  was  the  remark  of 
Saint  Augustine  that  God  had  made  the  heart  of  man  for  obedience 
to  this  precept,  and  made  it  under  such  a  law  that  it  never  can  find 
rest  till  it  rest  in  the  centre  of  all  perfection,  and  in  the  source  of  all 
that  is  holy  and  beautiful — that  is,  in  God  himself.  Besides,  need  I 
say  more,  when  we  know  that  day  by  day  we  are  so  dependent  on 
the  sustaining  arm  of  that  almighty  Being,  that  it  requires  the  same 
power  to  sustain  us  hour  by  hour  which  it  did  to  create  us,  or  to 
create  the  world ;  that  we  live  and  move  only  by  His  permission, 
and  that  no  matter  how  we  may  flatter  and  deceive  ourselves  in 
supposing  that  we  are  the  architects  of  our  own  prospei"ity,  and 
that  we  are  the  framers  and  the  projectors  of  our  own  good  fortune  ? 
Let  us  not  be  deceived ;  it  is  by  the  permission  of  God  tliat  we  so 
prosper ;  but  that  permission  is  connected  with  a  responsibility. 
The  only  thing  is,  that  we  should  remember  that  we  are  at  all  limes 
instantaneously  and  constantly  dependent  on  the  support  of  that 
almighty  and  perfect  Father  who  has  created  and  who  sustains  us. 
Need  I  say  more  ?     Again,  when  our  race  fell  from  innocence ; 


8EEM0NS.  231 

when  God  had  endowed  it  with  the  attribute,  the  only  one  that 
would  enable  it  to  render  Him  homage,  according  to  that  nature 
Avhicli  He  has  given  us,  according  to  that  intellect,  that  capacity  for 
love,  and  that  moral  being — when  the  race,  I  say,  fell  from  that 
state  of  innocence,  has  He  ceased  to  look  after  us?  On  the  con- 
trary, has  He  not  sent  His  only-begotten  Son  to  reinstate  us,  if  we 
will,  in  the  inheritance  which  we  had  forfeited,  either  by  original 
sin  or  by  our  own  actual  transgressions?  Under  these  circum- 
stances there  is  no  necessity  to  urge  the  reasons  why  M'e  should 
love  God  above  all  things,  because  he  is  incomparable.  There  is 
no  thing  that  can  be  compared  to  him.  He  is  the  one  God,  and 
there  is  no  other  to  whom  He  can  be  compared — a  Being  infinite, 
perfect,  and  the  source  of  all  that  we  are  and  of  all  that  we  have, 
both  in  the  order  of  nature  and  in  the  order  of  grace.  We  owe  to 
Him — if  we  have  the  slightest  capacity  to  interpret  in  the  slightest 
degree  the  very  speakings  and  throbbings  of  our  own  hearts ;  we 
owe  to  Him  that  love,  and  love  less  than  that  here  described  is  not 
worthy  of  God.  But  that  other  part  to  which  our  divine  Saviour 
I'efers — to  love  our  neighbor  as  ourselves — He  deduces  as  a  conse- 
quence, partly  distinct,  but  having  one  common  origin.  And  the  rea- 
son of  that  is  manifest.  We  are  all  God's  children.  We  are  bound 
to  love  our  Father,  and  if  we  are  bound  to  love  our  Father,  then, 
for  our  Father's  sake,  we  are  bound  to  love  each  other.  That  is 
clear.  The  light  of  reason  comprehends  it  instantly,  and  here  is 
the  motive  which  distinguishes  charity  from  other  species  of  affec- 
tion. I  know  that  it  is  common  to  speak  of  philanthropy — and  phi- 
lanthropy is  a  beautiful  pagan  sentiment.  But  there  is  not  a  parti- 
cle of  charity  in  the  word  philanthropy  alone.  Philanthropy  is  a 
sentiment  that  is  capricious.  A  man  may  say,  and  take  great  com- 
placency in  thinking,  that  he  loves  all  mankind,  and  that  he  loves 
them  all  alike.  But  when  he  comes  to  the  experience,  day  by  day, 
of  the  varieties  of  character  which  he  will  meet,  and  of  the  antag- 
onism and  the  opposition  of  sentiment,  he  will  soon  find  that  he  is 
under  the  caprice  of  his  own  unstable  feelings  and  of  his  own  un- 
stable heart ;  and  consequently  that  he  is  guideless  and  starless  on  that 
broad  ocean  whicli  he  calls  philanthropy.  He  is  propelling  his  own 
bark — if  you  will — and  is  pleased  with  the  progress  he  is  making : 
but  he  has  no  guide  and  no  rudder  to  steer  by  ;  he  has  no  point  in 
view  and  has  no  point  of  departure.  Philanthropy  is  a  sentiment 
fickle  and  changeable  as  the  human  heart  and  the  human  mind ; 
whereas,  if  you  take  charity,  you  have  God  always  as  the  star,  the 
bright,  ever-shining  star  to  guide  your  course,  because  he  is  entitled 
to  your  love. 

Your  fellow-man  may  be  unworthy  in  a  certain  sense  ;  he  may  be 
one  who  has  not  those  peculiar  qualities  which  are  calculated  to  at- 
tract, but  rather  to  repel  and  disgust ;  still,  when  he  falls  under  the 
eye  of  divine  charity,  charity  beholds  in  him  the  image  of  God,  the 
Creator  and  Father  of  all,  and  one  redeemed  by  the  blood  of  Christ ; 
and  from  that  moment,  all  that  natural  repulsiveness  disappears,  and 


232  ARCHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

Christ  springs  up  to  the  eye  of  faith,  and  charity  ministers  to  Him 
as  its  own  divine  office.  Hence,  my  dearly  beloved  brethren,  the 
first  precept  of  Christ  is  charity.  But  I  speak  now  more  particularly 
of  charity  among  men,  and  I  need  not  enlarge  my  remarks  to  ex- 
plain how  it  is  that  charity — this  Christian  charity  of  which  I  speak — 
is  inconsistent  with  a  certain  interestedness,  or,  I  may  call  it  by  a 
lower  word  still,  selfishness,  which  is  the  enemy  of  charity,  and  of 
course,  the  enemy  of  the  peace  of  mankind.  Ciiarity  is  disinter- 
ested. '•  Charity,"  says  the  Apostle,  "  seeketh  not  its  own  ;  it  be- 
lieveth  all  things ;  it  hopeth  all  things."  Charity  hath  its  original  mo- 
tive too  elevated  to  be  disturbed  by  those  reasons  wliich  would  repel 
and  break  up  all  the  pretended  benevolence  of  simple  philanthropy. 
If  we  look  for  the  perfect  image  of  charity,  we  shall  find  it  in  our 
divine  Saviour  Himself.  What  is  our  belief  in  respect  to  Him  ? 
That,  for  our  sakes,  He  put  away  all  that  which  could  be  called  self- 
interest.  He  was  rich  and  glorious  in  heaven  as  He  was  in  the  be- 
ginning as  "  the  Word  with  God."  He  was  God,  and  He  made  Him- 
self man,  in  order  that  in  our  nature,  by  a  union  of  the  divine  with 
the  human,  He  might  redeem  us.  But  at  what  sacrifice  ?  Oh,  who 
is  it  that  can  study  the  love  of  our  divine  Redeemer,  and  witness  the 
humiliation  to  which  He  subjected  Himself,  even  before  His  last 
agonizing  hour,  and  not  say  that  there  is  charity — that  there  is  per- 
fect charity — that  there  is  the  model  of  charity  ?  He  has  not  left 
it  unsaid,  "  A  new  commandment  I  give  unto  you ;  and  this  is  my 
commandment,  that  ye  love  one  another  as  I  have  loved  you." 
This  precept  of  charity,  therefore,  is  not  simply  a  sentiment  nor  a 
work  of  supererogation  which  Christians  can  perform  or  can  leave  un- 
performed without  crime.  It  is  a  positive  commandment  of  our  divine 
Redeemer.  It  is  His  commandment ;  and  so  much  so  that  He  has 
said,  "By  this  shall  men  know  that  ye  are  my  disciples,  if  ye  love  one 
another."  How  can  we  then  love  one  another — how  can  we  exercise 
that  universal  and  beautiful  precept  of  Christian  charity,  if  every 
man  keeps  selfishness  in  his  own  heart,  and  cares  not  for  his  neigh- 
bor. What  is  it  that  augments  disturbance  in  families?  Some- 
times the  merest  trifle,  sometimes  a  word  thoughtlessly  spoken,  or 
improperly  interpreted ;  and  thus  little  and  little,  that  natural  and 
perverse  feeling  of  selfishness  acts  in  one  breast  and  acts  in  another, 
till  alienation — and  alienation  gradully  becoming  greater  and 
greater — is  the  consequence.  At  last  comes  the  spirit  of  vindictive- 
ness,  sometimes  showing  as  if  the  demon  had  taken  possession 
of  that  heart  which  Christ  should  have  sanctified.  It  is  so  in  do- 
mestic life ;  it  is  so  in  social  life ;  it  is  the  origin  of  wars  between 
nations ;  it  is  the  origin  of  civil  strife ;  it  is  the  curse  of  mankind ; 
it  is  the  triumph  of  old  Adam  over  our  divine  Saviour.  And  every 
Christian  who  would  be  a  true  disciple  of  the  Son  of  God,  must 
study  to  banish  and  remove  that  selfishness,  as  a  principle  of  his  na- 
ture, corrupt  in  itself,  and.  antagonistic  to  the  Divine  and  beautiful 
virtue  of  Christian  charity.  By  Christian  charity  we  love  our  neigh- 
bor.   And  who  is  our  neisrhbor  ?     Those  that  we  have  associations 


SERMONS.  233 

with  are  intimately  our  neighbors;  tliose  of  our  city  are  our  neigh- 
bors ;  those  of  our  country  are  our  neighbors ;  those  of  the  whole 
eartli  are  our  neighbors.  Whoever  is  made  to  the  image  and  like- 
ness of  God  is  man's  neighbor;  and  to  him,  man — that  is,  a  Chris- 
tian man — if  he  follow  the  precepts  of  his  divine  Master,  owes  all 
the  sacred  obligations  of  Christian  charity.  Nay,  has  He  not  com- 
manded us  to  love  our  enemies  ?  and  this  is  so  much,  that  pagans 
fornierly  regarded  Christianity  as  an  absurdity,  because  it  command- 
ed Avhat  was  impossible. 

Is  it  not  impossible?  Proofs  are  innumerable, in  ecclesiastical  his- 
tory, of  its  exercise.  If  they  supposed — if  they  understood  that  this 
love  of  our  enemies,  this  doing  good  to  those  who  hated  us, 
praying  for  those  who  persecuted  us,  consisted,  like  philantliropy,  in 
a  certain  sympathetic  affection  towards  our  enemies,  this  were 
another  question.  But  our  divine  Saviour  has  not  made  the  princi- 
ples of  Christian  virtue  and  Christian  excellence  dependent  upon  any 
basis  so  fluctuating  as  a  mere  sentiment  of  the  human  breast.  Char- 
ity is  an  eternal  principle.  I  have  already  suggested  that,  when  say- 
ing that  in  God  you  see  the  motives  why  you  should  love  your 
enemy,  because  he  is  God's  creature,  and  God  loves  him  as  well  as 
you ;  if  he  commits  an  error,  the  common  Father  waits  for  his  conver- 
sion, and  you  need  not  be  less  indulgent.  It  cannot  be  expected,  there- 
fore, that  you  should  entertain  or  express  towards  him  the  senti- 
ments that  bind  the  nearest  relations  of  social  or  domestic  life.  It  is 
not  the  sensibility  of  the  father  or  mother  towards  their  children,  but  it 
is  a  principle  stronger  than  sensibility,  for  sensibility  is  something 
variable.  But  when  God  is  eternally  God,  and  eternally  perfect,  and 
eternally  the  father  of  all,  and  He  commands  you  to  love  your  enemy 
in  the  sense  of  wishing  him  well,  and  of  doing  him  good,  if  He  stand 
in  need  of  it,  and  if  it  were  in  your  power  to  do  it — then  the  pre- 
cept is  not  only  possible,  but  feasible  and  delightful.  It  is  a  luxury 
to  a  man  who  is  so  imbued  with  a  spirit  of  Christian  love  that  he 
can  exercise  that  virtue.  Thus,  dearly  beloved  brethren,  in  all  our 
relations,  this  precept  of  brotherly  love  is  one  that  ought  to  be  cher- 
ished ;  and  that  other  antagonistic  principle  of  selfishness,  when  a 
man  shuts  his  eyes  to  all  that  is  foreign  from  himself,  and  thinks  of 
himself  alone,  lives  for  himself  alone,  labors  for  himself,  and,  at  all 
times,  even  to  the  extent,  perhaps,  of  absolute  injustice,  prefers  his 
own  personal  interests  to  the  interests  of  his  neighbor, — oh,  this 
man  knows  not  what  is  Christian  charity.  Christian  charity  is  dis- 
interested, it  is  broad,  it  is  expansive,  it  takes  in  all  that  God  has  cre- 
ated, no  matter  whether  we  may  have  been  acquainted  with  them  or  not. 
For  it  is  remarkable,  as  I  observed  before,  that  the  capacity  of  the 
human  heart  seems  to  be  something  infinite.  You  can  love  all  that 
you  know — your  country,  the  people  of  all  other  countries — and 
when  you  have  embraced  the  whole  gloi^,  there  is  still  a  superfluity 
of  capacity  for  love  in  that  heart,  by  which  you  can  love  a  thousand 
more  globes  and  their  inhabitants,  were  they  in  existence.  You 
can  rise  above  the  temporal  ordei',  and  indulge  even  that  spirit  of 


234  AECHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

love  in  the  human  heart,  by  embracing  all  the  angels  and  all  the 
spirits  that  surround  the  throne  of  God.  And  yet  you  have  not  ob- 
jects enough  to  fill  the  capacity  for  love  in  your  heart.  You  must 
have  God.  There  is  no  other  that  can  fill  that  almost  infinite  ca- 
pacity but  the  divine  and  infinite  Being.  It  may  be,  my  dear  breth- 
ren, that  at  this  time  there  is  more  reason  than  usual  for  urging 
upon  you  the  necessity  for  this  precept.  It  is  not  to  be  disguised,  that 
if  charity  be  at  all  times  an  obligation,  and  if  at  all  times  we  are 
bound  to  bear  with  patience  injuries  from  others,  for  God's  sake, 
and  if  at  all  times  we  are  bound  to  love  our  enemies,  there  are  at 
this  particular  time  reasons  why  you  should  impress  more  and  more 
deeply  on  your  hearts  the  importance  of  this  divine  obligation  im- 
posed upon  you  by  your  Saviour.  And  what  are  those  reasons? 
Why,  the  reasons  are,  that  not  only  as  individuals,  when  any  of 
your  number  transgresses  the  law,  but  as  a  whole  body  you  are  held 
accountable.  The  reasons  are,  that  you  are  denounced — and  it 
is  hai-d  for  human  weakness  to  bear  reproaches  on  the  most  delicate 
topics  that  can  arouse  the  resentment  of  man — that  you  are  de- 
nounced as  being  unfit,  on  account  of  your  religion,  to  enjoy  the 
privileges  of  the  country  you  inhabit.  You  are  denounced  because 
those  principles  of  faith  and  religion  which  you  profess  are  said  to 
be  adverse  to  the  spirit  and  genius  of  the  institutions  of  this 
country. 

These  denunciations  are  such,  that  even  on  the  Sunday  you  can 
hardly  pass  from  one  portion  of  the  city  to  another  without  coming 
within  the  reach  of  some  living  voice  that  is  sustained  in  those  de- 
nunciations, as  if  you  had  not  the  right  to  walk  the  public  streets 
"without  being  reduced  to  the  necessity  of  hearing  insult  adequate  to 
the  stirring  up  of  the  proud  spirit  of  men  who  take  their  model  from 
the  standai'd  of  liberty  recognized  popularly  in  this  country.  Well,  for 
that  reason,  the  more  necessity  of  charity,  the  more  necessity  of  pa- 
tience, the  more  necessity  for  you  to  avoid  every  thing  oifensive. 
Propagate  among  those  whom  you  know,  as  a  principle  of  religion,  to 
avoid  every  thing  which  can  disturb  the  peace  and  order  of  society, 
or  violate  the  laws  of  the  country.  It  is  not  necessary  for  you  at 
this  day  to  enter  into  any  defence.  It  is  not  at  all  requisite  that  you 
should  begin  to  prove  by  syllogism  that  you  are  loyal  citizens.  The 
history  of  your  creed,  even  in  this  country,  is  a  proof  of  your  loy- 
alty. From  the  earliest  period  when  Europeans  settled  here,  your 
ancestors  in  the  faith  were  of  their  numbers ;  and  they  took  part  in 
every  thing  appertaining  to  the  country's  welfare  and  progress,  and 
in  proportion  to  their  numbei'S  they  were  found  in  the  high  places 
of  legislation,  and  in  the  high  places  of  judiciary.  They  Avere  found 
in  the  cabinet ;  and  they  were  found  on  the  battle-field,  and  on  the 
floods  of  the  ocean  fighting  for  their  country.  Let  our  enemies 
point  to  one  that  has  ever  disgraced  the  position  which  he  occupied. 
Till  they  do  that  it  is  in  vain  for  them  to  pretend  to  question  the 
loyalty  of  men  whose  loyalty  is  not  a  mere  affection  of  selt-inter- 
est,  but  a  principle.     Who  is  it  that  can  trace  the  history  of  the 


SEBMONS.  235 

Chui'cli,  who  will  not  see  that  this  same  chai'ity  which  we  have 
spoken  of,  and  this  same  loyalty  to  which  I  now  refer,  have  ever  ac- 
companied those  who  were  in  communion  with  the  Church  of  God  ? 
Need  I  refer  to  the  whole  history  of  persecution  to  prove  it !  Under 
pagan  Rome,  for  three  hundred  years,  all  the  machinery  of  that  vast 
empire  was  plied  with  cruelty  to  crush  and  extinguish  the  rising 
heresy  of  the  Christian  faith ;  and  yet,  were  Christians  ever 
disloyal  ?  Is  there  a  single  instance  of  their  being  disloyal  ?  They 
understand  better  the  nature  of  their  religion — of  the  religion  of  Him 
who  taught  them  this  principle,  that  the  first  duty  which  man  owes 
is  to  his  God,  and  the  second  duty  to  his  country.  And  his  country 
is  the  land  in  which  he  was  born  ;  or  if  not,  the  land  to  which  he 
pledges  his  solemn  allegiance  on  oath.  He  is  not  free  to  be  disloyal. 
It  is  of  obligation  to  be  loyal.  It  is  the  very  principle  of  the  Catho- 
lic Church  that  a  man's  family  has  a  third  claim  upon  him,  the  sec- 
ond claim  being  that  of  his  country.  And  for  that  country  he 
must  sacrifice  property,  and,  if  necessary,  life  itself  He  knows  but 
one  country ;  he  can  recognize  but  one  country ;  and,  therefore,  in 
the  Catholic  religion  there  is  no  such  thing  as  the  possibility  of  dis- 
loyalty to  a  land  to  which  we  owe  our  obligation.  Need  I  refer  to 
the  last  three  hundred  years'  persecution  under  the  British  empire, 
during  which  time  the  same  cry  was  kept  up,  and  all  who  professed 
the  Catholic  faith  were  debarred  from  honors,  subject  to  fines,  had 
their  schools  closed  by  supreme  authority,  so  as  to  make  them  dark- 
minded,  and  blind,  and  ignorant  ?  And  yet  the  reproach  against  them 
is,  that  they  were  loyal — too  loyal.  Viewed,  then,  by  the  tests  of 
history  as  exemplifying  the  spirit  of  the  Christian  Church,  is  it  possi- 
ble, that  in  a  country  in  which  we  enjoy  such  advantages,  in  which 
the  government  declares  itself  impartially  just  towards  all,  with- 
out knowing  any  distinction  before  the  law,  in  which  w^e  are  made 
equal,  in  which  we  have  the  liberty  to  assemble  here  in  council — a 
privilege  which  we  could  not  enjoy  in  some  countries  which  call 
themselves  Catholic — is  it  possible,  I  say,  that  in  such  a  country  we 
should  not  love  the  institutions,  and  cherish  them  with  an  afiection 
deeper  than  those  who  have  been  unable  to  make  a  comparison  be- 
tween this  and  lands  and  governments  of  bondage  ?  But  the  ob- 
ject of  these  remarks,  dearly  beloved  brethren,  has  been  to  im- 
press upon  you  the  necessity  of  adhering  to  the  true  principles  of 
your  religion.  If  you  adhere  to  the  principles  of  the  Catholic  faith, 
you  cannot  err  in  matters  of  a  secondary  character.  And  if  it  be 
a  fact  that  some  persons  have  violated  the  law,  with  what  justice 
is  it  that  the  whole  body  should  be  branded  with  the  stain  of  their 
misconduct,  and  that  it  should  be  imputed  to  the  Catholic  Church? 
Whereas,  in  every  instance,  you  will  find  the  individual  who  trans- 
gresses is  one  who  pays  very  little  attention  to  the  Catholic  Church, 
but  who  does  not  come  within  the  sound  of  the  word  of  God  on 
Sundays,  who  does  not  attend  to  the  sacraments  of  his  Church,  but 
who  goes  abroad  reckless  of  consequences;  and  for  that  matter, 
having  no  other  claim  to  attention,  except  the  very  violation  of  the 


236  ARCHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

laws  which  bring  disgrace  upon  liim.  But  tliis  ought  not  to  bring 
disgrace  on  those  who  conduct  tliemselves  in  a  proper  Christian  man- 
ner. Let  us  all  then  be  prepared,  if  the  day  of  trial  should  come,  to 
bear  with  patience  scoffs  and  taunts.  Let  us  not  be  down-hearted  if, 
when  we  are  insulted  by  the  living  voice  of  public  brawlers  in  the  streets, 
the  newspaper  press  which  used  to  be,  in  the  happier  days  of  this  gov- 
ernment, the  guardian  of  every  man's  rights,  which  spoke  with  au- 
thority for  more  powerful  than  that  of  governor,  mayor,  or  legislator, 
because  it  kept  always  before  its  eyes  the  original  principle  of  equality 
between  men,leaving  every  man  to  be  punished  by  the  law  according  to 
the  extent  of  his  own  personal  guilt — if  a  degraded  newspaper  press  be 
found  echoing  and  almost  apologizing  for,  indecencies  that  it  used  to 
notice  only  with  indignant  scorn  and  reprobation — it  is  no  longer  true 
to  its  calling.  Before  you  retire,  therefore,  I  would  exhort  you  to 
unite  in  prayer,  such  as  will  be  offered  in  the  sanctuary,  that  Almighty 
God  may  bless  our  council ;  that  our  deliberations  may  be  conducted 
so  as  to  promote  His  glory,  and  to  increase  the  love  of  Him  among 
mankind,  and  the  love  of  mankind  among  themselves  and  each  other. 
Let  that  be  the  object  of  your  prayer,  for  it  is  customary,  and  has  been 
from  the  beginning  of  the  Church,  to  invite  the  faithful  to  unite  always 
in  the  petitioning  God  that  He  would  guide  and  direct  those  things 
which  have  for  their  object  the  ordering  of  His  house,  and  the  promo- 
tion of  the  peace  and  happiness  of  mankind  on  this  earth,  and  in  tho 
better  world  to  which  we  aspire. 


TRIUMPHS  OF  THE  CATHOLIC  CHURCH. 

SERMON  ON  PALM  SUNDAY,  1855. 

"  And  a  very  great  multitude  spread  their  garments  in  the  way,  and  others 
cut  boughs  from  the  trees  and  strewed  them  in  the  way :  And  the  mul- 
titudes that  went  before  and  that  followed,  cried,  saying :  Hosanna  to  the  Son 
of  David :  Blessed  is  he  that  cometh  in  the  name  of  the  Lord :  Hosanna  in  the 
highest."— St.  Matthew,  xxi.  8,  9. 

The  narrative  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  as  read  in  the  Mass  of 
Palm  Sunday,  is  the  history  of  the  Passion  of  our  Saviour.  It  be- 
gins with  the  21st  chapter  of  St.  Matthew,  and  concludes  in  the 
27th,  and  is  appropriately  read  at  this  season.  But  the  words  wliich 
we  have  just  read  as  our  text,  are  those  which  are  especially  appli- 
cable to  the  solemnity  of  the  day.  They  are  the  record  of  the  en- 
thusiasm of  the  people,  on  seeing  the  Son  of  God  entering  into  the 
Holy  City.  They  are  the  records  also  of  that  mutability  of  human 
affections,  by  which  the  same  voices  that  then  cried  out,  "  Hosanna," 
a  few  days  afterwards,  under  change  of  circumstances,  cried  out, 
"  Let  Him  be  crucified."     Nevertheless,  the  Church,  in  order  to  im- 


SERMONS.  237 

press  upon  you  the  great  truth — that  if  our  Saviour  submitted  to 
the  humiliation  of  the  Passion,  it  was  not  by  necessity,  but  by  His 
own  choice,  and  as  tlie  manifestation  of  his  love — the  Chui"ch,  I  say, 
has  preserved  these  words  in  the  Gospel  that  you,  following  day  by 
day,  through  the  ecclesiastical  year,  the  course  of  the  mysteries  of 
the  earthly  life  of  the  Son  of  God,  may  say  in  welcoming  him  to 
your  hearts:  "Hosanna!  blessed  is  He  that  cometh  in  the  name  of 
the  Lord."  In  short,  the  palms  you  wear  are  significant  of  triumph 
as  well  as  of  joy.  The  palm  is  the  symbol  which,  along  the  aisles  of 
the  catacombs,  distinguishes  among  the  saints  who  were  laid  there 
to  sleep  during  the  fii'St  ages  of  the  Church,  those  who  died  as 
martyrs  to  their  faith.  The  branch  of  palm  and  the  ampula^  the 
vial  of  blood  engraved  on  their  tombs,  distinguish  the  martyrs 
above  all  others,  and  symbolize  victory.  Victory !  And  yet  it 
seems  strange  for  me  to  speak  to  you  to-day  on  the  subject  of  vic- 
tory, since  there  is  no  necessity  for  us  now  to  speak  of  the  victory 
of  the  Son  of  God,  seeing  that  He  has  triumphed  over  death  and 
the  grave — thus  became  a  conqueror.  But  it  has  its  application  to 
the  Church,  which  inherits  the  vicissitudes  of  His  life.  That 
Church  is  heir  to  His  sufferings,  and  at  the  same  time  to  His  tri- 
umphs. 

It  may,  however,  seem  strange  to  you  that  I  should  speak  of  tri- 
umphs, and  of  i)alms  which  symbolize  it,  at  a  moment  when  you  are 
assailed  in  private  circles  and  in  the  public  journals  with  imputa- 
tions of  dishonor,  with  revilings,  with  calumnies,  with  slanders ;  and 
■when  even  those  who  should  be,  and  who  are  by  their  very  office, 
the  appointed  guardians  to  regulate  piinciples  of  eternal  justice, 
have  themselves,  in  pushing  their  authority  to  an  extreme,  at- 
tempted to  invade,  I  will  say,  simply  the  rights  and  liberties  of  the 
Church  of  Jesus  Christ.  This  would  not  seem  a  moment  to  speak 
of  triumph ;  and  yet  it  is  precisely  the  moment  when  that  subject  is 
proper.  It  is  so — because  what  do  these  assaults  prove?  They 
prove  that  ordinary  means  are  now  considered  not  sufficient  to  ar- 
rest the  progress  of  truth  on  the  theatre  of  free  discussion  !  They 
prove  that  there  is  no  way  of  putting  down  this  hated  teacher  of 
the  doctrine  of  the  Son  of  God,  this  representative  of  His  own  pres- 
ence— the  Church — but  by  poisoning  the  minds  of  those  who  know 
naught  of  her  divine  attributes  and  of  her  majestic  beauty ;  by  poi- 
soning their  minds  beforehand,  and  making  them  believe  that  she  is 
a  source  of  corruption,  that  she  is  the  enemy  of  the  human  kind, 
that  she  is  the  adversary  of  all  that  is  enlightened  or  grand  in  con- 
ception or  performance. 

And  if  they  find  this  course  necessary,  is  not  this  a  time  of  tri- 
umph ? 

But  there  is  still  more,  dearly  beloved  brethren.  Looking  over 
the  history  of  this  Churcli,  of  that  miraculous  society,  one,  harmo- 
nious, universal,  independent,  that  one  Christian  society  called  the 
Church — looking,  I  say,  over  the  annals  of  her  history,  and  of  what 
she  has  passed  through,  you  perceive  how  closely  she  resembles,  in 


238  ARCHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

her  history,  the  history  of  the  life  of  her  divine  Founder.  Hers  is  a 
succession  of  trials  and  of  triumphs.  Hers  is,  like  His,  an  everlast- 
ing suffering  from  the  part  of  the  world,  and  of  the  enemies  of 
truth  ;  and  from  the  part  of  God,  a  perpetual  triumph.  And  who 
is  it  that  can  recollect  without  emotion  the  moment  when  the  first 
Apostle  entered  the  gates  of  Rome — the  imperial  mistress  of  the 
world — and  entered  the  lists  with  the  powers  of  that  almost  bound- 
less empire — when  Peter  entered  the  lists  with  Nero?  Both  were 
conquerors;  both  had  their  triumphs !  Nero  had  his  for  a  moment, 
Peter  had  his  triumph  for  all  eternity,  in  heaven  and  on  earth. 
Watching  her  struggling  course  during  the  first  three  hundred 
years,  we  see  that  the  whole  force  of  that  empire,  which  had  sub- 
jected the  nations  of  the  world,  was  directed  towards  the  extinguish- 
ment of  the  young  life  of  Christian  society.  And  yet  that  society 
grew  up,  strengthened  and  expanded,  while  that  mighty  colossus 
of  an  empire  crumbled  into  dust.  Thus  it  is,  that  while,  on  the 
part  of  the  world,  the  Church  is,  and  has  been,  and  ever  will  be  as- 
sailed by  all  the  bad  passions  of  the  human  heart,  allied  with  power, 
allied  with  science,  and  allied  with  Avealth,  and  while  she  must,  like 
her  Master,  suffer  for  the  present,  nevertheless  at  the  proper  time 
she  triumphs. 

But  there  is  a  special  reason  why  the  uplifted  palms  in  your 
hands  to-day  should  be  regarded  by  you  as  a  token  of  triumph,  the 
celebration  of  a  victory.  That  victory  is  the  great  event  which  has 
so  lately  occurred.  It  is  the  definition  of  a  doctrine  which,  although 
believed  as  a  cherished  sentiment  in  the  heart  of  the  Church  for 
eighteen  hundred  years,  had  not  yet  before  received  the  ofticial  seal 
of  the  Church.  I  speak  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Immaculate  Concep- 
tion of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary.  And  the  ground  of  triumph  in 
respect  to  this  topic  is,  not  that  any  definition  or  any  belief  could 
make  that  most  distinguished  and  most  elevated  of  all  God's  intel- 
lectual creatures,  whether  in  heaven  or  on  earth,  more  honored  ;  or 
that  any  definition  could  add  to  her  glory  or  to  her  prerogative, 
but  that  all  the  heresies  by  which  the  Church  has  been  assailed  from 
the  beginning  contains,  without  one  single  exception,  in  the  errors 
which  they  teach,  some  principle  calculated  to  weaken  or  destroy, 
and,  if  possible,  to  bring  into  degradation,  in  the  estimation  of  men, 
the  ever-blessed  Virgin  Mother  of  God.  That  has  been  moi-e  par- 
ticularly the  case  within  the  last  three  hundred  years.  The  least 
ancient  of  the  heresies  which  have  been  preached,  is  that  one  espe- 
cially which  made  it  a  point  to  wound  her  and  cut  her  off.  Their 
theory  was,  to  adore  her  Son,  indeed ;  but  at  the  same  time,  by 
way  of  increasing  His  honor,  they  would  depreciate  the  prerogatives 
of  His  Mother,  and  almost  call  into  questipn  the  attributes  requisite 
to  render  her,  as  the  servant  of  God,  an  object  of  any  special  re- 
spect. And  they  thought  they  were  making  great  progress.  At 
first  they  pretended  to  reject  things,  the  mere  excrescences  of  time, 
which  had  grown  into  the  holy  practices  of  the  Catholic  Church, 
Then  after  these  came  others,  seeing  other  "  errors"  untouched  by 


SERMONS.  239 

the  first  Reformers,  until  finally  every  doctrine  of  the  Church,  even 
to  the  divinity  of  the  Son  of  God,  has  been  not  only  disputed,  but 
denied  and  rgected,  under  the  plea  of  making  Christianity  pure,  and 
at  the  same  time  rational  and  worthy  of  intelligent  beings.  These 
errors  have  gone  as  far  as  they  possibly  could  go.  And  on  the 
other  hand,  while  the  Church  has  maintained  those  doctrines  which 
she  always  had  maintained,  it  is  remarkable  that  in  proportion  to 
the  assaults  of  the  adversaries  of  truth,  the  faith  of  her  children  be- 
comes more  and  more  warmly  intense  towards  every  dogma  which 
her  enemies  had  denied.  Among  them,  more  especially,  the  honor 
of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary,  I  will  not  say  in  the  outward  expres- 
sions of  Catholics  scattered  through  communities  where  no  sounds 
were  heard  but  sounds  of  hostility, — these  may  have  found  them- 
selves, at  times,  under  a  necessity,  as  it  were,  under  a  sense  of  ex- 
pediency, at  least,  not  to  urge  those  truths  which  they  believed, — 
but,  throughout  the  Christian  world,  this  increasing  devotion  to  the 
Virgin  Mary  has  been  general.  Finally,  at  a  time  when  many  of 
these  idle  speculators,  these  philanthropists  without  God,  the  hu- 
raauitariaus  without  any  divinity,  these  men  who  look  at  human  na- 
ture as  a  kind  of  improbable  upper  strata  of  animal  life,  and  have  no 
key  to  its  mysteries — these  men  who  believed  at  last,  I  suppose, 
that  the  Church  of  Christ -had  fulfilled  her  high  mission,  and  was 
now  a  thing  which  had  outlived  the  period  of  its  usefulness,  and 
should  be  cast  aside — then  it  is  that  the  Church  of  Christ  has  de- 
termined a  great  point  of  faith.  Ah!  let  these  men  meditate  on  the 
spectacle  which  was  witnessed  in  Rome  on  the  8th  of  December, 
1851,  and  they  will  probably  understand  that  the  Church  is  not 
dead — that  the  Church  is  not  old — that  the  Church  has  not  outlived 
her  usefulness — that  she  lives  and  reigns,  and  is  conqueror;  and  that 
she  has  seen  the  rise  and  the  ruin  of  empires  and  of  dynasties  dur- 
ing eighteen  hundred  years — herself  unmoved — so  she  will  live  to 
witness  all  the  changes  and  vicissitudes,  and  the  end  of  these  silly 
speculations  on  human  philosophy  and  human  humanity,  by  which 
these  philanthropists  would  attempt  to  come  to  the  relief  of  man- 
kind, in  raising  and  elevating  this  fallen,  and  otherwise  depressed 
and  unhappy  race. 

It  was  my  privilege,  dearly  beloved  brethren,  to  be  among  the 
favored  ones  who  witnessed  the  assembly  of  bishops  at  Rome.  As  it 
was  not  my  design  to  pronounce  any  thing  like  a  formal  discourse 
to-day,  I  shall,  perhaps,  better  fulfil  your  desires  if  I  give  you,  in 
bi-ief,  a  narrative  of  things  as  they  occurred,  in  connection  with  this 
great  subject  of  universal  joy  and  triumph.  I  will,  therefore,  pro- 
ceed to  do  so.  As  I  have  remarked,  for  the  last  three  hundred 
years,  but  particularly  since  the  beginning  of  this  century,  those 
who  were  most  nearly  in  communion  witli  God — bishops,  priests, 
and  holy  persons  devoted  to  religion — expressed  outwardly  their 
great  desire  that  the  Sovereign  Pontiff  should  define  as  an  article 
of  faith  that  belief  which  had  been  floating,  from  the  beginning,  on 
the  sea  of  Catholic  tradition,  and  abiding  in  the  Catholic  heart, 


240  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

with  reference  to  the  Immaculate  Conception.  Tlie  Holy  Father 
entertained  with  flivor  the  expression  of  this  sentiment ;  and  during 
the  period  of  his  exile  from  beside  the  tomb  of  the  Apostles,  when 
at  Gaeta,  he  issued  an  encyclical '  letter  to  all  the  bishops  of  Chris- 
tendom, requiring  or  requesting  them  to  furnish  him  with  a  declara- 
tion of  the  sentiment  which  prevailed  among  their  clergy  and  people 
on  the  subject.  Of  course,  it  required  a  long  time  to  receive  an- 
swers to  such  a  letter,  sent  to  the  various  parts  of  the  earth  ;  but, 
little  by  little,  one  after  another,  these  responses  came  in,  to  the 
number  of,  I  think,  five  hundred  and  sixty-four,  from  so  jnany 
bishops,  scattered  throughout  the  world ;  and  of  these  there  were 
less  than  fifty  whose  writers  considered  that,  although  the  doctrine 
was  true,  and  was  believed  by  them  and  by  their  people,  it  was  not 
expedient  to  define  it  at  that  moment.  There  were  only  four  out 
of  that  immense  number  whose  writers  were  not  prepared  for  the 
definition.  These  letters  are  published,  and  constitute  an  aggregate 
of  nine  octavo  volumes.  And  still,  owing  to  the  difficulty  of  access 
in  such  remote  and  pagan  lands  as  some  of  the  bishops  dwell  in, 
they  have  not  yet  received  the  encyclical  letter,  or  had  not  been 
able  to  forward  their  answer.  These  letters  having  been  received, 
the  Holy  Father,  even  then,  while  yet  at  Gaeta,  appointed  a  com- 
mission of  twenty  of  the  most  learned  theologians,  for  the  purpose 
of  investigating  every  thing  which  history  has  recorded  on  this  sub- 
ject. These,  again,  after  their  return,  were  aided  by  others  in 
Rome  ;  and,  finally,  after  much  prayer  and  fasting,  and  supplication 
of  God,  both  by  himself  and  by  others  whom  he  required  to  unite  with 
him,  the  Holy  Father  determined — no  doubt,  under  divine  inspira- 
tion— to  make  that  solemn  declaration  of  the  doctrine.  For  this 
purpose  he  invited  a  certain  number  of  bishops,  so  that  the  episco- 
pacy of  each  country  might  be  more  or  less  represented,  to  assem- 
ble at  Rome.  He  did  not  invite  many,  because  he  was  aware  that 
to  some  bishops  it  would  be  a  matter  of  great  inconvenience  to  go, 
and  he  knew  that  any  tiling  like  an  invitation  or  formal  request 
would  be  corresponded  with,  no  matter  at  what  sacrifice.  Not- 
withstanding even  this,  for  some  days  previous  to  the  Sth  of  De- 
cember, there  were  assembled,  from  day  to  day,  some  one  hundred 
and  fifty-four  bishops,  of  the  Catholic  Church,  representing  every 
nation,  and,  I  may  say,  every  tongue  and  tribe  under  the  sky. 
These  had  come  together,  and  the  question  was  submitted  to  them, 
not,  indeed,  as  to  the  doctrine,  for  they  had  already  been  foremost 
to  profess ;  nor  as  to  the  appropriateness  or  fitness  of  the  time — 
these  two  points  were  witliheld — :but  as  to  the  framework  and 
words,  or  what  is  called  Bull — the  form  or  article  of  the  proclama- 
tion— in  which  this  doctrine  was  to  be  defined,  as  it  had  been  drawn 
up  by  the  theologians.  It  was  this  which  was  submitted  to  them. 
This  it  was  their  duty  to  canvass,  paragraph  by  paragraph,  line  by 
line  ;  and  they  did  so,  having  for  the  purpose  simply  to  sift  out 
and  examine,  and  probe  whether  any  authority  had  been  quoted  in 
support  of  the  doctrine,  which  autliority  could  be  questioned.     It 


SERMONS.  241 

was  their  province  to  see  that  no  slight  error  of  the  theologians 
should  introduce  a  doubtful  testimony  in  support  of  such  a  doctrine. 
O  dearly  beloved  brethren,  what  a  spectacle  was  the  meeting  of 
these  bishops  !  All  were  kindly  received  by  the  Holy  Father.  All 
assembled  in  a  public  hall  adjoining  the  great  St.  Peter's.  There 
was  no  introduction  necessary.  On  the  second,  third,  and  fourth 
days,  there  came  in  other  bishops,  travel-worn,  who  had  come  from 
the  distant  East,  or  from  the  far-off  South.  These  men,  who  had 
journeyed  thousands  and  thousands  of  miles,  had  but  just  time  to 
refresh  themselves  and  put  on  their  episcopal  robes  before  they 
walked  into  the  assembly ;  they  took  part  in  the  discussion  of  the 
matter  before  the  body  in  the  very  hour  within  which  they  had  ar- 
rived. There  was  no  comparing  of  notes  as  to  what  each  one  be- 
lieved; there  was  no  question  of  high  doctrine  or  low  doctrine; 
there  was  no  interrogation  as  to  what  school  one  belonged,  or  as  to 
what  had  been  the  influence  which  the  sentiments  of  the  government 
or  the  effect  of  the  climate,  or  of  the  Church,  North  or  South,  or 
East  or  West,  had  had  upon  the  minds  of  those  who  came  to  take 
part  in  the  proceedings  of  that  august  assembly.  There  was  the 
oneness,  the  universality  of  truth — one  heart,  one  faith  and  lan- 
guage. If  every  bishop  had  spoken  his  mother  tongue,  what  a  jar- 
gon would  have  been  there  !  What  an  imitation  of  the  scene  at 
the  Tower  of  Babel !  But  there  was  one  language  used — the  lan- 
guage of  the  Church  ;  and  a  faithful  and  a  truthful  one  is  that  lan- 
guage, by  which  every  bishop  understood  the  other,  and  read  his 
thoughts  without  ambiguity.  There  was  no  time,  I  say,  for  intro- 
ductions or  making  acquaintances;  but  they  were  able  taread  each 
other's  countenances.  And  thus,  after  they  had  transacted  the 
business  for  which  they  came,  they  returned  home,  each  to  the  fold 
he  had  left  behind,  without — with  a  few  exceptions — having  made 
the  acquaintance  of  even  the  brethren  whom  they  had  met  in  that 
assembly.  Finally,  came  the  day  for  the  promulgation  of  the 
dogma.  That  8th  of  December  deserves  to  be  celebrated  in  the 
annals  of  the  Church,  for  all  time  to  come,  as  a  day  of  joy  to  every 
Christian  heart.  The  Holy  Pontiff  himself — the  supreme  Pontiff — 
officiated;  and  at  the  pioper  time  received,  in  the  name  of  the  whole 
Catholic  Church — including  the  Greek  and  Armenian — received,  in 
the  name  of  the  whole  Catholic  world,  from  the  lips  of  the  Dean  of 
the  Sacred  College  of  Cardinals,  supported  by  the  bishops,  the  sup- 
plication that,  by  the  authoritative  and  infallible  decision  of  the 
Church,  he  might  declare  the  prerogative  of  the  Mother  of  God. 
That  scene  cannot  be  described  ;  and  no  one  ought  to  aterapt  to  de- 
scribe it.  I  shall  not  attempt  to  delineate  to  you  the  picture  which 
that  scene  has  left  still  fresh  and  glowing  in  my  memory.  I  do  not 
speak  of  the  wonders  of  art,  architecture,  painting  and  music  by 
which  that  scene  was  rendered  so  impressive.  Let  those  things  pass. 
They  became  insignificant  on  that  occasion.  But  the  grand  and 
touching  spectacle  of  two  hundred  prelates,  besides  an  immense 
multitude  of  the  faithful  surrounding  the  successor  of  St.  Peter^ 
Vol.  U.— 16 


242  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

that  successor  occupying  his  throne  on  the  very  tomb  of  Peter  him- 
self— on  the  very  spot  where  Peter,  prince  of  the  Apostles,  bore  tes- 
timony of  his  faith,  and  of  his  love  to  his  Master,  by  choosing  the 
same  instrument  of  death — the  cross — but,  from  a  feeling  of  his  un- 
worthiness,  requested  as  a  favor  that  he  should  be  crucified  with  his 
head  to  the  earth  ;  on  the  same  spot,  I  say,  there  sat  St.  Peter's 
successor,  able  to  count,  link  by  link,  the  whole  chain  which  bound 
him  to  the  first  Apostle,  and,  through  that  Apostle,  to  Christ,  and, 
through  Christ,  to  God.  There  he  sat.  All  other  things  liad 
changed,  but  there  he  was  still  on  the  rock.  The  very  tempests 
and  persecutions  and  trials  by  which  the  Church  had  been  continu- 
ally agitated,  had  served  only  to  remind  him  of  how  truly  the  reality 
corresponds  with  the  description  given  by  the  Son  of  God.  How 
could  he,  or  how  could  you,  dearly  beloved  brethren,  recognize  this 
as  the  Church  of  Christ,  if  it  were  a  Church  without  trials  ;  if  it 
were  a  Church  sustained  by  the  riches  and  talents  of  the  powerful 
of  this  earth  ;  if  it  were  a  Church  having  the  universal  love  of  man- 
kind? If  it  were  all  this,  it  would  not  be  the  Church  of  Christ,  and 
you  could  find  no  similarity  between  it  and  what  He  describes ;  be- 
cause He  described  it,  that  those  who  should  persecute  to  the  death 
the  children  of  that  Church  should  think  they  were  rendering  God 
a  service  ;  when  to  own  communion  with  His  Church  was  to  lose  all 
hold  on  worldly  favor  or  social  reputation. 

There  sat  the  august  successor  of  St.  Peter,  the  head  of  that 
Church  which  had  endured  persecution  and  still  triumphs  ;  while  the 
tempests  now  agitating  the  world,  and  the  waves  of  persecution 
were  wasting  their  harmless  fury  around  the  base  of  the  rock. 
Around  him  knelt  venerable  bishops,  his  brethren  in  the  episco- 
pacy; for  the  Pope  is  but  a  bishop  in  the  order  of  rank.  As  to  or- 
der he  is  a  bishop,  but  in  what  appertains  to  jurisdiction  he  is  the 
chief  He  was  surrounded  by  his  brethren,  and  at  the  proper  time 
that  document  which  had  been  prepared  for  the  promulgation  of 
this  doctrine  was  read  by  him  in  a  clear,  distinct,  audible  voice,  but 
.amid  a  silence  which  was,  I  may  say,  awful,  in  such  a  multitude 
x)f  people.  When  he  came  to  that  part  which  is  purely  doctrinal, 
which  is  the  definition — namely,  that  God,  by  a  special  prerogative, 
had,  through  the  merits  of  Jesus  Christ,  preserved  the  Virgin  Mary 
from  every  stain  of  original  guilt — when  he  came,  I  say,  to  that 
point,  his  voice  grew  tremulous  with  emotion,  and  then  you  might 
nave  seen  every  cheek  present  bedewed  with  tears  of  emotion  and 
of  tenderness.  And  at  the  proper  time,  after  having  announced  it, 
the  music  of  the  special  choir  was  forgotten — that  choir  so  peculiar 
and  so  cultivated  in  its  power  of  execution,  was  forgotten — and  the 
great  hymn  of  praise  and  thankfulness,  Te  JJewn  laudcmius,  was 
raised  under  that  mighty  dome  of  St.  Peter's,  and  sustained  by 
forty  thousand  voices.  Such  was  the  spectacle  witnessed  on  that 
occasion.  But  in  the  mean  time  the  bells  from  the  towers  of  three 
bundred  churches  announced  the  joyful  tidings  to  the  expectant 
population;  and  from  town  to  town,  and  from  village  to  village, 


SERMONS.  243 

went  forth  the  news  that  at  last,  by  the  supreme  authority  of  the 
Church,  it  was  no  longer  a  belief  of  individual  choice  or  aifection, 
but  a  doctrine  of  the  Catholic  Church,  that  Mary,  the  Virgin 
Mother  of  the  Son  of  God,  among  other  prerogatives  of  divine 
grace,  had  been  conceived  without  a  stain  of  sin. 

As  there  exists  misconception  in  regard  to  this  point,  it  may  be 
proper  that  I  should  explain  to  you  the  sum  and  substance  of  the 
question,  I  need  not  remind  you  that  the  Catholic  Church,  in  her 
origin,  preserved  the  faith  in  the  utmost  simplicity.  Doctrines 
were  believed  which  had  as  yet  not  been  formally  expressed  by  any 
precise  definition.  Thus,  you  know,  that  whereas  the  divinity  of 
Christ  is  the  very  corner-stone  of  Christian  doctrine,  that  dogma 
was  an  undefined  one,  and  not  in  the  form  in  which  we  now  have  it,  un- 
til three  hundred  years  after  the  time  of  our  divine  Saviour.  Will  any 
one  say,  will  any  Socinian  say,  that  because  this  doctrine  was  not  de- 
fined, it  was  therefore  not  believed  ?  That  would  be  absurd.  Its 
not  being  defined  proves  nothing,  or  it  proves  that  it  was  believed, 
and  that  the  definition  was  not  necessary  till  the  period  when  Arius 
and  his  associates  were  disposed  to  take  advantage  of  the  simplicity, 
or,  if  I  may  so  call  it,  the  vagueness  of  the  fixith ;  and,  by  an  inge- 
nious use  of  human  language,  they  pretended  to  teach  that  the  divinity 
of  Christ  was  certainly  not  hitherto  believed.  So,  too,  with  refer- 
ence to  the  Scriptures.  It  was  at  a  later  period  still  when  the 
Church  defined  and  proposed  those  books  of  the  Holy  Scriptures 
which  are  of  inspired  origin  and  canonical.  Up  to  that  time,  some 
denied  one  book,  some  another.  There  was  a  certain  vagueness  and 
indefiniteness  about  it.  So  again  with  regard  to  the  nature  of 
Christ — the  schism  which  took  place  in  the  time  of  Nestorius. 
The  Nestorians  would  have  Christ  as  a  duality  of  persons — the  Di- 
vine person  and  the  human  person.  They  would  admit  that  the 
Blessed  Virgin  was  the  mother  of  the  man  Jesus,  but  not  the  mother 
of  the  Divine  Jesus.  The  doctrine  of  the  Church  had  been  at  all 
times  that  the  Person  was  one,  and  that  the  Divine  and  human  na- 
tures were  united  in  the  one  Person  ;  and,  consequently,  that  the 
Blessed  Virgin  Mary  was  the  mother  of  this  one  Person — Jesus 
Christ,  So  at  the  Council  of  Ephesus,  where  the  question  had  been 
much  argued,  the  multitude  of  the  faithful  outside,  waiting  patiently 
to  know  the  authoritative  decision  of  the  Church  on  this  subject,  as 
soon  as  they  heard  that  it  was  lawl'ul  to  continue  still,  as  they  had  con- 
tinued before,  to  call  Mary  the  Mother  of  God,  a  shout  of  triumph 
ran  through  the  crowded  streets  of  Ephesus,  proclaiming  the  joyful 
news.  Thus,  you  perceive,  that  a  doctrine  may  be  true,  and  may  be 
revealed  and  known  as  true,  long  before  it  receives  the  authoritative 
seal  and  sanction  of  the  teacher  which  God  has  appointed  to  pre- 
'Serve  all  truth,  and  to  make  known  all  things  whatsoever  touching 
the  faith  of  Christ.  In  what,  therefore,  is  the  difference  between 
our  condition  as  Catholics  now,  and  what  it  was  before  this  dogma 
was  proclaimed  ?  I  will  tell  you,  in  brief  Before  that  time  we 
believed  by  individual  belief     It  was  a  sentiment  which  was  familiar 


244  ARCHBISHOP     HUGHES. 

in  the  writings  of  our  predecessors.  We  find  the  ardent  devotion 
wliich  from  the  earliest  times  they  have  manifested  towards  the 
Blessed  Virgin.  Because  they  loved  Christ,  their  Master,  they 
loved  His  blessed  Mother,  hardly  separating  them — with  this  differ- 
ence :  that  tlie  one  was  a  pure  creature,  created  in  time,  and  the 
other  was  God  and  man  united.  But  in  tlie  human  relations  of 
Christ  they  never  separated  Him  from  His  mother  in  that  bold  and 
repulsive  sense  in  which  modern  heresy  has  attempted  to  accomplish 
it.  The  flesh  of  Christ  and  the  flesh  of  Marj^  was  one  flesh.  We, 
therefore,  believed  in  the  Immaculate  Conception  as  a  sentiment. 
True,  there  was  a  time  when  we  might  deny  it  without  ceasing  to 
be  a  Catholic,  because  it  was  not  defined  ; — just  as  in  other  matters 
we  might  do;  and  just  as  in  early  periods  theologians  accepted  or 
denied  certain  books  in  the  New  Testament,  because  there  had  been 
no  authoritative  definition  of  what  books  should  be  regarded  as  in- 
spired writings.  We  conclude  that  St.  Augustine  believed  in  the 
Immaculate  Conception ;  for  though  he  wrote  much  on  the  doctrine 
of  the  original  sin  being  universal,  he  had  always  excepted  the 
Blessed  Mother  of  God.  She  was  excepted.  He  did  not  say  that 
she  was  conceived  without  sin,  because  it  was  not  his  province  to 
pronounce  a  dogma  in  any  authoritative  form ;  but  he  excepted  her. 
She  was  too  sacred  to  be  included  in  his  theory  of  universal  de- 
pravity. And  what  is  this  universal  depravity,  dearly  beloved 
brethren  ?  You  know  that  it  is  original  sin.  You  know  that  by 
the  fall  of  our  first  parents  it  was  introduced,  and  all  mankind  be- 
came tainted.  You  know  that  a  polluted  fountain  does  not  give 
forth  pure  water.  You  are  aware  that  in  the  order  of  procreation 
of  mankind  from  that  first  pair,  the  parents  communicate  to  their 
children  their  own  nature,  and  they  could  not  communicate  a  higher 
nature.  The  guilty  parent  could  not  communicate  innocence  to  the 
being  about  to  be  created.  Thus  original  sin  passed  into  a  law  of 
nature;  but  the  doctrine  of  the  Catholic  CImrch  is,  that  the  Blessed 
Virgin  Mary,  by  the  merits  of  the  death  of  Jesus  Christ,  applied  to 
her  in  anticipation,  as  a  qualification  for  her  high  calling,  was  ex- 
empted from  that  common  law.  We  are  cleansed,  by  the  grace  of 
God,  from  original  sin  in  baptism.  It  is  the  grace  of  God  which 
oleanseth  us  from  that  original  taint  of  guilt.  But  she,  in  the  very 
moment  of  her  conception,  by  the  grace  of  God,  was  sanctified 
without  baptism. 

Mary,  according  to  the  defined  and  universal  faith  of  every  Cath- 
olic heart,  never  had  contracted  the  slightest  stain,  the  slightest 
blemish,  either  of  original  or  natural  sin.  And,  in  fact,  dearly  be- 
loved brethren,  though  this  be  called  Catholic  doctrine,  if  there 
were  among  those  who  are  separated  from  the  Catholic  Church  any 
who  believe  really,  not  by  mei-e  common  parlance^  but  believe 
really,  the  divinity  of  Jesus  Christ,  they  sliould,  as  a  matter  of 
course,  admit  the  Immaculate  Conception  of  the  Blessed  Virgin 
Mary;  because  He  was  in  that  flesh  thus  ministered  to  under  the 
overshadowing  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  because  it  would  be  an 


SERMONS.  245 

incongruity  and  an  indignity  to  suppose  that  He  would  take  flesh  of  a 
being  who  had  been  at  any  time,  at  any  period  in  her  conception  or 
afterwards,  under  the  dominion  of  sin,  and  under  the  dominion  of 
the  devil.  And  this  would  have  been  so  had  it  been  otherwise.  She 
could  never  have  been  the  Mother  of  God  had  she  been,  not  one 
preserved  by  His  divine  grace  and  power  from  the  stain  of  original 
sin,  but  one  ransomed — one  who  had  been  the  slave  of  the  devil 
from  original  sin,  but  who  was  now  emancipated  to  become  the 
mother  of  the  "  Word  made  flesh."  The  Catholic  heart  never  be- 
lieved any  such  thing !  Always  and  everywhere  the  sentiment  of 
the  Immaculate  Conception  is  implied  in  the  nature  of  the  Christian 
faith.  As  a  matter  of  course,  it  was  a  consequence  necessary  from 
the  belief  in  the  Incarnation.  This  sentiment  always  existed,  and 
would  have  existed,  though  it  had  not  received  tliis  authoritative 
sanction.  It  was  the  universal  faith,  the  universal  belief  throughout 
the  Catholic  world,  and  of  ages  and  ages  ^ince  the  commencement 
of  the  Church,  as  private  belief.  But  when  an  infallible  Teacher,  an 
infallible  Propounder  of  what  is  true,  gives  autliority  to  this  faith,  it 
then  becomes  dogma,  and  is  not  personal,  conviction,  but  faith  for 
all.  Without  that  authority  we  may  believe  a  dogma ;  but  we  have 
no  authority  to  impose  it  on  any  one  else ;  so  we  had  no  authority 
heretofore  to  teach  this  in  an  authoritative  sense.  It  was  a  senti- 
ment. But  now  what  has  happened  ?  It  has  happened  that  that 
which  has  been  universally  believed  in  by  the  whole  Catholic  Church 
from  the  beginning,  has  received  the  sanction — of  what  ?  Of  the 
Holy  Catholic  Church — of  the  Supreme  Pastor  of  that  Church ;  of 
him  who  is  the  Vicegerent  of  Christ  in  determining  truth ;  of 
the  Vicar  of  Christ ;  of  the  one  whom  Christ  commanded  us  to  be- 
lieve ;  of  the  one  minister  of  whom  He  said :  "  He  that  heai-s  you, 
hears  me  ;  and  he  that  despises  you,  despises  me."  Who,  then, 
is  it  that  thus  teaches  doctrine  ?  It  is  the  Son  of  God.  Thus  it 
has  been  taught.  And  now  this  truth,  so  authorized  by  the  Church, 
has  become  a  dogma  of  the  Catholic  faith,  namely :  that  by  the  mer- 
its of  Jesus  Christ,  God,  by  a  singular  prerogative,  had  in  tiie  first 
instant  of  her  Conception,  exempted  the  ever-glorious  Mary  from  the 
taint  of  original  sin.  That  it  is  which  is  the  subject  of  joy ;  not  that 
we  doubted  about  it  before,  but  that  it  sanctifies  our  faith.  You  be- 
lieved before,  because  you  so  thought ;  but  now  you  believe,  because 
the  authority  appointed  by  God  for  the  purpose  proposes  it  for  your 
belief;  and  you  believe  the  testimony  of  God,  through  the  medium 
thus  appointed.  That  is  the  only  difference.  And  it  is  in  this  that 
we  rejoice.  We  rejoice  that  the  prerogative,  the  first,  and  after 
her  divine  Maternity^  the  highest  prerogative  which  distinguishes 
the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary,  has  been  thus  solemnly  recognized,  and 
solemnly  proclaimed  before  the  world. 

Let  those  men,  who,  in  their  shallow  conceptions,  and  by  their 
low  estimate  of  what  is  humanity,  attempt  to  ameliorate  mankind  ; 
let  them  now  lift  their  eyes,  and  let  them  understand  how  that  hu- 
manity Avhich  exhibits  so  much  of  misery  and  wretchedness,  and  has 


246  ARCHBISHOP  HUGHES. 

SO  little  capacity  and  susceptibility  for  all  that  is  great  and  sublime, 
let  them  understand,  I  say,  how  that  humanity  is  dignified,  how 
that  humanity  is  exalted.  Jesus  Christ  has  accepted  that  humanity. 
He  took  its  nature  upon  Himself  to  repair  the  evils  of  original  sin 
and  its  ill  eftects,  and  to  enable  us  to  overcome  actual  sin  ;  and  from 
that  moment  the  world  received  the  element  of  a  true  amelioration. 
But  the  divine  Saviour,  we  are  told,  though  man,  was  God  also, 
and  had,  of  course,  the  excellency  and  perfection  of  unapproachable 
goodness  even  in  His  humanity.  But  there  is  another  by  which 
humanity  is  raised.  There  is  one  daughter  of  Eve — a  daughter  wiio 
was  as  pure  in  her  Conception  and  in  her  nature  as  if  slie  had  been  the 
first  born  before  the  fall  of  our  parents — as  if  she  had  been  a  child 
of  their  innocence,  with  the  difference  that  then  she  would  have 
been  pure  and  immaculate  by  nature ;  but  now  she  is  by  the  grace 
and  by  the  prerogative  of  God.  Look  on  her,  then,  and  watch  her 
humble  footsteps  along  the  cai'eer  of  her  after  life,  free  from  taint  of 
sin  in  birth,  in  lil'e,  or  in  death.  She  was  the  creature  of  God,  as 
you  are.  She  was  not  divine.  She  was  human ;  but  she  was  quali- 
fied for  a  divine  nature,  and  was  chosen  above  all  the  daughters  of 
the  earth.  This  humanity,  therefore,  is  not  all  bad  or  irredeemable. 
There  is  at  least  one  exception.  There  is  that  pure  bright  lily  un- 
defiled ;  there  is  that  one  who  has  been  fitly  described  by  so  many 
epithets  and  comparisons  in  the  writings  of  the  ancient  fathers ; 
there  is  one  on  whom  while  fixing  your  eyes  you  behold  the  point 
from  which  the  man  who  would  elevate  humanity  must  take  his  de- 
parture. 

Rejoice,  therefore,  dearly  beloved  brethren,  on  this  occasion.  Let 
the  palms  in  your  hands  be  at  once  the  commemoration  of  the  jour- 
ney of  our  Saviour  to  Jerusalem,  and  of  this  great  triumph  after 
eighteen  hundred  years.  Let  your  hearts  be  lifted  up.  Sursum 
corda.  Let  there  be  no  depression  because  of  the  enmity  and  as- 
saults of  the  world.  By  them  you  know  what  you  are ;  and  you 
know  that  if  you  were  not  what  you  are,  you  would  not  be  assailed. 
Let  your  hearts  be  lifted  up  to  God.  Let  them  rejoice  in  a  tender 
holy  joy  ;  and  give  thanks  for  his  infinite  mercies.  And  may  we  by 
grace  be  preserved  from  the  ruin  which  original  sin  brought  on  the 
whole  human  race,  and  may  we  live  here,  exempt  from  every  stain 
and  defilement  which  have  descended  to  us  from  our  first  parents.  Let 
the  day  be  held  sacred.  Let  the  8th  of  December  be  called,  for  many 
centuries  to  come,  the  Anniversary  of  the  Immaculate  Conception. 
Let  it  be  fixed  in  your  minds.  And  for  myself,  I  propose  to  com- 
memorate it,  both  in  testimony  of  the  event,  and  of  my  joy  at  being 
present  at  the  Council,  and  in  gratitude  for  many  favors,  and  for  the 
extraordinary  protection  which  I  have  received — and  I  have  no 
doubt,  from  the  all-powerful  intercession  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary. 
Let  me  have  the  happiness  to  commence  a  monument  to  be  dedicated 
to  the  glory  of  God  and  His  Church,  and  be  in  commemoration  of 
the  events  which  have  so  recently  transpired,  and  of  the  Catholic 
ideas  which  I  have  endeavored  thus  to  communicate. 


SERMONS.  247 


SERMON  ON  THE  OCCASION  OF  THE  DEDICATION 
OF  THE  CHURCH  OF  MARY,  STAR  OF  THE 
SEA,  BROOKLYN,  APRIL  29th,  1855. 

"  The  foundations  thereof  are  in  the  holy  mountains.  The  Lord  loveth  the 
gates  of  Sion  above  all  the  tabernacles  of  Jacob.  Glorious  things  are  said  of 
thee,  O  City  of  our  God." 

I  REMEMBER  the  time,  said  the  Archbishop,  when  a  priest  was 
sent  from  the  dwelling  of  the  Bishop  of  New  York  once  a  month 
to  offer  the  holy  sacrifice  of  the  Mass  in  Brooklyn.  In  the  interval 
which  has  elapsed  between  that  day  and  the  present,  great  changes 
have  taken  place.  When  I  find  myself  addressing  only  one  portion 
of  the  flock  of  Brooklyn,  and  that  so  multitudinous ;  when  I  turn 
my  eyes  to  the  sanctuary,  and  behold  the  prelate  whom  God  has 
appointed  to  rule  the  Church  of  this  diocese,  and  another  prelate 
appointed  elsewhere,  and  these  surrounded  by  venerable  priests, 
and  these,  again,  accompanied  in  the  ceremonial  by,  perhaps,  the 
young  neophytes  of  the  sanctuary  ;  when  I  lift  my  eyes  and  behold 
this  beautiful  and  glorious  temple  of  God,  I  find  that  great  changes 
must  have  taken  place  since  the  period  when  a  priest  came  to 
Brooklyn  to  oifer  once  in  a  month  the  holy  sacrifice  of  the  altar. 
Yes,  dearly  beloved  brethren,  great  changes  have  taken  place,  and 
other  changes  in  the  continued  progress  of  the  City  of  God,  whose 
foundations  are  in  the  holy  mountains,  will  take  place  from  day  to 
day.  It  is  not  my  purpose  to  dwell  in  much  detail  on  the  triumph 
of  your  zeal  and  charity  in  aiding  the  priest  who  undertook  the 
erection  of  this  church.  He  has  completed  his  work  so  far ;  and 
having  completed  it  so  far,  the  voice  of  God,  through  the  ordinary 
channels  by  which  His  will  is  made  known  to  man — especially  in 
the  order  of  the  Catholic  hierarchy — that  voice  calls  him  to  a  new, 
unseen,  unknown  field  ;  and  whether  he  is  to  be  surrounded  there 
by  faithful  membei's  of  the  holy  Catholic  Church,  who  shall  sustain 
and  co-operate  with  him — aid  him  as  you  have  done — is  a  problem ; 
but  there  is  no  despondency,  no  doubt  in  any  mind  upon  the  sub- 
ject. I  would  remark  briefly,  that  the  impression  which  the  very 
appearance,  the  coup  cVceil  of  this  church,  has  made  upon  my  own 
mind,  is  one  of  grandeur.  It  is  creditable  to  the  pastor,  who  ofti- 
ciates  in  his  new  character  for  the  first  time  in  this  temple,  erected 
much  by  his  zeal,  and  labor,  and  solicitude ;  and,  whatever  may 
come  hereafter,  he  has  left  a  monument  of  that  zeal  and  of  his  de- 
votion in  the  holy  ministry.  If  you  inquire  for  that  monument,  you 
have  only  to  look  around ;  it  is  here :  but  it  is  not  his  alone,  it  is 
yours  also.  Nor  does  the  fact  that  this  church  is  very  much  in 
debt,  in  the  least  detract  from  the  remarks  I  make  in  regard  to  it ; 


'348  ■  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

for  the  people  who  have  raised  it  thus  far  will  pay  its  debts  and  com- 
plete it.  A  debt  on  the  Catholic  Church,  under  certain  circum- 
stances, is  not  the  greatest  of  calamities ;  but  what  would  be  a  calam- 
ity for  you  and  the  sanctuary  of  this  holy  temple,  would  be  to  have 
persons  placed  between  you  and  your  priesthood  as  middle-men, 
touching  with  profane  hand  the  sanctuai'y  of  which  they  should 
stand  in  awe,  and  sinking  your  church  in  debt,  even  though  you 
had  freed  it  from  all  responsibility.  That  would  be  a  calamity  ;  but 
debt,  simply  debt,  is  not  a  great  calamity  ;  time  and  Catholic  zeal 
will  remove  all  that,  so  far  as  you  would  desire  to  have  it  removed. 
But  you,  in  the  mean  time,  should  be  faithful  to  Almighty  God,  and 
not  permit  men — well-meaning  men  if  you  please,  but  incompetent 
to  stand  between  the  clergy  and  the  faithful  laity  of  the  Catholic 
Church — between  you  and  the  devoted  pastor  whom  you  so  much 
respect.  By  united  effort  almost  every  thing  can  be  accomplished  ; 
and  it  is  a  mercy  of  the  Almighty  that  in  this  case  there  is  not  the 
slightest  probability  that  your  efforts  will  be  thwarted  by  that  un- 
Catholic  system  which  makes  laymen  masters  over  God's  sanctuary 
and  God's  Priests.  This  is  a  matter  for  M'hich  you  should  be 
thankful. 

However,  dearly  beloved  brethren,  the  church,  this  perishable 
monument  which  will  in  time  crumble,  is  but  of  little  consequence 
as  compared  with  that  it  symbolizes.  And  what  does  it  symbolize  ? 
The  Church,  the  "  City  of  God,  "  "  the  Gates  of  Sion,"  which  the 
Lord  loveth  above  all  the  tabei'nacles  of  Jacob.  This  it  symbolizes  ; 
because,  although  it  is  the  Church  located  on  a  certain  spot,  and  al- 
though it  is  itself,  and  not  any  other  Churh,  nevertheless  God  has  so  or- 
dained His  divine  religion,  that  the  fulness  thereof  and  the  completeness 
of  all  God's  institutions,  and  mercies,  and  revelations,  and  sacraments 
are  here,  and  are  to  be  here  in  this  church  just  as  they  arc  through- 
out the  whole  world.  There  is  nothing  in  the  Holy  Catholic  Church 
which  is  not  in  every  congregation — that  is,  a  fulness  of  divine 
truth,  the  administration  of  the  sacraments,  and  the  presence  of  that 
order  of  ecclesiastical  government  which  the  Almighty  has  appointed 
for  the  government  of  this  "  City  of  God"  on  earth.  Divine  truth 
revealed — the  sacraments,  as  channels  of  grace,  flowing  from  the 
death  of  Jesus  Christ  upon  the  Cross — and  the  government  of  that 
Church  which  preserves  its  unity.  These  you  are  to  have  in  this 
new  temple,  and  you  need  not  go  abroad  to  find  any  thing  better 
than  you  have  here.  You  may  travel  East  or  West,  you  may  find 
yourself  in  the  magnificent  dome  of  St.  Peter's,  you  may  behold  the 
Supreme  Pastor  there  officiating ;  but  these  are  only  outward  points 
of  difference.  As  to  all  that  is  intrinsic  in  religion,  you  have  it  here 
— truth  of  revelation.  And  here  let  me  obsei've  in  regard  to  this, 
that  God  has  adapted  His  revelation  to  the  nature  df  man  as  it  is. 
If  we  had  been  of  a  different  nature  spiritually,  the  Alniighty,  no 
doubt,  stooping  to  our  aid  in  mercy,  would  have  adapted  the  means 
of  mercy  according  to  our  nature  ;  but  as  it  is,  thus  He  has  revealed 
His  religion  to  us  in  its  present  form.    And  you  will  observe  one 


,    SERMONS.  249 

peculiar  attribute  of  the  human  mind,  that  except  when  it  is  dark- 
ened by  the  clouds  and  vapoi-s  of  man's  passion,  arising  from  the 
corrupt  heart,  it  is  always  yearning  after  truth ;  in^ll  its  inquiries 
the  subject  is  truth  ;  in  regard  to  any  thing  of  importance,  it  is  al- 
ways uneasy,  dissatisfied,  till  it  reaches  a  point  that  indicates  cer- 
tainty. This  is  the  nature  of  the  mind  of  man  ;  and  because  this  is 
the  nature  of  his  intellect,  God  has,  in  His  revelation,  stamped  truth 
■with  the  seal  of  certainty  in  His  Church.  It  is  not,  of  course,  possi- 
ble for  me  now  to  enlarge  upon  this  question  of  the  divinity  of  the 
Church  ;  it  is  enough  for  me  to  say  that  it  is  the  work  of  Christ; 
that  it  is  what  Christ  appointed  it  should  be  ;  that  it  is  authorized 
by  Him  to  speak  in  His  name,  as  He  spoke  in  the  name  of  His 
Father ;  that,  therefore,  it  would  be  something  different  from  the 
Church  which  He  instituted,  if  it  could  hesitate,  or  stammer,  or 
speak  with  a  double  tongue  of  the  truths  God  has  communicated  to 
secure  and  render  stable  the  convictions  of  the  human  mind.  It 
speaks  in  positiveness  and  simplicity — "  Yea,  yea ;  nay,  nay" — but 
there  is  no  doubtful  speculation  in  the  Church  of  God.  The  minis- 
ters of  that  Church  ai"e  not  authorized  to  give  out  the  results  of 
their  own  investigations  in  the  form  of  opinion.  They  have  a  mes- 
sage ;  and  as  our  divine  Saviour  stated  that  He  was  sent  by  the 
Father,  and  thus  establishing  His  own  mission,  so  He  sent  others ; 
but  He  sent  them  not  to  give  way  to  speculations,  as  if  the  revela- 
tions of  God  were  a  crude  system  of  philosophy,  but  to  teach 
the  truth — all  trutli,  as  He  promised  to  be  with  them  always. 

If,  therefore,  you  are  of  curious  minds — if  you  are  of  that  tempera- 
ment which  would  study  and  be  a  votary  of  some  ancient  pagan 
philosophy  or  modern  infidelity,  go  where  those  things  are  to  be 
found;  but  in  this  "City  of  God,"  the  foundations  of  which  are  in 
the  holy  mountains,  you  will  not  find  much  to  gratify  your  appetite 
for  uncertainty.  Here  is  truth,  but  coming  from  God  through  the 
channel  which  He  has  appointed.  It  is  not  my  truth,  though  I  pro- 
nounce it ;  it  is  God's  truth,  and  I  am  but  the  echo  of  the  divine 
voice.  Thus,  in  regard  to  the  human  mind,  you  will  observe,  be- 
loved brethren,  how  God  in  the  order  of  His  revelations  has  adapted 
it  to  the  actual  condition  of  man.  But  man  has  a  heart  as  well  as 
an  intellect,  and  God  has  adapted  His  religion  to  the  one  no  less 
than  to  the  other.  How  is  it  possible  for  you,  without  religion,  and 
that  communicated  in  the  form  of  certainty,  as  far  as  God's  word  can 
make  it — how  could  you  fill  up  the  capacities  of  your  heart  were  it  not 
for  the  truths  that  are  thus  derived.  You  can  love ;  and  that  is  a  sen- 
timent which  God  has  implanted  in  human  nature,  so  that  you  can- 
not divest  yourselves  of  it.  You  can  love  your  neighbor,  your 
friend,  the  people  of  your  country,  the  whole  human  race,  and  be- 
yond that  hiwnan  race,  rise  to  the  celestial  region,  and  embrace  in 
the  capacity  of  your  love  all  created  spirits,  the  cherubim  and  seraphim ; 
and  when  you  shall  have  embraced  all  in  that  single  sentiment,  you 
will  find  that  in  all  these  there  is  not  enough  to  fill  up  the  measure 
of  your  capacity,  and  that  in  God  alone  is  a  subject  of  infinite  love 


250  AKCUBISHOP   HUGHES. 

capable  of  filling  the  capacity  of  your  almost  infinite  love,  showing 
the  connection  which  He  has  established  with  Himself  and  the  hu- 
man heart.  Thus  when  you  hear  in  this  place  the  mysteries  of  reli- 
gion announced,  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  of  the  holy  sacrifice  of 
the  Mass,  of  the  real  presence  of  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ,  of 
the  incarnation  of  our  divine  Saviour,  becoming  man  for  our  sake, 
all  these  are  truths  to  be  believed  by  the  intellect.  You  will  not 
understand  them,  because  they  are  mysteries;  but  you  will  under- 
stand that  God  cannot  deceive  you :  there  is  the  satisfaction  for  the 
reason ;  and  when  the  reason  is  satisfied,  you  will  be  attracted  as 
by  a  magnet  to  the  love  of  God ;  while  those  who  are  possessed  with 
the  ideas  of  modern  heresies  and  infidelity,  speak  of  God  as  a  being 
away  at  some  immense  distance,  wrapt  up  in  himself,  perfectly  happy 
and  perfectly  indiflTerent  about  human  affairs.  Thus,  as  regards  man, 
you  perceive  that  the  Almighty  has  adapted  His  revelations  to  our 
nature.  Don't  allow  it  to  be  said  that  because  you  hearken  to  the 
voice  of  God,  even  though  it  sound  in  your  ears  through  human 
channels,  therefore,  you  give  up  your  reason ;  let  no  such  folly  take 
possession  of  your  heart,  but  let  it  be  understood  that  the  man  who 
has  faith  in  the  truth  of  God  possesses  the  highest  reason.  God  is 
dishonored  by  those  who  make  this  objection,  as  if^  although  He  has 
made  a  revelation,  they  deny  to  Him  either  veracity  or  the  power 
to  transmit  that  revelation  as  certain  truth  through  all  nations  and 
through  all  time.  And  hence,  they  themselves,  by  the  very  desire 
they  have  to  seek  in  doubt,  acknowledge  they  have  lost  the  thread 
of  communication  with  the  living  God  ;  because  if  they  possessed  it, 
it  would  not  be  necessary  to  seek ;  because  when  they  give  out  the 
result  of  their  investigations  of  Scripture,  they  give  out  only  opin- 
ions and  speculations ;  and  the  danger  of  the  evil  resulting  from  all  this 
is,  that  the  God  of  all  truth  is  presented  to  thoee  who  hearken  to 
them  as  a  God  of  uncertainty.  This  is  the  result,  and  it  is  on  this 
account  purely,  beloved  brethren,  that  of  all  the  favors  Heaven  has  be- 
stowed on  us,  we  Catholics  ought  to  be  bound  most  in  gratitude  for 
the  gift  of  faith.  It  is  the  gift  of  God  ;  God  is  master  of  it ;  He  has 
imparted  it  to  us,  and  we  ought  to  beseech  Him  that  He  will  extend 
that  gift  to  those  who  are  groping  in  the  midst  of  the  contradictions 
of  human  speculation.  In  the  mean  time,  however,  our  days  upon 
earth  are  but  few ;  let  us  endeavor  to  improve  them ;  let  us  hearken 
with  docility  and  iiumility  to  the  voice  ot"  authority — the  Church  of 
Christ ;  let  us  practise  the  virtues  which  the  religion  of  Christ  im- 
poses upon  us  as  a  portion  of  our  spiritual  devotion ;  let  us  be  faith- 
ful and  devoted  in  our  attendance  upon  those  institutions  through 
which  God  operates  directly  by  the  ministry  of  His  priests.  It  is 
thus  that  by  another  sanctitication,  different  from  the  outward  cere- 
mony of  the  day,  you  will  make  the  place  worthy  of  God  to  whom 
it  is  consecrated ;  it  is  thus  you  will  correspond,  in  some  measure, 
with  the  very  title  of  this  church,  which  is  dedicated  to  Mary  the 
Immaculate,  the  daughter  of  Eve,  who  never  was  at  any  time  under 
the  dominion  of  the  devil,  and  this  also,  by  a  title  which  those  who 


SERMONS.  251 

liave  travelled  mucli  will  recognize  as  peculiarly  appropriate,  namely, 
"  The  Star  of  the  Sea," — Mary,  the  Mother  of  redeemed  humanity. 
Eve  was  the  natural  mother,  but  Mary  was  the  Mother  in  the  order 
of  grace ;  not  that  she  was  any  more  than  a  creat\ire,  but  she  was 
the  creature  chosen  of  God  to  be  the  Mother  of  His  divine  Son,  who 
was  to  be  immolated  for  the  salvation  of  the  world.  Mary  the 
bright,  the  beautiful,  "  the  Star  of  the  Sea,"  the  unpolluted,  the  holy, 
the  faithful ;  Mary,  who  stands  out  from  humanity  as  one  bright  and 
particular  star  ;  and  as  we  are  tossed  and  exposed  to  the  shipwrecks  of 
life,  let  every  Catholic  heart  be  uplifted,  because  Mary  was  of  earth — 
she  was  our  Mother ;  and  be  assured,  beloved  brethren,  if  you  cher- 
ish this  devotion,  this  piety  towards  the  Mother  of  God,  you  will 
just  in  the  same  proportion  be  more  and  more  faithful  to  God.  Mary 
is  a  creature  ;  but  then  the  solitary  and  exceptional  creature  who 
was  appointed  from  all  eternity  to  be  the  Mother  of  the  Word  In- 
carnate. Ask  of  her  to  intercede  for  us  with  her  divine  Son  ;  pray 
to  her,  study  her  example,  behold  her  humility,  her  patience,  every 
thing  that  fills  the  mind  of  him  who  contemplates  her  life  and  char- 
acter, I  will  not  say  with  admiration,  but  with  awe  and  admiration 
mingled  together.  Be  faithful  children  of  Mary  the  Immaculate — 
the  sinless  Mary,  who  is  designated  in  the  inspired  poetry  of  the 
Church  as  "  The  Star  of  the  Sea."  Then  your  presence  will  be  an 
additional  consecration  of  this  temple — then  your  bodies  will  become 
consecrated,  and  then  you  will  correspond  with  the  infinite  mercy  of 
God  in  communicating  to  you  the  certain  truths  of  revelation,  and 
confirming  them  with  the  gift  of  faith ;  then  you  will  be  worthy  dis- 
ciples of  Him  to  whose  honor  this  temple  is  dedicated,  through  the 
patronage  of  the  ever-glorious  and  blessed  Virgin  Mary. 


SERMON  ON  THE  OCCASION  OF  THE  CONSECRA- 
TION OF  THE  CATHEDRAL,  ST,  JOHNS,  NEW- 
FOUNDLAND, SUNDAY,  SEPTEMBER  16tli, 
1855. 

"Now,  faith  is  the  substance  of  things  to  be  hoped  for,  the  evidence  of  things 
that  appear  not."    Heb.  xi.  i. 

If  there  is  any  one  in  this  vast  assemblage  who  has  not  seen,  but 
has  desired  to  see  a  monument  of  Catholic  faith,  to-day  he  has  but 
to  raise  his  eyes  and  look  around,  for  this  is  indeed  a  monument  of 
Catholic  faith.  Its  erection  and  completion  would  have  been  im- 
possible, except  by  a  people  who  believe.     Without  that  faith  al- 


252  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

luded  to  in  the  text,  the  existence  of  this  magnificent  cathedral 
could  not  be  accounted  for,  in  the  centre  of  a  community  principally 
made  up  of  poor  but  laborious  fishermen,  and  in  a  city,  as  it  may 
now  be  called,  which  was  known  but  yesterday  or  the  day  before 
merely  as  a  fishing  station.  This  is  a  cathedral  of  which  any  city  in 
Europe  or  the  world  might  be  proud.  Its  plan  was  projected  on  a 
scale  of  surpassing  magnitude  ;  its  foundations  were  laid  broad  and 
deep  on  this  elevated  site,  commanding  a  prospect  of  unsurpassed 
beauty.  It  rose  on  these  foundations  to  the  elevation  which  its  pro- 
portion required ;  and,  as  it  suri-ounds  us  this  day,  we  are  struck 
with  admiration  at  the  solidity,  fitness,  and  elegance  which  art  has 
distributed  and  embodied  on  every  side.  For  richness  of  material 
and  perfection  of  design,  its  altar  is  unrivalled  on  the  western  side 
of  the  Atlantic  ocean ;  whilst,  on  whatever  side  Ave  look,  we  behold 
the  pillar  of  strength  modulated  into  the  arch  of  beauty.  I  repeat, 
then,  that  even  as  a  public  edifice,  a  specimen  of  architecture,  there 
is  no  city  in  the  world  which  might  not  be  proud  of  such  a  building 
as  the  Cathedral  of  St.  Johns,  which  has  just  been  consecrated. 
And  by  whom  has  this  noble  cathedral  been  erected  ?  By  the  fish- 
ermen of  Newfoundland — by  the  hardy  sons  of  toil,  possessing  little 
of  this  world's  substance,  but  unspeakably  rich  in  the  divine  inherit- 
ance of  Catholic  faith.  It  was  they  who  cheered  on  the  work  from 
its  commencement ;  it  was  they  who,  year  after  year,  contributed 
liberally  from  their  scanty  earnings  during  its  progress ;  and  it  is 
they  who  have  the  best  right  to  exult  in  the  triumphant  completion 
of  a  great  work,  begun  and  sustained  throughout  by  the  unwa- 
vering impulse  which  is  derived  from  the  spirit  of  faith. 

Most  of  you  remember  the  day  on  which  your  late  Apostolic 
Bishop  laid  the  corner-stone  of  this  cathedral.  In  doing  so,  he 
exemplified  the  whole  meaning  of  the  Apostle  in  the  words  of  my 
text.  According  to  human  view  there  were  no  means  to  carry  out 
the  gigantic  purpose  which  he  had  conceived.  He  had  but  the  bene- 
diction of  Heaven,  and  the  support  of  his  poor  but  beHeving  people 
to  rely  upon.  But,  strong  in  the  meaning  of  the  inspired  Apostle, 
he  knew  that  "  faith  was  the  substance  of  things  to  be  hoped  for, 
the  evidence  of  things  that  did  not  appear."  Hence,  in  a  large  spirit 
and  with  a  strong  heart,  he  commenced  the  work  undaunted  by  the 
prospective  difficulties  and  even  disappointments  that  were  to  be 
encountered  in  the  progress  of  its  execution.  It  may  be  said  of  him 
as  of  the  i-oyal  prophet — "  How  he  swore  to  the  Lord  ;  he  vowed  a 
vow  to  the  God  of  Jacob :  if  I  shall  enter  into  the  tabernacle  of  my 
house ;  if  I  shall  go  up  into  the  bed  wherein  I  lie  ;  if  I  shall  give 
sleep  to  my  eyes  or  slumber  to  my  eyelids,  or  rest  to  my  temples, 
imtil  I  find  out  a  place  for  the  Lord,  a  tabernacle  for  the  God  of  Jacob." 
(Ps.  cxxxi.  2, 3, 4).  Like  the  royal  prophet,  too,  he  passed  from 
the  scene  of  his  earthly  labors  without  having  witnessed  the  final 
accomplishment  of  his  holy  purpose.  Had  he  been  spared  to  wit- 
ness what  we  behold  this  day,  he  would  have  regarded  it  as  a  sufiicient 
earthly  recompense  for  the  toils,  anxieties,  and  solicitude  which  he 


SERMONS.  253 

underwent,  and  in  whicli  he  sacrificed  liis  health,  and  perhaps  his 
life.  But  it  pleased  Almighty  God  to  ordain  otherwise,  and  to  call 
him  to  his  heavenly  reward.  It  must  have  been  a  consolation  to 
him,  however,  to  know  that  whilst  he  resigned  his  spirit  into  the 
hands  of"  his  Creator,  he  transmitted  to  a  successor  of  his  own 
choice  the  episcopal  charge  of  his  beloved  flock,  and  the  unfinished 
task  Avhich  he  had  so  nobly  begun.  That  successor,  called  of  God 
to  his  high  office,  was  specially  qualified  for  the  charge.  He  brought 
to  it  the  same  ardent  faith  and  piety,  a  mind  most  richly  stored 
with  ecclesiastical  learning  and  general  information ;  he  brought  to 
it  the  energies  of  youth  and  of  a  robust  constitution,  as  well  a  moral 
temperament  particularly  qualified  and  competent  to  encounter  dif- 
ficulties of  whatever  description — and  thus  qualified,  he  took  up  the 
great  work  which  his  predecessor  had  begun,  and  bore  it  onward 
and  onward,  until  to-day  he  has  the  consolation  of  witnessing  its 
final  and  triumphant  accomplishment.  On  all  this,  my  Lord  Bishop 
of  Newfoundland,  I  offer  you  my  congratulations ;  I  offer  them  to 
the  devoted  clergy  of  your  diocese,  who  stood  faithful  by  your  side; 
I  offer  them  to  the  faithful  people  over  whom  you  are  appointed, 
and  whom  you  govern  with  so  much  spiritual  advantage  to  them, 
so  much  honor  to  the  episcopal  order,  and  to  our  holy  religicm — and 
I  say,  that  considering  the  means  by  which  it  has  been  erected, 
this  moinmient  of  Catholic  faith  has  not  been  surpassed,  nor  per- 
haps equalled,  by  any  thing  to  be  found  in  the  annals  of  the  Chris- 
tian Church. 

Do  not  suppose,  dearly  beloved  brethren,  that  in  making  these 
remarks,  I  wish  to  excite  in  you  any  feeling  of  vain-glory ;  such  a 
feeling  would  detract  from  the  merit  of  the  sacrifices  you  have  al- 
ready made.  But  silence  on  my  part  would  be  affectation,  for  the 
very  stones  of  this  edifice  proclaim  eloquently  the  truth  of  what  I 
say.  No  doubt  the  wealthier  portion  of  your  brethren  on  shore 
have  contributed  liberally,  and  probably  the  same  has  been  done  by 
persons  not  of  our  communion.  From  their  merit  in  this  I  would 
not  detract,  but  the  secret  of  success  in  erecting  this  cathedral — 
nay,  the  very  basis  of  your  commercial  pi'osperity — is  traceable  to 
the  industry  of  those  hardy  and  adventurous  sons  of  the  billow,  the 
fishermen  of  Newfoundland.  They  went  forth,  year  after  year,  to 
reap  their  precarious  and  perilous  harvest  from  the  depths  of  the 
sea ;  and  year  after  year,  they  returned  bearing,  not  the  gleanings, 
but  the  rich  sheaves,  to  lay  them  as  offerings  on  the  altar  of  God  for 
the  erection  of  a  tabernacle  to  His  name.  Faith,  and  faith  alone, 
could  have  inspired  and  sustained  them  during  the  progress  of  this 
glorious  undertaking. 

When  I  speak  of  fixith  in  the  sense  of  the  Apostle,  as  quoted  in 
our  text,  I  mean  that  divine  principle  of  belief  as  it  operates  in  the 
hearts  of  living  men.  It  was  the  same  in  the  breasts  of  our  fore- 
fathers whilst  they  lived ;  but  now  that  they  are  gone  from  this  earth, 
faith,  by  which  they  lived  in  their  day  and  generation,  has  ceased 
for  them,  and  been  replaced  by  knowledge.     AH  the  truths  of  rev- 


254  ARCHBISHOP  HUGHES. 

elation  are  divine  objects  of  faith,  things  which  we  are  bound  to 
believe.  They  are  true  in  themselves,  because  they  have  been  re- 
vealed by  God,  and  were  true  before  we  were  called  into  existence. 
Hence,  they  are  objects  of  our  faith,  as  distinguished  from  the  actual 
faith  itself,  which  exists  as  a  living  principle  in  our  hearts.  Again, 
the  Chui'ch,  divinely  instituted,  is  at  once  the  guardian  and  the  wit- 
ness of  the  doctrines  of  revelation  which  we  have  to  believe  as  ob- 
jects of  faith.  Her  uniform,  perpetual,  and  infallible  testimony  con- 
stitutes the  motive  or  groundwork  of  our  belief.  Thus  it  was  in  the 
days  of  the  Apostles ;  their  divine  Master  proposed  to  them  the 
truths  of  revelation  which  it  was  necessary  they  should  believe ;  and 
the  gospels  refer  continually  to  this  topic  of  "belief  and  unbelief" 
among  those  who  heard  the  divine  word  from  the  lips  of  our  Saviour 
Himself.  The  teachings  of  Christ,  therefore,  were  the  objects  of  di- 
vine faith  to  His  Apostles  and  disciples.  They  believed,  and  the  mo- 
tive of  their  belief  was  the  veracity  and  divinity  of  their  blessed 
Lord.  They  knew  by  His  miracles  that  He  was  a  teacher  sent  of 
God ;  and  when  He  proposed  to  them  the  mysteries  of  Christianity, 
the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  of  persons  in  the  Godhead — the  doctrine 
of  the  Incarnation — of  the  adorable  Eucharist — of  the  infallibility  of 
His  Church  and  her  duration  until  the  consummation  of  the  world, 
they  did  not  speculate  on  the  doctrine — they  did  not  reason — they 
did  not  dispute — they  believed.  The  word  of  Christ  was  the  motive 
of  their  belief.  And  this  faith  is  so  much  a  part — nay,  so  much  the 
very  foundation  of  our  reconciliation  with  our  oifended  Creator, 
that  the  Apostle  declares  it  "  impossible  without  it  to  please  God  ;" 
and  our  Saviour  says,  "  He  that  believeth  and  is  baptized,  shall  be 
be  saved  ;  He  that  believeth  not,  shall  be  condemned."  It  was  by 
this  faith  that  the  fishermen  of  Galilee,  afler  their  vocation  and  the 
descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  became  the  Apostles  by  whose  life  and 
labors  the  glad  tidings  of  revelation  were  communicated  to  the  ends 
of  the  earth.  They  and  their  associates  and  their  successors  have  con- 
stituted the  body  of  official  witnesses,  to  testify  and  declare  at  all  times 
what  were  the  doctrines  revealed  to  them  by  Christ.  Their  testi- 
mony has  been  unbroken,  perpetual,  and  ubiquitous,  wherever  the 
faith  of  their  blessed  Master  has  prevailed.  From  day  to  day,  from  year 
to  year,  from  generation  to  generation,  from  century  to  century,  the 
imanimous  voice  of  those  appointed  witnesses,  the  Apostles  and  their 
successors,  though  dispersed  throughout  Christendom,  has  been 
heard  publishing  the  same  doctrines  of  revelation,  and  condemning 
the  errors  which  might  spring  up  claiming,  falsely,  to  have  been  re- 
vealed by  the  Saviour.  The  members  of  this  divinely  constituted 
body  of  witnesses  passed  successfully,  one  by  one,  from  the  scene  of 
their  earthly  and  apostolic  labors  ;  but  the  body  itself  continued,  be- 
came enlarged  and  extended  on  every  side,  as  nation  after  nation  sub- 
mitted to  the  sweet  yoke  of  Jesus  Christ.  Now,  this  external  organi- 
zation of  the  Church  is  the  mode  and  form  under  which  its  Redeemer 
provided  that  the  doctrines  revealed  by  Him,  and  which  constitute 
the  objects  of  our  faith,  should  be  transmitted  to  us  and  to  those  who 


8EEM0NS.  255 

shall  come  after  us,  undei'  the  infallible  attestation  of  witnesses  ap- 
pointed by  Him,  and  guaranteed  by  the  promise  of  His  own  pres- 
ence with  tliem,  in  order  that  wo,  too,  may  believe  and  have  eternal 
life.  Thus,  we  know  from  the  Evangelists  that  out  of  the  multitude 
of  disciples  who  believed,  Clirist  selected  twelve  to  be  Apostles,  and 
communicated  to  them  the  prerogatives  of  His  own  ministry;  not, 
indeed,  that  they  should  become  the  revealers  of  new  doctrines,  but 
that  they  should  be  perpetual  witnesses  of  those  which  they  had 
learned  from  Him.  Among  these  twelve  He  selected  one,  namely, 
Peter,  and  constituted  him  personally  as  the  rock  on  which  His  Church 
should  perpetually  rest.  To  him  alone,  He  said  :  "Thou  art  Peter, 
and  upon  this  rock  I  will  build  my  Church,  and  the  gates  of  hell 
shall  not  prevail  against  it."  To  him  alone,  He  said:  "Thou  being 
once  converted,  confirm  thy  brethren."  To  him  alone.  He  said : 
'•  Feed  my  Iambs,  feed  my  sheep  ;"  that  is,  to  thee  I  give  primacy 
and  supreme  authority  over  the  entire  sheepfold  of  which  I  am  the 
good  Shepherd.  Here,  therefore,  we  behold  the  external  form 
and  organization  of  tlie  Christian  Church — the  disciples,  the  Apos- 
tles, and  the  divinely  appointed  chief  of  all,  St.  Peter.  The 
little  flock  has  continued,  and  under  this  external  organization 
has  enlarged  itself  to  the  ends  of  the  earth,  presenting  itself  at  all  times 
under  the  identical  form  which  it  received  from  the  divine  Pastor. 
Here,  to  day,  and  everywhere,  are  the  faithful  disciples  of  our  Lord. 
Here,  and  everywhere  throughout  Christendom  are  the  bishops  of 
the  Church,  who  have  succeeded  the  Apostles;  but  not  here,  nor 
everywhere,  is  the  successor  of  St.  Peter,  but  only  in  the  See  which 
the  blessed  chief  of  the  Apostles  founded  in  Rome,  and  which,  since 
the  establishment  of  Christianity,  has  been  the  centre  of  Catholic 
unity,  the  seat  of  Apostolic  primacy  and  universal  supremacy  over 
the  Church  of  Christ.  This  Church  has  been  the  ever-living,  ever- 
speaking,  ever-judging  and  determining  witness  of  the  truths  which 
Christ  revealed,  and  which  are  proposed  to  one  generation  after 
another  as  the  objects  of  our  living  and  active  faith.  It  is  by  faith, 
and  if  necessary,  baptism,  that  we  are  individually  brought  into 
communion  with  the  Chui'ch.  It  is  through  the  witnessing  of  the 
Church  and  the  grace  of  the  sacraments,  of  which  she  is  the  deposi- 
tary and  the  dispenser,  that  we  are  individually  brought  into  commu- 
nion with  our  divine  Redeemer ;  and  it  is  through  His  merits,  com- 
municated to  us  by  the  medium  of  the  Church,  in  the  grace  of  faith 
itself  and  of  the  sacraments,  that  we  are  brought  into  communion 
with  His  eternal  Father.  Oh!  what  a  poor,  I  had  almost  said,  beg- 
garly conception  of  the  Incarnation  and  ministry  of  Christ  must  that 
man  hav^e,  who  restricts  it  to  the  few  days  of  His  mortal  life,  and  to 
the  limited  sphere  of  His  personal  mission  in  an  obscure  province  of 
the  Roman  empire.  For  him,  the  Founder  of  Christianity  preached 
the  word  of  life  and  performed  miracles  during  only  a  period  of 
three  years;  for  him,  the  Incarnation  and  ministry  of  the  Redeemer 
are  but  a  transitory  apparition  of  which  certain  incidents  have  been 
historically  preserved  and  recorded  in  the  inspired  pages  of  the  four 


256  ARCHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

Evangelists ;  for  him,  the  preservation  of  the  Scriptures,  and  the 
privilege  of  interpreting  them,  as  best  each  one  may,  are  all  of  the 
work  of  Christ  that  survived  His  crucifixion  on  Mount  Cavalry.  If 
lie  i-eads,  he  does  not  understand  the  intimate  relations  which  Christ 
established  between  Himself  and  His  ever-living  and  ever-teaching 
representatives,  namely,  the  Apostles  and  their  successors,  united 
with  their  supreme  chief  on  earth,  Peter,  and  the  bishops  of  Rome 
who  have  succeeded  him.  To  them,  in  the  persons  of  the  Apostles, 
He  declared  that  "  all  power  was  given  to  Him  in  heaven  and  on 
earth;"  and  in  the  exercise  of  that  power.  He  commanded  them  to 
"go  forth  and  teach  all  nations,  baptizing  them  in  the  name  of  the. 
Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost — teaching  them  to  ob- 
serve all  things  whatsoever  He  commanded  them" — declaring,  at 
the  same  time,  that  "  He  would  be  with  them  all  days,  even  unto  the  con- 
summation of  the  world :"  adding  elsewhere,  that  those  who  should  hear 
them,  should  hear  Him  ;  that  those  who  should  despise  them,  should 
despise  Him;  and  those  who  should  despise  Him,  should  de- 
pise  the  Father  who  sent  Him.  All  this  had  taken  place  years  before 
any  portion  of  the  New  Testament  was  written ;  and  in  such  lan- 
guage, it  is  clear  that  our  Blessed  Saviour  instituted  the  outward 
form  of  His  Church,  and  promised  His  divine  and  perpetual  presence 
in  order  to  carry  on,  through  her  instrumentality,  and  to  diffuse  to  the 
very  ends  of  the  earth  the  works  of  His  own  ministry,  and  the  mer- 
its of  His  sacrifice  on  the  cross  for  the  redemption  of  mankind. 
Faith,  then,  is  the  unwavering  and  entire  assent  of  our  understanding 
to  the  truths  which  God  has  revealed,  and  which  His  Church  has 
borne  down  to  us,  as  a  divinely  commissioned  and  infallible  witness. 
Consequently,  that  belief,  or  persuasion,  as  it  is  sometimes  called,  which 
rests  upon  human  reasoning,  upon  high  probability,  upon  opinion, 
upon  the  interpretation  which  we,  as  individuals,  put  upon  the  pages  of 
Holy  Writ — upon,  in  short,  any  other  foundation,  except  the  infalli- 
ble teaching  of  the  Church,  which  Christ  appointed  for  the  purpose 
of  bearing  witness  to  the  truths  revealed  by  Him,  is  not,  and  can 
not  be  called  divine  faith. 

We  may  turn  our  attention  now  to  a  contemplation  of  the  changes 
that  have  been  wrought  in  the  character  and  life  of  nations  as  well 
as  of  individuals,  who  have  been  blessed  with  the  heavenly  gift  of 
faith.  Under  this  view  we  may  consider  the  devotion,  the  zeal,  the 
suffering,  and  the  martyrdom  of  the  Apostles,  in  attestation  of  the 
truths  which  they  preached  and  propagated  throughout  the  world. 
During  the  first  three  hundred  years  of  our  era,  every  species  of  per- 
secution unto  death  was  put  in  requisition  by  the  Roman  empire 
for  the  vain  purpose  of  sustaining  paganism  and  extinguishing  the 
faith  of  Christ  in  the  blood  of  those  who  professed  it.  Many  of  the 
successors  of  St.  Peter,  during  those  days  of  pagan  cruelty  and  Chris- 
tian heroism,  confirmed  the  truths  of  revelation  which  they  had 
received  and  preached,  by  the  testimony  of  their  blood,  under  the 
hand  of  the  executioner.  Not  only  the  Pontiffs,  but  also  the  priests 
and  laity  of  the  Church,  the  Christian  noblemen,  the  Christian  slave, 


SERMONS.  257 

the  citizen,  the  soldier,  the  man  of  gray  hairs  and  the  tender  virgin, 
in  short,  victims  of  every  rank  and  of  every  class,  were  sought  out, 
given  over  to  tortures  and  to  death,  in  the  vain  hope  of  extinguishing 
the  fiiith,  and  appeasing  the  ferocity  of  a  pagan  people,  and  of  the 
fabulous  gods  of  their  falling  empire.  The  Church  beheld  and  suf- 
fered these  cruelties ;  but  her  mission  was  to  preach  the  truths  which 
Christ  had  revealed,  and  she  could  neither  cease  from  her  labor,  nor 
make  any  compromise  to  appease  the  anger  of  the  rulers  of  this 
world.  The  martyrdom  of  her  children,  though  an  affliction  in  one 
sense,  was  to  her  a  subject  of  triumph  ;  and  if  at  any  time  a  tear 
stood  in  her  eye,  or  a  blush  diffused  itself  over  her  meek  counte- 
nance, it  was  when  some  child  of  hers,  too  weak  to  bear  the  tor- 
tures, had  recourse  to  apostasy,  and  saved  the  life  of  the  body  by 
denying  the  truth  that  had  been  revealed,  and  of  which  she  was  the 
witness. 

After  the  close  of  this  long  persecution,  and  when  the  master  of 
the  Roman  empire  himself  became  a  disciple  of  the  cross,  and  trans- 
ferred its  symbol  as  the  most  glorious  jewel  in  the  imperial  diadem, 
the  Church,  in  bearing  witness  to  the  truths  of  revelation,  had  to  en- 
counter new  adversaries  and  new  dangers.  The  centuries  succeed- 
ing the  conversion  of  Constantine  were  the  most  remarkable  for  the 
springing  up  of  heresies,  immediately  or  remotely  connected  for  the 
most  part  with  the  mystery  of  the  Incarnation,  the  person,  nature, 
and  attributes  of  our  Lord  Himself  The  authors  of  these  heresies 
were  generally  men  of  much  learning  and  intellectual  capacity. 
Pi-ide,  which  is  adverse  to  the  simplicity  of  faith,  was  in  their  hearts 
— the  subtleties  of  pagan  philosophy  in  their  understandings. 
Whether  consciously  or  not,  they  attempted  to  adulterate  the  de- 
posit of  faith,  and  to  propagate,  as  doctrines  of  Christianity,  truths 
which  Christ  had  not  revealed.  The  necessity  of  combating  these 
errors  gave  occasion  to  those  immortal  writings  which  have  done 
so  much  for  the  illustration  of  the  real  doctrines  of  Christianity,  and 
to  whose  testimony  succeeding  ages  have  constantly  referred.  Their 
authors  were  what  are  commonly  called  the  "  Fathers  of  the  Church." 
But  not  by  their  writings  alone  did  the  successors  of  the  Apostles 
bear  witness  to  the  truths  of  revelation,  and  against  the  novelties  of 
error.  Councils  assembled,  convoked  and  presided  over  by  the  suc- 
cessors of  St.  Peter,  or  his  immediate  repi-esentative,  in  which  the 
bishops  of  the  Church  recorded  their  testimony  in  tavor  of  the  truth 
and  against  the  heresies  of  the  innovators.  During  these  ages  the- 
Church  confounded  the  pride  of  those  who,  professing  Catholicity^ 
yet  chafed  under  the  yoke  of  divine  faith.  She  confounded  the 
pride  of  the  rebellious  intellect,  and  expelled  from  her  borders  the 
attempted  admixture  of  a  pagan  philosophy,  which  even  some  indi- 
vidual bishops  of  her  communion  had  sought  to  infuse  into  the  pure 
and  simple  teachings  of  the  Christian  religion.  Thus,  after  having 
triumphed  over  brute  force,  as  wielded  by  pagan  persecutors  for 
three  hundred  years,  she  triumphed  again  over  the  sly,  seductive^ 
but  dangerous  subtleties  of  the  proud  and  perverted  intellects  ot 
VOL.  II.— 17 


258  AECHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

heresiarchs,  who  disturbed  her  peace  by  their  various  attempts  to 
seduce  her  children  from  the  paths  of  divine  truth  into  the  laby- 
rinths of  human  error.  A  third  struggle  was  in  store  for  her.  She 
had  purified  and  renovated  such  civilization  as  pagan  Rome  had  es- 
tablished in  Italy  and  Southern  Europe.  But  the  empire  itself  was 
in  progress  of  dissolution.  New  tribes,  new  hordes,  new  peoples, 
without  civilization,  except  of  the  rudest  type,  were  breaking  into 
the  various  departments  of  what  had  once  been  the  Roman  empire. 
They  were  for  the  most  part  barbarians  and  idolaters;  or  if  they  had 
any  notion  of  Christianity,  it  was  derived  from  an  erroneous  source. 
They  poured  in  from  the  north  in  irresistible  torrents.  Wave  after 
wave  of  such  populations  swept  over  the  land,  carrying  away  all  that 
was  destructible — the  bark  of  Peter  alone  being  enabled  to  resist  the 
torrent,  and  rise  to  the  surface  of  the  flood.  When  their  ifruptions 
had  partially  ceased,  she  had  a  new  struggle  to  sustain,  not  now  against 
learning  and  perverted  knowledge,  but  against  rudeness,  ignorance, 
barbarism,  and  military  ferocity.  Yet  she  educated  those  barbarians, 
she  civiUzed  them,  she  imbued  them  with  a  knowledge  of  the  Chris- 
tian doctrine,  and  under  her  fostering  care  they  became  the  gei"ms 
of  the  civilized  and  Catholic  nations  of  Europe  as  they  are  to-day. 
This  again  was  the  triumph  of  faith.  She  proposed  to  them,  as  an 
infallible  witness,  the  doctrines  which  her  divine  Founder  has  com- 
manded her  to  teach  all  nations,  and  on  her  testimony  they  believed. 
Again,  Europe  had  emerged  gradually  from  this  condition  of  igno- 
rance of  all  but  the  Christian  doctrine  into  a  period  of  renovated 
science  and  knowledge.  The  improvement  was  the  work  of  the 
Church,  the  indirect  consequences  of  the  belief  in  the  Christian 
religion. 

And  now,  let  the  Church  prepare  for  another  contest,  not  less  cal- 
culated to  test  her  invincibility  than  those  which  had  preceded. 
New  heresies  are  broached  and  promulgated  by  certain  proud  but 
TiCbellious  children  whom  she  herself  had  cherished  in  her  bosom. 
These  last  errors  were  too  irrational,  too  clumsily  supported  by  their 
authors,  to  be  of  any  lasting  consequence,  if  secular  governments  had 
not  taken  advantage  of  them  for  the  attainment  of  secular  and  po- 
litical ends.  Whilst  Christendom  was  united,  the  exercise  of  irre- 
sponsible and  despotic  power  by  sovereigns  was  hardly  practicable 
in  the  presence  of  the  Church  and  under  the  supervision  of  the  Holy 
See.  Kings  and  rulers,  though  supreme  in  their  own  department, 
yet,  as  professing  members  of  the  Catholic  Church,  were  held  bound 
by  her  laws  to  the  observance  of  at  least  the  great  moral  precepts 
<i>f  the  Christain  faith.  They  could  not,  with  her  sanction,  violate 
the  sacredness  of  the  marriage  bond ;  they  could  not  violate  their 
lawful  oaths,  or  become  public  perjurers  or  despotic  tyrants,  crush- 
ing the  people  whom  they  were  only  appointed  to  govern,  and  not  to 
oppress.  This  was  deemed  a  bondage  from  which  royalty,  in  many 
instances,  took  advantage  of  the  distractions  in  the  Church  as  an 
opportunity  to  relieve  and  emancipate  itself  The  errors  of  the  in- 
novators in  their  several  countries  were  soon  blended  with  the  policy 


SERMONS.  259 

of  the  state  in  \^hich  they  lived ;  and  their  followers,  if  not  them- 
selves, have  been  obliged  by  the  power  of  the  State  to  adopt  such 
modifications,  such  diminutions  of  the  doctrines  committed  by  our 
Saviour  to  the  guardianship  and  the  witnessing  of  the  Church,  as 
their  temporal  rulers  were  pleased  to  authorize.  Again,  the  powers 
of  the  State  were  applied  in  the  forms  of  reward  and  penalties  to 
seduce  the  children  of  faith  from  allegianoe  to  the  Church,  and  trans- 
form them  into  vassals,  who  were  expected  to  bow  down  before  the 
image  which  the  sovereigns  had  set  up.  Our  forefathers,  in  the 
great  empire  of  Avhich  you  are  now  an  important  colony,  were  no 
strangers  to  this  political  system  of  rewards  and  punishments.  But 
they  were  men  of  foith  in  their  day.  They  suffered  martyrdom  when 
the  occasion  demanded  it.  They  suffered  the  loss  of  property,  of 
position,  of  reputation  itself,  rather  than  recognize  in  a  mere  secular 
government  the  spiritual  rights,  and  power,  and  authority,  which 
the  Saviour  of  the  world  conferred  upon  His  Church  alone ;  and  so 
they  suffered  loss  of  all  things  that  they  might  preserve  the 
heavenly  inheritance  of  faith,  and  transmit  the  same  to  their  de- 
scendants. The  contest,  if  not  over,  is  much  abated  in  violence ; 
and  in  the  presence  of  that  empire  and  of  mankind,  we  may  say  with 
the  Apostle  St.  John,  ''This  is  the  victory  which  conqueretli  the 
world,  our  faith."  I  need  not  tell  you,  dearly  beloved  brethren, 
that  faith  alone  is  not  enough  for  salvation  :  it  must  be  accompanied 
by  good  works ;  it  must  manifest  itself  in  the  exercise  of  those  vir- 
tues which  it  suggests,  and  of  which  it  is  the  foundation  and  the  sup- 
port; it  must  be  the  reliance  of  holy  hope,  and  the  groundwork  of 
divine  charity.  The  Council  of  Trent  speaks  of  faith  as  the  "basis  of 
good  woi'ks,  and  as  the  root  of  justification."  And  the  Church  has 
ever  taught,  in  the  language  of  the  Apostle,  that  "faith  without 
works',  is  dead  in  itself"  What  is  the  secret  of  the  devoted  zeal 
which  through  all  ages  has  prompted,  and  still  prompts  the  apostolic 
missionary  to  forsake  the  endearments  of  home,  and  to  give  his  la- 
bors and  his  life  for  the  conversion  of  men  who  have  never  heard  the 
name  of  Chiist  ?  What  has  inspired  the  martyrs  with  the  heroism 
which  enabled  them  to  triumph  over  death  ?  What  is  it  that  sus- 
tained, and  still  sustains  those  great  benefactors  of  the  human  race, 
those  unappreciated  servants  of  God,  who  devote  themselves  to  the 
mitigation  of  human  suffering  at  the  sacrifice  of  worldly  comfort, 
and  even  of  life  itself?     It  is  charity  bc-aring  evidence  to  faith. 

To  this  faith,  operating  through  charity,  we  must  trace  the  origin 
of  those  great  monuments  of  departed  generations  with  which  Eu- 
rope is  studded  from  one  eminence,  so  to  speak,  to  another — those 
ministers,  as  they  are  called  in  England,  those  cathedrals,  monasteries, 
convents,  hospitals,  and  orphan  asylums,  which  are  found  on  the 
continent.  These  are,  indeed,  monuments  of  faith,  that  still  speak 
for  the  belief  of  our  religious  ancestors.  They  are  the  results  of 
faith  wrought  out  through  social  co-operation  into  glorious  evidences 
of  humanity,  improved,  purified,  and  elevated  into  works  of  divine 
charity.     Their  foundations   were   laid   deep   in   the   earth ;  their 


260  AECUBISHOP    HUGHES. 

domes,  their  turrets,  and  their  spires  pointed  towards  heaven,  as  if 
pleading  to  God  that  He  might  pardon  the  sins  of  the  earth,  and 
thus,  like  lightning-rods  in  modern  science,  turning  aside  or  suspend- 
ing, at  least,  the  divine  vengeance  against  the  iniquities  of  the 
world.  They  were  not  the  creation  of  mere  secular  governments.  The 
expenditure  which  they  involved  was  not  derived  from  taxes  decreed 
by  civil  legislation,  and  ex4orted  in  the  name  of  the  State  from  un- 
believing or  unwilling  contributors.  Their  expenses  were  borne  by 
the  offerings  of  charity,  proceeding  froiji  many  hands  and  many 
hearts,  as  a  voluntary  tribute  offered  for  the  love  of  God  and  the 
love  of  man.  All  these,  as  mere  material  structures,  were,  in  their 
day  of  consecration,  like  this  your  own  gloi'ious  cathedral,  monu- 
ments of  faith. 

But  it  is  not  in  the  founding  of  these  institutions  that  the  highest 
evidences  of  the  power  of  that  faith  are  to  be  looked  for.  A  slight 
acquaintance  with  the  history  of  the  Church  will  satisfy  any  one  that 
the  power  of  faith,  working  by  charity,  was  yet  more  effectually  illus- 
trated in  the  consecration  of  individuals  to  the  great  labor  of  serving 
God  and  man  by  a  perpetual  sacrifice  of  themselves  in  works  of 
charity  by  which  such  service  could  be  sustained.  Humanity  in 
some  of  those  ages  was  borne  down  under  a  dense  cloud  of  igno- 
rance. And  in  presence  of  this  you  behold  men  and  women,  them- 
selves educated,  and  sometimes  of  high  rank,  devoting  themselves 
for  the  love  of  God  and  the  love  of  man  to  the  life-long  labor  of  in- 
structing others.  The  aged  and  destitute,  the  sick  and  wounded, 
the  forsaken  in  infancy,  the  Christian  captive  under  the  dominion  of 
the  infidel  master ;  in  short,  the  various  calamities  or  afflictions  to 
which  mankind  are  exposed,  presented,  as  they  still  present,  occa- 
sions for  the  exercise  of  holy  charity  resting  on  the  basis  of  divine 
faith.  Here  is  the  key  of  those  various  orders  that  have  existed  and 
still  exist  in  the  Church,  some  devoting  themselves  to  this  ph;ise  of 
human  suffering,  some  to  that,  some  to  another,  until  at  last  you  behold 
faith  and  charity  taking  up  and  assuming  voluntarily  the  mitigation, 
and,  so  to  speak,  eanctification  of  all  the  sufferings  to  which  humanity 
is  liable.  Under  the  influence  of  these  divine  gifts  of  faith  and 
charity,  the  calamities  of  mankind  have  been,  as  it  were,  scientific- 
ally arranged  and  classified  under  their  respective  heads.  By  the 
divine  influence  of  the  same  divine  gifts  operating  in  the  hearts  of 
individuals,  there  has  always  been  in  the  various  religious  orders  a 
succession  of  volunteers  to  undertake  the  work  specially  contempla- 
ted by  their  institutions.  Not  only  were  they  inspired  to  undertake 
the  work,  oftentimes  of  a  nature  most  discouraging  and  most  repul- 
sive, but  they  were  sustained  in  its  execution  from  youth  to  old  age, 
and  that  without  any  recompense  except  the  recompense  of  faith, 
which  is,  according  to  the  Apostle,  "  the  substance  of  things  to  be 
hoped  for,  the  evidence  of  things  that  appeal-  not."  To  the  mere 
human  eye  they  seemed  but  as  instructors  for  uhe  ignorant,  nurses 
for  the  sick,  substitutes  for  the  Christian  captive  when  they  caused 
the  manacles  of  bondage  to  be  stricken  from  his  hands  and  fastened 


SEKMONS.  261 

on  their  own,  sisters  to  the  recovered  penitents  of  their  own  sex, 
mothers  to  the  destitute  orphan ;  and  to  the  world  it  has  ever  ap- 
peared a  mystery  liow  such  persons  could  devote  themselves  to  such 
labors  without  the  prospect  of  any  human  recompense  whatever. 
But  the  explanation  is,  that  they  were  illumined  by  the  light  of 
divine  faith  and  sustained  by  the  fire  of  holy  charity.  To  them 
the  very  toils  which  they  had  to  undergo,  were  "  the  substance  of 
things  to  be  hoped  for,"  the  very  objects  of  their  solicitude  and  care 
were  to  them  "  the  evidence  of  things  that  appear  not."  The  Re- 
deemer had  declared  that  whatsoever  they  should  do  for  one  of  the 
least  of  His  brethren,  should  be  done  for  Himself;  and  consequently 
their  services  in  all  the  departments  of  Christian  charity  were  ulti- 
mately directed  as  if  to  the  very  person  of  Our  Lord  and  Saviour 
Jesus  Christ.  He  appeared  not,  but  by  faith  He  was  evident  to 
them  in  the  person  of  every  suffering  member  of  humanity. 

All  these  labored  in  communion  with  the  subjection  to  the  Holy 
Catholic  Church.  Outside  of  her  communion  nothing  of  the  kind 
has  ever  been  or  can  ever  be  witnessed.  Wherever  civil  govern- 
ments have  usurped  the  functions  and  authority  of  the  Church, 
charity  in  its  true  sense  has  disappeared,  and  faith  has  been  replaced 
by  mere  human  opinion  involving  speculation,  doubt,  and  infidelity. 
Previous  to  their  sacrilegious  usurpation  of  ecclesiastical  supremacy 
in  their  several  States,  the  poor  were  abundantly  provided  for  by  the 
voluntary  offerings  of  a  believing  people.  After  such  usurpation  the 
fountains  of  charity  were  dried  up,  and  legal  coercion  was  necessary 
to  provide  relief  for  the  victims  of  destitution.  Instead  of  the  ancient 
establishments  for  their  relief,  we  behold  for  the  first  time  the  grim 
workhouse  exhibiting  more  of  the  prison  than  of  the  asylum ;  we  be- 
hold voluntary  poverty  for  Christ's  sake  treated  with  derision,  and 
the  victims  of  involuntary  destitution,  if  not  permitted  to  die  unre- 
lieved, relieved  in  such  a  manner  as  would  imply  the  punishment  of 
crime  no  less  than  the  relief  of  want. 

I  need  hardly  remind  you,  my  dear  brethren,  that  the  inculcation 
of  the  principles  of  Divine  Faith  and  of  Holy  Charity  from  this  day 
forward  is  the  great  supernatural  object  for  which  this  noble  Cathe- 
dral has  been  this  day  consecrated.  Here,  before  this  altar,  on  this 
ground  now  blessed  and  sanctified  in  the  work  of  Christ,  as  the  earth 
itself  had  been  cursed  in  the  work  of  Adam,  you  will  make  known 
your  petitions  to  God,  abiding  in  His  Holy  Tabernacle.  Here  you 
will  listen  to  the  words  of  eternal  life  from  the  chief  pastor  whom 
God  has  placed  over  you,  or  the  priests  by  him  commissioned ;  here, 
in  short,  you  will  find  for  your  souls  a  harbor  of  perfect  rest  and 
tranquillity,  in  which  you  will  invoke  the  divine  blessing  and  the 
divine  protection  against  the  storms  and  the  dangers  of  the  elements 
which  in  your  humble  but  most  important  industry  you  will  have  to 
encounter.  The  fact  of  having  erected  this  edifice  to  the  glory  of 
God  is  an  evidence  both  of  your  faith  and  of  your  charity. 

It  exhibits  these  as  the  characteristic  of  the  Catholic  inhabitants 
of  your  island.-    The  inhabitants  of  other  lands  may  erect  palaces  for 


262  AECHBI3H0P    HUGHES. 

their  Sovereigns  Mliich  will  indicate  in  their  grandeur  the  existence 
of  national  wealth  and  of  national  pride.  The  merchants  of  great 
cities  may  conspire  in  the  construction  of  public  buildings  for  the 
purpose  of  regulating  commerce  and  exchange ;  all  such  structures 
proclaim  the  earthly  principle  from  which  they  are  derived,  and  the 
earthly  purpose  to  which  they  are  dedicated.  Useful  they  may  be 
and  no  doubt  are;  but  if  traced  to  their  lowest  foundation,  they  will 
be  found  to  rest  upon  the  basis  of  mere  worldly  pride  or  interested 
selfishness.  Not  so  with  an  edifice  like  this.  A  Cathedral  is  an 
exception  among  public  buildings ;  its  purpose,  its  object,  and  the 
motives  which  prompted  its  erection,  must  all  be  estimated  by  a 
standard  entirely  different  from  that  of  those  public  buildings  whose 
origin  and  end  are  limited  by  earth  and  time.  This  Cathedral  is  the 
product  of  voluntary  offerings  from  those  who  expect  no  return  of 
the  capital  or  interest  invested  in  it,  who  expect  no  remuneration, 
no  privilege,  other  than  the  sacred  privilege  of  worshiping  God  be- 
neath its  mighty  dome. 

The  bishops  from  other  dioceses  who  have  the  happiness  to  be 
here  to-day  have  witnessed  a  spectacle  worthy  the  ages  of  faith. 
When  we  return  to  our  respective  homes,  we  shall  make  known 
how  the  fishermen  of  Newfoundland,  wlio  go  forth  on  the  rocking 
billows  to  prosecute  the  development  of  a  most  important  depart- 
ment of  industry  amidst  the  tempests  and  dangers  of  the  ocean,  how 
these  fishermen,  I  say,  have  been  able  from  their  scanty  earnings  to 
economize  and  create  a  fund  sufficient  to  rear  this  magnificent  tem- 
ple as  a  tabernacle  to  the  God  of  Jacob. 

Yet  even  thjs  grand  edifice,  solid  as  it  is,  will  perish.  But  you, 
dearly  beloved  brethren,  are  to  be  living  stones  in  the  everlasting 
temple  which  is  not  reai'ed  by  human  hands;  you  are  sustained  now 
by  that  "faith  Avhich  is  substance  of  things  to  be  hoped  for,  the  evi- 
dence of  things  which  appear  not."  Let  it  be  your  care  to  secure 
the  end  for  which  you  were  created,  an  eternal  abode  in  that  better 
world  where  faith  will  be  no  longer  necessary,  where  neither  tem- 
pest, nor  suffering,  nor  disappointment  can  reach — where  you  will 
be  aggregated  to  the  glorious  company  of  the  saints  and  martyrs, 
and  confessors  and  virgins — where  you  will  see  with  your  own  eyes 
God  our  Saviour,  and  near  him,  but  elevated  above  all  created  be- 
ings. His  ever  blessed  Virgin  Mother,  who  has  been  figuratively  and 
beautifully  termed  the  "  Star  of  the  Sea."  Her  sweet  name  is  fa- 
miliar to  your  lips,  it  is  often  in  your  hearts.  Her  intercession  you 
invoke  in  the  moment  of  danger,  and  as  a  safeguard  against  tempta- 
tion. She  is  nearly  related  to  the  incarnation  of  our  Divine  Saviour. 
She  is  the  most  perfect  of  all  God's  creatures,  preserved  from  every 
stain  of  original  and  of  actual  sin.  And  under  her  powerful  patron- 
age I  invoke  upon  you  the  blessing  of  Almighty  God,  in  time  and 
in  eternity,  as  the  only  adequate  reward  of  your  labors  in  the  erec 
tion  of  this  glorious  monument  of  your  faith  and  charity. 


SEEM0N8.  263 


SERMON  ON  THE  OCCASION  OF  LAYING-  THE 
CORNER  STONE  OF  THE  NEW  ST.  PATRICK'S 
CATHEDRAL,  AUGUST  15th,  1858. 

"  Nisi  Dominus  ^dificaverit  domum;  in  vanum  laboraverunt  qui  cedifiant  earn. 
Wi^  Dominus  custadierit  civitatum,frustra  vigilat  qui  custodit  earn." 

"  Unless  the  Lord  build  the  house,  they  labor  in  vain  that  build  it. 
Unless  the  Lord  keep  the  city,  he  watcheth  in  vain  that  keepeth  it." — Ps. 
cxxvi.  1,  2. 

Venerable  Fathers  and  Bishops — I  need  not  say  how  deeply-I 
am  grateful  to  you  for  the  honor  of  your  presence  on  this  solemn  and 
important  occasion.  I  have  not  been  insensible  to  this  honor,  nor 
ignorant  of  the  inconveniences  which  you  have  incurred,  by  leaving, 
even  for  a  brief  period,  the  devoted  flocks  that  look  up  to  you,  re- 
spectively, as  to  their  highest  local  Father's  and  Pastors. 

To  you  also,  dearly  beloved  and  most  respected  priests  of  my  own 
diocese,  but  if  possible,  still  more  to  those  who  have  come  from  other 
episcopal  jurisdictions,  I  return  the  thanks  of  a  true  and  grateful 
heart,  for  your  presence  this  day. 

To  the  faithful  of  my  own  diocese,  who,  in  the  main,  constitute 
the  vast  assemblage  of  persons  actually  surrounding  the  corner-stone 
of  our  new  cathedral,  I  need  not  say  that  I  am  grateful ;  that  they 
know  already — for  it  is  not  the  first  time  that  I  have  called  upon 
them  ;  but  if  they  had  not  responded  in  such  numbers  as  they  have 
done,  it  would  be  the  first  time  that  they  had  failed  me.  This  they 
have  never  done,  and  this  I  am  sure  they  never  will  do,  when  any 
great  work  is  to  be  commenced  or  completed  for  the  glory  of  God 
and  the  salvation  of  men. 

And  I  now  have  to  return  in  an  especial  manner  my  grateful 
thanks  to  those  who  have  filled  up  my  list  of  expectation,  which, 
when  announced  in  a  circular  letter  addressed  to  a  limited  number, 
might  have  been  looked  upon  as  a  bold  if  not  daring  proposal.  But 
the  manner  in  which  they  have  responded  to  it  has  filled  me  with 
astonishment,  proving,  as  it  does,  that  in  general  the  faithful  in  their 
zeal  and  generosity  for  any  thing  appertaining  to  the  glory  of  God 
and  the  forwarding  of  religion,  are,  if  possible,  in  advance  even  of 
the  pastors  whom  God  has  appointed  over  them.  In  the  history  of 
the  Catholic  Church  during  1800  years,  the  truth  of  what  I  have 
just  remarked  has  not,  in  my  opinion,  been  brought  out  more  clear- 
ly, or  more  promptly  than  in  the  response  which  I  have  received 
from  those  to  whom  I  had  the  honor  of  addressing  a  circular  letter, 
dated  June  14,  1858.  It  has  been  said  that  those  who  arc,  or  are 
supposed  to  be  wealthy,  are  generally  cold  and  indifierent  to  the  suc- 
cess of  great  religious  undertakings  like  the  present  one.  This  re- 
proach has  been  extended  to  even  the  members  of  the  holy  Catholic 


264  AKCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

Church ;  and  it  has  been  asserted,  and  to  a  great  extent  believed,  that 
it  is  only  the  poor  who  by  their  simple  faith  and  devotedness  to  their 
religion  support  our  charities  and  build  our  churches. 

The  event  of  this  day,  so  far,  at  least,  contradicts  and  refutes  this 
popular  idea.  The  circular  just  referred  to  could  not  have  been  ad- 
dressed to  more  than  140  of  the  members  of  our  communion  in  the 
city  and  diocese  of  New  York.  To  a  great  many  equally  devoted 
the  circular  was  not  sent,  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  Archbishop  had 
not  the  pleasure  of  knowing  them  personally,  or  of  knowing  their 
address.  It  is  true  that  two  or  three  circulars  were  addressed  to 
prominent  Catholics  out  of  the  diocese,  and  it  would  be  a  culpable 
omission  on  my  part  if  I  did  not  acknowledge,  as  I  do  with  pride, 
that  at  least  in  one  case,  the  response  was  woithy  of  a  veteran  mis- 
sionary and  of  a  man  of  God.  I  do  not  say  that  in  any  case  the  re- 
sponse was  otherwise  ;  but  both  as  regards  clergymen  and  laymen, 
if  any  instance  to  the  contrary  occurred,  it  was  that,  not  the  good 
will,  but  the  means  of  carrying  it  out  have  been  wanting.  I  may 
here  add,  that  I  have  been  more  touched  at  the  evident  regret  of 
those  who  could  not  come  up  to  the  expectation  suggested  in  the 
circular  for  the  first  year,  than  even  by  the  magnanimous  prompti- 
tude of  those  who  felt  that  not  only  they  would,  but  they  could  affix 
their  names  to  the  first  roll  of  the  first  patrons  of  this  new  St.  Pa- 
trick's Cathedral. 

To  them  it  was  a  work  of  joy  and  satisfaction,  the  feeling  of  which 
they  could  not  conceal.  I  am  aware  that  not  a  few  of  them,  con- 
sidering the  depression  of  the  times,  felt  the  inconvenience  of  Chris- 
tian generosity.  But  looking  back  through  the  brief  experience 
which  the  occasion  required,  1  cannot  call  to  mind  a  single  person, 
male  or  female,  layman  or  clergyman,  whose  heart  in  responding  to 
the  appeal  could  be  considered,  to  say  the  very  least,  smaller  than 
his  income. 

And  now  I  have  to  announce  that  ray  bold  expectations  have  been 
realized  ;  that  I  have  found  one  hundred  persons  who  have  subscrib- 
ed, and  many  of  them  already  paid,  $1,000  dollars  each,  once  for  all 
to  carry  on  this  great  work  of  a  new  cathedral,  during  the  first 
year  of  its  progress — and  when  I  think  of  this  I  cannot  help  exclaim- 
ing in  gratitude,  Glory  be  to  God  in  the  highest,  and  on  earth  peace 
to  men  of  good  will. 

Neither  can  I  suppress  another  exclamation  in  which  humanity,  all 
fallen  though  it  be,  can  hardly  fail  to  sympathize — Honor  and  tender 
reverence  trom  every  Christian  heart  to  Mary,  the  Immaculate  Vir- 
gin Mother  of  the  Redeemer  of  mankind.  lie  is  our  Saviour,  blend- 
ing in  His  own  person  the  divine  as  well  as  the  human  nature.  She, 
His  humble  Mother,  was  all  human — sin  only  excepted — the  excep- 
tion being  the  eflect  of  His  infinite  merits. 

Honor  and  reverence  also  to  the  present  supreme  head  of  the  Ca- 
tholic Church,  Pius  IX.,  for  that,  after  having  been  tried  in  the  cru- 
cible of  virtue,  it  was  his  privilege  among  all  the  successors  of  St. 
Peter,  to  define  by  supreme  and  divine  authority,  what  indeed  the 


SERMONS.  265 

Catholic  Church  had  always  believed,  but  which  had  not  until  then 
taken  the  absolute  form  of  a  dogma  of  Catholic  faith.  It  is  true 
that  all  honor  to  the  Blessed  Virgin  was  recognized,  and  all  privi- 
lege and  dignity  included  in  her  title  as  Virgin  Mother  of  the  eter- 
nal Word  made  flesh,  in  the  person  of  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ.  It 
was  tit  that  the  definition  of  her  last  prerogative,  viz.,  her  perpetual 
exemption  from  actual  and  original  sin,  through  the  merits  of  her 
divine  Son,  should  be  reserved  for  a  PontilF,  who,  in  meekness  and 
humility,  approaches  so  nearly  to  her  own  example ;  and  it  is  also 
touchingly  affecting  to  reflect  that  the  Blessed  Virgin  herself  could 
leave  this  definition  in  abeyance  during  so  many  centuries,  until  a 
period  should  arrive  when  the  definition  should  be  hailed  with  such 
universal  joy  by  all  the  children  of  her  divine  Son.  It  is  a  final  con- 
firmation of  our  own  privilege,  for  by  a  voice  from  the  cross  of  Cal- 
vary she  was  assigned  to  us  in  the  person  of  St.  John  the  Evangelist 
as  our  mother — the  dying  Saviour  uttering  these  words,  "  Son,  be- 
hold thy  mother," 

It  is  touchingly  afiecting,  I  have  said,  that  she,  if  we  might  use 
such  language,  waited  until  the  definition  of  her  exemption  from 
original  sin  could  be,  as  it  has  been,  proclaimed  by  the  voice  of  the 
supreme  Pastor  on  earth,  without  any  strife  or  uncharitableness ; — 
nay,  I  might  add,  without  producing  so  much  as  a  ripple  on  the 
calm  sea  of  Catholic  faith. 

Next  to  Almighty  God,  the  corner-stone  of  this  Cathedral  is  to  be 
laid  under  the  auspices  of  the  Immaculate  Virgin  Mary.  Its  special 
patron,  as  announced,  is  the  glorious  Apostle  of  Ireland — St.  Patrick 
— originally  selected  as  j^atron  of  the  first  Cathedral  commenced  by 
our  Catholic  ancestors  in  Mott-street,  fifty-two  years  ago.  Their  un- 
dertaking was  indeed  an  example  of  zeal  and  enterprise  worthy  of 
our  imitation.  They  were  very  few,  they  were  very  poor ;  but  their 
minds  were  as  large  as  the  Cathedral  which  they  projected,  and 
theirs  were  the  hearts  of  great  men.  It  might  be  said  of  them  what 
is  mentioned  in  the  Scriptures,  but  in  a  difierent  sense,  that  "  there 
were  giants  in  those  days."  They  laid  the  foundation  of  the  first 
Cathedral,  at  a  period  Avhen  it  is  said  that  the  Catholics  of  New 
York  were  not  numerous  enough  to  fill  the  small  Church  of  St.  Peter, 
in  Barclay-street,  and  that  ten  years  after,  when  the  Cathedi-al  was 
opened,  it  was  necessary  during  a  short  period  to  shut  up  St.  Peter's 
on  alternate  Sundays,  in  order  to  accustom  the  people  to  find  their 
way  to  the  new  church,  which  was  then  considered  to  be  far  out  of 
the  city.  Honor  to  the  memory  of  our  ancestors  of  that  period ! 
The  laws  of  the  Catholic  Church  do  not  permit  more  than  one  Ca- 
thedral in  one  diocese.  There  will  be  but  one  Cathedral  in  this  Met- 
ropolitan See.  It  will  be  the  same  as  it  has  been  until  the  conse- 
cration of  this  church.  Neither  is  a  bishop  at  liberty  to  substitute 
from  the  calendar  of  the  saints  a  new  patron,  simply  because  there 
is  to  be  a  new  Cathedral  in  his  diocese,  unless  by  special  permission 
of  the  Holy  See  at  Rome,  which  I  have  not  the  intention  to  solicit. 

The  dispensations  of  Divine  Providence  towards  nations  and  in- 


266  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

dividuals  are  essentially  mysterious  and  impenetrable.  Whether  in 
their  national  or  individual  capacities,  it  is  clear  from  the  history  of 
the  human  race,  that  God  oftentimes  permits  His  enemies  to  be  pros- 
perous in  this  world,  and  reserves  for  His  friends  the  bitter  chalice 
of  humiliation  and  poverty.  The  Holy  Scriptures  and  the  teaching 
of  our  Lord  would  seem  to  mark  out  that  distinction  as  it  has  just 
been  described  ;  and  in  that  case,  taking  eternity  into  account  as 
well  as  time,  who  shall  say  that  God  has  been  unkind  in  the  order 
of  providence,  to  the  nation  converted  to  Christianity  by  the  Apos- 
tolic labors  of  the  French  captive  boy,  who  is  known  in  ecclesiasti- 
cal history  as  St.  Patrick,  the  Apostle  of  Ireland.  He  found  that  isl- 
and a  pagan  land ;  he  left  it  at  his  death  the  freshest  and  most 
beautiful  flower  that  adorned  the  brow  of  the  Christian  Church.  He 
dotted  its  entire  surface  with  temples  in  honor  of  the  true  God,  He 
made  its  mountains  and  valleys  vocal  with  hymns  of  praise  that  I'ose 
as  a  national  chorus  day  and  night  to  the  throne  of  the  Lamb.  He 
ordained  priests — he  consecrated  bishops — he  colonized  from  point 
to  point  fervent  and  holy  communities  of  men  and  virgins,  who  of- 
fered themselves  for  every  good  work  of  doctrine  and  of  charity, 
until,  as  it  is  stated  by  the  learned  German  author,  Gueres,  Religion, 
Learning,  Piety,  disturbed  and  oppressed  by  the  troubles  of  the 
time  on  the  continent  of  Europe,  had  to  take  refuge  in  Ireland,  like  a 
fatigued  army  retreating  to  winter-quarters. 

During  two  or  three  centuries,  or  even  more,  from  the  period  just 
alluded  to,  Ireland  sent  forth  her  missionaries,  some  of  whose  names 
are  still  known,  in  connection  with  either  the  universities,  monas- 
teries, or  great  churches  that  sprang  up  in  Scotland,  England,  Ger- 
many, France,  Belgium,  Switzerland,  and  even  Italy  herself.  At 
home  the  spiritual  descendants  of  St.  Patrick,  amidst  their  own  ca- 
lamities, never  ceased  to  encourage  learning  and  piety.  For  the 
support  of  the  schools  in  the  city  of  Armagh  alone,  the  rental  of 
fourteen  townships  had  been  set  apart  by  the  generosity  of  tlie  peo- 
ple, and  it  remained  for  Queen  Elizabeth  to  confiscate  this  property, 
and  for  her  successors,  by  way  of  recompense  to  an  injured  people, 
to  shut  up  the  very  schools  which  they  had  established.  Since  then 
they  have  become,  to  a  great  extent,  outcasts  from  their  native  land 
and  been  scattered  over  the  earth.  You  can  trace  their  path  of  life 
through  all  the  civilized  countries  of  the  world.  You  can  trace 
them  through  England  itself,  through  America,  through  India, 
through  Australia,  and  though  there  may  be  no  mark  to  designate 
the  graves  in  which  they  slumber,  still  the  churches  which  they  have 
erected,  either  wholly  or  in  part,  all  round  the  globe  to  the  same 
faith  by  which  St.  Patrick  emancipated  them  from  heathenism — 
these  churches,  I  say,  are  most  fitting  headstones  to  commemorate 
the  existence,  and  I  may  add,  in  a  Christian  sense,  the  honorable 
history  of  the  Irish  people. 

They  are  not,  by  any  means,  exempt  from  the  sins  to  which  hu- 
manity is  subject.  And  what  is  the  fact,  and  what  is  in  harmony 
with  the  other  parts  of  their  destiny,  if  we  might  so  call  it,  is,  that 


SERMONS.  267 

whether  in  their  own  country  or  in  foreign  nations,  they  come  in  for 
the  largest  share  of  justice,  and  the  smallest  of  mercy,  when  they 
happen  to  violate  the  laws  of  the  land. 

This,  too,  IS  an  additional  proof  that  the  providence  of  God, 
in  their  regard,  is  mysterious  and  impenetrable.  Yet,  as  a 
nation,  if  they  are  to  be  pelted  simply  on  account  of  their  guilt, 
it  would  be  difficult  to  find  another  nation  qualified  by  its  own  inno- 
cence to  cast  at  them  the  first  stone. 

But,  on  a  day  like  this,  we  do  not  think  of  individuals  or  of  na- 
tions, but  only  the  great  and  glorious  Catholic  Church,  which  em- 
braces the  whole  human  race  as  one  family ;  and  in  this  sense,  the 
very  ceremony  in  which  we  are  engaged  proves  that  this  is  practi- 
cal amongst  us  as  well  as  theoretical. 

On  the  parchment  containing  the  names  of  the  first  patrons  of  the 
cathedral  now  projected,  the  United  States  of  America,  Ireland, 
Scotland,  England,  Belgium,  Spain,  France,  and  Germany,  are  all 
represented.  The  names  of  members  belonging  to  the  Catholic 
Church  from  all  these  countries  will  slumber  side  by  side  on  the 
parchment  that  engrosses  them,  and  is  to  be  deposited  in  the  cavity 
of  that  corner-stone.  Neither  can  I  omit  to  mention  that  two  gen- 
tlemen, who  are  not  Catholics,  have  spontaneously  contributed  each 
the  amount  specified  in  my  circular.  Their  motive  is  not  their  be- 
lief at  the  present  moment  in  the  Catholic  religion.  But  it  is  that 
•they  are  New  Yorkers  by  birth — that  they  have  traveled  in  Europe, 
and  that  they  are  ambitious  to  see  at  least  one  ecclesiastical  edifice 
on  Manhattan  Island  of  which  their  native  city  will  have  occasion  to 
be  proud.  With  regard  to  this  anticipation,  I  can  only  say,  that  so 
far  as  depends  on  me,  they  shall  not  be  disappointed. 

And  now,  my  hundred  and  three  first  patrons,  what  shall  I  say  of 
you,  after  having  already  expressed  my  gratitude  for  the  prompt 
and  generous  manner  with  which  you  have  responded  to  my  call  ? 
I  shall  say  this,  that  you  have  set  an  example  that  will  edify  your 
brethren,  both  here  and  elsewhere.  I  will  say  this  further,  that 
those  who  are  to  carry  on  the  work  for  the  second  year,  will  emu- 
late that  example,  and,  according  to  their  means,  will  rival  you  in 
zeal  and  generosity.  I  will  say  once  again,  that  until  this  cathedral 
shall  have  been  completed,  and  crowned  with  success,  your  example 
will  save  me  from  the  necessity  of  "  begging ;"  or,  if  I  should  have 
occasion  to  "beg,"  it  will  furnish  me  with  a  model  text. 

And  now,  if  I  should  have  to  distinguish  between  the  clergy 
and  laity  of  my  diocese,  what  shall  I  have  to  say  ?  This :  That 
judging  from  the  past,  in  which  the  clergy  were  at  all  times  loyal 
and  one-minded  in  aiding  their  unworthy  bishop  in  whatever  enter- 
prise he  had  engaged,  so  will  they  be  in  all  times  to  come — and  to 
them,  with  the  powerful  co-operation  which  they  will  always  have 
from  their  devoted  flocks,  I  commend  this  great  work,  no  mat- 
ter under  whose  episcopal  auspices  it  may  hereafter  be  carried  on. 

One  thing  I  would  say  to  all,  if  my  voice  was  strong  enough  to 
reach  the  furthest  boundary  of  this  immense  multitude,  and  that  is, 


268  ARCUBISHOP    HUGHES. 

that  this  work  will  require  the  constancy  of  strong  minds,  generous 
hearts,  and  powerful  arms.  It  is  a  work  which  would,  if  that  were 
possible,  be  accomplished  by  the  enthusiasm  of  a  single  day.  But 
as  it  is,  the  prosecution  and  completion  of  it  will  require  firmness, 
determination,  and  unconquerable  perseverance.  It  will  require 
what  is  essential  to  every  great  undertaking,  steadiness  and  indomi- 
table resolution,  always  relying  upon  the  help  of  God  to  see  it 
brought  to  a  perfect  consummation.  Nor  of  all  this  have  I  the 
slightest  doubt. 

What  more  shall  I  say  of  you,  first  patrgns  of  this  cathedral  ?  I 
shall  not  speak  of  you,  but  I  shall  speak  for  you. 

What  have  you  done  ?  You  have  given  a  hundred  and  three 
thousand  dollars  towards  the  building  of  a  temple  which  can  add 
nothing  to  the  glory  of  God ;  for  His  is  the  earth,  and  the  fulness 
thereof.  On  the  other  hand,  this  money  might  have  been  given  to 
the  poor. 

AH  this  will  be  thrown  up  at  you  by  those  who  are  of  this  world, 
and  have  no  comprehension  of  what  is  really  faith,  and  what  is  real- 
ly charity.  And  it  is  significant  that  you  would  seem  to  belong  in 
this  case  to  the  school  of  Christ,  when  He  bore  with  the  extravagance 
of  Mary  Magdalene  pouring  ointmen.t  on  His  sacred  feet ;  and  your  ac- 
cusers, if  it  were  not  almost  uncharitable  to  say  so,  would  seem  to  be- 
long to  the  school  of  him  who  carried  the  purse,  aud  looked  upon 
the  penitent  Mary's  offering  as  if  it  were  a  defrauding  of  the  poor.     . 

Now  I  will  say  for  you  that  this  is  a  great  work  for  the  poor.  It 
comes  up  at  a  time  when  they  are  unusually  depressed  ;  your  charity 
will  give  them  honorable  employment  to  a  considerable  extent ;  and 
as  the  world  is  now  constituted,  compensation  for  honest  labor  is 
much  better  than  alms  for  the  relief  of  poverty  under  an  unavoida- 
ble pressure  which  imposes  idleness  by  necessity  on  the  working 
classes.  Now,  when  you  are  reproached  with  your  extravagance, 
ask  your  accusers  whether  it  is  in  fact  a  crime  to  provide  employ- 
ment and  compensation  for  the  mechanic  and  laborer,  who  really 
belong  to  the  substantial  portion  of  society  in  all  countries. 

But  then  they  will  say,  you  are  Catholics,  and  we  have  to  sup 
port  so  many  of  your  poor  more  than  of  any  other  denomination, 
and  would  it  not  have  been  better  to  provide  these,  your  humble 
brethren,  the  comforts  of  a  charitable  roof  and  home,  than  to  waste 
so  much  money  in  founding  what,  no  doubt,  you  intend  as  a  gor- 
geous cathedral  ? 

When  they  tell  you  this,  do  not  forget  the  charity  that  is  due  to 
persons ;  but,  as  for  the  argument  itself,  laugh  it  to  scorn.  And 
say,  that  the  building  of  cathedrals  and  churches  was,  in  all  ages, 
intimately  connected  with  and  conducive  to  the  support  of  the  poor, 
until  the  period  when  the  first  predecessors  of  those  who  accuse  you, 
actually  spoiled  and  ruined,  so  far  as  human  agency  could  accom- 
plish it,  the  plan  of  Christ  for  the  protection  of  the  poor.  Say  to 
them,  that  the  first  lady  in  Christendom  that  ever  witnessed  what 
we  now  call  "pauperism,"  was  Queen  Elizabeth — that  her  father 


SERMONS.  269 

tv'as  the  robber  of  the  poor  in  suppressing  churches,  monasteries,  and 
cathedrals  in  Catholic  England.  That,  except  as  used  in  the  Gospel, 
beati  pauperes^  the  word  pauper  was  unknown  in  the  modern 
languages  of  Christendom,  until  the  period  just  referred  to ;  that  it 
is  creditable  to  her  woman's  nature  that  Elizabeth  sympathized  with 
the  poor,  and  that,  after  one  or  two  horiiilies  addressed  to  her  par- 
liament on  the  subject,  she  was,  in  very  desperation,  compelled  to 
introduce,  almost  to  the  shame  of  Christianity,  human  laws  forcing  men 
to  support  their  own  destitute  brethren.  Compulsion  was  necessary ; 
the  law  of  charity  in  the  Gospel,  as  prescribed  by  our  Lord,  had  be- 
come inefficient,  and  apparently  obsolete ;  and  it  was  requisite  to 
invoke  the  same  human  legislative  authority,  which  is  divinely  insti- 
tuted for  the  punishment  of  crime  and  the  protection  of  society,  in 
order  to  make  Christians  "  love  each  other,"  or  at  least  to  pay  some- 
thing into  the  public  treasury  to  prevent  men  from  dying  of  starvation. 

Has  all  this  resulted  in  benefit  to  the  poor  ?  I  cannot  answer  the 
question.  I  can  only  express  my  own  regret  that  it  has  imposed  a 
triple  expenditure  upon  the  rich,  from  one-third  of  which  the  poor, 
according  to  the  old  system,  would  have  been  well  provided  for, 
without  the  necessity  of  inflicting  upon  them  the  stigma  of  social 
degradation.  Say  to  them,  finally,  that  if  they  were  guided  by  the 
large,  and  may  I  not  call  it  divine,  instinct  of  the  Catholic  religion, 
they  would  consider  the  poor  of  future  generations  as  well  as  of  the 
present.  And  in  that  view  they  would  regard  with  certainty  the 
erection  of  this  cathedral  as  a  head  fountain,  sending  out  its  living 
waters  of  faith  and  charity  on  all  sides,  and  as  a  great  nursery  for  cul- 
tivating the  principle  of  charity  among  the  generations  that  are  to  suc- 
ceed us. 

This  is  enough,  on  that  subject ;  and  it  only  remains  for  me  to  re- 
quest that  you  all  unite  in  deep  adoration  of  God,  in  the  spirit  of  the 
psalms  and  prayers  that  are  to  be  offered  in  laying  the  corner-stone, 
and  in  consecrating  even  the  foundations  of  this  cathedral,  bearing 
in  mind  the  sentiment  which  shall  be  uppermost  in  the  hearts  of  the 
venerable  bishops  and  clergy  who  are  here  present,  as  well  as  my 
own,  that  N^isi  I)ominus  cedijicavint  domum^  in  vanum  labor  averunt 
qui  (Bdificant  earn. 


The  following  is  the  circular  referred  to  in  the  preceding  sermon. 

New  York,  June  14th,  1858. 

Gentlemen  : — The  Archbishop  of  New  York  begs  leave  to  apprize  you  that 
he  will  have  the  honor  to  call  upon  you  personally,  at  the  earliest  opportunity, 
in  reference  to  the  great  New  St.  Patrick's  Cathedral,  to  be  erected  on  the 
block  bounded  by  5th  avenue,  west,  and  Madison  avenue,  east,  and  between 
50th  and  51st  streets.  The  building  is  to  be  322  feet  long,  97  feet  wide  in  the 
clear,  with  a  transept  172  feet,  and  an  elevation  of  100  feet  from  the  floor  to  the 
crown  point  of  the  clear  story. 

The  Archbishop  feels  authorized  to  present  himself  in  the  name  of  his  oflSce — 
of  the  clergy  and  laity  of  his  diocese — at  the  head  of  this  great  undertaking. 
And  in  order  that  it  may  begin  under  Divine  as  well  as  human  auspices,  he 


270  AKCIJBISIIOP   HUGHES. 

• 
now  presents  this  first  portion  of  liis  plan  to  those  only  who  may  be  able  and 
disposed,  under  noble  impulses,  to  aid  him  in  carrying  it  out. 

In  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost.    Amen. 

We  propose  for  the  glory  of  Almighty  God,  for  the  honor  of  the  Blessed  and 
Immaculate  Virgin,  for  the  exaltation  of  Holy  Mother  Church,  for  the  dignity 
of  our  ancient  and  glorious  Catholic  name,  to  erect  a  cathedral  in  the  city  of 
New  York  that  may  be  worthy  of  our  increasing  numbers,  intelligence,  and 
wealth  as  a  religious  community — and,  at  all  events,  worthy  as  a  public  ar- 
chitectural monument  of  the  present  and  prospective  greatness  of  this  metrop- 
olis of  the  American  Continent. 

The  ultimate  success  of  this  undertaking  is  not  doubtful ;  but  its  triumphant 
accomplishment  will  depend,  in  a  great  measure,  on  the  response  which  I 
am  to  receive  from  those  to  whom  I  have  the  honor  of  addressing  this 
letter. 

The  object  of  it  is  to  ascertain  whether  there  are  not  in  my  diocese,  or  rather 
in  the  city  of  New  York  itself,  one  hundred  persons  who  ^vill  subscribe  one 
thousand  dollars  each — once  for  all — to  be  paid  in  quarterly  instalments,  if  they 
desire  it,  during  the  first  year,  and  to  be  expressly  and  exclusively  appropriated 
to  carry  on  the  work  during  the  same  period.  No  other  appeal  shall  be  made 
to  the  Catholic  body  until  towards  the  end  of  this  first  year,  dating  from  the 
15th  of  August,  1858.  In  about  a  year  from  that  time  it  is  my  intention,  and, 
I  think,  with  reasonable  hopes  of  success,  to  call  for  another  one  hundred  thou- 
sand dollars  from  those  who  can  contribute  in  sums  less  than  one  thousand, 
but  not  less  than  one  hundred  dollars  each.  The  success  of  the  second  year 
will  depend  on  that  of  the  first.  Independent  of  the  amounts  thus  contributed 
at  the  commencement,  the  moral  effect  of  such  a  noble  beginning  will  be  equiv- 
alent in  importance  to  the  amount  subscribed  through  the  influence  of  example. 
It  will  sustain  the  heart  of  the  people  at  large.  It  will  inspire  them  with  an  ar- 
dent desire  to  see  this  great  work  accomplished.  It  will  stimulate  them  to  an 
honorable  rivalship  in  their  liberal  contributions,  according  to  their  means,  and 
thus,  I  anticipate,  that  allowing  five  years  for  its  completion,  there  need  not  be 
a  single  suspension  of  the  work. 

Every  thing  depends  on  the  first  year. 

My  principle  is  to  pay  as  we  proceed  up  to  the  amount  of  half  a  mil- 
lion of  dollars ;  and  if,  at  that  point,  it  should  be  necessary  to  obtain, 
on  loan,  two  or  three  hundred  thousand  dollars,  I  do  not  think  that  this  need 
frighten  any  one.  But  I  should  not  wish  it  to  be  consecrated  in  my  lifetime, 
until  it  is  finished  from  the  foundation  stone  to  the  top  of  the  cross  on  the  up- 
lifted spires. 

Whether  I  succeed  or  not,  in  the  object  of  this  communication,  I  shall,  with 
the  help  of  God,  bless  and  deposit  the  corner-stone  on  the  Feast  of  the  Assump- 
tion of  this  year — viz.,  the  15th  of  August,  precisely  at  4  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon. If,  what  I  cannot  anticipate,  I  should  be  unsuccessful  in  the  object  of 
this  appeal,  the  corner-stone  shall  be  laid  the  same,  and  protected  by  an  iron 
railing  against  possible  injury  until  the  arrival  of  better  times.  I  may  not  have 
the  consolation  of  seeing  it  consecrated,  but  I  cannot  leave  for  my  successor  the 
honor  and  great  privilege  of  seeing  it  begun. 

The  names  of  subscribers  to  this  first  year's  expenditure  shall  be  engrossed 
on  parchment,  and  deposited  with  other  memorials  in  the  cavity  of  the  cornei- 
stone,  where,  though  unseen  by  men,  they  will  ever  be  under  the  eyes  and  in- 
spection of  God,  and  may  turn  up  for  honor  and  mercy  on  the  Day  of  Judg^ 
ment. 

These  names,  however,  of  the  first  patrons  of  the  New  St.  Patrick's  Cathe- 
dral will  be  handed  down  to  posterity,  embalmed  in  the  traditions,  and  cher- 
ished in  the  memories  of  future  generations — a  glorious  example  and  edifica- 
tion, not  only  to  the  people  of  New  York,  but  also  to  the  whole  United  States 
and  the  whole  Catholic  world. 

►!«  John,  Archbishop  of  New  York. 


SEEM0N8.  271 


SERMON  IN  ST.  PATRICK'S  CATHEDRAL,  ON  THE 
OCCASION  OF  THE  COLLECTION  FOR  THE 
AMERICAN  COLLEGE  IN  ROME,  DECEMBER 
12th,  1859. 


His  Grace  said  that  it  had  been  announced  last  Sunday  that  the 
offerings  for  the  day  would  be  sacred  to  the  purpose  of  establishing 
an  American  college  in  Rome.  It  would  be  impossible  for  his  Grace 
to  be  indifferent  to  such  a  glorious  enterprise,  but  indisposition  ren- 
dered it  doubtful  whether  he  could  speak  on  tlie  subject  that  day. 
The  observations  his  Grace  intended  to  make  were  founded  on  the 
verses  of  the  last  chapter  of  St.  Matthew,  in  which  our  Saviour  says: 
"  All  power  is  given  unto  me  in  heaven  and  in  earth.  Go  ye  and 
teach  all  nations."  The  authority  of  the  Church  as  a  teacher  was 
derived  from  Christ  as  a  teacher.  The  commission  He  gave  to  His 
Apostles  was,  that  they  should  "  teach  all  nations."  This  commis- 
sion contained  within  itself  an  authority  as  to  subordinate  teaching, 
by  which  the  nations  of  the  earth  might  be  lifted  from  the  darkness 
of  paganism  and  heathenism  to  the  light  of  ci\ilization.  But  there 
was  also  a  third  teaching,  springing  from  the  first,  and  connected 
witli  the  teachings  of  the  Apostles,  which  was  incumbent  on  parents 
with  regard  to  their  offspring.  This  last  teaching  was  connected 
with  the  first  in  a  particular  manner,  which  might  be  explained  by 
the  fact  that,  when  the  Apostles  taught,  they  addressed  themselves 
to  mature  minds,  which  understood  them ;  and  these  teachings  were 
often  enforced  by  miracles,  as  was  indeed  necessary  in  the  early  ages 
of  the  Church.  Thus  we  behold  Christ  as  a  teacher  training  His 
Apostles,  and  telling  them  that  He  only  gave  what  He  received  from 
His  Father,  thus  preparing  them  for  the  subordinate  teaching  which 
was  to  be  transmitted  to  the  children  of  those  whom  they  should 
teach.  And  now  when  about  to  retire  from  earth  He  sent  twelve 
Apostles,  giving  them  a  commission  to  "  teach  all  nations."  After 
the  descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  these  twelve  Apostles  went  forth  on 
their  divine  errand,  and  when  those  whom  they  taught  had  become 
disciples  of  the  Cross,  they  taught  their  children  the  same  truths, 
thus  showing  that  the  doctrii>es  of  Christ,  if  true  for  the  parents, 
were  also  true  for  the  children  of  all  generations.  The  Apostles 
traversed  many  lands,  propagating  everywhere  the  doctrines  of  their 
divine  Master,  and  thus  left  this  secondary  teaching  of  children  to 
their  parents.  The  Church  never  recognized  the  awful  doctrine  that 
children  should  grow  up  without  any  religious  teaching,  until  they 
should  become  old  enough  to  form  a  judgment  for  themselves.  This 
would  only  be  permitted  by  parents  who  were  uncertain  about  the 


272  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

truth  of  their  own  religion.  Religion  in  the  Catholic  Church  was 
not  a  speculation,  but  a  permanent  universal  truth,  and  to  those  whom 
God  had  led  into  the  light  of  it,  was  a  conviction  and  not  a  specu- 
lation. 

The  official  teachers  of  Christianity  were  the  Apostles,  and  their 
successors  in  the  priesthood ;  but  at  the  same  time,  the  laity,  as  a 
necessaiy  consequence,  became  teachers  of  their  children  and  ser- 
vants, and  as  time  passed,  universities,  colleges,  and  schools  were 
established  for  the  purpose  of  teaching  every  thing  which  it  was  es- 
sential that  man  should  know.  The  early  Fathers  of  the  Church 
had  got  all  the  knowledge  which  was  attainable  in  their  age.  These 
were  they  who  vindicated  against  heathen  philosophy  the  truths  of 
their  faith,  and  thus  set  aside  all  religion  which  had  its  origin  in  the 
proud  brain  of  man  ;  and  after  the  Church  had  for  three  hundred 
years  passed  through  the  Red  Sea  of  persecution,  there  was  infused 
into  it  a  community  of  education,  and  a  zeal  to  support  it.  Univer- 
sities sprang  up,  and  though  the  monasteries  were  distinct  from  these, 
they  were  no  less  important  in  the  matter  of  education.  Chiefs, 
during  the  feudal  system,  caused  education  to  suffer,  in  consequence 
of  their  wai"s  with  each  other  ;  for  they  loved  the  sword  and  despised 
the  book.  The  Church  was  not  inimical  to  education ;  on  the  con- 
trary, she  had  in  all  ages  fostered  it  to  the  utmost  of  her  power. 
True,  some  of  the  universities  had  passed  into  the  hands  of  those 
who  were  opposed  to  the  Church,  but  had  they  not  been  in  exist- 
ence at  the  time  of  the  so-called  Reformation,  they  would  never  have 
been  in  existence.  The  sacred  influence  of  parental  authority  came 
through  the  pastors  of  the  Church.  The  child  given  to  parents  was 
the  child  of  God  as  well  as  theirs;  it  was  the  child  of  the  Holy  Cath- 
olic Church  from  the  moment  it  was  consecrated  to  God  by  the 
Sacrament  of  Baptism.  When  the  children  should  grow  up  they 
might  perhaps  be  unfortunate  enough  to  forget  the  teachings  they 
had  received,  and  deny  the  Church ;  but  then  the  responsibility  of 
the  parents  ceased.  Hence  the  teachings  of  the  good  and  pious 
Christian  mother  were  such  as  would  always  leave  a  lasting  impres- 
sion upon  the  children.  Parents  should  therefore  see  that  their  off- 
spring were  taught  in  such  a  manner  as  not  to  swerve  from  the  faith. 
When  all  Christendom  was  Catholic,  education  was  not  neglected, 
and  the  schools  now  called  "  Common  Schools"  were  established 
everywhere,  before  the  unhappy  distraction  of  the  Church,  and  even 
Sunday  was  encroached  upon  to  teach  children.  Common  Schools 
were,  therefore,  by  no  means  a  modern  institution.  But  these 
schools  were  supported  upon  the  voluntary  principle.  The  Church 
did  all  her  work  by  the  gentle  influence  of  her  own  divine  right  as 
a  teacher,  acting  upon  her  children  through  the  love  of  Jesus  Christ, 
and  not  for  human  gain  or  human  salary.  Here,  on  the  contrary, 
every  thing  has  been  done  through  Legislature,  thus  showing  that 
the  bestowal  of  education  was  not  a  labor  of  love,  and  that  the  civil 
power  had  to  be  called  in  to  aid  it. 

Common  education  was  established  in  Russia,  and  other  nations, 


SERMONS.  2T3 

and  in  no  country  in  the  world  had  an  attempt  been  made  to  divorce 
it  from  Christianity,  except  in  our  own.  Prussia,  with  all  her  head- 
strong Protestantism,  had  left  this  an  open  question,  and  even  Eng- 
land had  allowed  Catholic  schools  to  be  established  apart  from 
others,  and  had  allowed  a^^ro  rata  sum  for  their  support.  On  this 
subject  much  had  been  said  Ijjtely.  Catliolics  had  been  denounced 
as  overthrowing  the  Bible  in  the  Public  Schools;  but  this  was  not 
the  case,  and  indeed  what  had  been  said  on  this  subject  was  sufficient 
to  show  that  Catholics  approved  of  no  system  of  education  from 
which  religion  was  excluded.  True,  it  might  be  better  that  children 
should  be  taught  in  these  schools,  than  that  they  should  go  about 
and  suffer  from  the  pernicious  teachings  of  the  streets,  but  in  no  case 
would  it  be  lawful  to  attend  these  schools  if  Catholics  had  schools  of 
their  own.  Many  years  ago  the  consequences  of  the  present  school 
system  had  been  predicted.  Tlien  it  was  considered  as  one  of  its 
beautiful  features  that  no  sectarianism  should  be  recognized  therein. 
To  this,  it  was  replied,  that  where  no  established  religion  was  ac- 
knowledged, all  was  sectarian,  therefore  all  religion  should  be  ex- 
cluded. It  gave  him  pleasure  now  to  say,  atter  twenty  years' 
experience,  that  many  men  of  high  standing  had  dreaded  the  conse- 
quences of  such  an  exclusion.  Seldom  did  Catholic  preachers  make 
allusion  to  what  was  said  in  pulpits  not  their  own  ;  but  in  the  recent 
agitation  two  Protestant  clergymen  of  high  standing  and  authority 
among  their  respective  sects,  had  made  use  of  language  stronger  and 
more  terrific  than  had  ever  fallen  from  the  lips  of  a  Catholic  in  ref- 
erence to  this  matter,  from  which  sermons  his  grace  read  extracts. 

These  were  the  schools  so  strongly  spoken  of  by  their  own  patrons, 
to  which  Catholic  parents  were  advised  to  send  their  children.  It 
was  true,  these  Rev.  gentlemen  had  found  a  panacea  for  the  evil,  by 
saying  that  a  portion  of  the  Bible  should  be  read  in  these  schools. 
There  were  many  versions  of  the  Bible ;  who  could  distinguish  the 
true  Bible  from  the  false  one  ?  While  the  Catholic  Bible  was  re- 
ceived as  the  true  version,  Catholics  must  necessarily  discountenance 
any  Bible  which  was  not  approved  by  the  Church.  Again,  they 
recommended  that  the  Lord's  Prayer  should  be  recited  as  it  was  in 
the  Bible.  Now  that  prayer  had  a  whole  sentence  more  in  it,  as 
found  in  the  Protestant  Bible,  than  it  had  in  the  Catholic  Bible,  and 
the  Catholic  child  retiring  fi-om  these  schools,  had  learned  two  di»- 
tinct  versions  of  the  Lord's  Prayer — one  from  the  common  schools, 
and  one  from  the  teaching  of  the  Church.  But  Catholics  had  ceased 
to  make  war  upon  these  schools ;  all  they  had  to  do  was  to  recognize 
the  Catholic  Church  as  a  teacher,  and  make  the  best  provision  for 
their  jDoor  children  their  poverty  would  permit.  Let  them  continue 
to  labor  as  they  had  labored,  and  with  time  and  the  blessing  of  God 
they  would  yet  be  able  to  make  a  better  provision  for  Catholic  chil- 
dren than  they  now  had.  The  Church  was  the  fond  mother  of  edu- 
cation ;  she  was  the  same  now  as  ever,  and  had  her  universities  in 
various  parts  of  Europe.  And  now,  to  exemplify  her  care  for  edu- 
cation, the  Sovereign  Pontiff  had  suggested  that  there  should  be 
Vol.  II.— 18 


274  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

founded  a  college  for  Americans  in  the  eternal  city  of  Rome  itself. 
The  Church  of  Christ  had  been  extinguished  in  the  British  Islands ; 
education  to  Catholics  had  been  prohibited ;  and  if  they  crossed  the  sea 
to  obtain  it,  such  a  proceeding  was  a  crime,  punishable  by  imprison- 
ment, and,  in  certain  contingencies,  by  death  itself  Spain,  France, 
Belgium,  and  Germany  had  opened  the  doors  of  their  universities, 
and  even  special  colleges  had  been  founded  for  the  inhabitants  of 
the  British  Islands ;  but  above  all,  it  was  in  Rome  that  the  greatest 
provisions  had  been  made  for  education,  and  apart  from  the  regular 
institutions  of  the  Church,  every  nation  in  Europe  had  its  own 
special  college,  including  England,  Scotland,  Ireland,  Hungary,  and 
Greece.  The  lectures  of  the  colleges  of  Rome  were  free  to  all,  with- 
out distinction  of  creed  or  countrv,  and  learned  professors  of  all  na- 
tions were  there  to  diffuse  information  to  all  who  sought  it. 

The  present  Holy  Father,  taking  a  deep  interest  in  the  Catholic 
Church  in  this  country,  had,  out  of  his  own  slender  means,  instituted 
and  offered  to  the  Bishops  of  this  country  a  college  in  the  Eternal . 
City  for  the  United  States.  Their  offerings  were  designed  not  to 
purchase  this  college,  but  to  keep  it  in  i-epair ;  to  furnish  it  and  pro- 
vide it  with  a  library,  and,  as  health  was  of  the  utmost  importance 
to  youth,  to  purchase  a  villa  to  which  the  students  could  retire  for  rec- 
reation at  certain  seasons  of  the  year.  Candidates  would  not  be  re- 
ceived indiscriminately,  but  the  Bishops  were  empoAvered  to  send 
such  as  they  could  lecommend  for  their  piety  and  learning.  It  might 
be  that  some  of  those  present  might  not  live  to  see  the  realization  of 
the  College,  but  there  were  those  under  the  guidance  of  the  Christian 
Brothers,  returning  from  that  city,  now  honey-combed  by  the  relics 
of  martyrs,  to  minister  among  them,  who  would  be  at  once  a  dignity 
and  an  ornament  to  the  Church  of  God  in  the  United  States.  How- 
ever, be  that  as  it  might,  it  showed  that  the  education  of  the  Church 
■was  never  extinguished.  Considering  that  a  collection  had  to  be 
taken  up  in  every  Church  in  the  country,  it  was  evident  that  the 
establishment  of  the  college  would  not  be  oppressive  to  individuals, 
and  the  means  contributed  would  enable  them  to  fit  out  a  college 
worthy  of  their  country.  The  managers,  the  rectors,  and  the  pro- 
fessors would  be  American,  and  all  things  connected  with  the  house 
would  be  especially  adapted  to  this  country.  The  wonder  was  that 
an  establishment  of  this  kind  had  not  been  instituted  in  Rome  for 
America  before  now.  England  had  her  English  college,  Scotland 
her  Scotch  college,  and  Ireland  her  two  Irish  colleges.  Why,  then, 
should  not  America  have  her  American  college  ?  And  now,  with 
the  blessing  of  God,  this  was  to  be  accomplished.  His  Grace  had 
often  remarked  how  lonely  Americans  seemed  in  the  Eternal  City. 
They  had  no  local  habitation  within  its  walls ;  and,  however  kind 
professors  of  other  colleges  might  be,  still  for  Americans  one  thing 
was  lacking.  Generations  yet  unborn  would  bless  the  memory  of 
that  Pontiff  who  thought  of  establishing  an  American  college,  and 
those  Catholics  who  contributed  to  carry  out  the  glorious  under- 
taking. 


SERMONS.  275 


THE  SILENCE  OP  CHRIST  BEFORE  HIS  JUDGES. 

A  SERMON  DELIVERED  ON  GOOD  FRIDAY,  1859,  IN  ST. 
PATRICK'S   CATHEDRAL. 

"  When  the  chief  priests,  therefore,  and  the  oflScers  had  seen  Him,  they  cried 
out,  saying,  Crucify  Him,  crucify  Him.  Pilate  saith  to  them.  Take  Him  you  and 
crucify  Him,  for  I  find  no  cause  in  Him. 

"  The  Jews  answered  him  :  We  have  a  law,  and  according  to  the  law  He 
ought  to  die  ;  because  He  made  himself  the  Son  of  God. 

"  When  Pilate,  therefore,  had  heard  this  saying,  he  feared  the  more. 

"  And  he  entered  into  the  hall  again ;  and  he  said  to  Jesus :  \Vhence  art 
thou  ?  but  Jesus  gave  him  no  answer." — John  xix. 

You  are  familiar,  my  dear  bretliren,  with  the  history  of  the  suffer- 
ings and  death  of  our  divine  Saviour.  The  history  of  those  suffer- 
ings was  read  in  the  Mass  of  last  Sunday,  and  you  have  the  details 
before  you  in  the  office  of  Holy  Week.  It  embraces  that  great  brief 
intermediate  period  between  the  Jewish  history  of  religion  and  the 
history  of  the  Catholic  Church,  in  which  the  prophecies  and  figures 
of  the  one,  the  trials,  the  triumphs,  and  the  realities  of  the  other, 
meet  and  mingle  together  as  in  a  common  centre.  The  Jewish  re- 
ligion was  intended  for  a  limited  duration,  until  the  fulness  of  time 
appointed,  and  until  the  Expected  of  Nations  should  come  to  give 
reality  to  all  its  hopes  and  promises.  The  expiration  of  that  religion 
was  substantially  announced  by  its  own  zealous  advocates,  when  for 
the  first  time  they  tui-ned  their  back  upon  the  God  of  their  fathers, 
and  appealed  to  Caesar,  a  prince  of  this  world,  for  authority  to  crucify 
the  Holy  One. 

This  final  apostasy  of  the  Jews  was  still  more  attested  when,  even 
after  the  death  of  Christ,  they  pierced  His  side  with  a  spear ;  and 
when  the  sacraments  of  the  Catholic  Church  gushed  forth  from  His 
own  divine  heart  through  the  wound  they  had  just  made,  in  mingled 
blood  and  water,  which,  falling  on  the  earth,  was  a  renovation  of  the 
same — the  blood  signifying  atonement  for  the  sins  of  its  inhabitants 
at  all  times,  and  the  water  as  the  emblem  of  cleansing  and  washing 
away  the  sins  of  the  world  for  time  to  come. 

And  it  is  through  this  wound,  if  I  might  so  speak,  that  by  the  ap- 
pointment of  the  divine  Saviour,  His  Church,  through  the  medium 
of  her  sacraments,  has  been  invested  with  power  to  remit  sin,  or 
rather,  under  the  proper  conditions,  to  annihilate  sin  in  regard  to  the 
individual  members  of  His  mystical  body.  This  is  done  in  the  Sacra- 
ment of  Baptism,  in  the  Sacrament  of  Penance,  and  by  a  special 
mercy  towards  the  dying,  in  the  Sacrament  of  Extreme  Unction. 

Good  Friday  throughout  the  Church  has  been  appointed  from  the 
earliest  times  to  commemorate  the  sufferings  and  death  of  our  Lord. 
His  Passion  begins  immediately  after  the  institution  of  the  Holy 
Eucharist,  and  the  sacrifice  of  Mass  on  the  night  previous,  at  the 


276  ARCiiBisnop  hughes. 

close  of  the  Jewish  Passover.  From  that  commencement  you  may 
trace  the  progress  of  His  sufferings,  from  stage  to  stage,  as  it  is  re- 
corded by  tlie  inspired  Evangelist  in  your  prayer-books.  But  you 
may  trace  it  also,  on  all  the  days  of  the  year,  in  that  beautiful  devotion 
which  is  represented  and  commemorated  by  the  Stations  of  the  Cross. 

It  is  customary  in  many  countries  to  pronounce  from  the  chair  of 
truth  a  discourse  well  calculated  to  excite  all  the  sympathies  of  the 
human  heart  for  the  sj^ectacle  of  divine  innocence  in  the  person  of 
Christ  persecuted  unto  death.  But  the  real  purpose  is  to  excite  in 
us  contrition  for  our  own  sins,  because  He  was  bruised  for  our  ini- 
quities. That  view  of  the  subject  I  leave  to  your  own  private  and 
devout  meditations,  and  in  the  remarks  which  I  am  about  to  make  I 
shall  not  dwell  upon  the  indignities  oflfered  to  and  suiferings  under- 
gone by  our  Redeemer ;  but  I  shall  treat  of  that  mysterious  silence 
which  our  Lord  observed  when  He  declined  to  give  an  answer  to  the 
question  of  Pilate,  asking  Him  whence  He  came. 

The  Christian  mind  is  necessarily  overwhelmed  in  the  contempla- 
tion of  the  Passion  of  our  divine  Loi'd.  Most  portions  of  it,  how- 
ever, are  relieved,  or  rather  varied  by  the  recital  of  some  words  pro- 
ceeding from  His  divine  lips,  or  some  new  insult  offered  to  His  sacred 
person.  But  when  we  come  to  speak  of  His  silence  both  before 
Herod  and  Pilate,  we  are  filled  with  a  sentiment  of  awe  and  pro- 
found astonishment.  Who  may  venture  to  explain  that  mysterious 
silence,  since  the  inspired  Evangelists  themselves  furnish  no  key  for 
its  explanation  ?  The  coal  of  tire  invoked  by  the  prophet  Isaiah  to 
purify  his  lips,  would  be  necessary  for  him  who  should  undertake  to 
explain  this  emphathic  silence  of  the  Son  of  God  who  came  to  be  the 
teacher  of  mankind.  Invoking  on  myself  the  aid  of  that  divine  illu- 
mination and  purification  of  speech  invoked  by  the  prophet,  I  would 
call  your  attention  to  two  reflections,  which  shall  constitute  the  sub- 
ject of  this  discourse  : — First,  that  both  Herod  and  Pilate  were  with- 
out any  pretext  of  ignorance  -in  regard  to  our  divine  Saviour  which 
could  warrant  them  in  demanding  more  light  than  they  had  already 
received  ;  and  second,  that  by  this  silence  He  would  teach  his  fol- 
lowers an  example  of  the  meekness  of  the  Christian  spirit,  whenever 
the  question  does  not  affect  so  much  the  honor  and  glory  of  God  as 
the  self-vindication  of  his  servants  who  may  be  called  to  trial  and  to 
puffering. 

Jesus  Christ  did  not  appear  among  men  as  a  usurper,  or  as  one 
who  had  come  without  being  foretold  or  expected.  The  Jews  espe- 
cially, including  Herod,  no  less  than  the  high-priests,  had  in  their 
own  books,  in  their  sacrifices,  in  their  rites  and  ceremonies,  a  perpet- 
ual lesson  to  encourage  and  sustain  the  hope  of  the  Messiah's  com- 
ing, and  to  long  for  the  period  of  His  advent.  Every  thing  respect- 
ing His  birth,  the  place  and  circumstances,  His  life.  His  teachings. 
His  miracles.  His  passion.  His  death,  and  His  glorious  resurrection 
from  the  grave,  was  minutely  recorded  in  the  prophecies  of  their 
sacred  books.  And  with  all  these  they  were  familiar,  so  much  so, 
that  when  the  wise  men  from  the  East  came,  guided  by  a  miracu- 


8KKM0NS.  27,7 

lous  star  to  Jerusalem,  the  high-priests  explained  to  them  from  one 
of  their  piophecies  that  he  was  to  be  born  in  Bethlehem  of  Juda. 
It  would  be  too  tedious  to  mention  more  than  a  few  of  the  prophe- 
cies attesting  His  identity  and  His  divine  mission.  But  in  regard 
to  the  great  mystery  of  this  day,  Avhat  can  be  more  clear  or  explicit 
in  reference  to  His  sufferings  than  the  prophetic  language  of  holy 
David,  who  Hved  one  thousand  years  before  ?  In  his  21st  Psalm  he 
declares  the  very  words  which  the  Saviour  should  pronounce  in  His 
agony  on  the  Cross,  "  O  God,  my  God,  look  upon  me ;  why  hast 

thou  foisaken  me In  thee  have  our  fathers  hoped ;  they 

have  hoped,  and  thou  hast  delivered  them But  I  am  a  worm, 

and  no  man  ;  the  reproach  of  men  and  the  outcast  of  the  people. 
AH  they  that  saw  me  have  laughed  me  to  scorn.  They  have  spoken 
with  the  lips,  and  wagged  the  head," 

"He  hoped  in  the  Lord,  let  Him  deliver  Him.     Let  Him  save 

Him,  seeing  He  delighteth  in  Him Depart  not  from  me,  for 

tribulation  is  very  near — for  there  is  none  to  help  me For 

many  dogs  have  encompassed  me,  the  council  of  the  malignant  hath 
besieged  me.  They  have  dug  my  hands  and  feet ;  they  have  num- 
bered all  my  bones.  And  they  have  looked  and  stared  upon  me ; 
they  have  parted  ray  garments  amongst  them ;  and  upon  my  vesture 

they  cast  lots With  thee  is  my  praise  in  a  great  ch  urch ;  I 

will  pay  my  vows  in  the  sight  of  them  that  fear  Him.  All  the  ends 
of  the  earth  shall  remember,  and  shall  be  converted  to  the  Lord. 
And  all  the  kindred  of  the  Gentiles  shall  adore  in  His  sight,  for  the 
kingdom  is  the  Lord's ;  for  He  shall  have  dominion  over  the  na- 
tions  And  to  Him  my  soul  shall  live,  and  my  seed  shall 

serve  Him," 

Who,  ray  dearly  beloved  brethren,  reading  these  sacred  words  in- 
scribed by  the  Royal  Prophet  on  the  pages  of  inspiration,  written  a 
thousand  years  before  the  event,  and  shall  compare  them  with  the 
narrative  of  the  Passion  of  our  divine  Saviour,  will  not  be  almost 
tempted  to  regard  them  as  much  in  the  light  of  history  as  of  pro- 
phecy ?  And  the  chanting  of  these  Psalms  in  their  sacred  worship 
constituted  for  these  thousand  years  the  glorious  hope  of  Israel  and 
the  sacred  joy  of  Jerusalem.  Such  a  people,  when  the  Saviour  did 
appear  among  them,  had  no  jDretext  for  ignoring  His  character,  or 
for  regarding  Him  as  an  unexpected  stranger. 

Neither  were  other  prophecies  wanting  in  regard  to  a  sufficient 
measure  of  light,  whereby  they  might  identify  Him  of  whom  their 
Fathers  uttered  their  fervent  hopes  in  begging  of  God  that  the 
heavens  might  rain  down  the  Just  One,  and  the  earth  bud  forth  the 
Saviour,  But  there  were  other  prophecies  scattered  through  all 
their  books,  with  which  His  birth,  and  life,  and  public  mission  were 
in  strict  accordance.  His  holiness,  His  doctrine.  His  omnipotent 
power  in  performing  miracles,  had  all  been  alluded  to  in  clear  pro- 
phetic language  throughout  the  pages  of  the  Old  Testament,  With 
these  His  contemporaries  of  the  Jewish  nation,  especially  the  priests 
and  doctors  of  the  law,  were  familiar      But  among  all  the  pi'ophets 


278  ARCHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

there  was  none  more  cherished,  for  the  sweet  sorrows  which  he  in- 
fused into  his  prophecies  regarding  Christ,  than  Isaias,  who  lived 
seven  hundred  years  before  the  birth  of  the  Crucified.  His  descrip- 
tion of  the  events  which  we  this  day  commemorate  may  be  found  in 
the  fifty-second  and  fifty-third  chapter  of  his  prophecies.  And  you 
can  easily  perceive  how  they  are  almost  descriptive  of  the  incidents 
that  occurred  in  the  Passion  of  our  Lord.  He  says,  "  Behold,  my 
servant  shall  understand :  he  shall  be  exalted,  and  extolled,  and  shall 
be  exceeding  high.  As  many  have  been  astonished  at  thee,  so  shall 
his  visage  be  inglorious  among  men,  and  his  form  among  the  sons  of 
men  :  he  shall  sprinkle  many  nations :  kings  shall  shut  their  mouth 
at  him:  for  they  to  whom  it  was  not  told  of  him  have  seen,  and  they 
that  heard  not  have  beheld.  Who  hath  believed  our  report  ?  and  to 
whom  is  the  arm  of  the  Lord  revealed  ?  and  he  shall  grow  up  as  a 
tender  plant  before  him,  and  as  a  root  out  of  a  thirsty  ground  ;  there 
is  no  beauty  in  him,  nor  comeliness  ;  and  we  have  seen  him,  and  there 
was  no  sightliness,  that  we  should  be  desirous  of  him.  Despised, 
and  the  most  abject  of  men,  a  man  of  sorrows  and  acquainted  with 
infirmity  :  and  his  look  was,  as  it  were,  hidden  and  despised  ;  where- 
upon we  esteemed  him  not.  Surely  he  hath  borne  our  infirmities, 
and  carried  our  sorrows :  and  we  have  thought  him,  as  it  were,  a 
leper,  and  as  one  struck  by  God,  and  afflicted.  But  he  was  wounded 
for  our  iniquities,  he  was  bruised  for  our  sins :  the  chastisement  of 
our  peace  was  upon  him,  and  by  his  bruises  we  are  healed.  All  we, 
like  sheep,  have  gone  astray,  every  one  hath  turned  aside  into  his 
own  way  :  and  the  Lord  hath  laid  on  him  the  iniquity  of  us  all.  He 
was  oflfered  because  it  was  his  own  will,  and  he  opened  not  his  mouth  : 
he  shall  be  led  as  a  sheep  to  the  slaughter,  and  shall  be  dumb  as  a 
lamb  before  his  shearer,  and  he  shall  not  open  his  mouth." 

The  inspired  prophet  then  is  caught  up  into  ecstasy  at  the  vision 
of  the  Church,  which  should  result  and  spring  up  from  the  sufferings 
and  death  of  the  Messiah.  He  turns  his  enraptured  vision  to  the 
gentile  nations,  and  bursts  forth  in  the  following  strain  of  inspiration  : 
"  Give  praise,  O  thou  barren  that  bearest  not ;  sing  forth  praise,  and 
make  a  joyful  noise,  thou  that  didst  not  travail  with  child  ;  for  many 
are  the  children  of  the  desolate,  more  than  of  her  that  hath  a  hus- 
band, saith  the  Lord.  Enlarge  the  place  of  thy  tent,  and  stretch  out 
the  skins  of  thy  tabernacles,  spare  not :  lengthen  thy  cords  and 
strengthen  thy  stakes.  For  thou  shalt  pass  on  to  the  light  hand, 
and  to  the  left :  and  thy  seed  shall  inherit  the  gentiles,  and  shall  in- 
habit the  desolate  cities For  he  that  made  thee  shall  rule 

over  thee,  the  Lord  of  Hosts  is  his  name :  and  thy  Redeemer,  the 
Holy  One  of  Israel,  shall  be  called  the  God  of  all  the  earth." 

Such  is  the  prophet's  description  of  the  God-man  who  stood  be- 
fore Pilate,  and  when  questioned  by  that  pagan  ruler  whence  he  was, 
declined  to  give  an  answer,  and  remained  silent.  But  even  this 
circumstance  had  been  noted  in  the  ancient  prophecies,  where,  as  you 
have  just  heard,  he  is  represented  as  a  lamb  before  the  shearer,  not 
opening  his  mouth. 


SERMONS.  279 

It  may  easily  be  admitted  that  Pontius  Pilate,  being  a  Roman 
pagan,  and  representing  the  authority  of  Caesar,  should  be  ignorant 
of  the  sacred  books  of  the  Jewish  religion.  But  our  Redeemer  did 
not  vouchsafe  to  make  any  reply  when  questioned  by  King  Herod. 
This  Herod  was  the  same  who,  out  of  human  respect,  beheaded  St. 
John  the  Baptist.  Both  these  princes,  however,  if  not  familiar  with 
the  prophecies,  had  learned  enough  of  the  doctrines  and  the  miracles 
of  Christ  to  be  inwardly  convinced  of  His  extraordinary  power,  un- 
exampled holiness  and  innocence.  Herod  wished,  through  curiosity, 
to  see  Him  of  whom  he  had  heard  so  much.  He  hoped  that  our 
Saviour  would  gratify  him  by  the  performance  of  a  miracle  to  be 
wrought  in  his  presence.  He  questioned  Him,  says  the  text,  with 
many  words,  but  Jesus  answered  him  nothing.  So,  in  like  manner, 
Pilate  was  convinced  of  His  innocence.  His  wife,  even  whilst  he  sat 
in  the  tribunal  of  judgment,  cautioned  him  against  having  any  thing 
to  do  with  that  just  man.  He  pleaded  with  the  multitude  to  have 
Him  saved ;  and  when  he  did  not  succeed,  he  washed  his  hands,  as  if 
that  ceremony  could  cleanse  him  from  the  guilt  of  his  unjust  sentence. 
"Whilst  he  hesitated  the  Jews  threatened  him  with  the  enmity  of 
Caesar.  The  blood  from  which  he  washed  his  hands  they  invoked 
upon  themselves  and  upon  their  children. 

But  since  our  Saviour  was  appointed  as  the  teacher  of  men,  why 
is  it  that. He  did  not  answer  the  questions  of  Herod  and  of  Pilate? 
There  is  no  doubt  that  He  could  have  answered  them  in  such  a  manner 
as  to  have  made  them  believers  in  His  divinity.  And  yet  He  was  silent. 
Oh  !  the  mysterious  judgments  of  God  !  They  had  resisted  know- 
ledge which  was  within  their  reach — they  had  resisted  the  grace  that 
had  been  given  them.  Their  questions  proceeded  not  from  a  sincere 
desire  to  know  truth,  but  from  a  culpable  curiosity,  or  a  desire  to 
display  their  own  consequence  in  the  world,  as  great  princes.  Pilate 
had  once  before  asked  of  our  Saviour  what  is  truth  ?  and  retired  be- 
fore there  was  time  to  give  an  answer.  It  may  be  then  that  our 
Saviour  declined  a  response  because  it  would  be  an  additional  grace 
which  they  would  reject  like  all  the  others  they  had  received.  How 
many  are  there  in  the  world  who  have  within  their  reach  the  means 
of  knowing  the  truth,  through  the  teachings  of  the  Church,  but  who, 
like  Herod  and  Pilate,  stand  aloof  under  pretence  that  more  light  is 
needed,  and  who,  in  their  affected  desire  to  know  what  truth  is,  turn 
away  before  they  can  receive  the  answer !  For  them,  too,  Christ 
will  be  silent. 

Christ  fulfilled  His  office  as  a  divine  teacher  no  less  by  His  silence 
when  he  declined  to  answer  the  questions  of  Herod  and  of  Pilate,  than 
by  His  living  words  when  he  spoke  to  the  people  and  gave  authority 
to  the  Apostles  to  carry  on  His  work.  The  first  words  of  His,  re- 
coi'ded  by  the  Evangelists,  were  an  announcement  that  He  was  sent 
to  be  about  the  works  of  His  Father.  He  had  just  been  among  the 
doctors  in  the  temple,  where  He  had  spoken  at  the  age  of  twelve 
years,  so  as  to  fill  those  who  heard  Him  with  admiration.  For  near- 
ly twenty  years  from  that  time  He  was  obedient  to  His  mother  and 


280  AKCHBISHOP  HUGHES. 

St.  Joseph,  and  in  tliis  He  was  a  teaclier  to  all  children  and  an  ex- 
ample of  reverence  for  domestic  and  filial  obedience.  His  public 
ministry  lasted  but  three  years.  During  this  period  He  taught  ])ub- 
licly.  His  discourses  were  simple  in  their  language,  but  divinely 
profound  in  their  meaning.  He  gathered  around  Him  the  humble 
and  the  meek.  He  spoke  to  them  in  the  city,  in  the  villages,  in  the 
fields,  by  the  wayside,  on  the  margin  of  the  lake,  and  on  the  moun- 
tain. He  taught  in  the  presence  of  His  enemies,  in  the  temple,  and 
elsewhere.  He  knew  wliat  was  passing  in  the  hearts  of  those  that 
heard  Him,  and  not  unfrequently  replied  to  their  thoughts  even  be- 
fore utterance  had  been  given  to  them.  He  was  mild  and  meek  in 
all  His  ways ;  and  yet  how  often  do  we  find  Him  using  strong  and 
energetic  language,  when  pride  and  self-righteousness  required  re- 
prehension !  He  never  hesitated  to  pronounce  in  their  own  hearing, 
woe  to  the  Scribes  and  the  Pharisees  ;  woe  to  the  rich  and  to  the 
world  :  nay.  Pie  carried  His  zeal  for  the  glory  of  His  heavenly  Father, 
and  tor  the  honor  of  the  holy  temple  to  such  a  point,  that  He  cast  out 
the  money-changers  from  its  portals,  declaring  to  them  that  His 
house  was  the  house  of  prayer,  but  that  they  had  made  it  a  den  of 
thieves.  On  the  other  hand,  look  at  the  divine  sublimity  of  His 
sermon  on  the  mountain,  when  He  declared  that  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  belonged  to  those  who  were  poor  in  spirit — that  the  pure  of 
heart  should  see  God — that  the  meek  should  possess  the  land — that 
present  suffering  for  His  sake  is  a  pledge  of  future  comfort — that 
every  desire  after  justice  should  be  satisfied — that  the  merciful  should 
obtain  mercy — that  peace-makers  should  be  called  the  children  of 
God.  Here  is  the  speech  of  the  divine  teacher ;  brief  in  words  but 
fathomless  in  its  divine  meaning. 

So  also  did  he  teach  by  his  miracles.  The  first  was  at  the  mar- 
riage of  Cana  in  Galilee,  where,  at  the  suggestion  of  His  blessed 
Mother,  He  changed  water  into  wine.  This,  says  the  Evangelist, 
was  the  beginning  of  His  miracles.  The  motive  apparently  was  to 
save  the  family  from  a  humiliation  of  their  poverty,  as  if  they  had 
invited  guests  without  being  able  to  treat  them  according  to  the 
hospitalities  usual  among  their  neighbors  on  such  occasions.  Before 
He  spoke  His  Mother  told  them  to  do  whatever  He  should  say  to 
them.  Then  He  directed  that  the  six  water-pots  should  be  filled 
Avith  water,  and  told  the  stewards  to  draw.  In  producing  the  ciiange 
of  water  into  wine.  He  used  no  spoken  words,  but  as  the  steward 
drew  it  off  it  had  ceased  to  be  water,  and  had  become  wine.  There 
is  but  one  other  instance  of  a  miracle  performed  by  Christ  without 
the  use  of  spoken  words,  and  that  was  when  He  gave  extension  to 
the  five  loaves  on  the  mountain,  wherewith  the  multitude  were  fed 
to  the  number  of  five  thousand.  But  in  His  divine  wisdom  these  two 
miracles  were  performed  as  introductory  to,  and  symbolic  of,  the 
Holy  Eucharist,  in  which  bread  and  wine,  by  His  almighty  power, 
and  the  words  of  His  appointed  minister,  are  changed  into  His  body 
and  blood. 

These,  and  the  other  miracles  which  He  performed,  made  Him 


SEEMOKS.  281 

known  to  all  the  people.  He  restored  the  son  of  the  widow  of  Nairn 
to  his  mother.  He  raised  Lazarus  from  the  tomb — He  healed  the 
sick,  caused  the  lame  to  walk,  stilled  the  tempest,  gave  speech  to 
the  dumb,  and  hearing  to  the  deaf;  He  cured  a  man  born  blind : 
and  all  these  cases  were  subjects  of  admiration  on  one  side  and  of 
contradiction  on  the  other,  so  that  His  doctrine  and  His  miracles 
became  subjects  of  disputation  among  all  the  people  of  Jerusalem ; 
and,  except  by  wilful  indiiference  to  truth,  it  was  impossible  that 
either  Herod  or  Pilate  should  have  been  unacquainted  with  these 
things,  and  therefore  it  may  be  that  when  they  questioned  Him  at 
their  own  tribunal  in  the  hour  of  his  voluntary  humiliation.  He 
was  pleased  to  answer  them  no  word,  as  if  they  had  already  received 
and  neglected  too  many  graces  to  obtain  another  at  their  own  ca- 
price. 

Neither  is  this  the  only  lesson  of  instruction  which  we  may  infer 
from  the  silence  of  Christ  on  the  two  occasions  just  alluded  to.  His 
Apostles  and  His  Saints  at  all  times  have  understood  and  practised 
the  sublimity  of  this  silent  teaching.  His  Apostles  in  particular, 
after  their  reception  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  never  ceased  to  declare  all 
His  doctrines  in  the  face  of  a  world  leagued  with  the  enemy  of  souls 
to  extinguish  it.  They  all  finally,  like  their  divine  Master,  gave 
their  blood  in  martyrdom,  in  attestation  of  the  truth  of  their  teach- 
ings. But  history  has  handed  down  to  us  no  record  of  self-defence, 
when  they  stood  before  the  tyrants  and  rulers  who  consigned  them 
to  martyrdom.  Then  and  there  it  was  their  privilege,  since  the 
question  concerned  only  themselves  personally,  to  imitate  and  prac- 
tise the  doctrine  of  silence  which  they  had  learned  from  the  example 
of  their  divine  Master  in  presence  of  Herod  and  Pilate.  Indeed, 
there  is  nothing  more  remarkable  in  the  death  of  the  martyrs,  or  in 
the  lives  of  the  confessors,  than  this  entire  abstinence  from  selt-vindi- 
cation.  It  is  true  that  St.  Paul,  exercising  his  civil  rights  as  a  Roman 
citizen,  appealed  from  the  iniquitous  persecution  of  the  Jews  to  the 
Emperor  for  protection.  But  in  making  his  appeal  befoi'e  one  of  the 
Roman  governor^,  he  takes  occasion  to  preach  Christ  and  his  doc- 
trines about  judgment  and  justice,  so  that  the  judge  on  liis  tribunal 
trembled  at  the  sound  of  his  captive's  voice.  But  of  himself  he  said 
nothing,  except  that  he  was  innocent  of  the  accusations  made  against 
him,  and  that  as  a  right  he  appealed  to  Caesar. 

But  when,  under  the  tyrant  Nero,  St.  Peter  and  he  were  con- 
demned to  death,  there  is  no  record  of  any  speech  or  word  uttered 
in  self-vindication. 

There  is  also  another  remarkable  instance,  or  rather  a  universal 
rule,  pervading  the  inspired  pages  of  the  entire  New  Testament.  It 
is  to  be  remembered  that  St.  Matthew  did  not  write  until  about  nine 
years  after  the  death  of  Christ ;  and  he  was  the  first  of  the  Evan- 
gelists. Neither  in  his  Gospel,  nor  in  either  of  the  other  three,  is 
there  found  a  single  expression  legarding  the  life  and  sufierings  and 
death  of  our  blessed  Redeemer,  except  in  the  merest  and  briefest 
narrative  of  events.     There  is  no  word  of  denunciation  against  His 


282  ABCHB18H0P    HUGHES. 

adversaries,  or  his  persecutors,  or  those  who  nailed  His  hands  and 
feet  to  the  cross.  Neither  is  there  a  word  of  sympathy  for  the  suf- 
ferings of  their  Lord.  He  was  put  to  death  because  He  called  Him- 
self, as  He  really  was,  the  Son  of  God.  But  no  expression  is  found 
of  horror  at  the  indignities  which  were  offered  to  Him,  or  of  human 
sympathy  in  the  contemplation  of  His  agonies.  They  remembered 
that  he  had  been  Himself  silent  before  the  tribunal  of  His  judges. 
They  remembered  that  when  He  went  forth  through  the  gate  of  the 
city,  amidst  the  scoffings  of  the  multitude,  on  his  way  to  Calvary — 
being  already  from  head  to  foot  one  living  wound — and  when  He 
fainted  under  the  weight  of  the  cross,  and  the  tears  of  sympathy  were 
freely  poured  out  by  the  devout  women  who  mingled  with  the  rab- 
ble. He  said  to  them,  "  Daughters  of  Jerusalem,  weep  not  for  me, 
but  weep  for  yourselves  and  for  your  children" — as  if  He  would  inti- 
mate that  words  and  even  tears  of  human  sympathy  are  not  the 
highest  testimony  that  His  followers  can  give,  but  that  they  should 
shed  rather  tears  of  compunction  for  their  own  sins.  The  Apostles, 
no  doubt,  felt  all  the  tenderness  of  human  sentiment  in  regard  to 
His  physical  and  mental  sufferings,  but  when  they  came  to  write  the 
history  of  them  under  the  inspiration  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  they  are 
silent  with  regard  to  their  own  sentiments,  which,  no  doubt,  du- 
ring the  remainder  of  their  lives  were  themes  of  meditation  treas- 
ured up  in  their  hearts.  In  all  this,  beloved  brethren,  we  adore  the 
ways  of  God,  so  different  from  the  ways  of  men.  Neither  the  high- 
priests,  nor  the  mob,  nor  the  judges,  nor  the  executioners,  could 
have  any  power  over  Christ,  except  so  much  as  He  permitted. 

He  became  flesh  through  love  for  man.  He  had  offered  His  life  to 
His  eternal  Father  for  the  sins  of  the  world.  He  was  at  once  the 
High  Priest,  because  he  offered  the  sacrifice ;  and  He  was  the  victim, 
because  He  submitted  to  be  immolated  on  the  cross.  This  was  the 
baptism  with  which  He  had  to  be  baptized,  and  in  regaid  to  which 
he  was  straitened  till  it  should  be  accomplished.  He  had  power 
to  lay  down  His  hfe  and  to  take  it  up  again.  And  His  death  was 
riot  a  mere  human  tragedy,  but  it  was  a  divine  reparation  fur  the 
injuries  which  sin  had  offered  to  His  eternal  Father,  and  a  recon- 
ciliation between  God  and  man,  through  the  merits  of  the  death  of 
Him  who  was  at  once  God  and  man  by  the  union  of  a  divine  and  hu- 
man nature  in  His  own  person.  It  was  indeed  as  man  that  He  suf- 
fered, but  as  being  God  and  man,  the  dignity  of  the  victim  was 
suflicient  to  make  that  suffering  ample  for  the  atonement  of  the  sins 
of  the  whole  world. 

1  have  not  attempted  to  make  a  picture  of  the  sufferings  of  our 
Lord.  If  I  did,  the  colors  might  be  too  strong  for  my  own  contempla- 
tion, or  for  yours.  But  these  sufferings  are  impressed  on  your  memory 
and  on  your  heart.  They  are  subjects  for  your  private  devotion  and 
feeling.  The  inspired  writers  have  presented  them  as  a  mere  narra- 
tive, a  brief  skeleton  of  facts,  leaving  it  to  the  followers  of  Christ  to 
fill  up  the  outline  by  the  superabundance  of  their  love  for  God,  their 
contrition,  and  even,  if  you  will,  their  sensible  devotion  to  the  divine 


SERMONS.  283 

Victim  who  carried  not  merely  the  wood  of  the  cross,  but  the  sins  of 
the  world  on  His  shoulders  as  He  passed  on  to  Golgotha  from  the 
court  of  Pilate,  there  to  atone  for  them  by  a  final  act  on  the  altar  of 
His  sacrifice. 

I  may  not  close  these  observations  without  alluding  to  the  exam- 
ple left  to  us  by  her  who  in  all  relations  was  nearest  to  her  divine  Say  iour, 
next  to  God.  His  ever  Blessed  Virgin  Mother  had  been  with  Hira  or 
near  Him  through  all  His  life,  and  she  would  not  be  absent  in  the 
hour  of  His  death.  Apart  from  the  unspeakable  dignity  which  God 
had  conferred  upon  her  by  choosing  her  to  minister,  through  the  opera- 
tion of  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  very  flesh  of  Him  who  was  bruised  and 
crucified  for  us,  what  is  so  remarkable  as  the  fact  that  but  a  few 
words  spoken  by  her  have  been  recorded  by  the  Evangelists  ?  One 
of  them,  indeed,  actually  alludes  to  her  practice  of  silence.  He  says 
that  she  laid  up  these  words  in  her  heart-  What  she  said  to  her  di- 
vine Son  on  His  occasion  of  remaining  in  the  temple  is  recorded. 
What  she  said  to  him  at  the  marriage  of  Cana  in  Galilee,  to  which  I  have 
referred,  is  also  recorded.  But  no  other  word  of  hers  is  recorded,  ex- 
cept, indeed,  that  outburst  of  inspiration  which  she  uttered  on  the 
occasion  of  her  visit  to  St.  Elizabeth,  with  which  you  are  so  fixmiliar 
as  the  canticle  of  the  Church  under  the  title  of  the  Magnijieat.  She 
witnessed  all  the  trials  of  her  divine  Son — her  soul,  according  to  the 
prophecy  of  holy  Simeon,  was  pierced  with  a  sword  of  grief,  but  there 
is  no  expression  of  resentment,  or  even  of  pity  and  sympathy,  pre- 
served to  us  by  the  inspired  writers.  Painters,  indeed,  represent 
her  as  swooning  away  by  the  foot  of  the  cross,  but  there  is  no  his- 
torical authority  for  any  such  representation.  She  knew  who  it  was 
that  was  dying,  and  why  it  was  that  He  gave  Himself  up  to  be  cruci- 
fied. And  she  was  too  united  with  God  not  to  be  resigned  to 
His  will,  whatever  might  be  the  interior  agonies  of  her  own 
heart. 

He  who  refused  to  answer  either  Herod  or  Pilate,  has  yet  a  few 
words  which  He  utters  from  His  own  great  throne,  the  cross  on 
which  He  was  suspended.  These  words  were  as  a  legacy  to  us  all. 
We  were  represented  by  St.  John  the  Evangelist,  and  the  legacy 
was  that  same  Blessed  Mother  as  our  advocate  and  our  example. 
To  her  also,  in  the  same  words.  He  transfeiTed  us  as  her  future  chil- 
dren :  "  Woman,  behold  thy  son.  Son,  behold  thy  mother."  In 
a  few  moments  after  this.  He  said,  "Into  Thy  hands  I  commend  my 
spirit,"  and  presently  added,  "It  is  consummated,"  and  gave  up  the 
Ghost 


284  ARCHBISHOP    HUGHES. 


SERMON  ON  THE  OCCASION  OF  LAYING  THE 
CORNER-STONE  OP  THE  MISSIONARY  HOUSE 
AND  CHURCH  OF  ST.  PAUL  THE  APOSTLE, 
NEW  YORK,  JUNE  19th,  1859. 

"  Unless  the  Lord  build  the  house,  they  labor  in  vain  that  build  it." 

These  words  of  the  holy  prophet,  beloved  brethren,  said  the  Most 
Rev.  Archbishop,  are  presented  to  us  in  her  offices  by  the  Church 
whenever  we  undertake  any  thing  like  the  great  work,  the  com- 
mencement of  which  has  brought  you  together  this  day.  The 
prophet  speaks  of  "  the  house,"  but  the  Church  understands  it  em- 
phatically of  the  House  of  God,  which  is  not  every  house,  but  a  spe- 
cial house  set  apart,  and  to  be  consecrated  to  His  worship  and  His 
glory ;  and  hence,  if,  in  any  undertaking,  these  words  would  be  ap- 
propria;te  on  the  hearts  and  on  the  lips  of  a  Christian,  they  are 
more  particularly  so  when  we  venture  to  raise  a  structure  to  the 
honor  of  the  great  God  who  created  this  magnificent  universe  out 
of  nothing.  We  employ  them  on  this  occasion,  as  upon  many 
others,  to  signify  that  all  the  merit  which  man  can  have  is  the  merit 
of  his  good  intentions,  of  his  high  and  noble  will ;  not  indeed  (for 
that  would  be  extreme  arrogance  and  impiety)  as  if  he  could  add 
any  thing  to  the  majesty  and  glory  of  God,  but  he  can  add  indirectly 
by  recognizing  that  glory,  and,  as  far  as  it  is  within  his  means,  by 
manifesting  even  in  an  outward  way  his  reverence  for  God,  who, 
though  unseen,  is  everywhere,  but  more  especially  on  the  altar  of 
the  Holy  Catholic  temple. 

When  God  created  the  heavens  and  the  earth  there  was  no  sin ; 
but  sin  was  afterwards  committed  by  His  permission — that  is  to  say, 
by  His  not  having  prevented  it — having  left  man  at  liberty  to  render 
Him  a  homage  that  would  be  a  free  homage.  In  consequence  of  the 
sin  committed  by  our  first  parents,  we  have  entailed  upon  us  all  the 
trials,  and  sufferings,  and  disappointments,  and  sickness,  which  we 
experience  in  life,  and  finally  death  itself  This  was  the  work  of  the 
first  Adam.  The  second  Adam — that  is,  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ — 
introduced  the  resurrection.  By  the  first  Adam  there  was  entailed 
upon  the  earth  as  well  as  upon  its  inhabitants  a  general  malediction. 
The  words  of  the  Almighty  were,  that  the  earth  itself  was  cursed ; 
and  that  malediction  has  not  been  removed,  because  the  conse- 
quences of  original  sin  still  prevail.  Man,  thou  art  but  dust,  and 
unto  dust  thou  must  return  ;  and  the  admonition  of  the  precept  wa«, 
that  on  the  day  that  the  free,  but  innocent,  and  pure,  and  holy  crea- 
tures which  had  just  come  from  the  creating  hand  of  God  should 
fall,  they  should  die.     We  all  know  what  death  is ;  and  although  the 


SERMONS.  2S5 

Son  of  God  became  man,  and  died  for  us,  it  was  not  to  redeem 
us  from  the  temporal  penalty  of  sin,  so  mucli  as  to  redeem  us 
from  that  eternal  death  which  would  have  been  otherwise  the  con- 
sequence of  human  transgression.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  when- 
ever the  Church  authorizes  a  portion  of  tlie  earth  to  be  taken  and 
set  apart  from  profane  and  secular  uses  to  be  the  ground  and  the 
foundation  of  an  altar  to  His  glory,  through  the  merits  and  by  the 
authority  of  that  same  Jesus  Christ,  the  malediction  tliat  adheres  to 
the  eaith  in  general  is  removed  ;  and  this  is  the  object  of  the  cere- 
mony of  prayei-s  and  benediction  connected  with  the  laying  of  the 
corner-stone  of  a  new  church. 

It  has  been  my  own  happy  privilege  during  the  period  of  my  episcopal 
life,  to  have  officiated  in  laying  the  corner-stones  of  many  temples  to 
God ;  and  as  it  is  to-day  your  consolation,  and  joy,  and  pride,  so  it  is 
to  me  a  source  of  great  gratification  to  assist  again  in  that  sublime 
office.  The  place  on  which  you  stand,  as  you  know,  js  the  centre  of 
a  district  that  is  as  yet  but  sparsely  populated,  but  which  promises  ere 
long  to  be  densely  peopled.  There  was  no  sanctuary  near  this  place, 
no  altar,  no  sacrifice,  but  there  soon  will  be  ;  and  you  need  not  to  be 
told  of  the  advantages  that  will  result  not  only  to  the  Catholics  of  this 
neighborhood,  but  to  the  whole  population,  for  in  every  CJatholic 
church  there  is  a  fulness  of  all  that  is  in  the  universal  Church ; 
there  is  its  authority  recognized  and  sustained ;  there  is  the  power  of 
its  episcopacy,  and  the  especial  power  of  its  priesthood  to  consecrate 
the  Victim  of  the  New  Law  in  the  Holy  Sacrifice  of  the  Christian 
church.  This  is  the  highest  worship  man  can  ofier  to  God,  because 
every  merit  comes  through  His  incarnate  Son ;  every  prayer  of  ours 
that  reaches  the  ears  of  the  Eternal,  must  be  sanctioned  by  the  merit 
of  our  divine  Redeemer.  But  if  prayers  receive  that  benediction 
through  His  incarnation,  how  much  more  should  we  receive  through 
the  adorable  Sacrifice  which  He  instituted — in  which  He  Himself 
is  a  priest  forever  according  to  the  order  of  Melchisedeck,  and  in 
which  you  blend  your  prayers  with  the  priest  who  ministers  in  the 
name  of  Christ.  And  this  is  what  we  are  to  have  here.  The  edi- 
fice wliich  is  now  in  course  of  erection,  may  not  be  the  church  which 
is  to  occupy  this  ground  hereafter,  but  is  to  be  here  for  a  long 
period,  to  sei-ve  the  poor  members  of  the  mystical  body  of  Christ  in 
this  neighborhood.  From  this  place  the  poor  people  will  derive  con- 
solations in  all  the  trials  of  life  ;  their  children  will  be  consecrated  to 
God  at  the  font  of  Baptism  ;  their  youth,  at  a  mature  and  proper 
age,  will  be  united  in  the  Sacrament  of  Holy  Matrimony ;  their  sick 
will  be  visited  in  this  place ;  and  when  they  or  others  shall  find  their 
consciences  burdened  with  sin,  and  will  come  and  confess,  God, 
through  the  ministry  of  His  priests,  will  remove  the  burden,  and  let 
them  go  forth  with  a  light  heart ;  not  with  the  liberty  of  transgress- 
ing again,  but  with  the  holy  intention  of  never  more  offiinding  God. 
Here,  too,  they  will  come  to  be  united  with  the  Head  of  the  Church 
in  the  adorable  sacrament  of  the  Holy  Communion  ;  and  when 
sickness  shall  have  overtaken  them  they  will  derive  from  here  the 


286  ARCHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

consolation  of  the  last  rites  of  the  Church  of  which  the  Apostle 
speaks . 

"  Is  any  one  sick  among  yon,  let  him  bring  the  priests  of  the  Church,  and  let 
them  pray  over  him,  anointing  him  with  oil  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  and  the 
prayer  of  faith  shall  save  the  sick  man,  and  the  Lord  shall  raise  him  up,  and  if 
he  be  in  sins,  they  shall  be  forgiven  him." 

These  are  the  consolations  and  the  ground  of  our  holy  religion, 
and  if  it  were  possible  for  all  men  to  meet  in  one  temple,  the  recog- 
nition of  those  efforts  by  which  we  erect  temples  to  God  would  not  be 
necessary ;  but  the  people  of  God  are  scattered  from  the  rising  to 
the  setting  of  the  sun,  and  where  their  wants  require  it,  let  a  new 
corner-stone,  and  another  and  another  be  laid,  till  ample  provision 
shall  have  been  made  for  the  whole  people  of  God,  so  that  none 
shall  perish  for  lack  of  the  bread  of  life. 

This  church  is  to  be  superintended  by  clergymen  who  devote  them- 
selves voluntarily  to  the  work  of  God ;  not  merely  by  attending  to 
the  spiritual  wants  of  their  own  neighborhood,  but  as  occasion  may 
offer  and  opportunities  may  be  multiplied,  to  carry  the  word  of 
life  to  distant  regions,  with  the  approbation  of  the  Bishop  and  their 
Sovereign  Pontiff.  Of  course,  beloved  brethren,  this  is  not  a  time 
for  me  to  deliver  a  discourse  upon  the  Catholic  religion,  but  it  is  a 
time  for  me  to  say  that  were  it  not  that  the  minds  of  men  were  pre- 
occupied with  false  opinions  regarding  the  religion  of  the  Way  of 
the  Cross,  they  would  be  open  to  the  light  of  truth  in  a  country 
free  and  untrammelled  as  this  is.  Now,  those  false  opinions  and 
prejudices  are  to  be  struggled  with.  We  have  no  means — no  charm 
to  remove  them ;  at  the  same  time  it  is  the  duty  of  God's  missiona- 
ries to  present  the  truth  wherever  an  opportunity  is  presented,  for 
we  know  our  divine  Lord  established  but  one  Faith,  one  Church, 
one  Baptism.  We  know  that  the  characteristics  of  the  Church  be- 
long exclusively  to  that  great  spiritual  communion  of  which  the  suc- 
cessor of  St.  Peter  is  the  visible  head.  No  man  can  fix  the  period  of 
its  beginning  after  Christ,  or  say  from  wRat  community  it  separated. 
There  have  been  separations ;  but  this  Church  remains  in  the  same 
ground  as  the  tree  of  eternal  life,  planted  by  the  hand  of  our  divine 
Lord,  instead  of  the  tree  of  perdition  by  which  our  first  parents  fell,  and 
by  which  we  became  degenerate  by  inheritance.  I  will  therefore 
conclude  by  exhorting  you  to  aid  in  a  liberal  and  enlarged  spirit  of 
Christian  faith  and  charity  in  this  noble  undertaking,  not  merely  to- 
day, but  whenever  the  opportunity  occurs ;  because  it  is  by  the 
small  but  numerous  contributions  of  faithful  men  and  women  in  a 
country  like  ours,  that  we  can  succeed  in  laying  the  foundation  of  a 
church,  and  erecting  an  altar  to  the  glory  ot  the  living  God. 


SEEMONS.  287 


THE  UNITY,  THE  UNIVERSALITY,  AND  VISIBIL- 
ITY OF  THE  CHURCH. 

A  SERMON  DELH^ERED  IN  ST.  PETER'S  CHURCH,  NEW 
YORK,  SUNDAY,  JULY  3,  1859. 

The  words  which  I  am  about  to  select  from  the  Holy  Scriptures, 
are  found  in  the  twelfth  chapter  of  the  First  Epistle  of  St.  Paul  to  the 
Corinthians,  eleventh  and  twelfth  verses  : 

"  But  all  these  things  one  and  the  same  Spirit  worketh,  dividing  to  every  one 
according  as  he  will.  For  as  the  body  is  one,  and  hath  many  members ;  and 
all  the  members  of  the  body,  whereas  they  are  many,  yet  are  one  body ;  so 
also  is  Clirist." 

The  Apostle,  dearly  beloved  brethren,  proceeded  the  Most  Rev. 
Prelate,  has  indicated,  in  these  solemn  and  profound  words,  not  only 
to  the  Corinthians,  but  to  all  the  followers  of  Christ,  the  nature  of 
their  true  dignity,  and  of  their  spiritual  equality.  He  had  labored 
among  the  people  of  Corinth  as  their  Apostle  some  three  years,  and 
from  thence  he  went  to  establish  the  Church  of  Ephesus.  During 
his  absence,  questions  arose  which,  if  we  were  to  form  a  conclusion 
from  the  tone  of  this  chapter,  would  seem  to  have  reference  to  a  dis- 
pute concerning  the  equality  or  the  inequality  of  members  of  the 
Church  of  God ;  and  on  tliese  questions  they  sent  a  deputation  of 
three  of  their  members,  with  a  letter,  submitting  the  case  to  their 
Apostle  and  the  founder  of  Christianity  among  them.  This  letter, 
of  which  there  is  no  record  that  we  know  of,  gave  occasion  to  the 
writing  of  the  First  Epistle  of  St.  Paul  to  the  Corinthians,  about 
sixteen  years  after  the  ascension  of  Christ.  Although  it  had  for  its 
subject  the  case  that  had  been  submitted  to  the  Apostle,  yet  the 
Church  has  pronounced  it  a  divinely  inspired  letter,  and  has  always 
regarded  it  in  that  light.  I  allude  to  this  circumstance  merely  to 
show  that  the  Church  was  in  vigorous  life  and  activity,  and  in  ex- 
tended establishment,  before  any  portion  of  the  Xew  Testament  was 
Avritten;  that,  therefore,  the  Church  tells  us  what  the  Scriptures  are, 
and  that  the  Scriptures,  except  indirectly  as  written  evidence  on 
parchment,  cannot  tell  us  what  they  are  of  themselves ;  for  no  docu- 
ment, human  or  divine,  could  ever  explain  itself  except  under  the 
testimony  necessary  to  render  it  authentic  and  contemporary  with  its 
writing,  and  the  other  testimony  of  living  and  perpetual  witnesses 
and  judges  to  translate  and  make  known  its  meaning.  But  for  tliese 
two  testimonies  tl>e  Holy  Scriptures  would  be  useless,  and,  what  we 
see  them  outside  of  the  communion  of  the  body  of  Christ — a  stum- 
bling block,  a  theme  of  disputation  and  of  division — not  that  they  in- 
culcate division,  but  because  the  key  to  them  has  been  lost ;  because  if 
if  we  receive  not  the  Scriptures  from  the  Church  as  the  living  inter- 
preter of  their  meaning,  we  must  forever  be  groping  in  the  dark  in 
our  search  for  the  truth,  and  never  finding  it. 


ARCHBISHOP    HUGHKS. 

The  Apostle,  however,  whether  it  be  to  meet  the  case  that  had 
been  submitted  to  him,  or  otherwise,  has  given  us  an  admirable  and 
elevating  view  of  the  Church  of  the  living  God.  He  meets  their 
case,  probably,  .by  referring  to  their  difficulties,  and  speaks  before 
the  passage  I  have  read  of  the  unity  of  the  spirit  and  the  diversity 
of  the  membership  of  the  body  of  Christ.     He  says: 

"  And  the  manifestation  of  the  Spirit  is  given  to  every  man  unto  profit.  To 
one,  indeed,  by  the  Spirit,  is  given  the  word  of  wisdom ;  and  to  another,  the 
worid  of  knowledge  according  to  the  same  Spirit ;  to  another,  the  working  of 
miracles  ;  to  another,  prophecy ;  to  another,  the  discerning  of  spirits  ;  to  ano- 
ther, diverse  kinds  of  tongues  ;  to  another,  interpretation  of  speeches." 

Then  comes  the  language  of  the  Apostle  in  regard  to  the  variety 
of  spirits : 

"  But  all  these  things  one  and  the  same  Spirit  worketh,  dividing  to  every  one 
according  to  his  will.  For  as  the  body  is  one  and  hath  many  members,  and 
all  the  members  of  the  body,  whereas  they  are  many,  yet  are  one  body  ;  so  also 
is  Christ.  For  in  one  Spirit  were  we  all  baptized  into  one  body,  whether  Jews 
or  Gentiles  ;  whether  bond  or  free ;  and  in  one  Spirit  have  we  all  been  made  to 
drink." 

Thus  the  Apostle  indicates  the  equality  of  membership  in  the 
Church  of  God,  We  are  engrafted  on  the  tree  of  life  by  the  sacra- 
ment of  baptism.  We  became  living  members  of  the  mystical  body 
by  this  sacrament ;  and  after  that,  whether  God  makes  one  an  Apo.s- 
tle  and  another  a  prophet,  or  gives  the  gill  of  tongues  and  miracles 
to  another,  it  does  not  elevate  him,  except  in  the  order  of  a  special 
grace  ;  for  he,  like  the  rest,  was  baptized  into  the  one  body  of  the 
Church  of  Christ. 

You  are  aware  that  when  the  Apostles  were  sent  forth  they  were 
poor  and  uneducated,  but  they  bore  the  name  of  the  Redeemer  upon 
their  lips  and  the  breastplate  of  innocence  as  their  only  shield.  But 
God  did  not  leave  them  without  divine  evidence  that  they  had  been 
commissioned  by  Him.  Without  such  evidence  the  world  would 
indeed  have  been  startled ;  but  every  thing  was  foretold  as  regarded 
the  coming  of  Christ,  which  was  in  perfect  harmony  and  accord  with 
all  that  had  gone  before.  And  so  when  He  sent  His  missionaries  to 
teach  the  truth,  He  never  left  them  without  the  necessary  'means  to 
certify  the  sacred  character  of  their  mission;  and  accordingly,  in  the 
case  of  the  Apostles,  we  read,  immediately  after  the  descent  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  of  the  miracles  they  performed  at  the  gate  of  the  tem- 
ple, which  was  called  the  Beautiful,  and  how,  when  they  preached, 
the  people  from  all  the  different  nations  and  provinces  who  were  as- 
sembled within  the  gates  of  the  city  heard  each  their  own  tongue, 
as  if  the  speaker  had  been  of  his  country  and  kindred.  And  these 
things  continued  more  or  less,  as  it  pleased  God  to  enable  them  to 
establish  His  Church  on  the  earth,  and  until  such  time  as  they  were 
no  longer  necessary. 

Now,  however,  the  Apostle  begins  already  to  signify  that  these 
things  are  the  good  pleasure  of  God  ;  that  they  are  spontaneous  or 
voluntary  manifestations  of  His  divine  power,  but  that  they  do  not 
necessarily  enter  into  and  become  a  permanent  part  of  the  C'nurch 


BEEMONS.  259 

of  His  divine  Son.  And  hencu  he  refers  them  to  another  miracle, 
which  was  far  more  sublime  in  its  amplitude  than  any  gift  of  tongues 
— the  mystical  body  of  Christ — *'  for  in  one  Spirit  were  we  all  baptized 
into  one  body."  To  what  would  the  Apostle  direct  their  attention  and 
oui-s  ?  To  tlie  spectacle  of  the  Catholic  Cliurch — to  what  constitutes 
the  really  sublime,  the  wonderful,  the  silent,  but  at  the  same  time  the 
eloquent  and  the  perpetual  evidence  of  divine  workmanship.  The 
Church  is  visible,  otherwise  it  could  not  be  a  body  ;  and  in  that  single 
definition  has  not  St.  Paul  anticipated  the  errors  of  those  who,  separa^ 
ting  themselves  voluntarily  from  it,  have  taken  refuge  in  the  idea  of 
an  invisible  Church  ?  Can  they  speak  of  a  Church  Avhich  gives  no 
signs  of  existence  ?  If  it  is  invisible,  how  do  they  know  it  exists? 
If  it  is  invisible  in  the  sense  in  which  they  use  the  word,  then  it  is  not 
the  Church  of  Christ ;  because  the  Church  of  Christ,  both  by  His 
own  declaration  frequently  repeated  and  by  those  of  his  inspired 
Apostles,  is  something  visible,  outward  and  obvious  to  the  senses  of 
men,  so  that  every  man,  whether  he  belongs  to  it  or  not,  sees  it, 
hears  it,  knows  of  it,  and  therefore  cannot  deny  its  existence.  But 
how  can  any  one  speak  of  that  Avhich  is  invisible.  It  is  thus  as  if  the 
Apostle,  inspired  with  the  prophetic  spirit  regarding  the  errors  of 
future  times,  gives  out  that  simple  definition  of  a  Church — one  body 
consisting  of  many  members,  the  entrance  to  which  is  by  baptism. 
Kow,  after  baptism,  some  may  be  priests,  some  may  be  of  this  reli- 
gious order,  some  of  that,  wearing  different  liveries  of  Christ ;  some 
bishops,  some  doctors,  and  always  one,  but  only  one,  who  shall  be 
the  visible  head  of  the  visible  body  of  Christ. 

I  spoke,  dearly  beloved  brethren,  of  the  sublimity  of  this  miracle, 
and  it  will  require  some  attention  to  appreciate  the  meaning  of  this 
term.  If  we  see  a  man  raise  a  dead  body  to  life,  the  effect  is  instan- 
taneous and  overwhelming ;  but  if  we  wish  to  examine  the  greater 
and  more  sublime  spectacle  of  the  body  of  Christ,  the  Catholic 
Church,  we  must  direct  our  attention  to  the  language  of  the  Apostle. 
If  we  supposed  it  was  the  spontaneous  concurrence  of  the  free  minds 
of  all  ages  who  professed  Christianity  or  Catholic  faith,  it  would  be 
unaccountable,  and  yet  it  is  so.  We  might  imagine  the  possibility 
of  two  hundred  millions  of  men  alienated  from  each  other  by  diver- 
sity of  language,  of  climate,  of  color,  of  government,  of  habits,  of 
training  and  education,  and  yet  you  find  these  two  hundred  millions 
of  minds  concentrated  upon  great  points  of  Christian  faith  with  an 
accordance  and  a  voluntary  choice,  just  as  you  can  trace  the  rays 
that  Avarm  and  enliven  the  earth  up  to  the  great  luminary  from  which 
they  come. 

Would  not  this  be  a  great  miracle  if  it  were  spontaneous?  And 
is  it  not  ?  for  who  is  the  Catholic  that  is  coerced,  that  is  not  free  to 
believe  and  to  follow  differently  from  that  which  his  Church  teaches  ? 
From  the  ris'ing  to  the  setting  of  the  sun,  you  may  interrogate  every 
nation,  and  unless  there  is  something  before  which  may  have  wounded 
his  pride,  he  will  answer  that  there  is  no  calamity  on  earth  to  which 
he  would  not  submit  more  willingly  than  the  slightest  deviation  from. 
Vol.  n— 19. 


290  ARCHBISHOP     HUGHE?. 

the  faith  of  that  Holy  Catholic  Church.  Now  this  is  not  by  accident, 
and  the  expkmation  is  found  in  the  formation  of  the  Church  itself. 
It  is  true  Ave  have  a  description  of  it  in  the  Evangelist's  writings, 
but  it  is  equally  true  if  the  Evangelist  had  not  written  a  description 
of  it ;  it  was  engraved  by  the  tiery  pen  of  the  Holy  Spirit  itself 
She  knew  she  was  an  outward  visible  body,  to  which,  as  a  principle 
of  vitality  and  divine  power,  her  Founder  had  promised  the  Holy 
Spirit  as  the  life  and  soul,  the  light,  the  fire,  the  guidance,  the  di- 
rection of  that  great  unity  ;  but  at  the  same  time  that  diffused  body 
represented  its  divine  Founder.  Many  thoughtless  people  who  are 
separated  from  her  teachings  imagine  that  after  a  time  the  Church 
collected  the  epistles  and  then  compared  them,  and  entered  into  a 
certain  agreement  to  form  a  Church  and  call  it  by  any  name.  Now 
no  such  thing  ever  occurred,  and  to  assert  it  is  to  overlook  the  evi- 
dence to  the  contrary,  and  to  betray  their  ignorance  of  the  very 
works  of  which  they  so  flippantly  speak.  How  did  Christ  form  His 
Church?  He  first  had  His  disciples,  who  were  upright  and  pure  of 
heart,  the  simple  and  poor  of  His  country.  Tiiey  heard  His  doc- 
trines, and  became  enamoi-ed  of  the  beauty  of  His  celestial  precepts, 
and  He  taught  them  before  they  were  yet  a  body  and  before  they 
were  compacted  into  the  unity  and  universality  which  He  intended 
should  be  the  marked  characteristics  of  His  institution.  From  these 
He  selected  one  after  another  till  the  number  became  twelve,  and 
He  selected  them  as  members,  in  an  especial  manner  and  for  an  es- 
pecial purpose,  because  otherwise  all  the  members  would  have  been 
equal ;  and  as  Paul  develops  his  comparisons  in  the  chapter  from 
which  I  read,  the  eye  could  say  to  the  hands,  I  have  no  need  of  thy 
help ;  and  so,  without  that  distinction  of  order  in  the  same  Church, 
and  iu  consequence  of  the  same  baptism  into  the  body  of  Christ,  the 
idea  of  a  body  would  have  no  existence.  But  He  selected  twelve 
Apostles,  and  transferred  His  sacred  oftice  to  them  :  "  As  the  Father 
sent  me,  so  I  also  send  you."  And  yet  the  body  is  not  complete, 
because  there  is  wanting  a  head,  and  there  can  be  but  one  head  to 
one  body,  physical  or  moral,  except  that  of  a  monster,  and  that  does 
not  come  iu  the  moral  order.  So  He  selected  one,  and  made  liim  the 
head  of  the  Church  and  the  centre  of  unity.  He  made  him  the  visi- 
ble magnet  which  draws  as  to  one  common  centre  of  divine  faith  the 
belief  of  every  intellect  and  the  aftection  of  every  heart.  And  now 
that  the  body  of  Christ,  in  His  Church,  is  thus  fi-amed,  and  moulded, 
and  compacted  together  by  the  very  hand  and  appointment  of  the 
Son  of  God,  it  remains  only  that  the  child  shall  grow,  but  no  change 
shall  take  place  in  its  form  and  existence.  The  disciples,  so  to  speak, 
that  surrounded  the  person  of  Christ,  by  the  lake  shore,  have  grown 
into  a  vast  multitude  that  covers  the  face  of  the  earth,  but  there  is 
no  change  in  their  relation  to  their  Master. 

The  Apostles,  who  were  twelve,  and  co-ordinate  with  St.  Peter, 
have  been  multiplied  as  far  as  the  wants  of  the  Church  have  re- 
quired ;  but  there  is  no  change  in  the  form  of  the  body,  and  the  head 
r^emains  the  same.     Now  wiiat  I  would  call  your  attention  to,  as  the 


SERMONS.  291 

sublime  and  abiding  testimony  of  the  truth  and  divinity  of  religion, 
is  the  existence  of  that  Church,  and  the  immutability  of  its  charac- 
ter. If  we  look  at  its  origin,  she  appears  so  feeble  that  an  infant  in 
the  cradle  would  not  appear,  to  human  vision,  weaker  than  the 
Church  of  God  in  its  early  days,  going  forth  into  the  world  to  meet 
the  enemies  that  were  arrayed  against  her,  to  meet  the  power  of  the 
tyrant  and  the  persecutor,  to  meet  idolatry  and  superstition — to 
meet,  in  a  word,  a  combination  between  earth  and  hell.  And  yet 
she  grew  and  extended,  and  the  body  is  now  everywhere.  It  is  in 
this  wonderful  diffusion,  this  universality,  unity,  and  visibility  of  the 
Catholic  Church,  that  she  stands  out  alone  ;  that  she  presents  herself 
to  the  contemplation  of  reasoning  men,  and,  like  the  visible  world, 
there  is  nothjng  to  which  she  can  be  compared.  If  it  be  said  that 
the  members  of  the  Church  are  not  all  saints  and  angels,  this  should 
not  surprise  us ;  it  takes  nothing  from  the  divinity  and  sublimity  of 
the  spectacle  to  which  I  have  referred.  God  did  not  select  the  mem- 
bers, the  Apostles,  and  the  head  of  His  Church  from  among  the  angels, 
but  from  among  men  ;  He  did  not  bring  His  Chui'ch  into  a  perfect 
w'orld  where  it  would  have  nothing  to  do  but  to  exhibit  the  beauty 
of  its  own  holiness.  No ;  He  launched  His  Church  into  a  world 
where  it  would  have  to  meet  with  iniquity.  Here  is  the  battle-field 
of  that  Church ;  here  is  where  it  has  to  contend  not  only  against  the 
evil  passions  of  individuals  without,  but  from  within  ;  against  the  in- 
firmities of  man,  against  his  pride,  against  his  stubborn  will,  against 
every  thing  that  is  displeasing  to  God.  Now,  it  is  not  necessary  that 
every  one  belonging  to  the  Church  shall  be  saved,  for  man  is  a  free 
agent,  and  is  left  to  his  free  will. 

Some  may  speak  to  us  of  questions  below  the  dignity  even  of  con- 
sideration. They  may  say  that  this  religion,  though  it  may  be  of 
Heaven,  and  have  many  signs  of  supernatural  origin,  is  not  the  best 
religion  for  man.  They  may  signify  to  us  that  wherever  men  throw 
off  its  yoke,  they  become  rich  and  powerful ;  whereas,  in  other  coun- 
tries they  are  poor  and  weak ;  but  when  they  tell  us  this,  do  they 
not  expose  themselves  to  ridicule  and  contempt  if  they  believe  in 
Christianity  at  all  ?  Of  course,  if  there  is  no  God  and  no  religion, 
let  every  man  scramble  for  himself;  let  there  be  no  such  thing  as 
justice,  and  say  at  once  that  we  are  cast  upon  this  earth  for  a  uni- 
versal scramble,  and  the  strongest  man  with  the  least  principle  will 
be  sure  to  come  out  as  one  of  the  conquerors.  But  what  does  the 
whole  of  this  amount  to  ?  To  a  confirmation  of  what  I  have  said, 
and  I  will  give  you  proof  of  it  immediately.  The  enemy  of  man's 
salvation,  that  evil  spirit  w- ho  was  a  liar  from  the  beginning,  by  a 
mysterious  permission  from  God,  was  suffered  to  tempt  the  Saviour, 
and  to  his  perverse,  depraved  mind  nothing  was  more  likely  to  ena- 
ble him  to  succeed  than  the  offer  of  wealth.  When,  therefore,  he 
brought  the  Son  of  God  to  the  summit  of  a  mountain,  and  showed 
Him  all  the  kingdoms  of  the  earth,  he  knew  that  if  he  could  secure 
the  Head  of  the  redeemed  people  he  would  secure  the  followers,  and 
he  offered  Christ  all  those  if  He  would  fall  down  and  adore  him.     Our 


292  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

Saviour  answered  as  the  Church  answers — "  Thou  shalt  adore  the 
Lord  thy  God,  and  Him  only  shalt  thou  serve." 

Thus  He  rebuked  Satan.  And  with  regard  to  the  supposed  power, 
and  wealth,  and  learning  of  nations  that  have  rejected  Christ,  what 
does  that  argument  amount  to?  We  know  that  Rome  was  vastly 
more  wealthy  and  more  powerful  than  any  other  nation,  but  what 
was  her  religion?  We  know  what  was  the  character  of  tlie  worship 
of  Jupiter,  and  Venus,  and  all  the  imaginary  gods — of  the  most  de- 
praved and  scandalous  character.  And  then,  again,  were  they  an 
ignorant  people  ?  Look  at  their  works  of  art;  go  beyond  Rome,  and 
you  will  find  evidences  of  the  cultivation  of  the  human  mind  in  Greece, 
such  as  the  world  has  never  been  able  even  to  equal ;  of  perfection 
in  the  arts  and  sciences  such  as  no  Christian  people  have.ever  reached 
or  attempted  to  rival.  The  fact  is,  they  have  exhibited  monuments 
which  Christian  minds  in  a  great  many  instances  are  incapable  of 
appreciating. 

If,  then,  all  these  things  be  arguments  against  the  body  of  Christ, 
let  us  go  back  to  Roman  paganism  and  the  superstition  and  idolatry 
of  Greece.  We  cannot  for  a  moment  admit  that  there  is  the  slight- 
est force  in  such  arguments  as  these,  and  yet  they  are  used,  and  some 
weak  people  imagine  that  there  is  really  something  in  them.  What 
is  it  to  us,  dearly  beloved  brethren  ?  we  who  cannot  stoop  to  com- 
pare ourselves,  as  members  of  the  body  of  Christ,  with  any  tiling  in 
this  world ;  there  is  no  other  association  with  which  we  could  insti- 
tute a  comparison ;  Christ  has  associated  us  with  himself,  and  has  en- 
grafted us  upon  the  tree  of  life.  His  divinity,  and  all  the  attributes 
of  His  humanity.  He  has  in  a  certain  sense  communicated  to  us  in 
the  sacraments.  And  what  is  it  to  us  if  a  nation,  the  paltry  thing  of 
a  day,  is  powerful  or  not  ?  What  is  it  to  us  if  nations  have  had  their 
birth  and  growth  to  the  plenitude  of  their  power?  They  have 
passed  away,  and  the  very  place  of  their  great  cities  can  scarcely  be 
found ;  while  the  Church,  which  dates  its  origin  before  they  had  an 
existence,  and  which,  although  the  subject  of  persecution  by  kings 
and  emperors,  and  petty  tyrants,  looks  down  with  pity  upon  them. 
They  have  had  their  day,  and  it  has  been  frequently  her  mission  to 
give  them  the  last  rites  of  human  burial ;  but  as  for  herself,  she  is 
immortal.  Remember,  therefore,  that  you  are  members  of  that 
mystical  body,  and  .  prize  above  all  things  that  grace  that  God  be- 
stowed upon  you,  without  any  merit  of  yours,  when  He  made  you 
members  of  the  Holy  Catholic  Church. 


8EKMON8.  293 


SERMON  ON  THE  OCCASION  OF  THE  DEDICA- 
TION  OF  ST.  ALOYSIUS'  CHURCH,  WASHING- 
TON, D.  C,  OCTOBER   16tli,   1859. 

[Preface. — At  the  present  time,  when  the  progress  of  Catholicity  demands 
the  utmost  expansion  of  literature  to  repel  the  erroneous  statements  of  adver- 
saries jealous  of  such  progress,  it  becomes  the  duty  of  Catholics  to  unite  and 
avail  themselves  of  every  means  at  disposal  to  advance  Catholic  literature 
to  the  greatest  possible  extent,  and  thus  cooperate  with  the  missionaries  of  the 
Church. 

The  best  controversial  works  are  at  our  hands — let  us  inform  our  minds 
fully  ;  the  best  works  of  meditation  are  under  our  eyes — let  us  brighten  our  in- 
tellects and  strengthen  our  faith  by  following  the  examples  laid  down  for  us, 
and  keep  always  before  our  mind's  eye  the  glorious  old  faith  for  which  the  mar- 
tyrs sacrificed  their  lives.] 

"  And  when  he  (Jacob)  was  come  to  a  certain  place,  and  would  rest  in  it  after 
sunset,  he  took  of  the  stones  that  lay  there,  and  putting  under  his  head,  slept 
in  the  same  place.  And  he  saw  in  his  sleep  a  ladder  standing  upon  the  earth, 
and  the  top  thereof  touching  heaven  ;  the  angels  also  of  God  ascending  and  de- 
scending by  it.  And  the  Lord  leaning  upon  the  ladder,  saying  to  him :  I  am 
the  Lord  God  of  Abraham,  thy  father,  and  the  God  of  Isaac ;  the  laud  wherein  thou 
deepest  I  will  give  to  thee  and  to  thy  seed.  And  thy  seed  shall  be  as  the  dust 
of  the  earth ;  thou  shalt  spread  abroad  to  the  west,  and  to  the  east,  and  to  the 
north,  and  to  the  south ;  and  in  thee  and  thy  seed  all  the  tribes  of  the  earth 
shall  be  blessed.  And  I  will  be  thy  keeper  whithersoever  thou  goest,  and  will 
bring  thee  back  into  this  land  ;  neither  will  I  leave  thee  till  I  shall  liave  accom- 
plished all  that  I  have  said.  And  when  Jacob  awaked  out  of  sleep,  he  said : 
Indeed,  the  Lord  is  iii  this  place,  and  I  knew  it  not.  And  trembling,  he  said: 
How  terrible  is  this  place !  this  is  no  other  but  the  house  of  God  aud  the  gate 
of  heaven.  And  Jacob,  arising  in  the  morning,  took  the  stone  which  he  had 
laid  under  his  head  and  set  it  up  for  a  title,  pouring  oil  upon  the  top  of  it.  And 
he  called  the  name  of  the  city  Bethel,  which  was  before  called  Luza.  And  he 
made  a  vow,  saying :  If  God  shall  be  with  me,  and  shall  keep  me  in  the  way 
by  which  I  walk,  and  sliall  give  me  bread  to  eat  and  raiment  to  put  on,  and  I 
shall  return  prosperously  to  my  father's  house,  the' Lord  shall  be  my  God : 
And  this  stone  which  I  have  set  up  for  a  title,  shall  be  called  the  house  of  God : 
and  of  all  things  that  thou  shalt  give  to  me  I  will  offer  tithes  to  thee." — 
Genesis,  xxviii.  11-22. 

The  consecration  of  a  church  to  the  honor  and  glory  of  God  and 
the  spiritual  interests  of  man,  is  happily  an  event  of  frequent  occur- 
rence in  our  time  and  in  our  country.  At  the  period  when  freedom 
was  proclaimed  throughout  the  land,  religion  was  emancipated  from 
every  hindrance  to  its  progress,  and  we  have  seen  it  in  our  own 
lifetime  extending  with  the  extent  of  population,  and  increasing 
with  its  increase,  till  wherever  the  country  is  inhabited,  you  will 
find  it  dotted  with  temples  erected  to  the  living  God,  bearing  on 
their  summits  the  sign  of  the  Cross,  the  symbol  of  our  redemption. 


294  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

To-day  you  witness  another  instance  of  the  same  progress ;  to-day 
you  behold  the  efforts  of  the  zealous  Fathers  of  the  Society  of  Jesus, 
who  have  undertaken  and  toiled  for  the  accomplishment  of  this 
work,  crowned  with  success ;  to-day  the  contributions  which  you 
have  generously  offered  to  aid  in  canying  on  the  good  work  are 
brought  together  in  the  completeness  of  a  church,  appropriate  in  its 
design  for  its  sacred  purposes,  and  complete  in  its  style,  that  re- 
flects honor  on  those  engaged  in  its  erection.  It  has  been  finally 
dedicated  by  solemn  rite  and  prayer  to  the  adoration  and  worship 
of  the  Almighty,  and  from  henceforth  you  may  say  with  more  reason 
than  the  Patriai'ch  when  he  beheld  the  mysterious  vision  of  a  ladder 
resting  on  earth  and  reaching  to  heaven,  while  the  angels  were  as- 
cending and  descending  by  its  steps,  "  Terrible  is  this  place.  Truly 
the  Lord  is  here,  and  I  knew  it  not." 

Whilst  it  is  true,  beloved  brethren,  that  all  our  churches  are  dedi- 
cated  under  the  patronage  and  invocation  of  some  saint,  it  is  to  be 
remembered  that  the  consecration  is  exclusively  to  God  ;  but  from 
the  beginning  it  was  customary  for  the  Church  to  place  the  new 
temple  when  erected  under  the  patronage  of  some  martyr  or  apos- 
tle, and  sometimes  even  under  that  of  angels  and  archangels  w'ho 
had  borne  commission  from  the  eternal  throne  as  messengers  to 
the  human  race.  Nothing  could  be  more  proper  in  the  present 
instance  than  that  the  patron  saint  of  this  church  should  be  se- 
lected from  the  distinguished  servants  of  (rod  who  were  called 
in  early  life  from  the  scenes  of  their  virtues  and  their  labors  ;  nor 
is  there  one,  considering  that  this  church  is  built  in  connection 
with  an  institution  for  Christian  education,  who  could  have  been 
selected  more  appropriately  than  the  blessed,  holy,  and  angelic 
youth,  St.  Aloysius  de  Gonzaga.  He  is  the  fittest  model  for  Christian 
young  men  that  could  be  chosen  in  an  age  and  under  circumstances 
in  which  good  morals  are  advantageously  plac6d  for  the  contem- 
plation of  practical  virtue,  in  which  youth  are  acquiring  those 
elements  of  knowledge  and  science  best  calculated  to  make  them 
at  once  good  Christians  and  good  citizens.  With  these  St.  Louis 
of  Gonzaga  has  always  been  a  patron  and  a  model.  They  have 
selected  him,  if  one  could  so  speak,  as  their  favorite  saint,  because 
he  displayed,  during 'the  period  of  his  education  and  youth,  those 
eminent  virtues  which  rendered  him  so  pleasing  in  the  sight  of 
God,  and  authorized  his  being  enrolled  in  the  calendar  of  His 
saints. 

Thus,  the  ceremony  of  this  day  brings  up  to  your  minds  many 
things  dear  and  consoling  to  the  human  heait.  The  sanctification 
of  the  place,  and  even  of  the  walls,  so  far  as  matter  is  susceptible 
of  sanctity  ;  the  setting  it  apart  especially  for  the  celebration  of  the 
mysteries  of  our  holy  religion  ;  the  external  rite  by  which  it  is  linked 
into  the  chain  of  such  consecrations,  I  will  not  say  from  the  begin- 
ning of  Christianity,  but  even  from  the  beginning  of  the  world, 
render  it  already  venerable  and  sacred  in  Christian  estimation.  Of 
course  I  need  not  remark  that  the  outward  ceremony  is  symbolic  of 


SERMONS.  295 

the  consecration  and  purity  of  those  who  are  to  woi-ship  in  this  place ; 
that  the  holiness  imparted  to  this  material  structure  is  relative,  and 
that  you  who  are  to  worship  within  its  precincts  are  to  be  the  true 
and  living  representatives  of  the  sanctity  which  will  render  yourselves 
as  well  as  this  temple  pleasing  in  the  sight  of  our  divine  Master, 

Religion  is  the  link  which  connects  earth  with  heaven  ;  the  bond 
which  unites  man  with  his  God.  Religion  in  this  life  is  internal  and 
external,  spiritual  and  corporeal,  in  harmony  with  the  twofold  nature 
in  which  God  has  created  us.  Without  the  interior  spirit  the  external 
act  would  be  but  of  little  value  in  the  divine  presence.  Without  the  ex- 
ternal act,  so  far  as  woi'ship  is  public,  religion  would  not  be  suited  to 
our  nature,  however  well  it  might  accord  with  that  of  purely  and  ex-' 
clusively  spiritual  beings.  Unhappily,  however,  ideas  have  been  and 
still  are  more  or  less  prevalent,  calculated  to  disturb  this  admirable 
order  of  God's  appointment,  as  to  the  mode  in  which  He  desired 
that  man  should  serve  and  adore  Him.  The  co-operation  of  the 
human  soul  in  every  act  of  religion  worthy  of  Heaven  should  pro- 
ceed from  the  heart.  This  is  admitted  by  all ;  but  with  regard  to 
external  worship  attempts  have  been  made  to  propagate  the  idea 
that  it  is  of  little  or  no  consequence  either  for  the  glory  of  God  or 
the  fulfilment  of  man's  religious  duties.  These  ideas  have  not  been 
formalized  into  any  specific  system,  but  they  are  uttered  in  words 
and  writings,  and  unhappily  reduced  to  practice  by  those  who  have 
ceased  to  be  impressed  with  any  deep  sense  of  Christian  doctrine  or 
Christian  duty.  *  According  to  them,  God  does  not  require  either 
the  erection  of  temples  or  external  worship  of  any  description.  The 
whole  universe  is  His  appropriate  temple,  and  they  regard  it  as  lit- 
tle less  than  superstition  to  construct  temples  or  decorate  them  as  if 
they  were  to  be  pleasing  in  the  sight  of  His  Majesty. 

There  are  others  still  who  have  rejected  this  external  worship  on 
principle.  They  quote  the  words  of  our  Saviour  against  it  when  He 
said,  "'  God  is  a  spirit,  and  they  that  adore  Him  must  adore  Him  in 
spirit  and  in  truth." 

The  object  of  the  remarks  which  I  am  about  to  make  will  be  to 
present  a  few  of  the  grounds  which  are  calculated  to  pi'ove  that  those 
positions  have  no  foundation  either  in  reason  or  in  revelation.  When 
God  created  man  He  made  him  from  the  slime  of  the  earth,  and 
breathed  into  his  body  a  living  and  immortal  soul.  It  was  through 
the  senses  of  the  body  that  man  became  visible,  and  manifested  the 
operations  of  his  invisible  soul.  It  was  thus  that  he  held  communion 
with  God  and  with  the  material  world,  of  which  he  had  been  created 
the  earthly  sovereign.  In  the  Garden  of  Eden  there  was  no  neces- 
sity for  external  worship.  Then,  indeed,  our  first  parents  could  look 
forth  into  the  universe  and  regard  it  as  a  magnificent  temple  which 
God  had  created  for  His  glory.  There  was  as  yet  no  malediction 
pronounced  against  the  earth.  Sin  had  not  as  yet  entered  into  the 
world.  The  sun,  and  the  moon,  and  the  stars,  and  the  earth  in  its 
nearer  beauty — all  the  external  works  of  God  were  to  them  the  great 
book  of  His  power,  and  of  His  glory,  and  of  His  goodness.     This 


AECFBISHOP   HUGHES. 

glorious  creation,  as  it  was,  could  not  interpret  itself;  it  required 
the  eye  of  man  to  gaze  upon  it  and  to  be  its  interpreter.  It  required 
the  heart  of  man  to  appreciate  it,  and  his  spirit  to  reflect,  as  the 
high-priest  of  creation,  the  silent  glory  of  which  itself  was  uncon- 
scious. But  sin  entered  into  the  woi"ld,  and  because  the  high-priest 
had  disobeyed  his  God,  every  thing  is  changed,  and  the  eartli  itself, 
for  his  transgression,  falls  under  the  malediction  of  its  Creator.  From 
that  period  external  as  well  as  internal  religion  and  worship  became 
necessary.  The  sons  of  Adam  oiFered  sacrifice  of  material  tl)ings  to 
the  God  of  their  father,  and  He  was  pleased  with  the  offering  as  an 
external  act  of  worship.  If  we  trace  the  history  of  the  divine  econ- 
'  omy  towards  the  human  race,  we  shall  discover  through  the  succes- 
sion of  the  Patriarchs  down  to  the  Deluge  that  worship  internal  and 
external  was  cherished  and  preserved  by  traditions  which  they  had 
received  from  their  first  ancestor.  Immediately  after  the  Deluge  the 
first  act  of  Noah  is  the  offering  of  sacrifice  in  thanksgiving  for  the 
protection  that  had  been  extended  to  the  few  who  had  been  saved 
for  the  renovation  of  the  human  family.  Again,  in  the  very  words 
of  the  text,  we  find  that  Jacob,  immediate  father  of  tlie  twelve 
tribes  of  Israel,  consecrated  the  spot  on  which  the  Almighty  had 
vouchsafed  to  him  the  vision  of  communication  between  the  earth 
and  Heaven,  and  as  soon  as  the  posterity  of  Abraham  became  nu- 
merous enough  to  form  a  nation,  God  himself  became  their  legislator 
and  their  leader.  He  prescribed  a  code  for  their  national  economy 
and  government  as  a  distinct  and  chosen  people.  H^  prescribed  even 
to  the  minutest  detail  the  acts  of  religion,  times,  places,  and  manner 
of  public  worship,  by  which  they  should  honor  and  reverence  His 
name.  The  Tabernacle,  the  construction  of  which  He  directed,  was 
an  outward  means  for  inward  and  mysterious  devotion.  It  was  com- 
posed of  matter  such  as  might  have  been  used  for  secular  purposes  ; 
but  from  the  moment  of  its  completion  and  dedication  to  the  purpose 
for  which  it  was  intended,  we  behold  with  what  judgment  he  visited 
those  who  profaned  its  relative  sanctity.  He  punished  the  sons  ot 
Aaron  with  death  for  their  irreverence  in  discharging  the  outward 
duties  of  their  sacred  office.  At  a  subsequent  period,  when  Osa 
raised  his  hand  unauthorized  to  stay  the  leaning  Ark  of  the  Cove- 
nant, he  was  struck  with  instant  death.  And  will  it  be  said  that  God 
does  not  require  external  worship  of  the  body  as  well  as  adoration 
of  the  soul,  since  all  these  manifestations  belong  to  the  external  order 
and  were  of  divine  appointment  ?  Coming  down  to  a  later  period 
Btill,  He  appointed  the  erection  of  the  Temple  on  Mount  Zion,  and 
so  pleasing  was  the  thought  of  this  to  the  Royal  Prophet  that,  through- 
out the  Psalms,  he  appears  to  us  enraptured  and  carried  away  in  the 
anticipation  of  the  beauty  and  glory  of  God's  house. 

Now,  this  house  of  the  Lord  was  composed  of  matter,  all  precious 
as  it  was.  Could  it  be  true,  then,  that  God  should  not  approve  of 
the  erection  of  templCvS  in  the  honor  of  His  name,  or  that  they,  under 
the  prescribed  rite  of  consecration,  should  not  acquire  a  relative 
sacredness  in  his  sight  ?     We  know  the  contrary ;  for,  as  we  read 


SERMONS.  297 

in  the  second  Paraliporaenon,  seventh  chapter,  that  in  the  dedication 
of  the  temple,  "  when  Solomon  had  ended  his  prayer,  tire  came  down 
from  heaven  and  consumed  the  holocausts  and  the  victims ;  and  the 
majesty  of  the  Lord  filled  the  house,  and  the  priests  could  not  enter 
into  the  Temple  of  the  Lord  because  the  majesty  of  the  Loi'd  had 
filled  the  Temple  of  the  Lord.  And  the  Lord  appeared  to  him  by 
night,  and  said  :  "  I  have  heard  thy  prayer,  and  I  have  chosen  this 
place  to  myself  for  a  house  of  sacrifice.  My  eyes  shall  also  be  open, 
and  my  ears  attentive  to  the  prayers  of  him  that  shall  pray  in  this 
place :  ibr  I  have  chosen  and  I  have  sanctified  this  place,  that  my 
name  may  be  there  forever,  and  my  eyes  and  my  heart  may  remain 
there  perpetually." 

Not  only  did  the  Almighty  thus  manifest  His  glory  and  His  pres- 
ence in  the  holy  temple,  but  he  vindicated  its  character  in  subsequent 
times  by  the  punishment  which  he  inflicted  upon  those  who  profaned 
its  sanctity.  When  it  was  despoiled  by  Nabuchodonosor,  and  the 
sacred  vessels  carried  to  Babylon,  the  punishment  of  God  pursued 
the  profaner  of  the' sanctuary.  His  son,  Baltassar,  notwithstanding  his 
wickedness,  was  borne  with  by  Heaven's  patience  till  he  caused  his 
cup  of  guilt  to  oveiilow  by  bringing  out  the  sacred  vessels  taken 
from  the  temple  to  grace  his  last  profane  banquet.  Then  came  the 
handwriting  on  the  wall ;  then  did  he  lose  his  kingdom  and  his  life. 
Other  instances  of  a  similar  kind  are  not  wanting  to  show  that  the 
erection  of  temples  and  the  practice  of  public  worship  according  to 
divine  appointment,  although  both  are  external,  were  pleasing  to  the 
Almighty  God. 

If  we  pass  to  the  Xew  Testament,  in  which  the  substance  of  all 
these  rites  are  to  be  realized,  we  shall  not  find  any  precise  direction 
or  order,  on  the  part  of  our  Saviour,  for  the  erection  of  churches,  or 
for  the  special  order  of  public  worship.  Tlie  reason  is  obvious.  It 
is  that  He  instructed  His  Apostles ;  that  they  were  imbued  with  a 
knowledge  of  all  things  whatever  he  had  said  to  them  ;  that  He  com- 
municated to  them  the  Holy  Ghost  for  their  perpetual  guidance  in 
the  things  that  appertain  to  His  kingdom  ;  and  we  shall  trace  the 
sacredness  of  public  worship  through  them  rather  in  practice  than  in 
any  specific  precept  left  in  writing,  either  by  them  or  their  divine 
Master. 

The  first  condition  of  the  infant  church  was,  as  we  know,  a  condi- 
tion of  suffering  and  persecution  from  Jews  and  Gentiles.  Never- 
theless, whether  in  private  houses  or  in  caverns,  or  more  extensively 
still,  in  the  subterranean  churches  of  Rome,  now  called  Catacombs, 
the  faithful  were  accustomed  to  assemble  to  celebrate  the  holy  mys- 
teries and  unite  in  all  the  requirements  of  Christian  worship.  Sub- 
sequently still,  when  the  Church  obtained  her  freedom,  we  behold 
temples  or'  great  magnificence  rising  on  every  side.  It  is  to  be  ob- 
served that,  although  these  temples  were  numerous,  the  religion  was 
everywhere  the  same.  The  Church  was  not  now  the  Church  of  a 
single  nation,  but  the  Church  of  all  nations.  Its  temples  were  many, 
but  its  priesthood  and  its  episcopacy  were  one.     Following  on  the 


298  ARCHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

development  of  this  truth  through  succeeding  ages,  we  behold  that 
the  Christians  never  lost  sight  of  this  obligation,  that  wherever  they 
found  themselves,  their  first  thought  was  to  erect  an  altar  for  the 
celebration  of  the  divine  mysteries  and  the  purposes  of  public  wor- 
ship. Not  to  speak  of  Asia  and  Africa  in  the  first  days  of  the  Church, 
if  we  cast  our  eyes  over  the  surface  of  Europe  even  today  we  shall 
behold  these  noble  structures,  vieing  some  of  them,  I  might  say,  with 
the  solitary  temple  of  Jerusalem  in  magnificence  and  grandeur.  We 
may  see  them  from  one  eminence  to  another — those  glorious  cathe- 
drals and  minsters — raising  their  spires  into  the  very  clouds  of 
heaven  as  lightning-rods  to  draw  off  the  vengeance  of  God  provoked 
by  the  sins  of  the  people. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  dwell  longer  on  this  subject.  If  facts  of  divine 
revelation  and  the  practice  of  the  Christian  people  from  the  begin- 
ning can  constitute  an  argument  or  an  evidence,  then  it  is  clear  that 
material  churches  and  public  worship  are  of  divine  appointment,  and 
sustained  by  the  Divine  approbation.  If  we  consult  reason  on  this 
subject,  we  shall  find  it  to  be  perfectly  in  accordance  with  revelation, 
and  the  idea  of  restricting  the  adoration  of  the  Supreme  Being  to 
the  internal  acts  of  the  soul  is  one  to  which  reason  is  entirely  opposed. 
In  not  one  of  the  functions  by  which  the  human  soul  manifests  itself 
is  it,  or  can  it  be,  independent  of  the  body  to  which  it  is  united.  It 
is  true  that  God  reads  the  heart,  and  He  knows  its  purpose  before 
that  purpose  is  outwardly  manifested  ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  where 
there  is  adoration  in  the  heart  it  manifests  itself  naturally  tlirough 
external  means. 

In  regard  to  this,  as  well  as  to  every  subject,  the  conclusions  of 
reason  should  be  founded  on  facts ;  otherwise  such  conclusions 
amount  to  mere  conjecture  at  the  best.  Are  there  any  facts  con- 
nected with  the  history  of  nature  or  of  religion  in  opposition  to  the 
testimonies  already  quoted  from  revelation  ?  Is  it  reasonable  to  sup- 
pose that  God  could  have  created  man  in  his  twofold  nature  of  a 
spirit  and  a  body,  that  He  could  have  united  these,  and  yet  either 
ordained  or  permitted  that  only  one  of  those  should  take  part  in  the 
adoration  of  His  name  ?  This  is  contrary  to  the  fact,  and  not  less 
contrary  to  the  dictates  of  reason.  All  the  powers  of  man,  the  soul 
and  body  united,  are  bound  to  render  homage,  each  according  to  its 
own  attributes,  to  the  Creator  of  both.  Neither  can  there  be  tbund  in 
the  development  of  man's  nature  an  exception  to  this  rule.  When 
the  soul  is  moved  by  any  intense  feeling,  it  manifests  itself  naturally 
by  attitudes  of  the  body  or  expressions  of  the  countenance  in  har- 
mony with  the  interior  sentiment.  Thus  Solomon,  in  his  prayer  to 
God  at  the  dedication  of  the  Temple,  knelt  upon  the  ground,  and 
raised  his  hands  towards  heaven  ;  thus  Daniel,  in  his  captivity  by  the 
waters  of  Babylon,  both  through  the  dictates  of  religion  and  the 
promptings  of  nature,  thrice  every  day  turned  his  face  to  the  distant 
and  holy  mountain  and  adored  God,  showing  by  the  attitude  of  the 
body  the  yearnings  of  the  soul ;  thus  his  fellow-captives  suspended 
their  harps  on  the  willows  and  refused  to  chaunt  the  canticles  of 


SERM0N8. 

Zion  in  a  strange  land — all  showing  both  the  promptings  of  nature 
and  the  teachings  of  religion  by  which  the  eye  of  the  soul  was  turned 
to  those  particijlar  places  in  which  God  had  chosen  to  dwell  in  an 
especial  manner. 

But  the  point  on  which  I  am  insisting  has  been  established  by  the 
history  of  the  whole  human  race.  Among  the  people  of  God  it  was 
by  divine  institution,  but  even  among  the  nations  that  had  strayed 
away  from  the  primitive  tradition  and  fallen  into  idolatry,  the  same 
law  of  nature  universally  prevails.  It  could  come  from  no  other 
source,  for  the  teachings  of  God  and  even  God  himself  had  been  for- 
gotten ;  and  yet  they  had  temples,  and  worship,  and  sacred  places 
especially  dedicated  to  some  imaginary  divinity  of  their  own  crea- 
tion. In  all  this  the  principle  to  which  I  have  referred  has  been  sus- 
tained by  the  voice  of  universal  human  nature.  Their  reason  was 
not  capable  of  protecting  tliem  from  the  worship  of  false  gods.  The 
worship,  also,  which  was  rendered  to  these  false  divinities  was  in 
itself  oftentimes  vile  and  horrible  ;  nevertheless,  through  all  this,  the 
combined  nature  of  man  maintained  itself  by  outward  actions  in  con- 
formity with  the  inward  sentiment  by  which  they  were  animated. 
It  would  be  impossible,  therefore,  for  those  who  reject  the  authority 
of  revelation  to  discover  in  the  history  of  the  human  race  a  single 
fact  calculated  to  make  a  divorce  between  the  soul  and  the  body  in 
the  worship  which  man  owes  to  his  Creator ;  and  consequently,  as  I 
said  before,  it  follows  that  reason  and  religion  are  perfectly  harmo- 
nious upon  this  subject. 

I  shall  not  dwell  longer  upon  these  remote  considerations  of  a  topic 
in  which  I  am  aware  that  you,  dearly  beloved  bi'ethren,  need  not  to 
be  instructed.  On  an  occasion  like  the  present  we  should  rather 
turn  our  attention  to  the  great  benefits  which  God  has  bestowed 
upon  us  in  training  us  under  the  guidance  of  divine  truth,  and  in  es- 
tablishing a  worship  in  which  the  whole  of  our  nature — our  soul  and 
body — may  unite,  whether  in  public  or  in  private  devotion.  Who  is 
it,  even  in  his  closet,  if  his  soul  desires  forgiveness  from  God,  who  is 
not  immediately  prompted  to  assume  that  attitude  of  body  which 
becomes  the  sentiments  within.  It  may  be  simply  kneeling,  it  may 
be  standing,  it  may  be  in  prostration  with  the  face  to  the  earth,  it 
may  be  with  uplifted  hands,  and  eyes  towards  the  throne  of  grace 
and  the  eternal  Father  of  all ;  but  it  would  be  doing  violence,  whether 
in  public  or  private,  to  deny  to  the  body,  material  though  it  be,  the 
privilege  of  sympatiiizing  with  the  soul  in  its  desires,  its  hopes,  its 
fears,  and  its  joys.  Even  in  human  society,  how  could  we  manifest 
to  each  other  esteem  and  respect,  except  through  the  medium  of 
external  signs,  by  means  of  which  our  inward  feelings  are  manifested  ? 
In  brief,  dearly  beloved  brethren,  our  nature  is  such  that  God  has 
not  communicated  to  us  the  knowledge  of  the  means  by  which  He 
would  be  acceptably  adored  unless  through  the  medium  of  the  cor- 
poreal senses.  He  could  have  communicated  to  the  soul  immediately 
the  knowledge  of  all  truths  and  mysteries;  but  instead  of  this  He 
has  adopted  a  mode  suitable  to  our  nature  as  men.     He  spoke  by 


300  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

His  prophets,  and  from  the  beginning  justified  the  expression  of  St. 
Paul,  that  "  faith  cometh  by  hearing."  So  the  Redeemer  of  the 
world  took  a  body  and  soul  like  ours,  and  thus  made  himself  mani- 
fest. Speaking  with  the  organ  of  the  body  he  was  neard  through 
the  sense  of  hearing,  and  in  this  way  the  truths  of  religion  were 
communicated  to  the  spirit  otherwise  prepared  by  grace  for  their  re- 
ception. 

We  have  said  much  with  regard  to  the  sanctity  of  special  places 
and  material  things  in  the  history  of  the  people  of  God;  how  the  tab- 
ernacle, and  the  ark  of  the  covenant,  and  the  temple,  all  composed  by 
divine  precept  from  earthly  matter,  became  holy  in  the  sight  of  God 
and  man  by  consecration  to  divine  service.  And  yet,  what  were 
these  but  the  shadows  of  that  which  constitutes  the  glory  of  the 
Catholic  material  church.  In  it,  besides  the  consecration  you  have 
just  witnessed,  the  holy  mysteries  are  celebrated.  There  is  the  altar, 
on  which  is  mystically  offered  the  sacrifice  of  the  new  law.  In  this 
sacrifice  our  religion  teaches  us  that  Christ,  through  the  ministry  of 
men  selected  and  ordained  for  that  purpose,  continues  to  execute  his 
oflBce — a  priest  forever,  according  to  the  order  of  Melchisedeck. 
Our  religion  teaches  us  that,  under  the  mystic  veil  of  bread  and  wine, 
the  body  and  blood  of  Christ  are  present  on  our  altar ;  and  if  in  an- 
cient times  the  servants  of  God  approached  these  things  which  he 
had  set  apart  for  his  own  service  with  awe  and  reverence,  how  much 
deeper  should  be  the  awe  and  reverence  with  which  we  should  stand 
before  the  Christian  tabernacle  !  for  when  we  enter  the  church  we 
are  immediately  in  the  divine  presence.  It  is  in  the  church  also 
that  the  lessons  and  the  teachings  of  God  are  constantly  repeated. 
It  is  in  the  church,  and  in  the  contemplation  of  the  unbloody  sacri- 
fice that  is  offered,  that  we  are  assembled  in  spirit  at  the  very  scene 
of  Calvary  to  witness  the  immolation  of  the  divine  Victim  who  gave 
His  life  in  expiation  of  the  sins  of  the  world.  It  is  there  that  we  im- 
bibe courage  and  receive  grace  to  imitate  His  holy  example ;  His 
patience  under  suffering.  His  charity,  His  spirit  of  forgiveness,  His 
manifest  and  infinite  love  both  for  His  eternal  Father  and  for  all 
mankind.  A  Catholic  church,  therefore,  even  though  composed  of 
earthly  materials  as  a  mere  structure,  is,  nevertheless,  in  the  most 
exalted  sense,  the  House  of  God ;  and,  on  entering  it,  we  may,  under 
feelings  such  as  His  sanctuary  should  inspire,  exclaim  with  the 
prophet,  "  How  terrible  is  this  place !  This  is  no  other  but  the  house 
of  God  and  the  gate  of  heaven." 

In  conclusion,  dearly  beloved  brethren,  the  inference  to  be  drawn 
from  these  remarks  is  the  conviction  that  God  has  commanded  pub- 
lic worship,  and  that  man's  nature  requires  it ;  the  Church  enjoins  it. 
It  is  one  of  the  most  solemn  precepts,  that  every  member  of  her 
communion  not  prevented  by  legitimate  cause  shall  be  present  at  the 
holy  mysteries  on  every  Sunday  and  festival.  The  foregoing  obser- 
vations sufficiently  imply  the  decorum,  and  rieflection,  and  devotion 
of  heart  which  should  characterize  those  who  enter  the  portals  of  the 
House  of  God.     It  would  be  a  practical  contradiction  of  our  faith  if. 


SERMONS.  301 

believing  in  the  necessity  of  public  worship,  as  prescribed  by  the 
Church,  we  should,  nevertheless,  be  indiiferent  to  the  opportunities 
of  assisting  at  its  performance,  either  on  the  plea  of  sHght  inconveni- 
ence, or,  what  would  be  worse  still,  from  a  spirit  of  indifference  for 
the  sacred  things  of  refigion.  It  would  also  imply  a  contradiction 
-between  ojir  faith  and  our  conduct,  if  within  the  sacred  walls  of  the 
Church  we  should  not  bear  ourselves  with  that  decorum  which  be- 
comes petitioners  round  the  sanctuary  of  God  and  of  His  Christ.  It 
is  thus  by  serving  God  in  the  whole  nature  in  which  He  has  created 
us,  during  our  probation  in  this  life,  that  when  the  union  between 
the  soul  and  the  body  comes  to  be  dissevered  by  death,  while  the 
material  part  shall  return  to  the  earth  from  which  it  was  taken,  the 
emancipated  spirit,  sanctified  through  the  medium  of  religion,  shall 
\fing  its  flight  towards  that  triumphant  Church  in  which  it  will  min- 
gle with  angels  and  saints  round  the  throne  of  God,  adoring  Him 
with  everlasting  love,  and  in  the  enjoyment  of  everlasting  happi- 
ness. 


THE   IiAST  WORDS   OF  THE   SAVIOUR. 

A  SERMON  PREACHED  IN  ST.  PATRICK'S  CATHEDRAL,  NEW  YORK, 
GOOD  FRIDAY,  1860. 

"  When  Jesus,  therefore,  had  taken  the  vmegar.  He  said,  It  is  consummated  ; 
and,  bowing  His  head.  He  gave  up  the  ghost." 

These  words  are  found  in  the  Passion  of  Our  Lord,  as  described 
by  the  Evangelist  St.  John,  19th  chap.  30th  verse.  Part  is  histori- 
cal ;  part  is  composed  of  the  last  words  uttered  by  the  Son  of  God 
before  his  death — "  It  is  consummated." 

It  might  be  asked — "  What  is  consummated  ?"  Apparently  it 
would  signify  that  that  chalice  which  He  had  prayed  the  Father  to 
allow  to  pass  away  from  Him  had  been  quaffed  to  the  very  dregs ; 
that  His  human  sufferings  were  now  at  an  end,  and  that  the  period 
of  his  glory  was  quickly  approaching.  But  there  is  much  more  than 
this  contained  in  the  words  "  it  is  consummated,"  and  they  throw 
the  mind  of  the  Catholic  who  is  instructed  in  the  whole  mystery  of 
God  back  to  the  origin  and  the  source  of  the  necessity  for  the  suf- 
ferings of  our  divine  Lord.  If  there  had  been  no  sin  in  the  world, 
there  would  have  been  no  Saviour  to  suffer,  for  He  suffered  to  make 
atonement  to  His  eternal  Father,  and  at  the  same  time  to  restore 
fallen,  sinful  man  to  the  rights  which  had  been  forfeited  by  his  first 
parents,  and  in  the  forfeiture  of  which  he  himself  individually  too 
often  co-operates.  The  great  mystery,  therefore,  is  not  precisely  that 
the  Son  of  God  should  take  flesh,  that  the  Word  which  was  with 
God  in  the  beginning,  and  which  was  God,  should  be  made  flesh  and 


302  ARCHBISHOP    HUGIHES. 

dwell  among  us  in  humility,  in  poverty,  in  destitution,  in  suffering, 
and  should  close  His  mortal  career  by  a  cruel  and  ignominious  death 
— that  is  not  the  real  mystery.  The  real  mystery,  which  is  a  key  to 
that  and  to  every  other,  is,  that  God,  who  by  His  almighty  power 
could  have  prevented  it,  ever  permitted  sin  or  death  to  enter  the 
world.  I  know  that  after  this  is  admitted  it  is  in  the  ord«r  of  God's 
attributes  that  a  Redeemer  should  come,  because  in  all  these  attri- 
butes He  is  infinite  in  His  power,  as  we  know  even  by  physical  ob- 
servation, in  the  creation  of  that  glorious  world  that  surrounds  us — 
glorious,  I  say,  so  far  as  it  comes  from  the  hand  of  God,  but  not 
glorious  to  us  in  so  far  as  we  do  not  correspond  with  our  obligations 
to  the  Creator.  His  power  is  infinite  in  the  creation  of  the  heavenly 
bodies,  in  the  creation  of  the  earth,  in  the  creation  of  the  ocean,  and 
if  you  take  a  microscope  and  look  at  the  humblest  flower,  that  is 
beautifully  painted,  although  too  small  to  be  detected  by  the  naked 
eye.  His  power  is  there  just  as  infinite  in  its  manifestation  as  it  is  in 
the  creation  of  the  globe.  His  greatest  power — that  is,  the  exercise 
of  His  infinite  power — was  displayed  in  the  creation  of  man.  He 
formed  his  body  from  the  slime  of  the  earth,  as  the  sculptor  would 
make  his  model — so  far  the  sculptor  can  imitate,  but  here  his  power 
stops ;  but  God,  after  having  formed  the  body,  breathed  into  it  a 
living  soul.  He  said,  as  if  intimating  a  deliberate  act,  "  Let  us  create 
man  in  our  own  image  and  likeness."  This  likeness  is  not  in  the 
body  but  in  the  soul,  and  He  endowed  man  with  attributes,  limited 
indeed,  but  still  bearing  in  their  features  some  resemblance  to  His 
own  infinite  attributes.  He  gave  him  understanding,  memory,  will  ; 
he  was  distinct  from  all  the  other  productions  of  Almighty  power — 
all  the  rest  were  created  under  a  law  from  which  they  do  not  devi- 
ate, and  under  which  they  are  incapable  of  offending  their  Creator. 
But  man  was  raised  to  such  a  dignity  above  them  all  that  there  was 
but  one  test  by  which  he  could  recognize  and  reverence  a  superior 
being,  and  that  test  was  obedience. 

I  have  said  that  God  could  have  prevented  sin,  but  on  this  hypo- 
thesis it  would  be  exceedingly  difiicult  to  imagine  the  possibility  of 
that,  except  in  one  case,  and  that  would  be  to  reduce  man  down  to 
the  condition  of  the  brute  that  acts  by  instinct,  or  the  tree  that  bends 
its  branches  and  its  leaves  as  the  wind  blows — the  condition  of  a  pup- 
pet on  wires  ;  the  condition  of  dead  matter.  In  any  of  these  condi- 
tions it  would  be  impossible  for  man  to  render  that  homage  which 
only  a  being  with  free  will  can  render.  That  which  results  from  ne- 
cessity cannot  be  voluntary  homage,  and  God  created  man  so  that 
no  homage  from  him  could  be  acceptable  except  that  which  was  vol- 
untary. Hence  He  created  him  with  free  will,  and  imposed  upon 
him  but  one  simple  precept.  He  endowed  his  nature  with  eminent 
gifts  of  a  supernatural  order  by  which  he  knew  his  Creator, 
and  by  which  he  was  freed  from  the  concupiscence  which  has 
been  entailed  through  his  fall  on  his  descendants.  The  only 
thing  that  God  did  not  exempt  him  from  was  temptation,  but 
temptation   is   not    sin.      If   the    choice   between   good   and   evil 


SERMONS.  303 

had  been  withheld  from  him,  how  could  he  have  had  an  oppor- 
tunity of  obeying  his  Creator  and  of  fulfilling  the  precept?  He  was 
not,  theietbre,  exempted  from  temptation,  otherwise  he  would  not 
have  fallen  ;  but  the  proof  that  temptation  and  sin  are  not  the  same 
is,  that  our  divine  Redeemer  permitted  Himself  to  be  tempted  even 
by  the  devil,  and  in  spoken  language  was  invited,  when  hungry,  to 
turn  stones  into  bread,  and  in  another  form  of  temptation  to  test  His 
power  by  casting  Himself  from  the  pinnacle  of  the  temple.  If  our 
first  parent  had  persevered  in  clinging  to  the  precept  of  his  God,  the 
temptation  to  eat  the  foibidden  fruit  would  have  been  to  him  a  vic- 
tory ;  but  if  he  had  not  the  liberty  to  choose  evil,  how  could  he  have 
proved  his  fidelity  to  his  God  ?  We  know  the  consequence  of  his 
transgression.  The  Scriptures  have  made  it  known  to  us  that  he  fell 
from  his  innocence,  and  that  he  and  his  posterity,  in  the  human  order 
from  that  hour  to  the  last  day  of  the  world,  are  subject  to  temporal 
suffering  in  partial  expiation  of  the  penalties  brought  upon  his  race 
by  his  infidelity  to  his  Creator.  All  these  temporal  sufferings  are  of 
the  human  order.  Sickness,  which  is  partial  death,  wars,  pestilences, 
disappointments,  persecutions,  every  thing  that  troubles  or  afilicts  the 
heart  of  man,  is  a  consequence  of  that  original  crime,  increased,  no 
doubt  by  his  own  abuse  of  the  free  will  which  God  has,  even  in  his 
fallen  state,  now  left  to  him.  It  would  seem  as  if  God  too  much  re- 
spected the  noble  creature  He  had  formed  and  endowed  with  reason 
and  immortality  to  deprive  him  of  freedom ;  and  if  Scripture  had 
never  said  a  word  upon  the  subject,  the  fact  is  before  our  eyes  that 
free  will  cannot  be  denied — that  when  a  man,  in  the  desperation  of 
his  passions,  seizes  the  deadly  instrument  to  put  an  end  to  his  life, 
he  is  free  to  turn  it  against  himself,  and  he  is  also  free  to  throw  it 
away.  Therefore  the  existence  of  sin  by  the  voluntary  abuse  of 
man's  freedom  is  a  thing  not  to  be  questioned  or  denied.  It  makes 
ui3  the  order  of  the  whole  world. 

Now,  as  I  have  said,  God  in  His  power  is  infinite;  God  in  His 
justice  is  infinite,  and  that  justice  He  exercised  in  the  expulsion  of 
our  first  parents,  and  entailing  upon  them  and  their  descendants  the 
penalty  of  their  crimes ;  but  it  is  not  to  be  forgotten,  and  especially 
on  the  day  when  the  dying  Saviour  exclaimed,  "  It  is  consummated" 
— it  is  not  to  be  forgotten  that  God  is  infinite  in  His  mercy  as  well 
as  in  His  power  and  justice.  And  now  having  thus,  as  I  have 
said,  permitted — I  will  not  say  permitted,  but  having  not  prevented 
the  entrance  of  sin  and  death  into  the  world,  the  mystery  of  the 
Saviour's  birth  and  sufferings  lias  a  key  of  explanation.  This  is  the 
development  of  infinite  mercy  towards  man,  and  although  the  sen- 
tence was  originally  pronounced  apparently  without  condition,  yet 
there  was  one  expression  addressed  to  the  enemy  of  innocence,  who 
had  appeared  as  the  seducer  in  the  shape  of  a  serpent,  signifying  and 
expressing  that  after  all  the  miseries  and  penalties  to  be  incurred,  the 
seed  of  the  woman  would  crush  his  head.  The  father  of  the  human 
race,  even  in  his  exile  from  the  Garden  of  Paradise  must  have  cher- 
ished the  hope,  that  in  connection  with  the  memory  of  what  he  had 


304  ARCHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

been,  and  the  consciousness  of  what  he  now  was,  he  would  think  and 
believe  that  the  God  who  had  created  him,  and  whose  justice  had 
been  manifested  in  his  expulsion,  had  still  some  great  secret  by  which 
the  results  of  his  sin  might  be  mitigated.  From  that  period  to  the 
coming  of  Christ,  it  is  known  to  you  all  how  from  one  patriarch  to 
another,  and  from  one  prophet  to  another,  tlie  story  of  the  coming 
of  a  Redeemer  was  perpetuated  ;  how,  even  in  the  case  of  pagan  na- 
tions, their  separation  from  the  truth  did  not  extinguish  this  idea  of 
expiation  for  the  original  transgression.  In  the  history  of  the  whole 
human  race,  wherever  you  find  them  mentioned,  no  matter  how  de- 
based by  ignorance  or  degraded  by  superstition,  or  how  abominable 
their  religious  practices,  there  was  one  idea  pervading  them  all,  that 
there  was  a  hope  of  reconciliation.  They  had  their  sacrifices,  and 
they  turned  into  a  barbarism  an  original  truth,  imagining  that  the 
most  precious  victim  that  could  be  offered  to  their  imaginary  deities 
was  the  one  most  likely  to  propitiate  and  gain  the  kindness  and 
mercy  of  the  fabulous  god  to  whom  the  sacrifice  was  offered.  Hence 
human  sacrifice  everywhere,  among  all  nations ;  because  a  man  or  a 
woman  was  deemed  the  most  precious  thing  that  could  be  offered : 
and  in  that  act  of  sacrifice — an  act  of  murder,  in  reality,  but,  in  their 
idea  at  least,  connected  with  a  primitive  oflTence — they  acknowledged 
two  things,  that  God  had  been  ofi'ended  and  that  God  was  to  be  pro- 
pitiated by  a  victim  and  a  sacrifice. 

But  not  only  in  this  was  the  original  disobedience  and  the  neces- 
sity of  a  propitiation  manifested,  for  as  time  advanced  the  prophets 
were  inspired  to  sing  those  glorious  hopes  of  a  fallen  race.  How 
clearly  and  distinctly  were  pointed  out  all  the  circumstances  of  the 
life  of  the  incarnate  Son  of  God !  The  prophet  Isaias  describes  the 
passion  in  such  language,  that  the  infidels  and  enemies  of  Christianity 
have  found  it  so  clear  they  have  contended  it  was  a  fabrication  sub- 
sequent to  the  events  they  predicted.  How  shall  any  one  speak  of 
the  psalms  of  David,  which  describe  the  events  current  in  his  time, 
it  is  true,  but  having  a  mystical  reference  to  the  real  glory  of  the 
Saviour  of  which  God  had  inspired  his  prophetic  soul  ?  When  he 
speaks  of  Solomon  and  his  glory  and  his  dominion  to  the  ends  of  the 
earth,  it  is  clear  that  that  language  could  not  be  applied  literally  to 
his  son.  Then  there  are  other  descriptions  applying  equally  to  the 
humiliations  and  glory  of  Christ  to  be  found  scattered  throughout  the 
whole  of  the  Old  Testament.  And  why  is  this  ?  Because  the  Sa- 
viour who  was  to  come  was  the  Saviour  of  the  people  of  God,  and 
through  Him  alone  did  they  hope  for  redemption.  This  was  the 
reason  of  their  anxiety,  and  the  yearning  of  their  souls  for  the  coming 
of  the  just  and  the  holy  One — an  anxiety  and  a  yearning  which  is 
shown  on  every  page  of  their  history.  The  Saviour,  therefore,  in 
the  words  of  my  text,  pronounced  something  that  reached  back  to 
the  creation  of  man,  and  was  to  reach  forward  to  the  consummation 
of  the  world. 

"  It  is  consummated" — that  is  to  say,  the  work  for  which  I  offered 
myself,  for  which  the  Father  appointed  Me,  is  accomplished,  and  the 


SEEMONS.  305 

gates  of  the  eternal  paradise,  wliich  have  hithei-to  been  closed,  even 
against  the  prophets  and  saints  of  the  old  law — the  faithful  servants 
and  oftentimes  martyrs  of  God  for  the  truth — these  gates  are  non' 
unbolted.  And  after  this,  the  Scriptures  tell  us,  He  descended  into 
hell ;  that  is  to  say,  He  visited  all  those  souls  who  had  been  called 
out  of  life  before  His  coming.  This  is  not,  as  heresy  has  pretended, 
the  everlasting  hell  of  the  damned,  from  which  there  is  no  escape ; 
it  i&  that  place  called  hell  which  was  the  abode  of  the  sainted  spii-its 
before  the  Redeemer  had  opened  heaven  to  them.  It  is  that  which 
is  called  in  the  parable  of  Lazarus  "  Abraham's  bosom,"  a  resting- 
place,  a  place  of  expectation,  but  not  of  suffering  and  torture.  For 
them  "  it  is  consummated."  What  else  is  consummated  ?  The  re- 
demption of  all  mankind,  for  He  died  for  all,  and  He  died  in  that 
sense  that  each  member  of  His  Church  may  say.  He  died  for  me,  in 
the  language  of  St.  Paul,  as  if  I  were  the  only  one.  But  His  death  was 
for  all,  and  all  that  would  be  saved  from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of 
time  in  preaching  salvation — "  it  is  consummated."  What  more  ? 
How  much  more  ?  If  you  turn  your  eyes  now  from  the  period  to 
which  we  refer,  and  from  the  summit  of  Calvary  to  the  distant  coun- 
tries of  the  world,  and  over  the  long  series  of  ages — to  all  these  and 
over  all  these  it  extends.  He  was  not  to  die  every  day  in  the  physi- 
cal and  suffering  sense  of  the  term,  but  the  very  work  by  which  His 
death  was  to  apply  for  the  individual  salvation  of  man  was  also  con- 
summated. He  had  already  organized  His  Church.  He  had  already 
laid  down  the  rule  for  its  government ;  He  had  already  established 
and  instituted  the  sacraments;  He  had  already  provided  for  the  per- 
petual teaching  of  truth  without  contradiction,  and  truth  accompa- 
nied with  a  certainty  which  would  remove  all  doubt — that  is,  divine 
faith.  These  sacraments  are  the  channels  of  redemption.  It  is 
through  them  that  flows  the  blood  which  was  poured  forth  from  His 
hands,  and  feet,  and  side  upon  the  cross ;  and  although  the  people  of 
the  nineteenth  or  twelfth  century  did  not  live  at  the  same  time  when 
their  Redeemer  died.  He  did  not  die  away  from  them,  but  in  the 
merits  of  His  death  He  provided  for  their  guidance,  and  the  chan- 
nels by  which  the  merits  of  that  death  should  pass  from  soul  to  soul, 
to  cleanse  and  purify  it  individually  and  especially  to  God. 

"It  is  consummated."  It  is  usual,  ray  beloved  brethren,  on  good 
Friday,  to  dwell  upon  the  mere  physical  or  mental  sufferings  of  the 
Son  of  God  ;  but  it  is  not  necessary ;  it  would  not  be  difiicult  to  ex- 
cite sympathetic  feelings  of  a  sentimental  order  in  every  breast,  by 
a  description  of  those  sufferings.  That  is  not  necessary.  It  is  cer- 
tain that  we  never  can  fathom  the  depth  of  this  mystery,  which  we 
are  satisfied  simply  to  acknowledge  and  to  adore.  It  is  a  mystery  for 
our  adoration,  for  our  gratitude ;  but  our  lives  are  too  short,  too- 
brief,  to  fathom  its  depth,  or  to  reach  its  foundation.  I  have  only 
said  that  in  it  God  has  exhibited  to  us  another  attribute,  the  attribute 
of  mercy,  of  infinite  mercy.  Nor  is  the  attribute  of  infinite  justice 
unmingled  with  it,  for  it  can  be  easily  imagined  that  no  ordinary 
cause  could  have  so  offended  God  and  so  removed  from  His  holy 
Vol.  n — 20 


306  ARCHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

presence  His  creature  ;  that  it  could  not  liave  been  a  common  fault 
that  required  so  great  a  victim  for  its  expiation.  What  does  this 
show  in  the  justice  of  God  ?  It  shows,  above  all,  His  holiness,  His 
horror  of  sin,  and  at  the  same  time  His  infinite  mercy  toward  the 
sinner.  It  shows  His  justice,  because  in  our  nature  it  required  an 
expiation  of  an  infinite  merit.  How  could  fallen  man  expiate  for  the 
sins  of  men  ?  How  could  the  second  person  of  the  blessed  Trinity 
suffer  if  He  had  remained  in  His  exclusive  divinity  ?  God,  as  such, 
could  not  suffer,  and  hence  it  is  that  the  Son  of  God,  the  second  per- 
son of  the  blessed  Trinity,  took  upon  Him  our  nature  and  became 
one  of  us — in  a  certain  sense  one  of  the  sons  of  Adam,  except  that 
He  took  flesh  from  one  exempted  from  every  stain,  so  that  His  body 
was  in  all  respects  like  ours,  sin  only  excepted. 

This  is  taught  us  by  the  holy  Scriptures  first  quoted  in  the  Psalms 
of  David,  39th  chap.  Vth  verse,  and  again  alluded  to  in  the  10th 
chap.  5th  verse  of  St.  Paul  to  the  Hebrews: 

"  Wherefore  when  He  cometli  into  the  world,  He  saith  :  Sacrifice  and  oblation 
thou  wouldest  not :  but  a  body  thou  hast  fitted  to  me. 

"  Holocausts  for  sin  did  not  please  thee. 

"  Then  said  I :  Belxold  I  come :  in  the  head  of  the  book  it  is  written  of  me  that 
I  should  do  Thy  will,  0  God. 

"  In  saying  before,  sacrifices,  and  oblations,  and  holocausts  for  sin  thou  wouldest 
not,  neither  are  they  pleasing  to  thee,  wliich  are  offered  according  to  the  law ; 

"  Then  said  1 :  Behold,  I  come  to  do  thy  wiU,  0  God  ;  he  taketh  away  the  first 
that  he  may  establish  that  which  foUoweth." 

It  is  in  this  body  that  the  Son  of  God  suffered.  He  was  man — 
perfect  man ;  His  soul  a  human  soul ;  His  body  a  natural  body — 
conceived  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  born  of  the  substance  of  an  im- 
maculate Virgin ;  for  it  could  not  be  that  He  who  came  to  redeem 
the  whole  race  should  take  flesh  from  one  who  had  been  for  a  single 
instant  one  of  Satan's  slaves.     Now  it  is  consummated. 

We  again  are  liable  to  confine  the  meaning  of  this  to  the  last  act 
■of  His  life  on  the  cross ;  but  it  was  all  one  sacrifice.  It  was  not  a 
fiacrifice  in  the  mere  act  of  dying ;  it  was  a  sacrifice  from  the  begin- 
ning— from  the  moment  of  the  annunciation ;  it  was  all  one  great, 
moral,  divine  act ;  and  accordingly,  if  you  examine  you  will  per- 
ceive that  nothing  in  the  life  of  Christ  was  less  than  a  sacrifice.  His 
birth,  the  persecutions  of  His  childhood,  the  malice  and  indignities 
poured  upon  Him  by  His  jealous  and  envious  opponents,  the  detrac- 
tion uttered  against  Him  through  His  life,  the  veiy  incredulity  of 
those  who  heard  the  words  of  salvation,  and  paid  no  heed,  but  went 
their  way,  the  unjust  seizure  of  His  person,  the  mockery  of  His 
trial,  the  scourging  of  His  flesh — all  are  but  the  gradual  accumula- 
tion of  one  sacrifice;  and  now  "it  is  consummated." 

We  might  dwell  upon  certain  features  in  the  life  of  our  divine 
Redeemer,  or  on  such  portions  of  it  as  we  are  accustomed  to  call 
*' the  Passion  of  our  Lord."  Among  men,  "passion"  implies  some- 
thing evil — a  yielding  to  a  propensity  that  is  not  in  harmony  with 
the  law  of  God;  There  could  be  no  such  passion  in  the  life  of  Christ. 
Tlie  passions  of  men  are  subjective,  within  themselves ;  the  Saviour 


SERMONS.  807 

had  no  passion  within  Himself;  His  passion  was  objective  ;  that  is, 
His  passion  was  suffering,  humiliation,  and  death ;  and  that  was  im- 
posed upon  Him ;  He  was  the  object  of  the  passions  of  men  ;  but, 
as  for  Himself,  He  had  none.  And  hence  it  is  that  you  will  find  no 
expression  of  resentment  or  indignation,  not  even  by  the  Apostles 
in  their  writings  after  their  having  been  inspired  by  the  Holy  Ghost 
on  the  day  of  Pentecost.  They  never  say  a  harsh  word  of  the  per- 
secutors of  their  Master,  or  their  own  persecutors.  He  is  denied  by 
one  Apostle  and  betrayed  by  another,  and  by  the  very  sign  that  is 
known  among  men  to  signify  friendship ;  and  yet  the  Apostles  only 
relate  the  facts,  and  complain  not  at  all,  showing  that  after  the  re- 
ception of  the  Holy  Ghost  they  understood  the  spirit  of  their  Mas- 
ter, Previous  to  that,  one  was  so  indignant  that  he  drew  his  sword 
and  cut  off  the  ear  of  one  of  those  by  whom  the  Saviour  was  appre- 
hended, but  he  saw  his  Master  healing  the  wounded  member. 

In  the  Passion  there  was  suffering  without  resentment ;  for  in  the 
life  of  our  Saviour  we  find  none  of  those  vicissitudes  of  joy  and  sor- 
row which  are  common  to  men.  If  we  refer  to  the  sufferings  of 
His  human  nature  with  His  knowledge  of  all  that  was  coming,  we 
can  understand  how  deep  and  how  acute  must  be  that  suffering. 
We  can  see  it  in  the  garden  of  agony — we  can  see  it  everywhere; 
but  whether  He  is  hailed  with  the  acclamations  of  the  multitude,  as 
when  He  entered  the  city  of  Jerusalem,  and  the  people  took  branches 
from  the  trees,  and  even  strewed  their  garments  in  His  way.  He 
was  not  excited  by  passions ;  His  heart  and  soul  were  fixed  upon 
other  things ;  and  instead  of  rejoicing  with  the  multitude.  He  shed 
tears  over  the  Holy  City,  because  He  knew  the  desolation  which  the 
inhabitants  were  about  to  bring  upon  themselves  and  their  children. 
But  if  you  refer  to  the  human  element,  to  the  sufferings  of  His  flesh, 
it  must  have  had  a  tenderness  and  susceptibility  of  pain  which  the 
most  refined  of  human  beings  cannot  conceive  or  feel.  Physical  suf- 
fering is  relative.  A  little  infant  suffers  with  sickness  and  dies ;  but 
the  suffering  is  not  as  great  as  the  impression  made  by  witnessing  it 
would  lead  us  to  apprehend,  because  consciousness  is  wanting,  rea- 
son has  not  been  developed.  And  so  it  is  if  you  go  to  the  lower  species 
of  animals:  the  contortions  that  indicate  suffering  are  manifested ;  but 
where  there  is  no  consciousness,  or  but  a  feeble  consciousness,  the 
suffering  cannot  be  great.  And  hence  it  is  that  in  the  practice  of 
medical  men,  the  results  of  which  are  doubtful  in  a  moral  point  of 
view,  when  you  wish  to  perform  a  painful  operation  you  use  certain 
remedies — for  what  purpose  ?  To  dull  the  edge  of  the  instrument 
that  is  to  perform  the  amputation  ?  Xo ;  but  to  kill  or  diminish  the 
consciousness  of  the  sufferer.  Hence  it  is,  that  in  proportion  as  the 
mind  and  the  body  are  elevated  more  and  more,  just  in  that  proportion 
does  every  sense,  while  suffering,  tell  and  act  with  tenfold  agony  up- 
on both.  If  that  be  true,  who  can  conceive  all  the  sufferings  of  the 
Son  of  God  in  His  mind  and  body,  in  all  those  tortures  and  insults 
which  were  heaped  upon  Him  by  the  rabble  when  proceeding  from 
the  Holy  City  in  which  an  unjust  sentence  had  condemned  Him  to 


308  AKCUBISHOP  HUGHES. 

death.  He  goes  forth  to  the  place  of  final  execution,  already  par- 
tially dead,  for  they  have  crowned  Him  with  thorns,  they  have 
scourged  Him  at  the  pillar,  they  have  beaten  His  face  with  their 
hands ;  and  when,  therefore,  He  goes  forth  to  the  place  of  execution 
He  is  ah-eady  partially  dead.  He  proceeds  in  the  midst  of  the  rab- 
ble, in  the  midst  of  those  who,  perhaps  but  a  short  time  before,  had 
cried  out,  "  Hosauna  to  the  Son  of  David  ;"  but  now  He  proceeds  in 
the  midst  of  jeers  and  scoffs  from  the  gate  of  Jerusalem  leading  to 
Golgotha,  and  as  one  living  wound  from  head  to  foot. 

The  rest  you  know ;  and  I  have  said  already  that  the  whole  es- 
tablishes this  one  point,  which  ought  to  be  ever  present  in  the  mind 
of  the  Christian  ;  the  whole  exhibits  the  infinite  justice,  and  the 
more  dear  and  infinite  mercy  of  God  our  creator ;  for  in  the  life  of 
Christ  and  in  His  death,  the  justice  and  mercy  of  God  are  commin- 
gled and  to  be  adored — the  justice  in  teaching  us  that  none  but  the 
Word  made  Flesh  could  make  satisfaction  for  our  sins ;  so  holy  is 
God,  and  so  horrible  is  sin,  that  it  required  such  a  victim  to  appease 
His  wrath,  and  to  restore  fallen  man  to  the  everlasting  kingdom. 
It  teaches  us  all  this,  and  it  indicates  the  very  fountain  and  source  of 
every  grace  that  God  bestows  upon  us  individually.  All  this  was 
consummated;  not  in  point  of  fact  as  yet,  but  in  point  of  the  institu- 
tion of  the  sacraments  and  the  establishment  of  His  Church.  It  is 
not  to  be  supposed  that  He  is  absent  from  us — not  at  all.  He  is 
still  carrying  on  the  work  of  redemption — the  same  as  by  anticipa- 
tion in  the  sacrifices  of  the  old  law.  He  was  carrying  on  that  re- 
demption from  the  hour  of  Adam's  fall ;  but,  now  in  the  reality  of 
all  that  had  been  prefigured.  He  is  carrying  on  the  work  of  redemp- 
tion still  more  universally — still  more  efficaciously  since  the  hour  in 
which  He  declared,  "  It  is  consummated." 


SERMON  ON  THE  OCCASION  OF  THE  DEDICA- 
TION OF  ST.  JOSEPH'S  CHURCH,  ALBANY,  N.  Y., 
MAY  13th,  1860. 

"  For  I  have  received  of  the  Lord  that  which  also  I  delivered  to  you ;  that 
the  Lord  .Jesus,  the  same  night  in  which  he  was  betrayed,  took  bread,  and  giv- 
ing thanks,  broke  it  and  said :  Take  ye,  and  eat ;  this  is  my  body,  which  shall 
be  delivered  for  you ;  this  do  for  a  commemoration  of  me.  In  like  manner  also 
the  chalice,  after  he  had  supped,  saying :  This  chalice  is  the  new  Testament  of 
my  blood ;  this  do  ye  as  often  as  you  shall  drink  it  for  the  commemoration  of 
me.  For  as  often  as  you  shall  eat  this  bread  and  drink  this  chalice,  you  shall 
show  the  death  of  the  Lord  till  He  come." — 1  CoR.,  chap.  xi.  23-26. 

The  spectacle  which  surrounds  you  this  day,  and  the  solemnities 
you  have  just  witnessed,  said  the  Most  Rev.  preacher,  must  bring  to 


SERMONS.  309 

your  eyes  and  your  hearts  gladness  and  consolation.  A  great  work, 
after  much  toil  and  many  generous  sacrifices  on  your  part,  has 
reached  its  accompHshnient ;  and  has  now  been  presented  with  the 
most  solemn  rites  as  your  offering  to  Almighty  God,  in  honor  and  in 
support  of  the  religion  established  and  sustained  by  the  Word  made 
Flesh.  It  is  true  that  God  requires,  in  the  first  place,  and  especially, 
the  worship  of  the  heart ;  but  to-day,  on  whichever  side  I  turn  my 
gaze,  I  behold  evidences  proving  that  this  material  structure  has 
sprung  up,  in  its  beautiful  proportions,  from  the  internal  faith  and 
worship  of  Christian  hearts.  Nor  do  I  hesitate  to  say  that,  all  things 
considered,  it  is  worthy  to  be  regarded  as  an  offering  to  the  Al- 
mighty, and  as  a  public  evidence  that  faith  is  still  found  on  the  earth. 
It  has  been  erected  at  a  great  expense,  provided  from  the  slender 
means  of  a  devoted  and  faithful  people.  The  scale  upon  which  it 
was  projected  had  in  view  its  purpose  as  the  house  and  sanctuary  of 
the  Lord.  The  manner,  also,  in  which  the  architectural  design  has 
been  carried  out  by  the  mechanics  and  workmen  employed,  must  be 
looked  upon  as  doing  great  credit  to  those  who  have  had,  respect- 
ively, the  charge  of  the  various  departments  of  this  beautiful  struc- 
ture. As  it  stands  to-day,  it  is,  for  the  people  of  St.  Joseph's,  and 
for  their  devoted  and  Very  Rev.  Pastor,  a  great  triumph.  It  is  a 
perpetual  monument  of  their  zeal  and  perseverance,  which,  as  a 
monument,  if  you  would  behold,  you  have  but  to  look  around. 

Indeed,  I  feel  myself  impelled  to  congratulate,  not  only  the  pastor 
and  people  of  this  Church,  but  also  the  clergy  and  laity  of  the  en- 
tire diocese  of  Albany,  on  the  progress  and  development  that  reli- 
gion has  made  since  God  was  pleased,  through  the  voice  of  our  Holy 
Father,  to  appoint  the  reverend  and  amiable  prelate  who  now  rules 
this  great  flock.  His  zeal,  his  wise  and  gentle  government,  his 
firmness  withal,  have,  with  the  divine  blessing,  built  up  a  new  crea- 
tion in  the  diocese  committed  to  his  care.  I  remember  distinctly, 
during  a  period  of  ten  years,  how  few  and  far  between  were  the 
Catholic  priests,  the  Catholic  laity,  and  Catholic  churches  within  this 
vast  territory,  which  at  that  period  was  included  in  a  territory  much 
more  extended,  within  what  was  then  the  diocese  of  New  York. 
The  change  that  is  observable  on  every  side  is  truly  consoling. 

When  the  corner-stone  of  the  first  St.  Joseph's  was  laid,  a  carpen- 
ter's bench  on  an  adjoining  lot  served  as  a  pulpit  on  which  to  ad- 
dress the  few  and  evidently  not  wealthy  hearers  who  came  to  wit- 
ness the  ceremony.  It  was  thought  at  that  time  to  be  a  very  bold 
undertaking,  but  it  succeeded.  In  the  interval,  however,  it  has 
emerged  into  a  glorious  Catholic  temple,  which,  even  apart  from  its 
sacred  purposes,  and  looked  upon  only  as  a  public  edifice,  would  be 
considered  an  ornament  to  any  city  in  the  world.  And  yet  this  new 
St.  Joseph's  is  but  one  of  the  many  Churches  (certainly  the  most 
conspicuous  next  to  your  magnificent  cathedral)  that  have  been 
erected  since  the  period  referred  to.  Nor  is  it  in  this  alone  that  one 
can  witness  the  immense  progress  of  our  holy  faith.  It  is  still  more 
in  the  union  of  hearts,  the  faithful  co-operation  with  their  bishop  in 


810  AECnBISHOP    HUGHES. 

every  good  work,  that  the  clergy  and  laity  of  Albany  have  distin- 
guished themselves,  and  have  been  enabled  to  accomplish  so  much, 
It  is  time,  however,  that  I  should  invite  your  attention  to  that  which 
will  henceforward  be  the  crowning  glory  of  this  church.  I  mean 
the  divine  purposes  for  which  it  has  been  erected ;  I  mean  the  preach- 
ing of  the  word  of  God  ;  I  mean  the  sanctuary  of  prayer,  even  in  the 
very  presence  of  the  Lamb  who  was  slain  from  the  beginning  of  the 
world,  but  who  is  to  be  present  on  your  altar  and  in  your  taberna- 
cle ;  I  mean  the  administration  of  the  sacraments  instituted  by  Him, 
and  through  the  administration  of  which  He  has  appointed  tliat  the 
merits  of  His  death  should  be  applied,  individually,  through  the  min- 
istry of  His  Church,  to  the  sanctification  and  support  of  ev^ry  soul 
that  is  anxious  to  be  enriched  with  the  treasures  of  His  grace,  and  to 
secure  the  happiness  of  eternal  life. 

Here,  Christian  parents  will  bring  their  infant  children  to  be  con- 
secrated and  sanctified  in  baptism,  that  they,  too,  may  become  mem- 
bers of  the  body  of  Christ,  and  living  temples  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
Here,  they  who  are  competent  and  disposed  to  enter  into  the  holy 
state  of  matrimony,  will  come  to  have  their  union  approved  and 
confirmed  by  the  minister  of  God,  and  sanctioned  by  the  blessings 
of  His  holy  Church. 

Here,  Confirmation  will  be  administered.  Here,  if  occasion  re- 
quire, the  sacrament  of  holy  orders  will  be  conferred  on  the  Levites 
of  the  sanctuary.  From  this  place  the  blessed  oils  and  the  bread  of 
life  will  be  borne  forth  to  the  sick-bed,  when  the  priest  of  the  Church 
will  pray  over  the  sufferer,  anointing  him  with  oil  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord,  as  the  Apostle  prescribes,  and  the  prayer  of  faith  shall  save  the 
sick  man,  and  the  Lord  shall  raise  him  up ;  and  if  he  be  in  sins,  the 
gins  shall  be  forgiven  him.  In  short,  here  will  our  Saviour  continue 
to  carry  on  the  work  of  redemption  for  which  He  came  on  earth. 
But  there  is  intimately  connected  with  these,  but  still  of  a  more  ele- 
vated, mysterious,  and  divine  dignity,  the  sacrifice  of  the  Mass.  This 
constitutes  the  supreme  glory  of  the  Catholic  temple.  All  that  is 
grand  in  the  construction ;  all  that  is  precious  in  the  material  of 
which  it  is  composed,  converge  on  the  sanctuary,  or  rather  on  the 
tabernacle  and  sacred  altar,  at  wliich  the  consecration  of  the  holy 
Eucharist  takes  place,  and  on  which  it  reposes  under  the  appearance 
of  bread  and  wine.  Take  away  the  divine  Christian  Eucharist,  and 
the  altar  will  be  a  word  without  meaning  or  significance,  the  priest- 
hood will  cease  to  discharge  its  functions,  sacrifice  there  will  be 
none,  and  this  splendid  temple  would  become  a  mere  secular  build- 
ing, convenient  indeed  for  the  meeting  of  those  who  might  frequent 
it,  but  entirely  robbed  and  despoiled  of  the  lieavenly  and  unspeak- 
able gift  and  priesthood  which  constitute  its  supreme  and  divine  ex- 
cellence. 

It  is  true  that  the  sacrifice  of  the  Mass  is  universal  in  the  Christian 
fold,  and  that,  in  its  intrinsic  nature,  it  would  be  the  same,  whether 
celebrated  under  the  mighty  dome  of  St.  Peter  or  under  the  branches 
arranged  by  the  missionary  among  the  Indians ;  just  for  one  morn. 


SERMONS.  311 

ing,  the  temporary  altar  to  be  removed  before  sunset,  if  it  should  be 
necessary  to  remove  the  camp  from  one  -location  to  another.  But 
still,  in  view  of  the  ineffable  mystery  of  the  real  presence  in  our 
churches,  it  would  not  be  too  much  to  say  that,  if  they  could  be  built 
of  jjrecious  stone,  tlieir  construction,  even  then,  would  be  but  a  faint 
symbol  of  the  faith  and  piety,  the  love  and  adoration  clustering 
around  the  altar  on  which  the  sacrifice  of  the  new  law  is  offered. 

Now,  I  wish  to  invite  your  special  attention  to  this  particular  sub- 
ject. I  shall  begin  by  recalling  to  your  minds  what  is  the  nature  of 
sacrifice  as  appointed  by  Almighty  God,  and  especially  of  the  sacri- 
fice which  our  Redeemer  instituted  in  His  Church. 

Sacrifice,  in  its  special  meaning,  is  an  oblation  of  something  which 
is  offered  to  God,  to  be  consumed  in  acknowledgment  of  His  sov- 
ereign dominion  over  all  things.  It  is  a  recognition  of  human  guilt 
on  the  part  of  those  by  whom  or  for  whom  it  is  offered.  It  is  a  pub- 
lic acknowledgment  of  the  supreme  adoration  which  is  due  to  the 
Creator;  and,  at  the  same  time,  an  ofiicial  act  of  hope  and  confidence 
in  His  boundless  mercy.  From  the  fall  of  our  first  parents,  sacrifice 
became  the  outward  expression  of  all  that  I  have  just  said.  It  was 
continued  through  the  long  line  of  the  holy  patriarchs.  It  was  not  a 
new  mode  of  worship,  but  it  received  new  and  more  detailed  ap- 
proval a,s  to  the  manner  in  which  it  should  be  celebrated,  from  the 
period  when  God  appointed  that  His  servant  Moses  should  become  the 
leader  of  His  chosen  and  segregated  people.  The  holy  Scriptures  give 
us  minute  details  of  the  sacrifices,  and  the  mode  of  offering  them,  under 
the  Jewish  law  ;  but  all  these  were  merely  types  of  the  real  and  infinite 
sacrifice  which  the  Messiah  offered  on  the  cross.  They  are  terminated 
on  the  day  when  the  Saviour  of  the  world  gave  up  the  ghost  on 
Mount  Calvary.  The  question  then  would  be,  whether  He  left  His 
Church  less  provided  with  the  means  of  adoring  God  than  the  Jew- 
ish people  had  been  with  their  rites  of  sacrifice,  which  were  only 
figurative  ?  He  has  not  so  left  His  Church.  He  instituted  the  sac- 
rifice which  we  call  the  Mass  on  the  night  before  His  crucifixion. 
That  institution  was,  in  its  nature,  entirely  distinct  from  what  is 
called  the  last  supper,  or  the  final  celebration  of  the  Jewish  Passover. 
It  was  after  the  celebration  of  the  Jewish  Passover,  and  as  a  separate 
and  distinct  act,  that  He  took  bread  and  wine,  and  having  given 
thanks,  He  presented  them  to  His  disciples  with  a  declaration  that 
under  the  appearance  of  bread  was  His  body,  and  of  wine  His  blood, 
commanding  them  at  the  same  time,  and  through  them  their  lawful 
successors,  to  do  as  He  had  done  for  a  commemoration  of  Him.  And 
it  was  then  and  there  that  He  instituted  the  adorable  sacrifice  which 
His  Church  offers  up  on  her  altars,  and  through  the  ministry  of  her 
priesthood,  from  the  rising  to  the  setting  of  the  sun.  On  the  follow- 
ing day,  He  Himself  became  the  victim  of  the  bloody  sacrifice  in 
which  He  gave  His  life  on  the  cross  for  the  redemption  of  the  world. 

But  between  the  victim  which  He  offered  for  the  perpetual  sacri- 
fice by  which  God  might  be  adored  in  the  Eucharist,  and  the  same 
Victim  expiring  on  the  cross,  He  made  no  substantial  distinction. 


■313  ARCHBISHOP  HUGHES. 

On  the  cross  His  blood  was  slied  from  His  veins  until  life  was  extin- 
guished. In  this  He  fulfilled  the  meaning  of  the  types  of  the  priest- 
hood of  Aaron,  and  terminated  their  ministry.  But  in  prophecy, 
inspired  by  the  Holy  Ghost  from  the  early  time,  He  had  another 
priesthood  according  to  the  order  of  Melchisedeck.  This  priesthood 
He  enters  upon  in  tlie  institution  of  t])e  adorable  sacrament  and  sac- 
rifice of  the  altar.  The  high  pontiff,  the  priest  forever,  according  to 
the  order  of  Melchesedeck,  is  one  and  the  same.  The  Victim  on  the 
cross  and  the  Victim  on  the  altar,  are  one  and  the  same,  but  offered 
to  God  in  two  distinct  manners.  The  manner  of  the  sacrifice  would 
be  distinct  in  one  case  from  what  it  is  in  the  other.  But  the  sub- 
stance of  the  Victim,  under  a  different  form  is  entirely  the  same. 
He  identified  them  by  saying,  in  presenting  the  holy  Eucliarist, 
"This  is  my  body,  which  shall  be  dehvered  for  you  ;  this  is  my  blood, 
which  shall  be  shed  for  many  for  the  remission  of  sins."  And,  ac- 
cordingly, after  His  ascension  into  heaven,  and  after  the  descent  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  His  apostles  and  disciples 
failed  not  to  celebrate  the  sacrifice  of  the  Mass,  both  in  Jerusalem, 
and  wherever  they  carried  the  good  tidings  of  His  doctrine  ;  so  that, 
at  any  given  time  since  that  period,  wherever  the  Christian  name 
has  been  propagated,  there  also  has  been  established  the  holy  sacri- 
fice of  the  Mass.  It  is  true  that  this  divine  institution  has  been 
rejected,  more  or  less,  in  modern  times,  by  many  who  have  rejected, 
also,  the  teachings  of  the  Church.  But  this  has  been  a  novelty,  and 
a  deviation  from  the  early  practice  and  liturgies  of  the  Christian 
people. 

i>Iovv,  from  the  beginning  of  the  world,  sacrifice,  as  appointed  by 
God,  has  been  the  supreme  act  in  which  man  could  offer  true  adora- 
tion to  the  Supreme  Being.  At  all  times.  His  people  adored  Him 
in  various  other  ways,  and  there  was  no  place  in  which  it  was  not 
lawful  for  them  to  recognize  their  dependence  and  His  sovereignty, 
such  as  internal  and  individual  adoration,  humility,  prayers  of  the 
heart,  praise,  thanksgiving,  obedience,  sacred  poetry,  and  psalmody. 
But  all  these  fall  vastly  below  the  adoration  rendered  to  Him  through 
the  medium  of  sacrifice — for  there  is  nothing  in  these  that  could  not 
be  applied,  relatively,  to  human  beings  and  to  the  angelic  choirs. 
We  praise  men;  we  pray  to  them;  we  solicit  them  for  favors;  we 
chant  their  merits  in  exquisite  poetry  and  in  national  song.  We  in- 
voke the  intercession  of  the  saints  and  holy  angels  in  prayer ;  we 
honor  and  revere  the  blessed  and  immaculate  Virgin  Mother  of  our 
Lord  and  Saviour  as  the  most  eminent  being  that  God  ever  created 
— far  above  angels  and  archangels,  cherubim  and  seraphim.  Still, 
to  none  of  these,  nor  to  all  of  them  together,  is  it  lawtiil  to  offer 
sacrifice,  which  belongs  solely  and  exclusively  to  God  alone,  as  the 
supreme  act  of  divine  worship.  From  the  beginning  of  the  world  to 
the  present  hour,  whenever  or  wherever  religious  sacrifice  was  offered 
to  any  other  than  the  One  true  and  holy  God,  then  and  there  was 
•  consummated  the  act  of  idolatry. 

Now,  this  being  the  case,  all  the  sacrifices,  all  the  teachings  of  the 


SERMONS.  313 

Church,  all  the  testimonies  of  the  holy  Fathers,  and  of  the  liturgical 
books,  bear  testimony  to  the  simple  fact  that  the  "  Word  made 
Flesh"  offered  himself  as  the  one  adequate  victim  for  the  sins  of  the 
whole  world  ;  and  that  He  appointed  and  instituted  for  His  followers 
the  mystical  sacrifice  of  our  altars,  on  which  He  becomes  present 
under  the  appearance  of  bread  and  wine,  by  virtue  of  the  consecra- 
tion of  His  priest,  who  has  been  duly  appointed  to  minister  in  His 
name,  by  His  authority,  and  as  His  representative.  He  himself,  in- 
deed, is  the  great  Pontiff  of  our  souls !  He  Himself  is  the  High 
Priest  forever,  according  to  the  order  of  Melchisedeck.  And  if  those 
who  are  ordained  to  be  His  representatives  consecrate  and  change 
bread  and  wine  into  the  substance  of  His  body  and  blood,  it  must 
be  remembered  that  they  do  so  in  His  right  and  as  His  representa- 
tive. This  is  manifest  from  the  very  words  of  the  liturgy  in  the 
Mass,  when  they  speak,  according  to  the  language  of  Chrysostom, 
as  if  there  were  other  Christs,  when,  at  the  solemn  moment  of  con- 
secration, they  utter  the  identical  words  of  the  Saviour  in  the  insti- 
tution of  the  sacrament  and  the  sacrifice.  They  say :  "  This  is  my 
body ;"  and  next,  "  This  is  my  blood,  of  the  new  Testament,  which 
shall  be  shed  for  many  unto  the  remission  of  sins." 

Thus,  then,  the  Son  of  God  has  left  with  His  Church  a  sacrifice 
unspeakably  superior  to  any  which  had  existed  among  the  Jews. 

In  a  discourse  like  this,  which  must  necessarily  be  brief,  it  would 
be  impossible  for  me  to  bring  forward,  either  from  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures, the  writings  of  the  Fathers,  or  the  decisions  of  the  Church 
itself,  those  authentic  testimonies  which  support  what  I  have  just 
said.  The  quotations  would  fill  volumes.  But,  happily,  it  is  not 
necessary  to  accumulate  tlie  evidence  on  which  our  holy  faith  repo- 
ses. That  faith  is,  to  us,  the  gift  of  God.  The  perpetual  and  uni- 
versal testimony  of  Christ's  Church  is  for  Catholics  entirely  sufticient. 

The  two  hundred  or  two  hundred  and  fifty  millions  of  members 
of  which  the  Church  is  composed,  are  so  many  living  witnesses  to 
the  truth  of  this  doctrine.  Scattered  though  they  be,  over  the  whole 
earth,  of  every  tongue,  and  tribe,  and  nation,  still,  if  interrogated, 
they  would  answer  in  one  universal  voice,  "  So  we  believe."  In  like 
manner  tlie  generations  of  the  past,  from  the  day  of  Pentecost,  who 
were  in  communion  with  St.  Peter  and  his  successors,  have  believed 
in  the  same  sacrament  and  sacrifice. 

You  behold  immediately,  therefore,  how  intimate  is  the  relation 
which  our  divine  Redeemer  has  established  between  Himself  and 
His  Church.  It  must  be  remembered  thjit  whilst  He  was  on  earth, 
notwithstanding  His  living  presence  and  His  miracles,  there  were 
but  i^ew  who  recognized  Him  as  the  Son  of  God.  Peter  was  the  first 
to  proclaim  his  belief  in  the  Incarnation.  But  even  after  His  resur- 
rection another  Apostle,  Thomas,  refused  to  believe  until  he  should 
be  satisfied  by  touch,  as  well  as  sight,  of  the  identity  of  His  divine 
master;  whom,  after  having  been  convinced  in  the  way  he  desired, 
he  proclaimed  as  his  Lord  and  his  God.  Our  Saviour  said  to  him, 
"  Because  thou  hast  seen  me,  Thomas,  thou  hast  believed ;  blessed 


314:  AECHBISHOP  HUGHES. 

are  they  who  have  not  seen  and  have  believed."  This  is  the  blessing 
of  divine  faith  in  the  Catholic  Chui-ch.  Her  pontiff,  her  priesthood, 
her  people,  have  not  ceased  to  recognize  that  same  Jesus  Christ  who 
was  rejected  by  so  many  and  adored  by  so  few,  when  He  exercised, 
in  His  own  person,  the  divine  ministry  which  He  came  upon  the  earth 
to  fulfil.  Now,  this  recognition  and  adoration  constitute  the  glory 
of  His  Church;  not  merely  in  presence  of  His  humanity,  whilst  He 
remained  among  men,  but  also  in  the  sacrament  and  the  sacrifice  of 
the  altar  which  He  instituted.  He  was  the  rejected  of  men,  in  the 
language  of  prophecy,  and  the  outcast  of  the  people.  But  she  recog- 
nizes and  adores  Him,  as  well  in  the  sacrament  and  sacrifice  of  the 
new  law,  as  when  He  was  suspended  on  the  cross.  Indeed,  her  glory 
is,  that  her  divine  Founder  enriched  her  for  all  time  to  come  with  the 
last  and  best  gift  of  His  infinite  love. 

Pondering  on  this  mystery  of  divine  goodness,  we  might  say  that 
the  charity  of  God's  omnipotence  could  not  bestow  upon  the  Church 
any  more  precious  gift  than  this.  For  in  this  the  Church,  on  the 
one  hand,  has  the  privilege  of  adoring  His  incarnate  Son,  not  only 
as  an  historical  Redeemer  by  His  death  on  the  cross,  but  also  in  the 
perpetual  Saviour  present  in  the  eucharistic  sacrament  and  sacrifice 
of  the  altar ;  whilst,  on  the  other,  she  is  glorified  by  a  daily  sacrifice, 
by  the  dignity  of  the  priesthood  which  offers,  and  of  the  Victim  that 
is  offered,  so  that  she  does  not  represent  the  sacrifices  of  mere  type, 
but  the  reality  of  the  infinitely  perfect  sacrifice  which  the  Jewish 
types  were  appointed  to  foreshadow.  In  the  mystical  immolation  of 
the  Lamb,  the  priest  does  what  the  Saviour  did  on  the  night  in 
which  He  was  betrayed ;  and  he  does  it  for  a  commemoration  of 
Christ.  He  does  it  to  show  forth  the  death  of  the  Lord  until  He 
come.  He  does  it  because  our  Saviour  commanded  His  Apostles, 
and  their  lawful  successors,  so  to  do.  It  is  an  action,  as  well  as  a 
prayer.  But  the  action  itseltj  as  well  as  the  prayer,  is  of  Christ's  ap- 
pointment. 

What,  then,  is  and  must  be,  so  far  as  the  priesthood  and  sacrifice 
are  concerned,  the  homage  and  adoration  which  are  rendered  to 
God  ?  The  victim  is  no  other  than  His  own  divine  Son.  The  priest 
who  offers  is  no  other  than,  as  has  been  explained,  a  minister  ap- 
proved by  His  Church,  representing  Him  outwardly  at  the  Christian 
altar.  The  consequence  of  all  this,  dearly  beloved  brethren,  is  that 
the  humanity  of  Christ — nay,  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ — is  the 
victim  of  the  oblation ;  the  perfect  victim,  which  on  the  one  side  be- 
ing divine  as  well  as  human,  must  be  infinitely  acceptable  to  the 
Divinity.  For,  although  it  was  the  body  of  Christ  that  suffered  on 
Calvary,  and  although  it  is  the  body  of  Christ  that  is  mystically 
offered  in  our  eucharistic  oblations,  still  it  must  be  remembered  that 
in  the  incarnation  there  can  be  no  separation  between  the  body  and 
blood,  soul  and  divinity,  of  our  divine  Redeemer.  Again,  the 
supreme  priest  is  no  other  than  that  same  Saviour  and  Son  of  God, 
although  He  is  represented  by  a  priesthood  on  earth  appointed  by 
Himself     It  is  the  privilege  of  Catholics,  therefore,  to  unite  with 


SEEM0N8.  315 

the  visible  priest  at  their  altars  in  the  whole  intention  and  meaning 
of  the  sacrifice.  In  that  act  their  individual  prayer  is  elevated  to 
the  supreme  rank  of  supreme  adoration  of  God.  Since  the  incarnate 
"Word  is  at  once  the  priest  and  the  victim  of  the  sacrifice,  there  can  be 
no  imperfection  in  the  offering  itself,  however  imperfect  may  be  the 
visible  minister  of  the  altar.  Hence,  dearly  beloved  brethren,  the 
recollection,  the  devotion,  the  decorum  that  should  be  observable 
whenever  we  assist  at  this  divine  institution;  hence  the  zeal  and 
piety  of  all  ages  in  this  mode  of  rendering  its  celebration,  even  exte- 
riorly, more  august  in  the  sight  of  heaven  and  of  men.  Hence  these 
gorgeous  temples  which,  from  the  moment  when  Christianity  was 
permitted  to  emerge  from  the  catacombs,  began  to  arise  from  point 
to  point  all  over  the  surface  of  Christendom,  and  which,  even  now, 
constitute  the  w^onder  and  admiration  of  mankind.  And,  I  might 
add,  hence  the  beautiful  church  and  altar  of  which  you  have  witnessed 
the  dedication.  The  faith  of  the  Catholic  Church  on  this  subject 
being  sucli  as  I  have  described,  it  is  but  a  necessary  consequence 
that  such  things  should  take  place. 

But  it  is  time  that  I  should  draw  to  a  close.  I  have  already  men- 
tioned, that  on  a  day  like  this,  controversy  and  disputation  would  be 
out  of  time  and  out  of  place.  It  is  too  sacred  for  any  thing  but  the 
feelings  of  joy  and  gladness  which  must  animate  the  pastor  and  peo- 
ple of  St.  Joseph's  church  at  witnessing  the  triumph  of  their  arduous 
undertaking:.  I  might  make  even  another  remark.  Those  who  are 
not  Catholics  may  regret  that  whereas  human  reason  is  incompetent 
to  undei'stand  the  mystery  of  which  I  have  spoken,  I  might  at  least 
have  met  that  objection.  My  answer  must  be  very  brief,  and  it  is 
this  :  that  in  the  last  analysis,  whether  of  nature  or  of  divine  revela- 
tion, human  reason  is  incompetent  to  understand  any  thing,  not  even 
how  the  grass  grows,  how  the  eye  sees,  how  the  arm  of  the  human 
body  moves  at  the  volition  of  something  which  is  not  the  arm. 
But  all  can  understand  that  if  God  has  made  a  revelation  at  all,  what 
He  says  ought  to  be  believed,  whether  human  reason  comprehend  it 
or  not.  Finally,  dearly  beloved  brethren,  it  should  be  our  study  to 
conform  to  these  divine  doctrines  and  institutions ;  to  consecrate 
and  sanctify  ourselves,  as  well  as  this  church  in  which  we  are  to  be 
present  at  the  consecration  of  the  Victim  in  the  sacrifice  of  the  Mass ; 
to  become  ourselves  living  stones  in  the  construction  of  that  ever- 
lasting temple  which  is  not  made  by  human  hands.  I  mean  of  that 
heavenly  Jerusalem  described  by  the  evangelist  St.  John,  in  his 
Apocalypse,  in  which  the  saints  of  Christ  shall  adore  forever  and 
ever ;  in  which  there  shall  be  no  grief,  no  teai's,  no  necessity  for  fur- 
ther sacrifices,  and  in  which  it  will  be  no  longer  necessary  that  faith 
should  be  exercised,  since  we  shall  know  as  we  are  known,  and  see 
God  face  to  face. 


316  AKCHBI8H0P    HUGHES. 


"THE   GREAT    COMMANDMENT    IN  THE  LAW." 

A  SERMON  DELIVERED  TUESDAY,  JUNE  5th,  1860,  AT  CHAPEL- 
HILL  UNIVERSITY,  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

"  But  the  Pharisees  hearing  that  he  had  silenced  the  Sadducees,  came  together, 
and  one  of  them,  a  doctor  of  the  law,  asked  Him,  tempting  Him  :  Master,  which  is 
the  great  commandment  in  the  law  ?  Jesus  said  to  him :  Thou  shalt  love  the 
Lord  thy  God  with  thy  whole  heart,  and  with  thy  whole  soul,  and  with  thy 
whole  mind.  This  is  the  greatest  and  first  commandment ;  and  the  second  is 
like  to  this :  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself.  On  these  two  command- 
ments dependeth  the  whole  law  and  the  prophets." — St.  Matthew,  xxii.  34. 

It  might  appear  strange  at  first  view  that  our  divine  Redeemer 
should  have  deemed  it  necessary  to  renew  a  precept,  placing  the  af- 
fections of  the  human  soul  under  obedience. 

It  should  seem  but  a  necessary  consequence,  that  they  who  know 
God  to  be  their  Creator,  Father,  and  Saviour,  should  love  Him  by  a 
spontaneous  movement  of  their  hearts  without  the  necessity  of  a 
commandment  to  that  effect.  But  it  should  be  remembered  that  the 
precept,  as  originally  laid  down  in  the  book  of  Deuteromony,  and 
now  so  emphatically  confirmed  by  the  incarnate  Son  of  God,  was 
addressed  to  that  fallen  race  whom  He  came  to  redeem  and 
elevate. 

So  far  as  we  know,  the  angels  themselves  were  not  commanded  to 
love  their  Creator.  The  principle  of  that  love  was  inherent  in  their 
spiritual  nature.  No  doubt  a  test  was  appointed  by  which,  in  the 
exercise  of  their  free  will,  they  might  prove  their  fidelity  to  God,  or  their 
rebellion  against  Him.  By  this  test  they  were  tried.  Having  been 
created  siraultaneously,thetrialortemptation,which  would  prove  their 
fidelity,  was  one  and  the  same.  In  th-e  exercise  of  their  free  will 
some  adhered  to  God ;  others  resisted,  and  would  not  serve.  These 
latter  were  expelled  from  heaven,  and  fell  to  rise  no  more.  For 
them  there  was  not,  and  there  was  not  to  be,  at  any  time,  a 
saviour. 

Again,  in  the  creation  of  our  first  parents  in  the  garden  of  Para- 
dise, there  is  no  evidence  that  God  imposed  on  them  any  special  ob- 
ligation to  love  Him.  This  would  be  necessarily  implied,  but  it  has 
not  been  specifically  commanded.  Their  test  by  which  they  should 
recognize  the  supremacy  and  sovereignty  of  their  Creator,  was  em- 
bodied in  a  prohibitory  precept  forbidding  them  to  taste  of  the  fruit 
of  the  tree  of  the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil.  They  were  free ;  and 
in  the  exercise  of  their  freedom,  they  chose  to  violate  the  com- 
mandment of  their  God,  and  to  involve  themselves  and  their  pos- 
terity in  a  ruin  which  would  have  been  irremediable  for  time  and  for 
eternity,  if  God  had  not  so  loved  the  world  as  to  give  His  only  be- 


SERMONS.  317 

gotten  Son,  that  whosoever  should  believe  in  Him  might  not  perish 
but  might  have  life  everlasting.  It  is  to  their  descendants,  all 
maimed  and  wounded  in  their  nature  by  the  ravages  of  original  and 
actual  sin,  that  the  precept  was  given  in  specilic  words,  commanding 
them  to  love  God,  and  to  love  their  neighbor. 

There  is  a  great  mystery  involved  in  what  I  have  just  said.  The 
right  understanding  of  it  furnishes  a  key  for  all  other  mysteries.  It 
is  this :  Why  God  permitted  that  the  noblest  work  of  His  creation, 
viz.,  angels  and  men,  should  have  the  power  to  rebel  against  Him, 
whilst  all  the  other  portions  of  His  creation  obey  His  laws  \\ith  con- 
stant and  unvarying  fidelity  ?  In  other  words,  why  God  should 
have  permitted  sin,  or,  at  least,  not  prevented  it?  The  answer  to 
this  is — so  far  as  man  may  interpret  the  divine  counsel — that  He 
created  both  angels  and  men,  and  endowed  them  with  such  exalted 
faculties  that  an  obedience  of  necessity  on  their  part  would  have 
been  unworthy  of  His  infinite  majesty  and  of  the  dignity  of  their 
nature. 

There  were  but  two  alternatives.  One  would  be  the  law  of  ne- 
cessity, by  which  they  should  have  to  move  under  perpetual  compul- 
sion, and  thus  stand  before  God,  bowing  reverence,  as  puppets  on  a 
wire  bow  at  the  touch  of  a  spring.  This  order  has  been  observed  by  the 
Almighty  in  the  creation  of  the  material  world,  whether  animate  or 
inanimate.  Thus,  the  planet  which  we  inhabit  obeys  God  in  its  rev- 
lutions,  in  its  seasons,  in  its  fertility,  in  the  beauty  of  its  solid 
grounds,  and  the  terrific  majesty  of  its  mighty  oceans.  Thus,  the 
other  planets  of  our  system  move  in  their  orbits  with  a  constancy  and 
regularity  that  have  never  been  found  at  fault.  Each  is  found  precisely 
in  the  place  at  the  time  appointed  according  to  the  law  which  God 
has  imposed  upon  them  for  their  guidance.  Thus,  also  in  refei*ence 
to  the  stars,  which  His  powerful  hand  has  distributed  and  poised  in 
their  several  places  throughout  the  immensity  of  space.  If  God,  there- 
fore, had  denied  free  will  at  their  creation,  either  to  angels  or  men, 
they  would  have  fallen  under  a  law  similar  to  that  which  is  applica- 
ble to  the  irrational  works  of  Almighty  God.  Sin,  indeed,  would 
have  been  thus  prevented  ;  but  then  intelligence  would  have  been  a 
superfluous  burden,  free-will  a  mockery,  and  memory  either  useless 
or  impossible.  There  would  be  no  rational  being  to  offer  freely  its 
homage  and  adoration  to  its  Creator  and  Sovereign.  God  would 
still  remain  in  the  solitude  of  His  being,  as  He  was  previous  to  the 
creation  of  men  or  angels.  He  might  contemplate  His  works  as 
they  would  stand  out  giving  evidence  of  His  power ;  but  among 
them  all  there  would  not  be  any  person,  or  any  thing  capable  of  ren- 
dering Him  that  soul-felt,  rational,  voluntary  homage  which  is  due 
from  all  creatures,  as  a  recognition  of  His  infinite  power  and  un- 
speakable perfection.  Men  and  angels,  and  things  whether  animate 
or  inanimate,  would  be  under  a  law  of  necessity.  Free-will  there 
could  be  none ;  and  without  free-will,  there  can  be  no  rational  or 
voluntary  obedience,  love,  or  adoration  towards  God. 

As  it  is,  ail  His  works  may  be  referred  to  as  exemplifying  His  om- 


318  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

nipotence  and  His  glory.  They  do  not  understand  themselves. 
But  man,  in  the  greatness  of  his  intellect,  can  be  their  interpreter. 
He  can  read  their  bright  pages ;  and  even  if  Heaven  had  not  given 
him  a  better  book,  this  alone  would  be  sufficient  to  raise  his  soul, 
and  fix  his  heart  in  the  contemplation  of  His  divine  author. 

But  after  all,  it  is  not  in  the  survey  of  this  outward  glorious  world 
that  man  discovers  those  perfections  of  his  Creator  which  excite 
him  to  charity  and  love.  When  we  consider  His  eternity,  His  infi- 
nite knowledge,  His  omnipotence,  the  wonders  of  His  creation,  we 
are  filled  with  respect,  with  astonishment,  with  admiration  ;  our  un- 
derstanding is  confounded — is  overwhelmed  ;  but  the  heart  is  not 
touched.  It  is  only  when  we  meditate  upon  His  goodness,  His 
mercy,  and  His  charity  towards  His  creatures,  that  our  hearts  feel 
the  first  attraction  of  love,  by  which  we  are  drawn  to  Him,  and 
recognize  that  His  love  for  us  should  be  reciprocated  on  our 
part. 

Here,  then,  we  begin  to  understand  the  reasonableness  of  the 
precept  by  which  we  are  commanded  to  love  Him  with  our  whole 
heart,  with  our  whole  soul,  and  with  our  whole  mind — arid  our  neigh- 
bor as  ourselves. 

It  is  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  for  us  to  know  whether  at  any 
time  we  love  God,  according  to  the  force  and  energy  which  the 
evangelist  employs  in  characterizing  the  nature  of  that  love.  Pa- 
rents and  children,  and  even  friends,  are  conscious  of  the  aftection 
which  binds  them  to  each  other.  But  this  is  in  the  natural  order.  It 
is  tender ;  it  is  sustained,  while  it  lasts,  in  a  great  measure,  by  the 
aid  of  the  senses  as  well  as  the  susceptibility  of  our  nature.  The 
love  which  we  owe  to  God  is  not  of  this  order,  since  we  see  Him  not 
with  the  eyes  of  flesh,  since  we  hear  Him  not,  except  through  the  echoes 
of  His  word.  The  love,  therefore,  that  is  due  to  Him  is  of  a  supei'- 
natural  character,  and  the  precept  of  our  Saviour  does  not  imply 
that  we  shall  be  moved  to  deep  sensibility  by  the  operation  of  divine 
love  in  our  hearts.  It  requires  that  we  should  love  God  as  God,  and 
man  as  our  neighbor.  Our  blessed  Saviour  has  abundantly  explained 
this  point  by  laying  down  the  test  of  love  such  as  the  law  requires. 
In  the  fourteenth  chapter  of  St.  John  we  are  told  :  "  He  that  hath 
ray  commandments,  and  keepeth  them,  he  it  is  that  loveth  me.  And 
lie  that  loveth  me  shall  be  loved  of  my  Father,  and  I  will  love  him, 
and  manifest  myself  to  him."  And  again,  in  the  same  evangelist, 
we  find  the  Saviour's  words,  as  follows:  "If  you  keep  my  com- 
mandments, you  shall  abide  in  my  love,  as  I  also  have  kept  my 
Father's  commandments,  and  do  abide  in  His  love." 

The  test,  therefore,  laid  down  by  the  Saviour  Himself,  shows  that 
the  fulfilment  of  the  precept  is  not  necessarily  evidenced  by  senti- 
ments or  feelings  which  are  present  to  us,  and  of  which  we  are  con- 
scious at  any  lime,  but  rather  depends  for  its  accomplishment 
upon  the  sterner  virtues  of  self-denial,  and  obedience  to  the  com- 
mandments. 

This  will  require  many  sacrifices  which  it  is  impossible  to  make, 


SERMONS.  319 

unless  by  the  aid  of  divine  grace,  promised  to  us  through  the  merits 
of  Jesus  Christ ;  for  without  Him  we  can  do  nothing. 

There  is  anotlier  point  of  view  in  which  it  would  seem  that  the 
nature  of  man,  even  in  his  fall,  is  such  that  it  is  of  itself  prepared  for 
the  reception  of  the  precept  contained  in  my  text.  His  heart's  life 
is  love.  The  capacity  of  that  love  can  embrace  the  boundaries  of 
the  wol-ld,  and  elevated  by  divine  grace,  can  penetrate  the  heavens, 
and  make  its  offerings  at  the  foot  of  the  throne  of  God  Himself. 
We  all  know  this  by  experience,  that  we  can  love  our  parents,  our 
kindred,  our  friends,  our  neighbors,  our  country,  our  fellow-beings 
throughout  the  world.  Of  course,  in  proportion  as  these  are  more 
nearly  related  to  us,  our  love,  if  I  can  so  speak,  is  more  ardent. 
But  God  has  endowed  our  hearts  with  a  capacity  to  extend, 
in  principle,  at  least,  our  good-will  to  men,  and  even  to  angels ;  and 
yet  by  this  the  capacity  and  the  love  itself  remain  undiminished,  like 
the  light  and  warmth  of  the  sun,  which  constantly  diffuse  themselves 
over  the  world,  and  are  never  exhausted  or  diminished  in  the  lumi- 
nous fountain  from  which  they  proceed.  This  aptitude  in  the  natu- 
ral order  would  seem  to  have  been  a  preparation  tor  our  duties  in  the 
supernaturaL  God  has  so  created  us  that  we  could  not  divest  our- 
selves of  the  desire  to  be  happy.  We  seek  to  satisfy  that  desire  by 
placing  our  affection  upon  objects  entirely  inadequate  to  the  purpose. 
They  are  attractive ;  and  in  addition,  Ave  invest  them  with  proper- 
ties of  excellence  by  which,  we  suppose,  that  in  their  possession  we 
should  find  happiness.  Sometimes  we  are  not  disappointed.  But 
the  duration  of  our  felicity  is  always  precarious  and  essentially  brief. 
The  object  is  removed  from  us — or  it  has  not  the  qualities  which  we 
had  ascribed  to  it — or  it  has  not  accomplished  towards  our  felicity 
what  we  had  anticipated— or  our  affection  itself  has  undergone  a 
change,  and  we  find  that  our  love  yearns  for  something  better, 
sdmething  more  permanent,  something  more  capable  of  filling  up 
the  void  which  we  feel.  Now,  in  reality,  so  immense  is  the  capacity 
of  love  in  the  human  heart  that  nothing  can  satisfy  it  fully,  ade- 
quately, and  permanently,  except  God,  who  is  unchangeable,  infi- 
nitely lovely,  and  perfect.  Show  me  a  man  who,  without  forfeit- 
ing any  just  privilege  of  human  affection,  really  loves  God,  and  I 
will  point  him  out  to  you  as  one  who  is  essentially  happy.  For 
another,  who  fixes  his  affections  upon  human  things,  no  matter 
how  excellent  they  may  or  seem  to  be,  but  who  does  not  love  God, 
real  happiness  is  utterly  impossible.  And  it  is  for  this  reason  that 
St.  Augustine  exclaimed  :  "  Thou  hast  made  us  for  Thyself^  O  God ! 
and  our  hearts  cannot  rest  until  they  rest  in  Thee ! 

Among  Christians  of  every  name  it  is  well  ascertained  that  meek- 
eyed  Charity  has  never  given  rise  to  controversy.  She  has  been  re- 
cognized by  all  as  the  dove  bearing  amidst  the  distractions  of  the 
Christian  world  the  olive  branch  of  peace.  All  have  recognized  in 
her  the  description  of  the  heavenly  virtue,  as  given  by  St.  Paul : 
"  Charity  is  patient,  is  kind.  Charity  envieth  not,  dealeth  not  per- 
versely, is  not  puffed  up."     Now  it  is  certain  that  the  ground-work 


320  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

of  chanty  is  the  love  of  God,  as  commanded  in  the  words  of  my  text, 
and  yet  infidelity  has  not  hesitated  to  raise  its  voice  against  this  vir- 
tue, and  to  proclaim  that  it  is  impossible  to  love  a  God  such  as  our 
religion  represents  him  to  be — that  it  is  impossible  to  love  a  God 
who  inspires  fear  into  the  hearts  of  men,  and  who  punishes  crime  by 
an  everlasting  penalty.  But  we  answer,  if  God  did  not  punish  crime, 
on  what  basis  could  virtue  and  holiness  found  their  hopes  of  His  ap 
proval  and  of  their  recompense  at  His  hands  ?  No  infidel  has  yet 
dared  to  deny  the  distinction  between  vice  and  virtue.  The  simplest 
notions  of  common  justice  indicate  that  God,  as  a  legislator,  exercises 
the  double  function  of  rewarding  the  one  and  punishing  the  other, 
otherwise  the  wicked  and  the  just  would  be  on  a  perfect  equality  in 
the  divine  presence.  Crime  would  have  no  remorse,  and  virtue 
would  be  robbed  of  its  motive  and  its  hope.  Where  a  wicked  man, 
against  the  laws  of  heaven  and  earth,  imbrues  his  hands  in  the  blood 
of  his  brother  he  is  justly,  by  divine  and  human  law,  condemned  to 
forfeit  his  life.  His  country  causes  him  to  be  executed,  and  if  the 
•  infidel's  argument  were  sound  that  would  be  a  reason  why  we  should 
not  love  our  countiy.  But  he  would  say  that,  after  all,  it  was  only 
the  cruel  anticipation  of  a  death  which,  in  the  natural  order,  would 
occur  at  no  very  distant  period,  but  that  God's  penalty  for  unrepent- 
ed  crime  is  eternal.  This,  so  far  as  his  objection  is  concerned,  is  a 
fallacy.  The  execution  of  a  man  by  the  authority  of  his  country  is 
an  act,  so  far  as  he  is  concerned,  reaching  to  eternity.  He  dies  of- 
tentimes impenitent,  sometimes  blaspheming  God,  and  pouring  his 
maledictions  on  his  fellow-beings.  We  know  what  the  sentence  of 
divine  justice  will  be  in  his  regard,  but  the  execution  of  the  sentence 
is  not  postponed  on  that  account.  Shall  we,  therefore,  cease  to  love 
our  country  ?  Assuredly  not.  But  it  Avould  cease  to  deserve  our 
pati'iotism  if  it  did  not  make  the  distinction  between  virtue  and  vice 
— if  it  did  not  protect  the  good  citizen  and  punish  the  evil-doer. 

I  mention  this  illustration  of  the  fallacy  as  well  as  the  impiety  that 
are  generally  blended  together  in  the  seductive  pages  of  infidel 
writing,  because,  unhappily,  falling  into  the  hands  of  yoimg  men 
emerging  from  college  life,  they  but  too  often  produce  impressions, 
or  doubts,  or  hesitations,  which  it  will  take  years  and  years  often- 
times to  vanquish  and  remove.  They  would  do  well,  therefore,  to 
avoid  every  species  of  written  or  of  spoken  infidelity.  They  would 
do  well  to  cherish  the  simple  belief  of  those  lessons  both  of  precept 
and  example  which  were  inculcated  in  the  domestic  circle  of  their 
homes  and  in  their  university.  Infidels  may  speak  and  write  as  they 
will,  multiplying  with  seductive  eloquence  their  words  against  reli- 
gion, but  educated  youth  should  not  permit  such  words  to  disturb 
in  their  regard  the  fonndations  of  Christianity,  for  they  are  solid  as 
the  everlasting  hills,  and  indestructible  as  the  divine  Architect  by 
whom  they  were  laid.  Other  things,  including  infidels  and  infidel 
writings,  shall  pass  away,  but  the  foundation  and  the  superstructure 
of  Christianity — never. 

Having  said  so  much  on  the  first,  on  the  greatest  and  first  com- 


SERMONS.  321 

mandment,  we  turn  to  the  second,  which  is  like  to  it — Thou  shaltlove 
thy  neighbor  as  thyself. 

The  fultihnent  of  this  precept  is,  under  all  circumstances,  difficult, 
and  were  it  not  that  it  depends  on  the  fii*st  commandment — the  love 
of  God — of  which  it  is  an  inseparable  appendix,  I  have  no  hesitation 
in  saying  that,  in  many  cases,  it  would  be  impossible.  And  yet  it  is 
the  special  test  by  which  Christ  would  have  His  disciples  to  be  re- 
cognized. In  the  13th  chapter  of  St.  John  He  says :  "  A  new  com- 
mandment I  give  unto  you — that  you  love  one  another,  as  I  have 
loved  you,  that  you  also  love  one  another.  By  this  shall  all  men 
know  that  you  are  my  disciples,  if  you  have  love  one  for  another." 
In  the  15th  chapter  of  the  same  Gospel  our  Saviour  declares  :  "This 
is  my  commandmenr,  that  you  love  one  another  as  I  have  loved  you. 
Greater  love  than  this  no  man  hath,  that  a  man  lay  down  his  life  for 
his  friends.  You  are  my  friends,  if  you  do  the  things  that  I  com- 
mand you."  The  sphere  in  which  this  virtue  is  to  be  exercised  is 
precisely  that  which  is  occupied  by  our  fallen  race.  This  portion  of 
the  divine  precept  could  have  no  application  either  to  our  first  parents 
or  to  the  celestial  spirits  that  surround  the  throne  of  God.  Among 
them  there  is  no  opjJortunity  for  the  exercise  of  fraternal  charity, 
there  are  no  tears  to  be  di-ied  away,  no  sorrows  to  be  assuaged,  no 
sufferings  to  be  alleviated,  no  desolate  orphans  nor  any  destitute, 
aged,  or  sick  to  be  protected  or  comforted.  But  in  this  life,  on  the 
contrary,  the  very  order  of  human  existence  would  seem  to  have 
pointed  out  to  man  the  necessity  of  mutual  aid  between  those  who 
need  it  and  those  who  have  the  means  to  afford  it.  This  is  clear 
from  the  moment  we  reflect  that  there  is  no  member  of  the  human 
family  that  is  independent  by  himself  alone ;  be  he  a  king,,  or  be  he 
a  beggar,  the  necessity  of  aid  and  sympathy  from  his  fellow-beings 
is  indispensable ;  and  this  law  pervades  the  whole  human  race,  prov- 
ing that  man  was  created  for  society  and  not  for  solitude  or  selfish- 
ness. The  human  family  exists  by  succession  in  the  natural  order, 
and  not  by  a  simultaneous  creation.  In  the  weakness  of  childhood, 
or  in  the  feebleness  of  old  age,  we  should  perish  promptly,  wei'e  it 
not  for  the  aid  and  protection  that  are  furnished  by  our  kindred 
or  our  fellow-beings.  In  the  moral  order,  we  should  grow  up  in 
ignorance  of  our  God  and  of  our  duty,  were  we  not  provided  with, 
tlie  means  of  instruction  by  those  who  were  in  life  before  us.  Under 
these  circumstances,  it  would  seem  but  natural  that  mankind  should,, 
from  the  very  necessity  of  the  case,  from  a  sense  of  their  mutual  de-- 
pendence  on  each  other,  liave  coalesced  in  a  common  system  of  mu- 
tual aid  and  mutual  benefit.  We  know  from  history,  however,,  that 
the  very  reverse  of  this  has  been  the  ordinary  condition  of  men. 
whenever  divine  charity  had  not  prepared  the  way  for  the  right  ap- 
preciation of  the  duties  which  we  owe  one  to  another.  Human  na- 
ture was  essentially  the  same  at  all  times  and  in  all  places^  and  yet,, 
if  you  go  outside  the  boundaries  of  Christianity,  you  will  find  not  a 
trace  or  an  evidence  of  the  benefits  which  charity  has  diffused  among, 
the  followers  of  Christ.  Humanity  had  not  been  extinguishfid — phi- 
VoL.  XL— 21. 


AKCHBI8H0P   HUGHES. 

losopliy  boasted  itself  as  philanthropic,  but  this  was  only  in  pompous 
words,  for  nothing  was  in  reality  accomplished.  Cruelty  in  legisla- 
tion, hard-heartedness  in  social  life,  indifference  to  the  sufferings  of 
others,  the  oppression  of  the  weak  by  the  strong,  the  deliberate  and 
authorized  destruction  by  parents  of  tlieir  own  offspring,  the  power 
of  life  and  death  over  their  children  and  domestic  dependants — these 
were  all  that  humanity  could  accomplish,  whilst  it  was  unenlightened 
by  divine  charity,  and  unimpelled  to  do  good  by  the  precept  and 
example  of  our  Lord.  It  was  into  such  a  world  that  He  introduced 
the  Christian  religion,  and  by  a  new  commandment  inculcated  espe- 
cially the  mutual  duty  of  love  and  charity — "a  new  commandment  I 
give  unto  you,  that  you  love  one  another.  This  is  My  command- 
ment, that  you  love  one  another.  He  that  hath  My  commandments, 
and  keepeth  them,  he  it  is  that  loveth  me."  And  St.  John,  in  the 
4th  chapter  of  his  first  epistle,  says :  "  Let  us,  therefore,  love  God, 
because  God  hath  first  loved  us.  If  any  man  say,  I  love  God,  and 
hateth  his  brother,  he  is  a  liar,  for  he  that  loveth  not  his  brother, 
whom  he  seeth,  how  can  he  love  God,  whom  he  seeth  not :  this  com- 
mandment we  have  from  God,  that  he  who  loveth  God  love  also  his 
brother."  From  the  period,  therefore,  when  Christ  imposed  this 
new  commandment  upon  his  disciples  there  was  light  and  hope  for 
the  world.  After  the  ascension  of  our  Redeemer,  the  Apostles  and 
those  who  succeeded  to  their  ministry  ceased  not  to  inculcate  this 
as  an  obligatory  part  of  His  religion,  so  that  wherever  the  Gospel 
was  preached  charity  became  an  essential  portion  of  Christianity.  It 
had  to  encounter  the  hostility  of  paganism  and  of  human  passions. 
Nevertheless,  it  diffused  its  happy  influence  on  every  side.  Even 
before  the  close  of  the  persecutions  by  the  Roman  emperors  it  had 
accomplished  wonders,  both  among  the  disciples  themselves  and  the 
pagans  by  whom  they  were  surrounded.  Eusebius,  in  his  Ecclesias- 
tical History,  tells  us  of  the  miracles  of  fraternal  charity  performed 
by  the  brethren  during  the  pestilence  that  desolated  the  Roman 
Empire  for  a  period  of  ten  years,  in  the  third  century,  in  which  they 
took  care  not  only  of  their  members,  but  also  of  the  suffering  pagans 
who  had  been  abandoned  by  their  own  friends  and  relatives.  And  St. 
John  Chrysostom,  in  his  preface  to  the  Epistle  to  the  Philippians,  does 
not  hesitate  to  say  that  the  charity  of  the  Christians  exercised  a  most 
powerful  influence  in  the  conversion  of  the  pagans.  We  know  that  Ju- 
lian the  Apostate,  was  bitter  in  his  reproaches  against  those  who  still  ad- 
hered to  the  tottering  gods  of  paganism,  because  they  permitted  them- 
selves to  be  so  outstripped  by  the  Galileans  in  works  of  fraternal  charity. 
I  am  aware  that  the  precept  of  our  Saviour  on  this  subject,  if  mis- 
understood, is  liable  to  objection.  For  instance,  we  are  commanded 
to  love  not  only  our  neighbors,  but  our  enemies.  Now,  if  this  were 
understood  to  be  a  love  such  as  a  parent  «herishes  for  his  son,  or 
mutual  friends  for  each  other,  obedience  to  the  precept  would 
hardly  be  possible.  But,  in  this  case  also,  our  divine  Redeemer  de- 
scribed the  species  of  love  which  we  are  to  entertain  for  our  ene-. 
mies.     In  the  fifth  chapter  of  St.  Matthew,  He  says :     "  You  have 


SERMONS.  323 

l.carcl  that  it  hath  been  said,  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor,  and  hate 
iliy  enemies;  but  I  say  to  you,  love  your  enemies.  Do  good  to 
them  that  hate  you,  and  pray  for  them  that  persecute  and  cahimniate 
you."  Now  this  is  the  species  of  love  which  is  required  in  order  to 
fultil  His  precept.  There  are  other  passages  conneted  with  this  sub- 
ject, to  which  exception  has  been  taken.  It  has  been  said  that  the 
duty  of  doing  unto  others  as  we  would  that  others  should  do  unto 
us,  if  reduced  into  practice,  would,  in  many  instances,  be  subversive 
of  order  in  civil  society,  and  tend  to  reduce  all  conditions  of  life  to 
a  certain  species  of  general  equality.  No  such  consequence  can  be 
fairly  deduced  from  the  legitimate  meaning  of  fraternal  charity. 
Order  and  subordination  it  respects.  Government  is  essential  in 
the  family,  and  in  the  State,  and  no  government  can  subsist  in  either 
without  the  distinction  of  conditions.  But  charity  would  reconcile 
and  elevate  them  all  into  the  beautiful  harmony  of  Christian  brother- 
hood. Such  has  been  the  effect  of  her  influence  from  the  days  of 
Christ  Himself  Her  advance  may  seem  to  us  to  have  been  slow ; 
but  it  has  ever  been  steady  and  progressive.  Under  her  auspices 
every  species  of  human  suffering  has  been,  to  a  great  extent,  pro- 
vided for.  She  has  operated  in  a  twofold  manner :  first,  acting  on 
individuals  in  their  eveiy-day  life,  preparing  them  to  do  good,  and 
to  relieve  distress  in  a  piivate  way  ;  next,  in  inducing  Christians  to 
combine  for  accomplishing  works  of  humanity  thi-ough  the  means  of 
association  ;  and  thus,  in  every  Christian  land,  whether  of  Europe  or 
of  America,  public  institutions  have  been  erected  for  the  relief  of  hu- 
man wretchedness.  She  has  provided  homes,  and  nurses,  and  food, 
and  clothing,  and  instruction  for  destitute  orphans  and  abandoned 
infants — retreats  for  the  aged — hospitals  for  the  sick.  With  that 
ingeniousness  which  the  love  of  God  and  man  inspires,  she  has  in- 
vented a  language  for  the  deaf  knd  dumb,  by  which  they  can  inter- 
change thought  with  each  other,  the  same  as  if  the  gift  of  speech  and 
hearing  had  not  been  denied  them.  She  has  contrived  a  system  of  edu- 
cation by  which  the  blind  can  read  by  the  touch  of  their  fingers.  Even 
the  insane  have  not  been  forgotten  in  the  scope  of  the  love  enjoined 
upon  us  by  the  commandment  of  Christ.  It  is  true  that  many  of 
these  institutions  have  been  founded  and  fostered  by  civil  govern- 
ments. But  whence  did  such  governments  derive  the  feeling  and 
convictions  which  have  prompted  them  to  make  such  provision  tor  the 
poor  ?  Unquestionably  they  have  descended  to  us  from  the  precept 
of  our  Lord,  for  wherever  that  precept  is  unknown,  civil  govern- 
ments iiave  never  attempted  any  thing  of  the  kind.  The  most  civil- 
ized countries  of  paganism,  such  as  Greece  and  Rome,  never  left  be- 
hind them  a  single  monument,  I  had  almost  said,  of  decent  humanity. 
They  excelled  us,  indeed,  in  works  of  art,  which  we  still  admire. 
But,  so  far  as  the  interests  of  humanity  are  concerned,  all  those 
works,  including  the  admirable  productions  of  Phidias  and  Prax- 
iteles, are  insignificant  as  compared  with  the  single  lunatic  asylum, 
which  crowns  one  of  the  summits  of  your  beautiful  capital. 

There  have  not  been  wanting  those  who  have  criticized  and  almost 


324:  AECHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

censured  this  whole  system  of  Christian  charity  and  human  benevo- 
lence. 'They  have  insisted  that  it  encourages  idleness,  and  destroys 
that  noble  feeling  of  self-reliance,  on  the  exercise  of  which  the  pros- 
perous and  healthy  condition  of  a  community  so  much  depends.  Alas  ! 
it  is  easy  for  those  who  have  inherited  or  acquired  by  their  own 
industry  competency  and  wealth  to  criticize  the  condition  of  their 
less  fortunate  brethren.  In  some  few  instances  such  an  abuse  of 
public  and  private  charity  on  the  part  of  those  who  are  its  recipients, 
may  have  taken  place ;  but  this  is  not  a  valid  reason  why  the  love 
of  (Air  neighbors  should  be  discountenanced.  It  is  not  the  poor 
alone  who  abuse  the  gifts  which  God  bestows  upon  them,  whether 
by  the  hands  of  charity  or  through  any  other  channel.  Is  not  ev- 
ery gift  of  His  liable  to  abuse?  The  light  of  the  day — the  darkness 
of  the  night — the  wealth,  of  which  His  providence  has  made  us 
the  stewards — the  health,  without  which  life  itself  would  become 
tiresome — do  we  not  abuse  them  all  ?  But  God,  who  knows  our  na- 
ture, does  not  withhold  those  gifts  because  w^e  occasionally  abuse  them. 
Let  us  extend  the  same  principle  to  the  poor,  and  hold  in  its  merited 
estimation  that  great  commandment  of  our  Lord  and  Master,  that, 
as  His  disciples,  we  should  love  one  another. 

Young  gentlemen  of  the  graduating  class,  my  task  is  done.  I  have 
endeavored  to  present  to  you,  not  according  to  the  details  of  the- 
ology, but  in  a  broad  and  general  view  of  its  benefits,  the  great  pre- 
cept of  Christian  charity.  I  have  pointed  out  the  divine  authority 
on  which  the  precept  is  founded,  whether  as  it  regards  the  love  of 
God,  or  the  love  of  our  neighbor.  This  has  not  been  in  that  style 
of  language,  of  oratory,  or  of  eloquence  to  which  you  have  been  ac- 
customed, or  which  befits  the  hall  of  science  and  such  an  audience 
as  I  see  before  me.  For  more  than  a  third  of  a  century  it  has  been 
my  duty  to  preach  the  word  of  God*,  but  it  w^as  almost  always  to  the 
willing  ears  and  fervent  hearts  of  the  humble  and  simple-minded,  who, 
in  their  own  fervor,  were  prepared  to  hear  and  be  edified  at  whatever 
might  be  said.  In  speaking  to  them  I  have  acquired  the  habit  of 
imitating  the  simplicity  of  the  gospel  itself,  caring  little  for  ornaments 
of  style,  provided  I  could  find  terms  calculated  to  convey  ideas.  If 
the  ideas  should  be  retained  by  my  hearers,  the  language  which  had 
been  used  as  their  vehicle,  was  of  the  slightest  consequence.  On 
this  occasion,  however,  more  attention  to  the  language,  as  well  as  to 
the  idea,  might  have  been  given  with  great  propriety.  I  have,  at 
least,  given  you  proof  of  my  good-will ;  and,  if  I  have  communicated 
ideas  that  may  rise  up  in  your  memory  hereafter,  prompting  you  to 
love  God  and  your  neighbor,  I  shall  feel  myself  highly  rewarded. 
In  the  mean  time,  I  thank  you  for  that  patience  and  attention  which 
you  have  exhibited  during  my  discourse.  You  are  now  about  to 
go  forth  and  enter  upon  the  busy  scenes  of  active  life.  It  is  the 
wish  and  the  hope  of  all  your  nearer  friends,  and  it  is  mine  also,  that 
you  will  so  deport  yourselves  on  the  new  theatre  of  life  as  to  reflect 
credit  upon  your  distinguished  Alma  Mater,  be  a  source  of  comfort 
and  legitimate  pride  to  your  parents  and  your  family,  and  an  honor 


SERMONS.  325 

to  that  great  country  which  rightfully,  expects  much  from  her  noble 
sons  who  have  had  the  benefits  of  such  an  education  as  it  has  been 
your  privilege  to  receive.  Another  wish  and  hope,  which  I  may  be 
allowed  to  express  in  my  own  name,  is,  that  God  will  protect  you, 
pour  upon  you  His  choicest  blessings  in  this  life,  and  enable  you  to 
reach  that  better  life,  in  another  world,  for  which  you  were  created. 


REASON  AND  FAITH. 


A  SERMON   ON  THE  OCCASION  OF  THE  DEDICATION   OF  ST.  PAT 
RICK'S  CHURCH,  NEWBURGH,  N.  Y.,  DECEMBER  2,  1860. 

"  You  liave  not  chosen  me,  but  I  have  chosen  you ;  and  have  appointed  you 
that  you  should  go,  and  should  bring  forth  fruit,  and  your  fruit  should  re- 
main.'— John,  chap.  xv.  16. 

These  are  the  words  of  our  divine  Redeemer  on  one  of  those  occa- 
sions when  He  spoke,  as  it  were,  more  exclusively  to  His  immediate 
Apostles  and  disciples.  They  were,  it  might  be  said,  among  His  last 
confidential  Avords  to  them.  The  message  referred  to  them,  and  not 
to  the  whole.  He  told  them  they  had  not  chosen  Him,  but  He  had 
chosen  them,  in  order  that  they  "  should  go  and  should  bring  forth 
fruit ;"  and  that  their  ■"  fruit  should  remain."  There  is  much  of  deep 
instruction  in  these  words.  They  are  in  perfect  harmony  with  cor- 
responding intimations  given  by  Him  on  other  occasions  to  the  Apos- 
tles whom  He  was  to  send  forth  for  the  work  of  converting  the  world 
to  the  belief  of  His  doctrines.  He  says  that  you  "should  go,"  and  yet 
it  is  not  a  separation  precisely  from  their  divine  Master,  because  He 
says  elsewhere,  "  And  lo !  I  am  with  you  all  days,  even  to  the  con- 
summation of  the  world."  But  His  observation  to  the  eflfect  that 
they  had  not  elected  or  chosen  Him,  but  that  He  had  chosen  them, 
was,  no  doubt,  intended  for  instruction  through  all  time,  and  for  uni- 
versal application.  If  He  had  left  these  words  unsaid  it  might  come 
to  pass,  as  it  has  in  some  instances,  that  the  sheep  would  choose  the 
shepherd ;  that  that  world  which  they  were  appointed  to  enlighten 
should  imagine  itself  possessed  of  the  right  and  authority  to  select 
its  teachers.  It  was  to  guard  against  this  that  our  Saviour  said  to 
them,  "  You  have  not  chosen  Me,  but  I  have  chosen  you;  that  you 
should  go  and  should  brfng  forth  fruit  and  your  fruit  should  remain." 
In  short,  dearly  beloved  brethren,  the  whole  of  this  and  many  corres- 
ponding portions  of  the  new  Testament,  converge  upon  the  estab- 
lishment of  one  great  and  essential  truth,  and  that  truth  is,  that 
without  a  mission  no  man  can  minister  rightfully  in  the  things  of 


826  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

God.  Now,  that  mission  can  come  but  from  one  source,  and  that 
source  is  the  Founder  of  the  Church,  the  Saviour  of  the  World. 
Nor  does  He  leave  it  to  be  inferred  that  He  has  not  received  a  com- 
mission, for  He  says,  "  As  the  Father  hath  sent  Me,  so  I  also  send 
'  you,"  and  "  he  that  heareth  you,  heareth  Me ;  and  he  that  despiseth 
you,  despiseth  Me ;  and  he  that  despiseth  Me,  despiseth  Him  that  sent 
Me." 

Thus  religion  and  the  authority  of  religion  are  traceable  to  the 
throne  of  the  eternal  God  Himself,  for  our  Saviour  spoke  in  His  hu- 
man capacity  when  He  spoke  of  His  mission.  And  thus,  from  the 
present  day,  travelling  up  the  stream  of  time  to  its  vei-y  fountain, 
you  will  find  that  this  commission,  this  "go"  and  "bring  forth 
fruit,"  has  been  perpetually  the  rule  and  guide  of  the  Church  of  God 
upon  earth.  It  is  essentially  the  first  condition  of  a  mission.  If 
God  has  not  sent  me,  mediately  or  immediately  (for  it  amounts  to 
the  same  thing),  I  should  have  no  right  to  address  you  in  His  name 
from  this  place.  If  God  has  not  sent  me,  I  have  no  commission ; 
but  I  can  say,  in  an  humble  and  subordinate  sense,  "  You  have  not 
chosen  me,  but  I  have  chosen  you,"  because  I  am  sent  as  one  of 
those  who  are  commanded  to  go  forth  in  the  order  of  time,  to  bring 
forth  fruit,  with  a  view  that  that  "  fruit  should  remain."  The  same 
commission  has  been  extended  to  the  Apostles  and  their  successors, 
and  will  know  no  interruption  till  the  consummation  of  the  world. 
Anything  outside  of  that  maybe  benevolent,  may  be  philanthropic; 
but  it  is  not  directly  of  God,  it  is  of  humanity,  and  has  not  the  quali- 
fication for  a  divine  work.  Hence,  therefore,  the  Church  is  neces- 
sarily a  Church  of  mission.  We  are  called  to  the  faith  indeed  by  the 
general  vocation  of  Christian  truth,  and  then  one  is  chosen  here  and 
another  there,  their  qualifications  tested,  and  when  they  are  deemed 
worthy  by  those  who  had  been  called  and  consecrated  before  them, 
they  are  associated  in  the  sacred  mission.  Then  again  come  in  the 
words,  "You  have  not  chosen  Me, but  I  have  cI)osen  you, that  you 
should  go,  and  should  bring  forth  fruit,  and  that  your  fruit  should  re- 
main." This  has  been  the  rule  of  the  Church  from  the  beginning, 
and  is  repeated  from  the  rising  to  the  setting  of  the  sun. 

The  other  point  is  the  unity  of  the  Cliurch,  as  well  as  its  mission, 
and  unity  could  not  result  except  from  a  divine  mission.  These  two 
marks  of  the  Church,  therefore,  are  essential,  and,  when  I  shall  have 
said  a  few  words  upon  them,  I  will  endeavor  to  meet  the  only  current 
objection  with  which  the  mission  of  the  Apostles  and  iheir  succes- 
sors has  ever  been  resisted ;  that  is  to  say,  the  pretended  discrepancy 
and  contradiction  between  man's  reason  and  the  mission  the  Apostles 
were  commanded  to  proclaim  to  the  ends  of  the  earth.  With  re- 
gard to  the  first,  unity  and  mission  cannot  be  separated.  The  first 
point,  therefore,  of  truth  is  this  very  reason  itself — that  if  there  be 
but  one  God,  there  cannot  be  two  true  religions,  for  the  supposition 
that  there  should  be  two  religions  emanating  from  tlie  authoi-ity  of 
one  and  the  same  God,  is  a  contradiction.  He  would  have,  if  He 
made  them  both  true,  to  contradict  Himsellj  and  that  would  destroy 


SERMONS.  327 

all  conception  of  his  infinite  perfection.  From  Him  revelation  is 
the  divine  teaching  necessary  for  man,  to  bring  him  into  communion 
witli  the  Church  of  Christ  and  with  Christ  Himself)  and  through 
Christ  with  God,  his  creator.  There  are  no  two  opposite  ways,  di- 
vinely appointed,  for  this.  I  do  not  speak  now  of  the  good  inten- 
tions of  individuals  who  reason  it  out,  to  their  own  satisfaction,  that 
when  they  mean  to  serve  God,  when  they  form  a  religion  in  their 
own  minds,  they  stand  in  as  good  a  position  as  if  they  were  members 
of  the  mystical  body  of  the  Son  of  God.  I  do  not  speak  of  them ; 
I  do  not  condemn  them ;  I  leave  them  alone ;  but  I  say  they  are  not 
in  the  path  of  salvation,  even  with  all  their  good  intentions,  because 
God  has  proclaimed  His  revelation.  From  the  very  beginning,  His 
Church  was  visible  to  all  men  ;  it  was  a  species  of  corpoiation,  having 
officers  who  could  trace  the  exercise  of  their  authority  to  the  very 
Fountain  of  revelation  itself  It  was  not  a  hidden  Church ;  it  was 
always  conspicuous ;  and,  while  the  Apostles  and  their  successors 
traversed  the  globe,'  while  they  jDassed  from  one  nation  to  another, 
guarding  the  lamp  of  faith  and  illuminating  other  lamps  of  faith  in 
the  darkness  and  ignorance  of  superstition  and  paganism,  they  did 
this  on  the  ground  that  they  were  sent ;  they  did  it  on  divine  au- 
thority ;  and,  although  they  might  not  have  heard  with  their  own 
ears  the  words  I  have  read,  nevertheless  these  words  reached  to 
them,  and  substantially  they  could  prove  their  commission  just  as  if 
they  were  present  at  the  time  our  holy  Redeemer  spoke  in  person 
to  His  Apostles.  What  was  the  result?  As  should  ha^e  been  ex- 
pected ;  they  had  no  opinions  of  their  own  to  propagate  ;  they  had 
a  message  from  God,  and  although  they  spoke  in  difterent  languages, 
still  you  will  find  no  variation  in  their  testimony.  Petei',  and  An- 
drew, and  James,  and  Thomas,  and  their  successors,  all  spoke  one 
and  the  same  language — it  might  have  been  in  various  tongues,  as 
they  had  to  address  difterent  nations,  but  the  substance  of  their  les- 
son never  varied.  And  what  does  this  prove  ?  It  proves  precisely 
that  they  understood  the  meaning  of  the  words  of  their  divine  Mas- 
ter, after  the  reception  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  which  up  till  that  period 
were  obscure  in  their  minds. 

The  second  part  of  the  result  was  unity — not  merely  unity  in  doc- 
trine, but  unity  in  belief  There  could  arise  no  contradiction,  no 
discrepancy  between  the  teaching  of  the  Apostles  in  any  age  and  the 
faith  that  teaching  inspired  into  the  minds  of  the  hearers  by  the  su- 
pernatural aid  of  divine  grace.  And  hence,  if  you  pass  from  one 
region  to  another,  visit  every  country  on  the  globe,  learn  the  lan- 
guage of  every  tribe,  inquire  and  examine  wherever  you  may,  you 
will  find  that  they  all  believe  the  same  doctrine  without  contradic- 
tion. This  is  the  outward  form  of  the  Church.  But  there  is  another, 
which  contains  the  inward  riches  of  divine  grace  with  which  tlie  Son 
of  God  endowed  her.  We  behold  this  in  her  teachings ;  the  minister 
of  God  does  not  give  out  his  speculations ;  he  repeats  and  re-echoes 
the  same  thing  which  the  divine  Master  commanded  His  Apostles  to 
to  teach,  when  He  said,  "Go  ye,  thereforte;  teach  all  nations,  bapti- 


:328  ARCHBISHOP  HUGHES. 

zing  them  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  teaching  them  to  observe  all  things  whatsoever  I  have  com- 
imanded  you;  and  lo!  I  am  with  you  all  days,  even  to  the  consum- 
mation of  the  world:"  He  .does  not  say,  teach  them  according  to  the 
best  of  your  understanding,  but  teach  them  whatever  I  have  com- 
manded you.  But  as  to  the  internal  life,  the  divine  guarantee  to  the 
Church  is  manifested  by  that  agreement  and  unity  of  doctrine  which 
ought  to  exist  among  Catholics.  It  should  be  a  necessary  result  that 
the  charity  of  religion  ought  to  be  as  much  one  as  the  faith  ;  that  is, 
suppose  if  they  have  one  faith,  and  one  Lord,  and  one  baptism,  how 
could  they  have  two  hearts,  one  loving  the  other  hating  ?  Charity 
should  be  exercised  in  connection  with  this  divine  institution  ;  for  in 
connection  with  it  she  has  spread  blessings  over  the  nations  of  the 
earth.  Look  at  every  thing  that  is  noble  and  dignified  in  humanity, 
and  you  will  trace  it  to  charity,  for  charity  is  "the  meek-eyed 
daughter  "  of  God  Himself,  and  those  who  have  not  charity  have  not 
the  fulness  of  perfection  which  the  faith  of  Christ  inspires.  In  the 
mean  time,  what  helps  to  fulfil  the  duties  of  this  Christian  life  if  we 
ourselves  are  utterly  incapable  of  rendering  any  service  to  God 
worthy  of  His  acceptance  ?  Humanity  cannot  elevate  itself;  it  re- 
quires a  lever,  and  it  is  for  this  reason  that  God  sent  His  only  begot- 
ten Son  to  raise  and  sanctify  man.  And  the  groundwork  of  this  is 
belief,  is  faith.  It  comes  through  a  messenger  sent  by  God,  and  no 
other  can  bear  it  except  through  false  pretences. 

Christ  <ioes  not  forsake  His  Church.  They  would  have  a  very 
crude  perception  of  the  Incarnate  Son  of  God  who  imagine  that  He 
was  merely  an  historical  person,  living  in  an  obscure  province  of  the 
Roman  empire,  and  though  He  seemed  to  lay  the  foundations  of 
His  Church,  that  still  he  ascended  to  the  right  hand  of  His  Father, 
leaving  that  Church  without  a  guide  and  protector.  He  has,  with 
His  divine  wisdom,  made  His  work  perpetual ;  and  it  is  perpetual  in 
this  sense,  that  it  was  to  extend  to  generations  who  did  not  then  exist. 

Let  us  say  that  this  satisfaction  for  the  sins  of  the  world  was  com- 
pleted upon  the  Cross  of  Calvary.  What  would  that  be  to  us  ?  We 
did  not  exist.  How  do  its  merits  come  to  us  ?  because,  before  we 
could  be  redeemed  by  the  Son  of  God  we  must  exist.  There  were 
then  two  modes  :  one  was  to  suppose — and  it  is  an  awful  supposition, 
yet  it  has  gained  credit — that  through  all  eternity  God  had  deter- 
mined, by  an  unchangeable  decree,  that  certain  persons  only  should 
have  the  benefit  of  redemption.  This  never  came  into  the  message 
which  the  Apostles  were  to  carry  to  mankind.  On  the  contrary, 
they  taught,  and  the  Church  teaches,  that  although  Chiist  is  not 
physically,  as  during  his  mortal  life,  he  is  nevertheless  substantially 
and  mystically,  present  in  His  Church. 

If  we  speak  of  the  Sacraments,  it  is  true  that  the  minister  officiates 
— that  he  performs  the  rites  and  ceremonies  in  words  and  in  acts, 
that  the  person  who  enters  the  Church  by  the  grace  of  baptism  is 
cleansed  from  original  sin,  and  even  actual  sin.  But  how  is  it  ?  He 
speaks  the  words  of  authority  in  the  name  of  his  divine  Master ;  he 


8EEM0NS.  329 

baptizes  hira  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the 
Holy  Gliost.  The  pouring  of  water  is  symbolic  of  the  washing 
Away  of  sin  ;  but  Christ  is  not  absent ;  He  is  virtually  present,  and 
He  cleanses  the  soul  by  His  blood. 

In  Confirmation  it  is  the  same  ;  it  is  He  that  imparts  the  Holy 
Ghost  through  the  rite  that  He  appoints.  In  the  Holy  Eucharist  it 
is  also  the  same.  He  is  the  high-priest  and  the  victim,  and  He  has 
said  :  "  This  is  my  body, — this  is  my  blood ;  do  this  for  a  com- 
memoration of  me  ;"  and  the  Apostle,  referring  to  it,  says :  "  As 
often  as  you  do  this,  you  show  forth  the  death  of  the  Lord  till  He 
come." 

And  it  is  thus  in  eveiy  sacrament — we  never  consider  Christ  as 
having  forsaken  His  Church.  He  is  the  guardian  of  her  truth,  the 
guide  of  her  counsel,  the  perpetuator  of  the  application  of  the  merits 
of  His  own  death.  These  are  the  channels,  and  it  is  through  these 
that  He  has  carried  on,  and  still  carries  on,  the  work  of  redemption, 
bringing  it  down  from  one  age  to  another  till  it  reaches  all  who  are 
disposed  individually  in  the  Church. 

Now,  beloved  brethren,  the  other  part  is  the  obstacle  which  the 
world  sets  up  against  this  authoritative  teaching  instituted  by  the 
Son  of  God  ;  and  it  was  not  wonderful  that  enlightened  philosophers 
— pagans  especially — should  sneer  at  the  doctrines  taught  by  the 
Apostles,  as  these  philosophers  pretended  that  the  dogmas  of  Chris- 
tianity did  injustice  to  the  human  mind.  But  it  is  strange  that  there 
should  be  persons  still  found  who  imagine  a  contradiction  between 
what  is  called  human  reason  and  the  mysteries  of  divine  faith.  This 
is  what  is  surprising,  for,  if  we  believe  at  all,  we  believe  by  taith,  not 
by  reason.  If  we  speculate,  we  doubt  the  word  of  God,  and  that  is 
not  rational  nor  just.  If  we  know  that  Christ  and  His  Apostles, 
properly  authorized,  taught  this  doctrine,  and  we  begin  to  take  it  to 
pieces  and  examine  it  through  the  lens  of  our  understanding,  it  is  an 
insult  to  God.  Who  can  doubt  His  word  ?  He  taught  it ;  then  it 
is  rational  to  believe  it,  not  because  we  understand  it,  but  because  it 
rests  upon  autliority  that  cannot  deceive.  Our  faith,  therefore,  is  a 
high  and  glorious  homage  rendered  to  God.  It  is  said  by  some 
writers  that  we  sacritice  reason  to  faith.  This  is  hardly  correct. 
We  believe  because  God  has  taught  it,  and  we  reverence  God  too 
much  to  dispute  what  He  has  revealed.  But  it  is  said,  how  can  I 
believe — how  can  any  one  believe  in  the  Trinity,  in  the  resurrection 
of  the  body  which  goes  down  into  the  grave  and  mingles  with  the 
earth,  and  springing  up  again  in  the  verdancy  of  the  grass,  is  dissi- 
pated and  blown  to  the  winds  ?  Reason  knows  nothing  at  all  about 
this.  Then,  again,  the  very  Incarnation,  the  very  doctrine  that  the 
eternal  Son  of  God  became  man  and  took  our  nature  upon  Himself, 
and  in  that  nature  redeemed  the  whole  race  by  the  merits  of  His 
Passion — who  can  understand  that  ?  But  are  we  obliged  to  under- 
stand it  ?  Not  in  the  least.  Then  we  are  irrational  if  we  believe  it  ? 
Not  at  all.  Are  you  correct  in  setting  up  reason  as  the  test  of  any 
one  truth,  except  in  positive  science,  where  you  begin  by  premises 


330  ARCHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

which  are  generally  mei-e  truisms  and  which  end  by  conclusions  ? 
But  in  any  other  thing  is  there  reason  ?  We  speak  of  human  reason 
as  the  great  guide  of  the  race — the  great  test  of  what  is  to  be  done, 
what  is  to  be  believed,  what  is  to  be  rejected.  But  has  any  one  ever 
told  you  what  human  reason  is  ?  Human  reason,  in  general,  is  a 
vague  term  having  its  own  range  of  meaning ;  but  it  is  not,  and 
never  can  be  established  as  competent  to  decide  any  thing,  I  will 
not  say  tlie  mysteries  of  revelation,  but  even  the  natural  mysteries 
around  us.  Can  any  one  explain  to  me,  by  human  reason,  what  is  a 
blade  of  grass,  what  is  the  nature  and  operation  of  the  fruit-bearing 
tree,  or  the  fruit  itself?  Reason  knows  nothing  about  it.  Can  any 
one  give  me  a  reason  for  the  fact  that  I  can  use  my  hand  by  mere 
volition,  or  close  my  eyes,  or  open  them  and  see  ?  Is  there  any 
reason  for  all  this?  None  at  all.  How  do  we- believe  it?  On 
another  basis — not  by  the  divine  teaching  of  revelation,  but  by  the 
testimony  of  our  senses ;  and  our  senses  are  not  our  reason — be- 
cause we  see  the  grass,  because  we  see  the  fruit,  because  we  are 
conscious  of  these  operations.  In  short,  I  might  almost  say,  that 
while  reason  has  its  own  invaluable  sphere,  it  is  not  capable  at  its 
highest  point  of  excellence  of  explaining  satisfactorily  any  one  phe- 
nomenon that  falls  under  the  senses  of  men.  And  again,  what  is  this 
rea.son — this  human  reason  ?  There  is  no  such  thing  in  the  aggre- 
gate— there  is  no  universal  human  reason.  Every  man  has  a  portion 
of  it,  but  it  is  so  uncertain  and  so  variable  that  scarcely  any  two  men 
will  be  found  to  agree  upon  the  same  thing.  You  might  as  well  say 
that  there  is  a  universal  face  for  humanity,  but  we  know  there  is  no 
such  thing.  All  men  have  faces,  but  they  are  different  from  each 
other.  So  it  is  with  reason  :  reason  is  from  God  ;  it  is  a  guide  in  the 
ordinary  things  of  life,  but  it  is  not  a  universal  attribute.  There  is 
no  general  human  reason,  for  if  there  were,  the  consequence  would 
be  that  all  men  would  think  alike.  If  there  were  a  universal  reason 
it  would  necessarily  come  to  that,  and  then  what  would  be  the 
result  ?  The  result  would  be  that  all  activity  and  enterprise  in 
human  life  would  be  brought  to  the  monotony  of  a  stand-still — no 
man  would  be  wiser  than  another — no  man  would  be  more  profound 
than  another — the  same  universal  human  reason  would  be  the  same 
universal  standard  of  all — there  would  be  no  such  thing  as  variety, 
this  more  and  that  less,  between  man  and  man.  There  is  another 
proof  of  this.  There  are  men  Avho  call  themselves  philosophers,  and 
their  business  has  been  from  the  time  of  Plato — perhaps  before — to 
analyze  human  reason  and  to  lay  it  open — to  dissect  it,  and  make  it 
a  plain,  easy  study.  But  do  any  two  of  these  philosophers  ever  agree  ? 
What  kind  of  an  element  is  human  reason,  in  regard  to  which  those 
who  are  its  students  never  agree  with  each  other  ? 

God  gave  for  the  guidance  of  reason,  in  its  eccentricities,  an  in- 
fallible aud  unvarying  teaching,  coming  from  His  own  throne.  Can 
I  then  be  a  reasonable  man  in  accepting  these  mysteries  ?  Do  I  not 
discard  reason  and  stultify  my  nature  ?  I  trust  not.  I  have  two 
guides :  One  is  this  reason  which  has  deceived  me  so  often  and  is 


8EEM0NS.  331 

mute  when  I  question  it  about  any  thing ;  it  has  no  rational  explana- 
tion for  the  phenomena  that  are  around  it  in  this  world.  Now,  God 
gave  revelation,  not  to  extinguish  leason,  but  for  its  guidance  in  the 
duties  of  this  life,  in  the  knowledge  of  its  origin,  and  in  the  eternal 
end  for  which  it  was  created.  Can  I  accept  it  ?  Why  not  ?  I  can 
use  my  reason  with  all  freedom  in  refei  ence  to  these  mysteries — not 
the  mysteries  themselves  intrinsically  considered,  but  the  evidence 
on  which  these  mysteries  repose.  Is  this  the  Church  that  Christ  es- 
tablished upon  earth  ?  Here  is  a  question  which  I  can  examine,  be- 
cause it  affords  a  field  for  reason.  There  is  no  reason  why  Cajsar 
should  have  conquered  Gaul  many  years  ago.  There  is  no  reason 
wliy  Napoleon  should  have  died  upon  a  barren  rock  in  the  ocean. 
How,  then,  do  we  believe  these  things?  Because  they  come  to  us 
by  authority  :  we  could  not  doubt  them  without  shocking  reason 
itself.  And  if  we  have  such  certainty  with  regard  to  human  events, 
how  much  greater  is  the  certainty  with  regard  to  those  superhuman 
events  which  relate  to  Christ  the  Son  of  God,  His  Apostles,  and 
their  successors!  This  is  within  the  domain  of  reason.  It  is  the  tes- 
timony to  the  fact  that  we  can  examine,  but  the  testimony  itself 
being  incontrovertible,  the  fact  cannot  be  disputed  and  must  be 
received. 

But  how  shall  we  receive  these  mysteries,  yet  respect  reason  ? 
Simply  because  it  is  of  all  things  reasonable  that  we  should  believe 
a  testimony  that,  by  the  closest  scrutiny  and  investigation,  we  find 
to  be  undeniable.  The  jury  do  not  examine  the  crime,  but  they  ex- 
amine the  witnesses,  and  so,  according  to  the  testimony,  they  find  a 
verdict.  Would  it  then  be  unreasonable  for  me  to  reject  these  in- 
disputable testimonies  which  have  come  down  to  us  in  one  continued 
stream,  all  bearing  upon  the  same  subject?  Would  it  be  reasonable 
for  me  to  deny  all  this  ?  It  would  be  very  irrational,  because,  on  an 
authority  liable  to  be  wrong,  we  believe  the  common  things  of  this 
life.  The  starting  point  is  the  commission  of  teaching.  When  that 
commission  is  real,  there  is  unity  of  belief;  and,  then,  while  the  world 
and  the  philosophers  of  the  Areopagus  of  Athens,  and  the  Sophists 
and  wicked  men  and  the  late  infidels  of  France  have  arrayed  reason 
against  religion,  still  we  cannot  overthrow  divine  testimony  and  the 
human  testimony  which  bears  out  the  evidence  of  the  fact.  IIei*e  is- 
the  fact  before  us,  and  it  is  on  that  account  I  would  say  that,  while 
there  is  unity  of  heart  and  doctrine,  reason  is  best  protected  in  the 
Catholic  Church.  Reason  in  the  Catholic  Church  is  placed  in  its  pro- 
I^er  sphere,  and  it  is  protected  within  that  sphere ;  but,  aside  from 
that  it  leads  men  astray,  because  the  pride  of  man's  heart  often 
spreads  mists  over  the  skies. 

As  for  ourselves,  this  very  ceremony  of  to-day  is  another  evidence 
that  the  promise  has  not  died  out, — "  You  have  not  chosen  me,  but 
I  have  chosen  you ;  and  have  appointed  you  that  you  sliould  go,  and 
should  bring  forth  fruit,  and  your  fruit  should  remain." 

Let  us  endeavor  to  correspond  with  the  goodness  of  Almighty 
God  in  the  institution  of  religion,  giving  to  us,  in  this  world  of  igno- 


332  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

ranee,  of  darkness  and  doubt,  one  solid  foundation  on  whicli  we  may 
rest  without  being  moved  by  the  earthquakes  of  human  opinion  and 
human  reason.     Let  us  be  true  to  our  faith. 


THE  VISIBILITY  OP  THE  CHURCH  OP  GOD. 

SERMON  ON  THE  OCCASION  OF  THE  DEDICATION  OF  THE  CHURCH 
OF  THE  IMMACULATE  CONCEPTION,  BOSTON,  SUNDAY,  MARCH 
10th,  1861. 

The  words  which  I  have  selected  for  this  auspicious  occasion  are 
found  in  the  third  chapter  of  the  First  Epistle  of  St.  Paul  to  Timothy, 
fourteenth  and  fifteenth  verses : 

"  These  tilings  I  write  to  thee,  hoping  that  I  shall  come  to  thee  shortly.  But 
if  I  tarry  long,  that  thou  mayest  know  how  thou  oughtest  to  behave  thyself  in 
the  house  of  God,  which  is  the  Church  of  the  living  God,  the  pillar  and  the 
ground  of  the  truth." 

In  this  apostolic  admonition  of  St.  Paul  to  his  disciple,  Timothy, 
now  already  Bishop  of  the  infant  Church  of  the  city  of  Diana,  the 
great  Ephesus,  he  seems  to  make  but  little  distinction  between  the 
local  Church  of  that  city  and  the  great  and  universal  Church,  that 
he  knew  from  the  language  of  his  Master  and  His  promises  was  to 
fill  the  whole  earth.  He  takes,  apparently,  a  twofold  view  of  them,  as 
one  and  the  same,  with  scarcely  a  distinction ;  for  then  every  local 
church  participated,  as  now  it  participates,  when  it  is  under  the 
guidance  of  legitimate  priests,  and  in  communion  with  the  organic 
body  of  the  whole  faithful,  and  especially  with  the  visible  Head  on 
earth,  the  centre  of  unity — under  such  circumstances,  every  local 
church  participates  in  the  privileges  that  belong  to  the  whole  uni- 
versal communion.  But,  at  the  period  when  St.  Paul  wrote,  the 
very  beginning  of  Christianity,  it  was  customary  to  designate  a 
church,  not  so  much  by  the  figure  of  its  material  construction,  as  on 
account  of  its  being  the  place  in  which  the  new  converts  and  follow- 
ers of  the  Son  of  God  were  accustomed  to  assemble  for  the  purpose 
of  celebrating  the  holy  mysteries ;  for  the  purpose  of  hearing  the 
word  of  the  living  God ;  for  the  purpose  of  feasting  their  eyes  with 
the  contemplation  of  that  great  pillar  which  had  its  basis  on  the  so- 
lidity of  truth,  and  which  sustained  the  whole  globe  of  Heaven's 
revelations  to  man ; — a  place  where  they  united  in  prayer  ;  a  place, 
in  which  they  were,  as  the  Apostle  describes  in  the  Acts,  "of  one 
heart  and  one  soul."  It  would  be  entirely  out  of  order  to  imagine 
that  the  Church  at  Ephesus,  at  the  time  when  Paul  addressed  this 


SERMONS,  833 

epistle  to  its  Bishop,  was  an  edifice  of  magnificence,  or  of  grandeur, 
or  of  sublimity,  so  far  as  its  material  structure  was  concerned,  like 
the  one  in  which  it  is  our  privilege  to  assemble  to-day,  and  to  assist 
at  those  same  holy  mysteries  which  were  celebrated  by  Timothy  and 
his  little  flock.  Their  church,  under  this  point  of  view,  may  have 
been,  as  in  Jerusalem,  an  upper  chamber,  where  the  Church  first 
met ;  it  may  have  been,  in  that  luxurious  city  of  Ephesus,  the  break- 
ing of  bread  from  house  to  house,  as  it  had  been  in  Jerusalem ;  it 
may  have  been,  as  in  imperial  Rome,  when  some  wealthy  or  noble 
converts  gave  up  their  apartments  for  the  private  celebration  of  the 
service  of  the  living  God  ;  it  may  have  been  in  some  hidden  and  re- 
tired receptacle,  to  avoid  the  scofis  and  the  persecution  of  the  pa- 
gans and  unbelievers  which  yet  constituted  the  population  of  Ephe- 
sus ;  it  may  have  been,  for  that  matter,  as  in  the  catacombs  around 
the  suburbs  of  that  coi'rupt  mistress  of  the  then  known  world,  the 
pagan  capital  of  the  Roman  empire ; — still,  it  was  called  the  Church, 
because,  without  any  separation  from  the  great  universal  Church, 
it  was  a  part  of  the  same.  To-day,  however,  we  find  that  that  little 
mustard-seed  of  the  Church  has  grown  up  into  a  mighty  tree,  spread- 
ing its  branches  to  the  east  and  the  west,  to  the  north  and  the 
south,  aifording,  or  at  least  offering,  to  all  nations  shelter  and  pro- 
tection from  the  spiritual  enemies  of  man,  and  bringing  all  within 
the  range  of  the  aid  and  grace  that  God  has  instituted,  in  the  Church, 
for  the  salvation  and  sanctification  of  His  people.  Today,  it  is  not 
in  one  of  the  catacombs  that  we  are  assembled  ;  we  are  not  lighted 
by  those  little  earthen  lamps  that  we  have  seen  with  our  eyes ;  but 
here  stands  an  edifice,  a  church,  in  the  twofold  sense  of  the  term ; 
and  here  it  stands,  in  the  meridian  of  the  sun,  which  shines  glo- 
riously upon  the  work,  a  monument — not  the  last  memento,  we 
trust — to  the  venerable  father  who  conceived  the  idea  of  its  con- 
struction, and  who  has  been  spared,  after  a  long  and  laborious  life, 
to  witness  the  realization  of  all  his  hopes.  We  trust  and  pray  that 
he  will  be  spared  yet  many  days,  even  years,  to  enjoy  the  fruits  of 
his  past  few  years  of  labor — the  fruits  of  his  toils  by  day,  of  his 
anxieties  during  the  night ;  for  I  take  it,  and  I  suppose  you  will  all 
agree  with  me,  that  the  conception  of  so  magnificent  an  undertaking 
as  this  church,  and  the  edifices  that  surround  it,  could  not  have  been 
successfully  realized  without  constant  care,  constant  toil,  and  con- 
stant anxiety  of  mind.  Having  conceived  the  idea,  however,  he  has 
been  exceedingly  felicitous  in  the  selection  of  those  who  were  to 
carry  it  out  in  its  material  relations.  Whether  we  speak  of  the  ar- 
chitects who  embodied  his  idea,  or  of  their  subordinates,  the  me- 
chanics who  executed  the  work,  we  can  say,  that  we  have  rarely,  if 
ever,  seen  an  edifice,  designed  from  its  foundation  to  promote  the 
glory  of  God  and  the  welfare  of  this  people  of  Boston,  that  has  bet- 
ter conformed  in  its  results  to  the  purpose  for  which  it  was  originally 
conceived. 

It  is  unnecessary  for  me  to  speak  on  this  subject.     You  have  but 
to  look  before  you  at  these  altars  ;  you  have  but  to  look  around  you 


834  AECHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

at  the  structure  in  which  you  are  now  inclnaea  ;  you  have  but  to 
raise  your  eyes  to  this  vaulted  ceiling,  to  these  columns,  and  this 
tasteful,  classical  exhibition  of  human  skill,  and  when  you  know  that 
all  this  has  been  designed,  not  as  a  work  to  feed  or  encourage  the 
sentiment  of  human  vanity,  but  a  work  for  the  glory  of  God,  you 
can  see,  and,  I  might  also  add,  you  can  hear  the  very  walls  pro- 
claiming what  manner  of  church  this  is.  Every  thing  speaks  for  it- 
self; and  it  is  a  deed  on  which  it  would  not  be  unbecoming  for  him  who 
addresses  you,  the  first  from  this  pulpit,  to  congratulate  that  venera- 
ble father  and  his  associates,  and  those  who  have  taken  part  in  car- 
rying out  this  work,  and  all  of  you,  because  I  look  upon  it  as  a  great 
monument  of  your  faith,  of  your  zeal,  and  of  the  generosity  with 
which  you  have  co-operated  in  the  execution  of  this  noble 
design. 

Let  us  pass,  hoAvever,  from  a  local  church  to  that  other  and  great 
Church  to  which  the  Apostle  alludes,  and  which  he  designates  as  "the 
Church  of  the  living  God,  the  pillar  and  ground  of  the  truth."  That 
Church,  beloved  brethren,  has  not  been  constructed  by  human 
hands ;  it  has  not  been  the  plan  or  the  design  of  a  mere  mortal.  It 
is  composed  of  living  stones ;  it  occupies,  not  a  small  and  restricted 
portion  of  this  globe  on  which  we  live,  but  extends  over  its  whole 
surface.  That  is  the  universal  Church.  Of  the  attributes  of  this 
Church,  time  would  not  permit  me  to  engage  your  attention  in  rei- 
erence  to  each  or  all,  with  any  lengthened  detail.  You  all  know, 
of  necessity,  certain  of  the  attributes  of  that  "  pillar  and  ground  of  the 
truth,"  the  "  Church  of  the  livirfg  God."  Being  founded  by  Him, 
you  know  it  must  be,  in  its  essence  and  its  purpose,  holy,  like  its 
Author.  Being  founded  by  Him,  not  for  the  generation  in  which  He 
lived,  and  suffered,  and  died,  biit  for  all  generations,  then  you  know 
that  it  is  indestructible,  that  it  is  perpetual,  that  it  knows  no  termina- 
tion until  the  period  designated  by  its  Founder,  the  consummation 
of  the  world.  You  know,  that  being  His  work,  it  has  been  carried 
on  under  His  direction.  When  He  withdrew  His  visible  presence 
from  the  flock  which  He  had  instituted,  he  appointed  others,  with 
His  own  special  prerogatives,  not  indeed  to  found  a  new  Churcli, 
but  to  perpetuate  to  new  and  everlastingly  succeeding  generations 
the  truth  which  he  had  taught  them,  and  which  He  commanded 
them  to  teach  others.  You  know  that  this  great  universal  Church, 
having  been  an  organization  of  the  Son  of  God,  founded  on  His  rev- 
elation and  teaching,  must  have  another  attribute  ;  that  is  to  say,  it 
must  live  in  unity  ;  for  where  there  is  truth,  there  can  be  no  contra- 
diction ;  where  there  is  contradiction,  and  especially  contradiction 
founded,  apparently,  or,  as  they  say,  on  the  very  word  of  God 
Himself,  truth  is  wanting  on  the  one  side  or  the  other.  These  are 
attributes  with  which  the  Catechism  has  made  every  Catholic  tamiliar. 
The  Church  is  one,  holy,  catholic,  and  apostolic. 

But  there  is  another  attribute  which  is  less  frequently  dwelt  upon  in 
our  pulpits,  but  yet  which,  on  reflection,  would  seem  to  me,  so  far 
as  the  human  mind  is  capable  of  appreciating  the  great  works  of 


SERMONS.  335 

God,  more  striking  than  any  of  those  I  have  mentioned.  And  what 
is  tliat  attribute  ?  Its  visibility.  That  Church  is  as  visible  as  this 
edifice;  it  is  visible  from  the  rising  to  the  setting  of  the  sun ;  and  if 
you  would  know  the  reasons,  if  you  would  examine  th(Mn,  even 
slightly,  you  would  perceive  that  since  God  gave  His  only  begotten 
Son  for  the  redemption  of  the  world,  and  since  the  world  itself  was 
visible,  it  follows  of  necessity,  that  the  Incarnate  Word  should  be- 
come visible ;  and  so  it  did,  in  the  person  of  Jesus  Christ,  born  of 
the  Immaculate  Virgin  Mary.  If  you  would  know  the  reason, 
therefore,  it  is  that  the  Cliurch  was  not  made  or  instituted  for  invis- 
ble  beings ;  that  from  the  beginning  the  human  race  was  visible  ; 
but  then  visible  in  its  destructions,  visible  in  its  corruptions,  as  it 
fell  away  from  the  chain  of  original  truth ;  visible  in  its  reciprocal 
wars  and  bloodshed  ;  visible  in  its  conquests,  the  stronger  over  the 
weaker  ;  visible  in  the  whole  material  activity  of  man,  apart  from 
the  divine  conception  of  the  unity  of  truth.  If  there  was  no  unity, 
yet  mankind  was  visible ;  and  it  is  in  such  a  world  as  this  that  God, 
if  I  can  so  use  the  expression,  launched  the  bark  of  St.  Peter,  His 
lioly  Church,  to  struggle  as  a  visible  organization,  before  a  visible 
organization ;  being  the  jewel  contained  in  the  outward  casket,  the 
priceless  value  of  which  was  the  divinity  of  its  principle,  and  the 
unity  of  its  truth. 

Reason,  dearly  beloved  brethren,  simple  reason,  will  satisfy  any 
one  that  the  Church  was  intended  by  our  Redeemer  to  be  a  visible 
society.  He,  Himself,  when  He  commenced  His  mission  upon  earth, 
at  the  age  of  thirty  years,  began  His  ministry  on  nothing  else. 
There  was  nothing  invisible ;  every  thing  was  brought  out  in  the 
presence  of  His  disci})les  and  His  Apostles,  so  that  with  their 
ears  and  their  eyes  they  could  hear  and  see  what  the  Son  of  God 
was  doing,  and  what  He  was  teaching  and  proclaiming.  Does  He 
cure  a  man  born  blind  ?  He  does  not  do  it  by  an  inward  act  of  voli- 
tion. Of  course,  His  will,  without  the  utterance  of  a  word  or  the 
exhibition  of  a  sign,  would  have  been  sufficient  to  restore  tlie  man's 
sight ;  but  He  uses  an  outward  rite  and  ceremony.  He  takes  clay 
and  spittle,  and  spreads  this  compound  over  the  eyes  of  the  blind 
man,  and  tells  him,  in  the  hearing  of  all,  to  go  to  the  pool  of  Siloam 
and  wash.  And  was  this  an  invisible  Saviour  ?  He  could  have 
faised  Lazarus  from  the  dead  by  another  act  of  His  will ;  but,  in- 
stead, He  shed  tears  and  groaned;  He  used  human  langunge  in  the 
hearing  of  all,  saying,  "Lazarus,  come  forth."  Tliere  is  no  instance 
in  the  ministry  of  Christ  or  His  preaching  in  which  He  was  not  visi- 
ble, and  in  which  His  ministry  did  not  come  under  the  sense,  to  some 
extent,  of  tliose  who  were  present  on  those  occasions.  Yes,  there  are 
two — two  instances;  but  then  they  had  reference  to  that  perpetua- 
tion of  His  death  which  is  mystically  celebrated  at  our  altars.  One 
was  when,  without  any  visible  increase  of  bread  for  the  hungry  mul- 
titude on  the  mountains,  He  divided  the  small  portion  that  there  was 
to  be  distributed,  and  instead  of  its  being  increased  into  a  vol- 
ume, indicating  to  the  human   eye  that  it  would  be  sufficient,  it 


836  ARCHBISHOP  HUGHES. 

obtained  an  inexhaustible  quality,  and  the  more  it  was  spread  to  the 
hungry  multitude,  the  more  it  seemed  to  be  inexhaustible,  so  that 
there  were  baskets  of  fragments  left  after  that  multitude  liad  been 
satiated.  Why  was  this?  It  bad  reference  to  the  mystery  of  the 
bread  which  is  consecrated  into  His  body  and  blood  on  the  Christian 
altar.  The  other  instance  was  at  the  marriage  in  Cana.  When  His 
blessed  mother,  on  account  of  the  poverty,  no  doubt,  and,  perhaps, 
the  humiliation  of  the  family,  in  the  presence  of  their  guests,  signi- 
fied to  Him  that  the  wine  was  exhausted,  He  directed  the  stewards 
of  the  feast  to  fill  the  vases  with  water  and  then  to  draw.  There  was 
no  visible  exhibition  connected  with  this;  but  here  are  these  two 
elements,*  and  this  special  exception  was  a  preparation  for  the  insti- 
tution of  the  holy  mystery  of  the  Eucharist,  with  regard  to  which 
He  said,  "  I  am  the  living  bread  which  came  down  from  heaven ; 
your  fathers  did  eat  of  manna,  and  are  dead ;  He  that  eateth  of  my 
flesh  shall  live  forever ;"  and  so  on.  But  in  all  the  rest,  Christ  was 
a  visible  Christ,  and  not  an  invisible  spirit,  passing  or  lapsing  quietly, 
noiselessly  from  one  place  to  another,  and  propagating  even  His  own 
heavenly  doctrine.  And  when  He  came  to  appoint  His  disciples, 
was  it  not  the  same  thing  ?  Did  He  not  call  them  one  by  one  in  an 
outward  manner?  Did  He  not  gather  them  around  Him?  Fi-om 
the  disciples  He  selected  those  twelve.  Fi-om  those  twelve  He  se- 
lected one  as  the  head  of  the  Church ;  and  that  very  "  pillar  and 
ground  of  the  truth  "  is,  in  His  own  declaration,  reposing  upon  the 
rock  of  Peter,  on  which  He  declared  He  would  build  His  Church, 
and  the  gates  of  hell  should  not  prevail  against  it.  This  is  the  basis, 
and  all  truth  is  supported  and  built  upon  it.  It  is  the  column,  "the 
pillar,  and  ground  of  the  truth." 

When  He  sent  forth  His  Apostles,  what  was  the  character  of  the 
mission  He  gave  them  ?  Was  it  to  propagate  pious  ideas,  from  one 
neighborhood  to  another,  without  a  centralization,  without  an  or- 
ganization, without  a  dome  to  protect  the  whole  of  His  revelation  ? 
Was  it  to  collect  here  and  there  a  few  persons,  who,  on  comparing 
religious  notes  and  pious  sentiments,  should  agree,  for  the  time  being, 
that  they  would  unite  and  form  a  society  and  a  church  of  their  own  ? 
No,  my  brethren,  there  would  be  no  symptom  of  God's  presence,  if. 
that  had  been  all.  But  He  said  to  those  who  were  to  take  up  His 
mission  and  carry  it  on  through  space  and  through  time,  "As  the 
Father  hath  sent  me,  I  also  send  you.  Go  ye,  therefore ;  teach  all 
nations ;  baptizing  them  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and 
of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  teaching  them  to  observe  all  things  whatsoever 
I  have  commanded  you.  And  now,  behold  I  am  with  you  always, 
to  the  consummation  of  the  world."  Oh,  how  many  generations 
have  passed  since  then  !  How  many  tribes,  and  peoples,  and  nations, 
have  been  enlightened  with  the  light  of  the  gospel  of  Christ!  How 
many  innumerable  spirits  have  been  sanctified  under  the  influence, 
and  by  the  riches  of  the  grace,  with  which  its  divine  Author  en- 
dowed it  for  the  sanctification  of  the  human  soul !  And  it  is  to-day 
as  young  as  ever.     The  work  which  Christ  operated  on  the  cross 


SERMONS.  337 

was  His  death  once  for  all,  and  for  the  whole  human  race.  But  the 
merits  of  that  death,  if  that  were  the  beginning  and  end  of  redemp- 
tion, would  have  extended  only  to  those  who  happened  to  live  da- 
ring the  ministry  and  at  the  period  of  the  death  of  the  Son  of  God. 
A  small  redemption,  to  be  sure.  How,  then,  could  the  merits  of 
that  death  remain  in  abeyance  for  eighteen  hundred  years,  and  be 
brought  down  by  His  appointment  so  that  it  can  be  applied,  and  so 
applied,  individually,  to  every  human  soul  that  belongs  to  and  con- 
stitutes a  member  of  the  Church  of  the  living  God,  "  the  pillar  and 
ground  of  the  truth  ?"  There  have  been  but  two  ways.  One  has 
been  ever  rejected  by  us,  because  it  is  unscriptural,  because  it  is  ir- 
rational, because  it  is  impious  ;  and  that  method  would  be  taking  the 
same  ground,  that  Christ  died  once  for  all,  but  that  even  the  mystical 
representation  of  His  death  on  the  Christian  altar,  which  is  substitu- 
ted, always  is  derogatory  to  God ;  and  how  to  explain,  how  to  bring 
into  harmony  the  facts  with  this  theory  ?  It  is  pretended  that  from 
all  eternity,  God  foreseeing,  or,  rather,  seeing,  since  there  is  no  fore- 
sight or  past  for  Him,  the  human  race,  made  a  selection,  according 
to  His  own  infinite  and  aibitrary  thoughts,  among  the  rational  be- 
ings whom  He  was  to  create,  and  for  those  whom  He  had  chosen, 
His  incarnate  Son  should  make  perfect  atonement,  so  that  no  drop 
of  that  precious  blood  which  moistened  the  earth  on  Calvary's  hill 
should  have  fallen  in  vain ;  and  all  for  whom  He  died  should,  of  a 
necessity,  and  by  this  eternal  decree,  reach  and  obtain  ultimate  sanc- 
tification.  But  as  for  the  rest,  the  theory  went  on  to  say  that  He 
did  not  die  for  them.  He  passes  them  by  ;  and  there  is  added,  by 
way  of  explanation,  a  word  which  no  one  can  dispute,  that  God  owed 
man  nothing,  and  if  He  did  pass  them  by,  and  appoint  a  Saviour  for 
a  chosen  few,  He  did  no  injury  to  those  whom  He  overlooked.  But 
that  is  not  the  doctrine  of  that  "pillar  and  ground  of  the  truth"  to 
which  the  Apostle  calls  our  attention.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  true 
that  the  satisfaction  made  for  the  sins  of  the  world  by  the  death  of 
Christ,  He  being  the  victim,  but  at  once  God  and  man  in  the  same 
person,  suifering  as  man,  forgiving  by  His  divinity — the  infinite 
merit  of  that  suffering  is  that  He  suffered  for  those  who  then  lived, 
and  the  next  generation,  and  the  next,  and  the  next  age,  and  all 
nations.  And  while  the  plenitude  of  this  satisfaction  of  the  cross  is^ 
complete,  He  did  not  abandon  His  work.  On  the  contrary,  He  ever 
promises  to  be  with  His  Church ;  He  promises  to  give  her  the  Holy 
Ghost,  to  teach  Her  all  truth,  and  to  bring  all  things  into  her  mind,, 
whatsoever  He  had  said.  AH  this  shows  that  even  until  this  day,, 
and  from  this  day  until  the  end  of  the  world,  God  and  His  holy 
spirit  will  be  with  that  Church,  and  will  be  in  that  Church,  He  will 
continue.  Himself  now-  invisible,  indeed,  but  having  organized  a 
visible  and  universal  society,  professing  the  truth  which  He  taught,, 
practising  and  obtaining  sanctification  from  the  sacraments  which 
He  instituted,  hearing  His  own  divine  truth  unchangeably  uttered 
from  the  pulpit  of  every  local  church  in  communion  with  the  great 
organized  bodv  of  the  faitliful — He  muU  continue  there,  He  iathere^ 
Vol..  II.— L'2 


338  ARCHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

Some  one  preaches,  indeed,  but  that  is  external.  He  preaches,  too, 
■with  His  grace,  to  many  a  heart,  and  many  a  heart  refuses  to  receive 
Him.  But  the  grace,  the  inward  grace  that  accompanies  the  legiti- 
mate preaching  of  those  whom  Christ  sends,  is  His  gift ;  and,  in  that 
sense,  He  is  the  preacher.  He  appoints  His  ministers  to  govern  the 
Church,  and  the  successor  of  Peter  is  the  chief  of  that  ministry.  But 
He  is  there  as  the  higher  head,  and  He  abandons  it  not ;  and  in  its 
government  He  suggests  and  directs  the  course  best  fitted  for  the 
purpose  which  He  had  in  view  in  becoming  man  and  dying  upon  the 
cross  for  that  human  nature  which  he  came  to  raise  from  groveling 
Avith  its  crimes  and  its  superstitions  in  the  very  dust.  We  baptize 
with  water,  according  to  the  form  prescribed  ;  but  He  is  present  with 
His  ministers,  and  He  cleanses,  by  the  application  of  His  own  blood, 
the  stains  of  original  or  of  actual  sin  from  the  soul  of  the  individual 
who  desires  to  be  incorporated  into  the  union  of  his  Church.  In  their 
eyes.  He  is  in  His  Church,  laboring  and  carrying  on  from  age  to  age 
and  from  country  to  country  His  own  great  work.  And  hence  it  is 
that  we  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  there  are  two  works  known 
to  mankind,  which  bear  upon  themselves  the  impress  of  God's  own 
hand  and  power.  And  I  know  of  none  but  these  two.  All  the  rest 
are  of  secondary  origin,  and  as  such,  they  bear  the  stamp  of  man's 
imperfection.  But  with  regard  to  these  two,  or  either  of  them — 
though  they  belong  to  distinct  orders — what  human  ingenuity  could 
divine,  or  imagination  conceive,  any  thing  which  by  possibility  could 
be  compared  with  them  ?  What  are  these  two  works  ?  The  crea- 
tion of  the  world  is  one.  You  cannot  imagine  any  creation  which 
you  could  compare  with  it.  The  establishment  of  the  Church  is  the 
second;  and  it  bears,  though  of  a  different  order,  just  as  evidently 
and  distinctly  the  mark  of  God's  work,  as  the  creation  of  the  world. 
There  is  only  one  objection  that  might  arise  in  the  minds  of  some 
within  the  hearing  of  my  voice,  in  regard  to  this  comparison.  Tliat 
objection  would  be — You  say  that  the  creation  of  the  world  and  the 
ibundation  of  the  Catholic  Church  are  both  distinctly  and  exclusively 
,the  work  of  God  Himself,  and  not  of  human  origin  ?  Yes,  that  is 
xny  position.  Then,  how  is  it,  the  objector  contiimes,  if  this  be  so, 
that  there  is  such  a  difference  between  the  two  creations  ?  If  the 
"Church  be,  as  you  say,  the  exclusive  work  of  God,  why  is  it  that  its 
members  correspond  so  imperfectly  with  the  holy  and  divine  origin 
■of  tlieir  existence  ?  Why  is  it  that  among  you  Catholics  there  are 
ito  be  found  nominal  members  who  would  do  but  little  credit  even 
to  a  human  religious  society  by  the  manner  of  their  lives  ?  Why  is 
it,  then,  considering  that  they  have  intellect  and  capacity,  and  a 
power  of  love  tor  their  Creator  who  made  them  and  redeemed  them 
— why  is  it  that  they  correspond  so  little  witli  the  glory  of  their 
origin?  I  will  answer,  briefly.  The  answer  will  be  simple,  and,  I 
think,  convincing  enough.  The  answer  may  be  deduced  from  this 
.observation,  that  the  creation  of  the  world  was  under  one  law,  pe- 
culiar to  brute  matter,  to  irrational  life,  to  every  thing  that  consti- 
tutes its  visibility  and  composes  its  parts  ;  that  man,  on  the  contrary, 


SERMONS.  339 

was  made  under  a  different  law  ;  that  he  was  endowed  with  intellect, 
endowed  with  memory,  endowed  with  a  capacity  of  loving  his  God. 
and  obeying  Him ;  but  endowed  with  the  faculty  of  free  will,  which 
God  left  under  his  own  guidance,' with  the  aid,  indeed,  of  grace  and 
of  divine  light,  and  all  those  spiritual  helps;  but  yet  with  this  parti- 
cular observation  to  be  made,  that  though  He  was  Almiglity  God 
and  could  have  deprived  man  of  free  will,  or  have  so  controlled  him 
that  it  would  always  harmonize  with  His  divine  wisdom,  He  has  not 
been  pleased  to  do  so ;  and  hence  we  are  called  upon  to  admire  the 
wisdom  and  justice,  the  width  and  depth  of  the  mind  of  the  Lord. 
"  Who  has  known  the  mind  of  the  Lord  and  who  has  been  His 
counsel  ?" 

I  can  tell  you,  therefore,  that  one  Christian  out  of  the  two  hundred 
ruillioiis  scattered  over  the  earth  that  obeys  God  in  simplicity,  and  by 
the  co-operation  of  his  free-will  with  the  grace  and  supernatural  aids 
he  receives,  renders  more  glory  to  the  Creator  than  twenty  thousand 
material  worlds  like  this.  The  material  world  was  made  under  the 
law  of  necessity,  that  law  was  imposed  upon  it  from  the  beginning, 
and  hence  it  is  that  there  is  no  such  thing  as  disobedience  or  rebellion 
against  God  in  the  material  or  irrational  animal  creation  that  He  has 
produced.  Does  not  the  sun  rise  every  day  at  the  appointed  instant  ? 
Does  he  not  set  accordingly  ?  Is  there  a  human  being  round  the 
globe  who  is  disappointed  in  the  hour  of  his  meridian  ?  No.  Do. 
not  the  stars  keep  their  nightly  procession  ?  And  that  procession 
is  going  on  day  and  night,  with  the  difference  that  the  light  of  our 
centre  unfits  the  eye  to  behold  those  glittering  orbs  in  the  tirmanent, 
but  they  are  always  in  motion,  and  never  out  of  place.  They  have 
no  free  will.  They  are  a  book,  brilliant  on  every  page,  sparkling, 
and  dazzling,  and  charming  the  eye  of  mortals,  and  moving  in  their 
order  as  battalions  of  light ;  but  then  they  do  not  understand  them- 
selves ;  they  have  no  conception  of  what  they  are ;  and  it  required 
man  to  be  created,  and  man  with  his  intellect,  and  with  his  eye,  and 
with  his  i^ower  of  gazing  upon  that  magnificent  and  brilliant  book  of  the 
heavens — and,  indeed,  I  may  say  of  the  earth — and  then  as  a  rational 
high-priest,  standing  between  God  and  these  material  works  of  His 
power,  and  giving  utterance,  if  I  may  so  speak,  to  their  silent  adora- 
tion, and  conveying,  through  his  own  intellectual  nature  the  tribute 
of  which  they  are  entirely  unconscious.  If  he  looks  upon  the  earth, 
upon  the  solid  land,  he  sees  it  every  spring  enamelled  with  a  new 
succession  of  flowers,  and  tliose  painted  in  a  style  of  beauty  which 
no  artist  can  successfully  imitate ;  and  from  point  to  point,  either 
from  the  petals  of  the  opening  flower,  or  from  the  fragrant  branches 
of  aromatic  shrubs,  the  very  atmosphere  is  perfumed.  But  these 
have  no  power  of  adoration.  These  flowers  and  shrubs  obey  the 
law  under  which  they  were  created  and  renewed,  and  again  it  re- 
quires man  to  interpret  them.  He  is  not  like  these  ;  he  has  free  will ; 
and  if  he  be  true  to  his  being,  and  true  to  his  religion,  he  can  inter- 
pret all  these  mysteries  that  are  unknown  to  the  pages  of  the  book. 
Jiut  as  for  him,  God  could  not  have  created  him  so.     There  were 


340  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

but  two  ways  to  create  man  as  man  is.  One  would  be  to  create  liim 
as  he  is,  and  to  require  of  him  a  voluntary  homage  and  adoration  to 
his  Maker,  not  a  forced  one.  The  other  would  be  to  create  him 
under  coercion,  under  the  law  of  necessity.  But  then,  if  he  were 
created  under  the  law  of  necessity,  he  might  kneel  down,  and  as  it  is 
our  practice,  he  might  make  the  sign  of  the  cross,  and  he  might  go 
through  all  the  external  exhibitions  of  religion,  or  the  internal,  even ; 
and  after  all,  what  would  he  be  ?  He  would  be  nothing  more,  noth- 
ing less,  than  appertains  to  a  puppet,  made  in  mockery  of  the  human 
shape,  and  strung  on  wires,  to  be  pulled  and  taught  to  bow  down 
and  reverence  by  the  hand  of  a  magician.  In  that  case,  man  would 
be  reduced  to  the  condition  of  the  earth,  the  stars,  and  the  heavens, 
or  the  inanimate  or  merely  instinctive  brute  creation,  entirely  inca- 
pable of  rendering  to  God  a  homage  in  harmony  with  the  almost 
divine  perfection  with  which  his  Creator  endowed  him. 

That  is  the  difference.  Free  will  is  not  taken  from  any  man.  A 
man  may  call  himself  a  member  of  the  Church,  and  yet  violate  its 
holiest  precepts,  and  he  does  that  freely ;  God  does  not  coerce  him. 
In  the  mean  while,  under  the  dome  of  that  Church  is  his  hope  of 
salvation  and  the  enjoyment  of  eternity,  the  comfort  and  stability  of 
his  heart  and  of  his  intellect,  because,  under  the  dome  of  that  Church, 
he  knows  that  he  is  not  "  carried  about  by  every  wind  of  doctrine." 
.That  Church  is  visible ;  every  thing  made  it  so — the  teachings  of 
Christ,  the  outward  mission  of  the  Apostles,  the  very  mode  of  com- 
municating His  eternal  truth  ;  for  the  Apostle  says  that  faith  comes  by 
hearing,  hearing  by  the  word  of  God  ;  and  he  continues :  "Howcau 
ye  hear  unless  there  is  a  preacher  ?  and  how  can  they  preach  unless 
they  are  sent  ?"  And  is  not  all  this  a  visible  economy  in  the  Church 
of  God  ?  Reason  requires  it ;  and  how  gloriously  that  Church  has 
vindicated — I  will  not  say  the  commission  of  Christ,  but  the  require- 
ments of  human  reason  ;  I  will  not  say  even  the  requirements  of 
human  reason,  but  this  bright,  prophetic  vision  that  raptured  the 
souls  of  patriarchs  and  prophets, — Isaiah,  Daniel,  Micheas,  who, 
looking  forward  to  their  hope,  the  Lion  of  the  Tribe  of  Judah  and 
the  Root  of  Jesse,  and  praying  for  the  coming  of  the  desired  one, 
the  Messiah,  described  the  Church  as  a  city  built  on  the  summit  of 
a  mountain,  high  above  the  hills,  and  to  which  all  nations  should 
flow.  This  was  the  vision  that  raptured  their  prophetic  gaze  when 
they  contemplated  the  Church  of  the  Son  of  God. 

If  you  look  to  history,  have  not  all  tliese  anticipations  been  realized  ? 
From  the  little  chamber  in  Jerusalem,  have  you  not  seen  the  Apostles 
dispersing  to  the  ends  of  the  earth  ?  And  although  tliey  had  to  en- 
counter a  world  buried  in  superstition  and  depravity,  still,  how  they 
carried  that  word  of  God,  even  in  a  brief  period,  to  the  end  of  the 
earth ;  and  how  for  eighteen  hundred  years  their  successors  have 
labored  to  propagate  and  extend  in  a  visible  form  that  one,  great 
unbroken,  holy,  Apostolic  and  everlasting  Church  !  It  is  not  neces- 
sary, precisely,  that  there  should  be  a  visible  union  of  men  on  the 
earth ;  but,  every  denomination  having  a  confession  or  a  symbol  of 


SERMONS.  341 

its  own,  assumes  a  visible  form.  But,  then,  it  is  very  limited,  and  it 
must  be  very  limited  ;  and  even  limited  as  it  must  be,  its  members 
cannot  cling  together  for  any  considerable  length  of  time,  because  it 
is  a  human  organization.  Men  compare  their  own  religious  convic- 
tions and  sentiments,  and  when  they  find  they  agree,  they  make 
wliat  has  been  sometimes  called,  but  not  in  dignified  language,  a  re- 
ligious plattbrm  ;  and  they  become  a  visible  union ;  but  what  comes 
of  it  ?  The  same  men,  oftentimes,  are  not  of  the  same  principles  for 
six  months  in  succession.  Those  who  agree  at  first  conclude  to  dis- 
agree in  a  brief  time  after.  They  speak  the  same  language,  they  are 
accustomed  to  the  same  social  habits.  But  have  you  thought  of  this 
great  Christian  Church,  maintaining  its  unity,  maintaining  the  iden- 
tity of  its  doctrines,  the  identity  of  its  government,  the  identity  of 
its  sacraments — every  thing,  and  extending,  not  to  the  narro.NV  limits 
of  a  neighborhood,  but  from  the  rising  to  the  setting  of  the  sun,  per- 
vading with  these  same  doctrines  nations  that  speak  diiferent  lan- 
guages, crossing  every  latitude  and  longitude,  visiting  every  conti- 
nent and  every  island  of  the  ocean,  and  every  where  propagating 
the  same  principles,  and  every  where  constituting  an  identity  of  the 
visible  Church,  which  the  Apostle  described  as  "  the  pillar  and 
ground  of  the  truth  ?"  Where  have  been  the  limits  to  the  zeal  of 
the  Apostles  and  their  successors  ?  Even  up  to  the  present  day,  you 
may  find  them  in  the  frozen  region  of  the  Arctic  isles— for  there  is, 
even  in  our  time,  and  while  1  am  speaking,  a  zealous  successor  of  the 
Apostles,  who  visits  as  his  mission,  from  the  north  point  of  Norway 
and  Sweden  to  Spitzbergen,  and  Iceland,  and  Greenland,  hoping  to 
find  or  create  and  bring  in  to  this  one  universal  fold,  some  soul  for 
whom  Christ  died  upon  tlie  cross.  Go  to  the  burning  sands  of 
Africa,  along  the  Niger  shores,  from  Morocco  to  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope,  and  although  tliere  are  few  nominally  2:)rofessing  Christians, 
still  they  all  have  the  traditions  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  not  merely 
as  a  secret  system  of  philosophy,  but  as  a  great  outward  and  univer- 
sal society  spreading  over  the  earth.  Go  along  the  other  shores,  now 
so  desolated  by  Mahomedanism,  the  coast  of  Barbary,  and  you  will 
pass  from  point  to  point  the  ruins  of  cities  where  once  lived  those 
great  Apostolic  men  who  adorned  the  Church  by  the  holiness  of 
their  lives  and  the  sublimity  of  their  doctrines — the  St.  Cyprians,  St. 
Alexanders,  and  other  writers  who  stand  not  so  high  for  holiness  as 
for  learning,  Origen  and  Tertullian,  They  were  the  lights  of  that 
now  darkened  shore  of  Barbary.  But  go  to  the  furthest  East,  travel 
from  the  Caspian  Sea  eastward,  and  along  the  borders  of  China,  and 
through  the  interior  of  China  itself,  and  you  will  find  that  visible 
Church,  and  although  their  language,  and  their  skies,  and  their 
scenes  are  altogether  diflierent,  still,  if  that  congregation  which  wor- 
ships this  day  in  the  capital  of  that  great  empire,  Pekin,  were  to  be 
associated  with  you,  there  would  be  found  an  identity  in  the  govern- 
ment of  the  Church,  an  identity  in  the  sacraments,  and  in  ail  those 
things  that  constitute  the  bond  of  Christian  profession. 

It  may  be  said  that  if  all  I  have  uttered  were  literally  true,  the 


342  ARCHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

Church  would  be  everywhere,  whereas  it  is  not ;  at  least,  it  does  not 
enfold  and  embrace  all  men.  But  there  is  a  sense  in  which  it  is  ev- 
erywhere. The  Mahomedans,  you  know,  not  by  argument  or  by 
doctrine,  but  by  the  scimitar  in  one  hand,  and  the  Koran  in  the 
other,  destroyed  Christianity  in  those  once  flourishing  provinces  of 
the  Church,  Persia,  a  portion  of  Arabia,  and  the  south  coast  of  the 
Mediterranean,  and  even  on  the  northern  cast  of  the  Black  sea ;  and 
it  may  be  said  that  the  Church  is  not  there.  But  I  have  explained 
to  you  already  that  God  does  not  force  the  free  will  of  His  creatures, 
even  when  exercised  against  Him.  When  I  say  force,  I  mean  He 
does  not  apply  to  them  the  whole  of  His  power,  and  that,  conse- 
quently, evil,  wickedness,  and  tyranny  have  their  course  in  the 
world  as  well  as  piety.  He  did  not  prevent  true  Christians  from  be- 
ing massacred,  almost  within  the  memory  of  our  own  time  ;  He  did 
not  prevent  that  once  glorious  Church  of  the  British  Isles  from  being 
plundered  and  perverted ;  but  yet,  in  all  these  places,  there  are  the 
representatives  of  the  one  visible  and  universal  Church  ;  and  although 
they  are  not  in  the  number  that  would  seem  to  correspond,  yet,  out 
of  four  parts  of  nominal  Christians,  this  one,  united,  holy,  catholic, 
and  universal  communion  constitutes  three  parts.  There  are  two 
hundred  millions ;  and  is  there  any  one  who  can  say  that  is  not 
worthy  of  a  thought  ?  Could  the  ingenuity  of  man,  could  any  thing 
less  than  the  application,  originally,  of  divine  power,  sustain  such 
an  outward  society,  particularly,  sustain  it  when  it  is  as  united  as  the 
members  of  one  family  ?  Never !  All  the  rest,  as  I  have  remarked 
before,  is  the  work  of  man ;  all  the  rest  will  perish ;  the  very  world 
itself,  as  God  has  not  omitted  to  teach  us,  will,  at  His  own  time.  His 
own  appointed  time,  melt  away  and  disappear ;  the  sun  will  become 
dark,  and  the  moon  will  not  give  its  light,  and  those  brilliant  orbs 
that  we  see  with  so  much  pleasure  will  fall  from  their  places.  That 
is  God's  prophecy  for  the  material  univei'se.  And  now,  whatsoever 
man  has  done  on  this  earth  has  the  seeds  of  decay  in  its  own  na- 
ture. He  may  erect  a  magnificent  temple  to  God,  even  the  great 
wonder  and  admiration  of  the  world,  St.  Peter's,  at  Rome,  but  it  is 
the  work  of  man  ;  it  has  the  seeds  of  decay  in  itself;  and  the  time 
may  come  when  it  shall  exhibit  ruins  not  unlike  those  of  Baalbec 
and  Palmyra,  which  puzzle  the  traveller  to  know  whence  and  how 
such  magnificence  could  have  originated.  All  this  may  happen. 
The  great  ship  that  has  been  the  wonder  of  the  world — it  is  the 
work  of  man,  and  it  is  already  realizing  the  doom  of  its  origin.  De- 
cay, accident,  fire  will  show  the  end  of  man's  work.  But  as  for 
the  Church,  that  is  the  second  incomparable  work  of  God,  and  that 
will  never  perish.  It  will  perpetuate  itself  throughout  the  globe,  in 
the  midst  of  persecution.  Kings  will  rise  up  against  it,  and  i>rince3 
will  rage  at  its  jprogress,  and  cupidity  will  plunder  its  altai"s  and  as- 
sail its  ministers,  but  it  is  God's  work,  and  when  it  ceases  from  this 
earth,  it  is  only  to  be  transferred,  member  by  member,  to  that  other 
and  invisible  Church — invisible  now  to  us — in  which  there  will  be  no 
crime,  no  necessity  for  free  will,  in  which  all  will  be  peace,  and  those 


SEEMONS.  3i3 


who  loved  and  served  God,  and  belonged  to  His  Cliurcli  upon  earth, 
will  rejoice  with  Him  forever  in  that  triumphant  Church  which  He 
has  piepared  for  them  in  heaven. 

And  that  is  the  blessing  which  I  invoke  upon  you,  in  the  name  of 
the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost.     Amen. 


SERMON  AT  THE  SECOND  SESSION  OF  THE 
SECOND  PROVINCIAL  COUNCIL  OP  THE  EC- 
CLESIASTICAL PROVINCE  OF  NEW  YORK, 
WEDNESDAY,  JUNE  5th,  1861. 

"^Bvit  Jesus  answered  tliem,  saying :  "  The  hour  is  come  that  the  Son  of 
Man  should  be  glorified.  Amen,  amen,  I  say  to  you,  unless  the  grain  of  wheat 
fall  into  the  ground  and  die,  itself  remaineth  alone.  But  if  it  die,  it  bringeth 
forth  much  fruit.  He  that  loveth  his  life  shall  lose  it,  and  he  that  hateth  his 
life  in  this  world  keejjeth  it  until  life  eternal.  If  any  man  minister  to  Me,  let  him 
follow  Me,  and  where  I  am,  there  also  shall  My  minister  be.  If  any  man  min- 
ister to  Me,  him  will  My  Father  honor.  Now  is  My  soul  troubled — and  what 
shall  I  say  ?  Father,  save  Me  from  this  hour  ;  but  for  this  cause  I  came  unto 
this  hour.  Father,  glorify  Thy  name.  A  voice  therefore  came  from  heaven : 
I  have  both  glorified  it,  and  I  wUl  glorify  it  again.  The  multitude,  therefore, 
that  stood  and  heard,  said  that  it  thundered.  Others  said,  an  angel  spoke  to 
Him." — John,  chap.  xii. 

You  are  present  to-day,  dearly  beloved  brethren,  at  the  second 
session  of  the  Provincial  Council.  It  is  the  custom  to  have  a  solemn 
Mass  of  Requiem  during  every  sucli  Council  for  the  deceased  pre- 
lates of  the  Province.  It  is  generally  understood  that  it  is  for  those 
who  have  died  since  the  last  Provincial  Council ;  but  to-day,  sur- 
rounded by  the  prelates  of  the  Province,  one  of  their  own  number 
has  offered  up  the  Holy  Sacrifice  of  the  Mass  for  all  the  deceased 
prelates  from  the  very  commencement  of  the  Church  in  this 
country. 

The  words  which  I  have  selected,  about  the  dying  of  the  grain  of 
wheat,  in  order  that  it  might  bring  forth  much  fruit,  are  not 
inapplicable  to  this  occasion.  It  is  true  that  the  Church  teaches  us 
as  a  sacred  duty  to  pray  for  the  departed ;  and  even  in  the  Scriptures 
of  the  ancient  Testament,  we  find  that  it  is  enjoined  by  inspiration. 
In  the  Second  Book  of  Macchabees  we  read  of  the  leader  of  the  Jewish 
people,  in  their  extremity,  making  a  gathering,  and  sending  twelve 
thousand  drachms  of  silver  to  Jerusalem  for  sacrifices  to  be  offered  up 
for  the  dead,  believing  considering  the  resurrection,  for  if  he  did  not 


344  ARCHBISHOP  HUGHES. 

believe  that  they  would  rise  again,  it  would  be  superfluous  to  pray 
for  the  dead.  But  he  did  this  because  be  considered  that  those 
who  had  follen  asleep  in  godliness  had  great  grace  laid  up  for  them. 
"  It  is  therefore  a  holy  and  a  wholesome  thing  to  pray  for  the  dead, 
that  they  may  be  loosed  from  their  sins."  The  Church  lias  taught 
that  doctrine  from  the  very  beginning ;  it  is  contained  in  the  Apos- 
tles' Creed  ;  the  "communion  of  saints"  intimates  to  us  that  death 
has  not  absolutely  the  power  of  cutting  off  the  spiritual  bonds  or 
links  that  bind  those  who  are  struggling  yet  on  the  battle-field  of 
time  to  those  who  are  already  enjoying  the  triumphs  of  their  good 
fight,  as  well  as  those  who,  outside  the  portals  of  eternal  bliss,  are 
awaiting  admission.  It  is  in  ordinary  life  a  duty  to  pray  for  the 
dead.  It  is  a  great  privilege  for  the  Catholic,  which  no  other  profes- 
sion of  belief  enjoys.  It  soothes  the  grief  of  mourning  friends,  when 
some  one  dear  to  them  has  been  taken  away.  It  sanctifies  their 
grief,  it  raises  their  thoughts  into  communion  with  that  spiritual 
world  towards  which  we  are  all  hastening ;  for,  while  death  must 
have  been  awful  to  the  pagans,  to  those  who  think  it  forbidden  to 
utter  one  prayer  for  the  soul  of  a  departed  relative,  it  is  to  us  a 
great  consolation  that  we  are  permitted  to  pray — nay,  that  the 
charity  of  love  makes  it  a  duty  for  us  to  pray  for  the  dead.  And 
now,  looking  back  to  the  distant  periods,  when  those  prelates  to 
whom  I  have  referred  were  laboring  on  this  soil  for  the  glory  of 
God,  ministering  to  Him,  many  a  diocese,  or  at  least  many  a  com- 
munity, was  rendered  sad  by  the  decease  of  its  Father  and  its  Bishop. 
But  yet,  we  have  here  our  divine  Saviour  Himself  saying  that  nnless 
the  grain  of  wheat  falling  into  the  ground  die,  itself  remaineth 
alone  ;  but  if  it  die,  it  bringeth  forth  much  fruit.  He  Himself,  our 
blessed  Lord,  w^as  supremely  that  grain  of  wheat.  And  you  will  not 
fail  to  remember  that  during  His  life  upon  earth  His  success  in 
converting  His  own  people  to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth  was  not 
so  striking  as  was  found  afterwards  among  those  apostles  who  grew 
out  of  His  death,  and  who  were  the  "  much  fruit"  of  the  primitive 
grain.  Sometimes  the  people  refused  to  hearken  to  His  doctrine ; 
sometimes  they  turned  away,  always  full  of  jealousy  and  evil  pas- 
sions against  Him ;  and  the  Scripture,  in  one  place,  says  that 
He  was  not  able  to  do  much  in  a  certain  neighborhood. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  Church  has  grown  out  of  His  death.  His 
disciples  and  apostles,  if  they  understood  it  at  the  time,  could  with 
difficulty  comprehend  how  their  Ucing  Master  should  not  be  the 
principle  of  the  "diffusion  of  knowledge  and  of  grace,  rather  than  their 
dead  master.  But  it  is  as  He  has  said  :  "  When  the  Son  of  Man  shall 
be  lifted  up.  He  shall  draw  all  things  to  Himself;"  and  although  the 
text  applies  primarily,  and  in  its  strictest  sense,  to  our  blessed  Lord, 
yet,  in  the  subordinate  and  relative  sense,  it  may  be  a])plied  to  those 
who  have  succeeded  in  the  inheritance  or  appointment  of  the  epis- 
copal office.  The  Apostles  di%d  as  so  many  grains  of  wheat ;  and 
when  we  read  of  their  martyrdom  to-day,  do  they  not  bring  forth 
good  fruit  ?     Are  they  not  the  grand  testimony,  coming  down  side 


SEKMONS.  345 

by  side  with  Chi'istianity,  and  bearing  testimony  to  its  eternal 
truth  ?  The  text,  therefore,  is  applicable  to  them,  for  the  good 
fruit  is  the  result  of  theii'  labors,  but  more  especially  of  their  death. 

The  first  prelates  who  came  to  this  country  were  men  of  this  de- 
scription, duly  appointed,  inheriting  all  the  prerogatives  of  the  Apostle- 
ship,  with  the  certain  distinction  as  regards  the  Prince  of  the  Apos- 
tles. They  died ;  and  although  many  years  have  passed  since  their 
death,  it  would  not  be  becoming,  even  if  it  were  optional,  for  their 
successors  in  a  Council  that  is  a  part  of  the  fruit  that  grew  out  of  their 
death,  to  forget  their  memory,  either  at  the  altar,  or  to  allow  it  to 
subside  and  pei'ish  in  the  minds  of  the  faithful. 

It  would  be  most  interesting,  dearly  beloved  brethren,  if  time 
permitted,  to  give  a  description  of  the  Catholic  Church  in  this 
land  from  the  beginning.  We  could  refer  to  the  earlier  period,  the 
period  of  the  Revolution,  when  the  first  synod  was  held  on  this  con- 
tinent, or  at  least  the  northern  portion  of  it ;  when  Bishop  Carroll 
and  the  clergy  of  his  diocese,  embracing  the  whole  United  States, 
assembled  in  council  to  the  number  of  twenty-five,  and  passed  cer- 
tain statutes  that  are  read  to-day  with  immense  edification. 

In  1808  new  bishoprics  were  estabhshed  and  new  bishops  appointed 
by  the  Holy  See.  They  were  altogether  four — one  for  New  York, 
one  for  Boston,  one  for  Philadelphia,  and  one  for  Bardstown,  Ken- 
tucky. They  were  all  consecrated  in  the  year  eighteen  hundred  and 
ten,  except  the  first  bishop  of  New  York,  who  was  consecrated  in 
eighteen  hundred  and  eight.  But,  as  has  already  been  intimated,  I 
must  confine  myself  to  a  commemoration  of  those  first  bishops  and 
their  immediate  successors  who  have  died  within  the  present  Eccles- 
iastical Province  of  New  York.  The  first  bishop  of  this  diocese,  Dr. 
Concannan,  after  having  been  consecrated  in  Rome,  set  out  for  the 
diocese  of  New  York,  over  which  he  was  to  preside.  But,  owing  to 
the  existence  of  war  in  Europe  at  that  time,  he  could  not  come  from 
Rome  by  any  direct  route.  He  purposed  to  embark  at  Naples,  where 
he  died  on  his  journey.  Some  say  he  was  poisoned,  but  that  has  not 
been  made  clear.  Probably  he  had  with  him  means  enough  to  tempt 
some  assassin  to  take  his  life. 

Dr.  Concannan  was  already  far  advanced  in  years  at  the  period  of 
his  appointment  and  consecration.  We  have  not  learned  any  thing 
of  him  as  a  writer  or  an  orator.  He  had  been  a  member  of  the 
Order  of  St.  Dominick,  and  had  resided  in  the  Eternal  City  during 
a  long  period.  And  the  fact  of  his  having  been  chosen  by  the  Holy 
See  as  the  first  bishop  of  New  York  is  a  sufficient  evidence  that  in 
Rome  he  was  distinguished  by  the  qualities  necessary  or  suitable  for 
the  government  of  a  diocese.  From  a  deep  inspection  of  his  por- 
trait— which  is  now  all  that,  to  a  practised  eye,  can  give  any  indica- 
tion of  his  personal  qualities — it  would  be  inferred  that  he  was  a 
learned  man.  His  countenance  beams  with  those  traits  which  would 
indicate  his  character.  Venerable  in  appearance,  dignified  in  his  life 
and  manners,  he  yet  betrays  an  unmistakable  evidence  of  firmness, 
charity,  and  benevolence. 


346  ARCHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

He  was  succeeded  by  the  Right  Rev.  John  Connolly,  consecrated 
in  eighteen  hundred  and  fourteen  as  the  second  bishop  of  New  York. 
He  did  not  reach  his  diocese  until  eighteen  hundred  and  sixteen. 
He  died  in  eighteen  hundred  and  twenty-five,  after  a  brief  adminis- 
tration of  nine  years.  Dr.  Connolly  had  been  a  member  of  the  same 
distinguished  order  of  St.  Dominick.  He,  too,  Avas  far  advanced  in 
life  when  he  entered  on  the  duties  of  the  Episcopacy.  In  one  of  his 
first  letters  to  Rome  he  describes  the  condition  of  the  diocese.  There 
were  three  priests,  and,  he  supposed,  about  seventeen  thousand  Catho- 
lics within  the  whole  extent  of  his  jurisdiction.  Dr.  Connolly  was 
also  a  prelate  well  versed  in  purely  ecclesiastical  literature.  He  was 
humble,  devout,  patient,  and  charitable ;  but  the  novelty  of  the  circum- 
stances in  which  he  was  placed,  the  sudden  transition  from  the  peaceful 
abodes  of  conventual  life  to  the  active  and  stirring  scenes  of  a  city 
like  New  York,  even  at  that  time,  rendered  him  apparently  pas- 
sive and  diffident  of  himself  in  the  sterner  duties  of  the  episco- 
pal ofiice.  He  had  to  undergo  much  labor  in  the  ministry,  ow- 
ing to  the  paucity  of  his  clergy,  and  he  had  to  encounter  many 
contradictions  and  trials  which,  as  he  thought,  it  would  be  rather 
his  duty  to  bear  in  meekness  than  to  correct  by  authority.  He 
was,  therefore,  a  peaceful  man,  a  humble  man,  a  man  giving 
way  in  a  great  measure  to  the  usages  and  pretentions  of  lay- 
men ;  and,  as  a  general  rule,  he  preferred  submission  where  there 
was  no  great  principle  involved,  for  he  had  an  idea  of  scandal 
as  the  most  terrible  thing  that  could  happen ;  and  when  the 
threat  was  made  of  an  appeal  to  the  newspapers,  he  gave  way,  lest 
scandal  might  come. 

There  were  but  two  churches  in  the  city  and  out  of  the  city :  in 
the  whole  diocese,  which  then  included  the  entire  State  of  New 
York  as  well  as  the  greater  portion  of  New  Jersey,  there  could  not 
have  been  more  than  three  or  four  others.  At  the  period  of  his 
death,  which  was  in  eighteen  hundred  and  twenty-five,  there  were 
but  thirteen  priests  in  all. 

He  was  succeeded  by  the  Right  Rev.  John  Dubois,  consecrated  in 
eighteen  hundred  and  twenty  six.  Bishop  Dubois  died  in  eighteen 
hundred  and  forty-two,  after  an  administration  of  thirteen  years,  for 
his  health,  towards  the  end  of  his  life,  became  too  weak  to  sustain  the 
burden.  Bishop  Dubois  was  an  extraordinary  man.  He  was  a 
young  priest  exercising  the  lioly  ministry  in  Paris  when  the  French 
revolution  of  seventeen  hundred  and  eighty  nine  broke  out,  and  its 
fury  was  particularly  aimed  at  the  priesthood,  Mr.  Dubois  found 
means  to  escape,  and,  bearing  a  letter  of  recommendation  from 
General  Lafayette  to  some  of  the  distinguished  men  of  Virginia,  he 
landed  at  Norfolk  and  was  kindly  received  by  the  Washingtons,  the 
Patrick  Heni-ys,  and  other  patriotic  men  of  that  State — which  has 
since  been  called  "the  Mother  of  Presidents."  Unable  to  speak  the 
language,  and  yet  desiring  to  learn  it,  he  devoted  himself  to  the 
teaching  of  French.  As  soon  as  he  began  to  speak  English,  with  a 
moderate  knowledge  of  the  language,  he  turned  his  attention  to  the 


SERMONS.  347 

exercise  of  tlie  holy  ministry.  But  at  that  time  there  could  scarcely 
be  found  ten  Catholic  families  on  the  whole  surface  of  Virginia. 
Bishop  Carroll  received  him  with  great  kindness,  and  extended  to 
him  every  encouragement.  His  labors  in  the  ministry  were  transferred 
from  Virginia  to  Maryland,  where  he  had  whole  counties  under  his 
care.  Instances  of  his  untiring  zeal  and  of  his  immense  physical 
poweis  to  bear  fatigue  are  still  popular  traditions  throughout  the  dis- 
tricts which  he  attended.  According  to  one  of  these  traditions,  he 
could  ride  fifty  miles  on  horseback  during  the  night  and  be  at  home 
in  the  morning.  He  was  subsequently  placed  as  pastor  of  Frederick 
City,  where  he  built  a  small  church.  He  had  still  an  immense  terri- 
tory, without  any  other  priest  to  aid  him.  There  were  a  few  scat- 
tered Catholics  in  the  neighborhood  of  Emmetsburg,  which  was  a 
part  of  his  mission. 

About  the  year  1809,  he  discovered  at  the  base  of  the  Blue  Ridge 
Mountains  a  gushing  stream  of  the  purest  water.  It  was  in  great 
abundance,  and  in  his  zeal  for  the  education  of  the  Catholic  youth, 
he  proposed  to  make  it  the  seat  of  a  future  college,  which  is  now  the 
flourishing  college  of  Mt.  St.  Mary's.  The  diflBculties  which  he  had 
to  encounter  in  the  first  years  of  this  undeitaking  are  almost  inde- 
scribable. But  assured  of  the  purity  of  his  motives,  no  difficulties 
could  discourage  him,  and  he  persevered  with  indomitable  energy  in 
prosecuting  the  enterprise  he  had  taken  in  hand  until  he  had  brought 
the  institution  to  a  high  measure  of  success.  He  was  not  always  sus- 
tained by  the  encouragement  of  his  clerical  superiors.  His  scattered 
flock  was  poor,  and  they  could  not,  and  certainly  did  not,  give  him 
much  aid.  There  he  was,  alone  in  the  midst  of  a  family  of  students 
that  loved  him  as  a  father,  until  he  was  joined  by  his  faithful  and 
saintly  friend.  Rev.  Mr.  Brute — afterwards  first  Bishop  of  Vincennes. 
Independent  of  the  anxieties  incident  to  the  support  of  such  an  es- 
tablishment, he  still  had  the  care  of  the  Congregation  and  of  the 
mission.  He  was  the  superior  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity,  to  whose  in- 
struction and  guidance  he  devoted  his  untiring  zeal.  Their  institu- 
tion, began  about  the  same  time  that  the  college  was  commenced, 
had  also  grown  up  to  be  one  of  the  most  important  religious  commu- 
nities in  the  United  States.  The  first  humble  buildinsrs  of  Mount 
St.  Mary's  were  of  logs — rudely  enough  put  together.  Mr.  Dubois 
determined  to  erect  a  magnificent  stone  edifice ;  and  when  it  was 
completed,  but  not  yet  occupied,  the  torch  of  an  incendiary,  applied 
to  the  cupola,  caused  it  to  be  burnt  to  the  ground  in  his  presence. 
The  building  was  not  insm-ed,  and  its  entire  destruction  before  his 
eyes,  in  the  dead  hour  of  the  night,  would  have  crushed  the  spirit  of 
almost  any  other  man.  No  doubt  he  felt  it  deeply,  but  he  betrayed 
no  external  emotion.  When  that  grand  and  beautiful  edifice  was 
already  a  heap  of  ruins,  he  simply  remarked  to  those  around  him, 
of  whom  I  happened  to  be  one,  "  that  in  its  structure  there  were 
many  defects,  but  that  now  he  would  build  a  better  one."  He  did 
build  another — and  had  the  consolation  to  see  it  completed  and  occu- 
pied by  his  students  and  seminarians  before  his  appointment  by  the 


348  AKCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

Holy  See  as  Bishop  of  New  York.  After  visiting  his  diocese  and 
witnessing  its  desolation,  and  the  hopelessness  of  obtaining  means  for 
the  education  of  a  future  clergy,  or  the  establishment  of  educational 
institutions,  he  determined  to  visit  Europe,  and  make  the  case  known 
in  the  different  Catholic  countries  which  he  afterwards  visited.  How 
far  he  was  successful  in  this  appeal  is  not  known.  But  it  is  singular 
enough  that  during  his  absence  he  should  find  himself  in  the  midst 
of  another  revolution  in  his  native  city — Paris.  It  was  in  1830  when 
the  government  of  Charles  X.  was  overthrown,  and  that  of  Louis 
Philippe  substituted.  After  an  absence  of  about  two  years,  he  re- 
turned, and  immediately  purchased  a  beautiful  site  on  the  Hudson 
River,  at  a  place  called  Nyack,  for  the  purpose  of  a  Catholic 
college.  A  costly  edifice  was  erected  on  that  beautiful  site,  and 
it  was  on  the  point  of  being  completed  when,  like  the  first  college, 
it  likewise  fell  a  prey  to  the  flames.  This  was  also  a  severe  blow,  the 
more  so  as  there  was  no  insurance  on  the  building.  It  afflicted  him, 
no  doubt,  but  having  made  his  act  of  resignation  to  the  will  of  God, 
it  was  not  observed  that  the  sad  event  destroyed  in  the  least  his 
habitual  cheerfulness.  The  accumulation  of  years  had  now  begun  to 
tell  upon  him.  He  confined  himself  more  exclusively  to  the  imme- 
diate duties  of  his  episcopal  office. 

From  this  brief  and  imperfect  sketch  you  can  easily  make  up  your 
mind  as  to  the  character  of  my  late  predecessor,  and  especially  you 
will  recognize  a  force  of  will  and  a  constancy  of  determination,  which 
mark  him  out  among  our  deceased  prelates  as  one  differing  in  many 
respects  from  others.  His  inward  qualities  of  mind  and  heart,  of 
kindness,  charity,  tenderness  towards  his  clergy  and  his  flock,  I  could 
dwell  upon  at  great  length.  He  had  his  trials  in  the  administration 
of  his  diocese  from  other  sources  more  afflicting  to  him  than  the  loss 
of  a  building.  The  condition  of  the  Church,  and  in  some  instances 
a  desire  on  the  part  of  the  laity  to  take  part  in  its  government,  with 
or  without  the  Bishop's  approval,  must  have  been  to  him  very  afflict- 
ing. It  may  be  that  the  habits  of  his  life,  as  a  missionary,  without 
being  much  accustomed  to  mingle  with  the  world,  especially  with  a 
population  of  this  city  which  he  may  not  have  understood — at  all 
events,  it  happened  that  misconceptions,  sometimes  misrepresenta- 
tions, grew  up  between  him  and  his  flock,  which  prevented  to  some 
extent  a  just  appreciation  that  each  side  could  have  fairly  attributed 
to  the  other.  Towards  the  last  years  of  his  life,  however,  this  feeling 
jjassed  away,  and  no  prelate  could  receive  a  fuller  acknowledgment 
from  his  people,  deeper  reverence  or  esteem  than  was  extended  to 
the  last  years  of  the  venerable  Bishop  Dubois.  He  was  a  man  of 
fine  education,  but  the  activity  of  his  life  or  his  mission  prevented 
him  from  cultivating  intimately  or  keeping  up  the  earlier  stores  of 
learning  he  had  laid  by.  He  was  a  man  of  the  most  gentle  parts — 
truly  a  father ;  a  man  of  charity  ;  a  man  that  felt  for  every  calamity, 
but  one  who,  if  approached  with  a  menace,  was,  as  he  said  sometimes, 
like  a  pillar  of  iron,  while  if  you  approached  him  with  the  gentleness 
of  good  manners  he  was  every  thing  you  could  desire. 


SERMONS.  34:9 

The  first  Bishop  of  Boston  was  the  Right  Rev.  John  B.  Cheverus. 
He  was  consecrated  in  1810,  and  died  Cardinal  Arclibishop  of  Bor- 
deaux in  1836.  Dr.  Cheverus,  like  Bishop  Dubois,  was  driven  out 
from  his  native  country  by  the  horrors  of  the  first  French  revolution. 
He  was  accompanied  by  a  learned  and  saintly  priest — Rev.  Mr.  Ma- 
tignon.  I  believe  they  spent  some  time  in  England  and  then  came 
to  Boston  as  missionary  priests.  They  had  endeared  themselves,  be- 
fore the  appointment  of  th«  Bishop,  to  the  people  of  Boston  of  all 
denominations,  by  their  devotedness  to  their  duty  as  pastors  of  the 
small  flock  of  poor  Catholics  which  were  then  to  be  found  in  the 
capital  of  Xew  England.  By  their  amiable  and  polite  intercourse 
with  its  inhabitants  generally,  their  polished  manners,  and  fine  edu- 
cation, they  liad  endeared  themselves  to  the  people  of  Boston.  It  is 
said  that  Dr.  Matignon  was  the  first  selected  tor  the  Episcopacy  ; 
but  his  own  humility,  and  his  great  respect  for  his  colleague,  induced 
him  to  decline,  and  in  consequence  of  this  Dr.  Cheverus  was  ap- 
pointed. His  elevation  to  the  Episcojjacy  did  not  at  all  change  the 
simplicity  of  his  manners  or  the  suavity  of  his  character.  His  ap- 
pointment was  hailed  by  Protestants  as  well  as  Catholics.  They  re- 
membered his  many  virtues ;  they  knew  that  such  was  his  spirit  of  char- 
ity for  the  poor,  that  on  one  occasion,  in  the  evening  twilight,  he  had 
been  detected  bearing  on  his  own  shoulders  a  burden  of  wood,  and 
entering  into  a  squalid  apartment,  in  which  it  had  come  to  his 
knowledge  that  the  inhabitants  were  almost  destitute  of  food  and  of 
fuel.  His  administration  was  all  that  could  adorn  his  lite  until  the 
period  of  his  recall  to  his  native  country.  The  fewness  and  the 
poverty  of  his  flock  did  not  leave  it  in  his  power  to  do  much  for  the 
spread  of  religion  outside  of  Boston.  But  everywhere  he  was  cher- 
ished with  respect  and  veneration,  even  by  those  who  regretted  that 
so  good  a  man  should  be  engaged  in  supporting  so  poor  a  cause. 

On  his  returning  to  France  the  See  of  Boston  was  for  some  time 
vacant.  As  his  successor,  the  Holy  See  appointed  Right  Rev.  Bene- 
dict Fenwick,  of  the  Society  of  Jesus.  Dr.  Fenwick  was  consecrated 
in  1825,  and  died  in  1846,  after  an  administration  of  20  years. 

Bishop  Fenwick  was  a  native  of  Maryland,  of  a  highly  respectable 
family,  in  which,  through  good  report  and  evil  report,  religion  and 
piety  had  not  ceased  to  flourish  from  the  first  landing  of  the  Catholic 
colony  of  his  native  State.  A  proof  of  this  is,  that  he  himself  and 
two  of  his  brothers  embraced  the  ecclesiastical  state.  He  was  edu- 
cated at  Georgetown  College,  and  became  a  member  of  the  order 
under  whose  teaching  and  training  he  had  been  brought  up.  After 
having  been  admitted  to  the  priesthood,  he  was  for  some  time,  if  I 
am  not  mistaken,  on  the  mission  in  the  lower  counties  of  Maryland. 
Subsequently  he  was  rector  of  the  same  venerable  college  in  which 
he  had  been  educated.  We  find  him  next  associated  with  the  Rev. 
Father  Coleman  as  pastor  of  St.  Peter's,  in  Barclay-street,  when 
there  was  no  church  in  this  city  except  that  small  brick  edifice, 
which  has  since  given  way  to  the  present  church. 

In  the  mean  time  there  were  found  a  few  Catholics  in  the  city  of 


350  AECHBISHOP  HUGHES. 

Charleston,  South  Carolina.  The  nucleus  of  the  church  in  that  city 
was  found  among  the  refugees  who  had  been  driven  out  by  the  in- 
surrections and  massacre  of  the  white  population  in  San  Domingo. 
There  were  a  few  other  Catholics;  but  at  all  events,  disputes  and 
strife  grew  up  in  such  a  way  that  the  presence  of  some  competent 
pastor  was  deemed  necessary  to  preserve  religious  peace,  to  restore 
charity,  and  improve  the  spiritual  condition  of  the  people  by  every 
means  that  zeal  and  prudence  could  suggest.  The  Archbishop  of 
Baltimore — Most  Rev.  John  Carroll — immediately  selected  Dr. 
Fenwick  as  his  representative  to  arrange  matters  in  Charleston.  In 
this  he  was  almost  entirely  successful.  He  remained  in  that  trying 
post  until  the  arrival  of  the  Right  Rev.  Bishop  England.  His 
presence  being  no  longer  required,  he  returned  to  Georgetown,  and 
remained  there  until  he  was  surprised  at  receiving  from  the  Holy 
See  the  bulls  of  his  appointment  to  the  diocese  of  Boston.  Though 
an  American  by  birth,  he  was  not  considered,  especially  by  the  Prot- 
estants of  Boston,  as  equal  to  his  departed  predecessor — Dr.  Cheve- 
rus.  He  did  not  manifest  any  disposition  to  mingle  in  society  ;  his 
books  and  his  episcopal  functions  were  enough  for  him.  It  would 
take  longer  time  than  can  be  afforded  to  give  even  a  brief  account 
of  the  wonderful  development  of  religion  during  his  administration. 
Although  he  had  no  seminary,  still  he  contrived  to  encourage  young 
men  and  boys  who  manifested  signs  of  a  vocation  to  the  priesthood. 
He  sent  them  to  Montreal,  and  in  some  cases  to  St.  Sulpice,  in  Paris. 
In  the  mean  time  he  supplied  the  wants  of  his  growing  diocese  with 
missionaries  from  other  sources.  Churches  began  to  rise  in  neigh- 
borhoods where  the  Catholic  religion  had  scarcely  ever  been  heard 
of  except  as  a  terra  of  reproach  and  contempt.  As  time  went  on, 
those  whom  he  had  sent  away  for  their  education  began  to  return 
with  well-stored  minds  to  aid  and  support  him  in  his  incessant  Apos- 
tolic labors.  At  that  period  there  was  but  one  Bishop  for  all  the 
States  of  New  England,  and  yet  the  increase  of  Catholics  was  so 
great  that  he  soon  found  it  necessary  to  ask  the  Holy  See  for  a  di- 
vision of  the  diocese — the  new  one  to  include  the  States  of  Coimecti- 
cut  and  Rhode  Island ;  and  since  his  death  two  other  divisions 
became  necessary — one  Episcopal  See  being  appointed  at  Burlington, 
Vermont,  and  the  other  in  Portland,  Maine. 

Bishop  Fenwick  was  one  of  the  most  amiable,  kind-hearted,  and 
fatherly  prelates  that  we  ever  knew.  He  was  of  a  naturally  buoyant 
and  cheerful  disposition.  He  was  beloved  by  his  clergy  and  by  all  that 
knew  him.  He,  too,  turned  his  attention  to  the  necessity  of  Catholic 
education  in  his  diocese.  He  had  provided  an  establishment  for  the 
right  training  of  young  ladies,  at  the  head  of  which  was  a  religious 
community  of  accomplished  Ursuline  ladies.  This- was  the  celebrated 
Convent  of  Mt.  Benedict  in  Charlestown,  which  was  afterwards,  in 
1834,  burnt  to  the  ground,  together  with  its  contents,  by  an  infu- 
riated mob.  He  hoped  to  obtain  compensation  for  the  loss  from  the 
justice  of  the  State  Government,  which,  however,  has  never  taken 
any  notice  of  the  flagrant  act.     He  established  a  college  at  Wor- 


SERMONS.  351 

cester,  and  this  also  was  consumed  by  fire ;  but  I  think  after  his 
death. 

I  have  said  that  he  was  of  a  cheerful  temperament — ever  gay  when 
he  was  among  those  that  knew  him.  But  neither  was  his  a  flowery 
path.  His  solicitude  for  all  the  priests  and  people  of  his  immense 
diocese  was  constant.  His  labors,  whether  in  travelling  or  keeping 
up  his  correspondence,  were  very  great.  But  these  again  he  bore 
with  great  constancy  and  perseverance,  and  he  could  have  borne 
still  more  if  other  crosses  had  not  been  laid  on  his  shoulders.  Among 
these  there  would  be  not  a  few  resulting  from  the  disappointment  of 
his  hopes  in  regard  to  some  of  those  whom  he  had  either  received 
or  prepared  for  the  exercise  of  the  holy  ministry  in  his  diocese.  Nor 
was  this  all :  towards  the  end  of  his  life  he  was  even  rudely  assailed 
in  the  newspapers,  and  some  of  the  most  injurious  articles  against 
him  he  could  trace  to  the  very  hands  that  he  had  consecrated  on  the 
day  of  their  ordination.  This  very  probably  preyed  upon  his  mind, 
and  perhaps  hastened  the  progress  of  disease,  the  symptoms  of  which 
made  themselves  manifest  for  several  years  before  his  death,  which 
took  place  in  the  year  1846. 

The  first  Bishop  of  Hartford  was  the  Right  Rev.  William  Tyler, 
consecrated  March  17,  1844,  and  who  died  in  1849. 

Bishop  Tyler  had  been  brought  up  by  Dr.  Fenwick,  and  had  lived 
in  his  house  several  years  after  he  was  ordained  priest.  Bishop  Ty- 
ler was  also  a  man  exceedingly  fond  of  retirement.  He  was  a  man 
of  few  words — not  distinguished,  indeed,  for  great  powers  of  ora- 
tory, or  great  ability  as  a  writer.  But  he  was  zealous  and  holy,  gen- 
tle in  his  administration,  but  firm  enough  in  maintaining  the  dignity 
of  his  state  and  the  independence  of  his  mitre  whenever  unauthor- 
ized persons  assailed  him  by  a  pressure  from  without.  He  accom- 
plished during  his  brief  administration  as  much  as  the  times  and  the 
circumstances  of  his  new  diocese  enabled  him  to  carry  out.  But  be- 
sides all  this,  his  health  was  delicate,  and  began  to  fail  perceptibly 
very  soon  after  his  consecration.  His  disease  was  consumption.  I  re- 
member distinctly  that  at  the  last  Provincial  Council  which  he  ever 
attended  in  Baltimore,  he  pleaded  with  the  Bishops  to  pray  that  the 
Holy  See  might  grant  him  a  coadjutor.  They  were  rather  opposed 
to  it,  under  the  impression  that,  judging  from  appearances,  he  might 
yet  live  many  years.  They  did  not  reflect  that  the  disease  which  had 
been  stealthily  approaching,  and  which  never  forgives,  sometimes 
imparts  a  treacherous  appearance  of  health  to  the  countenance  of  its 
intended  victim.  When  Bishop  Tyler  found  that  the  case  he  had 
represented  was  almost  discredited  by  the  other  prelates,  he  drew 
forth  and  handed  round  a  document  with  an  expression  on  his  face 
that  indicated  the  certainty  of  his  request  being  granted.  It  was  a 
certificate  of  his  doctor's,  stating  in  brief  that  one  of  his  lungs  was 
ahnost  entirely  gone,  and  the  other  was  not  much  better.  Of  course, 
his  request  was  granted.  I  mention  this  as  a  proof,  that  in  life,  his 
was  the  simplicity  of  a  child.  He  felt  that  he  had  gained  the  day. 
A  coadjutor  was  appointed,  but  good  Dr.  Tyler  did  not  live  to  see  him. 


853  AKCHBISHOP   HUGUES. 

The  Bishops  at  that  Council  recommended  the  Reverend  Bernard 
O'Reilly,  then  Pastor  of  St.  Patrick's  Church  in  Rochester,  He  was 
consecrated  on  the  first  of  November,  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty, 
and  perished  in  the  steamship  Pacific,  which  sailed  from  Liverpool, 
and  has  not  since  been  heard  from.  I3ishop  O'Reilly  was  a  mission- 
ary in  the  west  of  this  diocese  for  many  years  previous  to  his  ap- 
pointment— was  always  a  zealous,  laborious,  and  exemplary  priest. 
After  his  consecration  his  zeal  and  activity  became  even  greater  un- 
der the  sense  of  his  new  responsibilities.  He  visited  his  diocese 
more  than  once — limited,  indeed,  as  to  its  extent,  and  as  to  the  num- 
ber of  his  clergy  and  his  flock.  But  a  new  impluse  was  given  to  the 
progress  of  religion  during  his  brief  administration.  He  made  him- 
self acquainted  with  every  thing,  and  where  encouragement  was 
necessary  he  did  not  fail  to  encourage  ;  neither  did  he  omit  to  cor- 
rect any  real  abuse  wherever  he  found  it.  His  zeal  and  industry 
were  remarkable,  and  in  proof  of  that  zeal,  and  of  the  interest  which 
a  Bishop  takes  in  the  well-being  of  his  flock,  he  sailed  to  Europe  for 
the  purpose  of  getting  more  laborers  in.  the  vineyard,  which  he 
was  not  to  cultivate  any  more.     He  gave  his  life  for  his  flock ! 

I  have  spoken  in  a  brief  manner  of  all  the  deceased  prelates  of 
what  is  now  the  Ecclesiastical  Province  of  New  York.  Time  did  not 
permit  me  to  enlarge  on  any  one  of  them  in  a  special  manner.  It 
was  necessary  to  condense  and  abbreviate ;  and,  except  as  to  dates, 
I  have  spoken  entirely  from  memory  of  these  pioneers  of  religion. 
I  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  the  first  Bishop  of  Boston,  Dr.  Cheve- 
rus,  at  the  consecration  of  Archbishop  Marechal,  in  the  year  eighteen 
hundred  and  seventeen.  Of  the  others,  the  Right  Reverend  Doctor 
Connolly,  of  New  York,  was  the  only  one  that  I  never  saw.  With 
all  the  others  I  was  personally  acquainted.  I  have  spoken  of  them, 
therefore,  from  personal  knowledge.  Nor  do  I  pretend  to  the 
strictest  accuracy  in  regard  to  some  of  the  facts  to  w'hich  I  have  re- 
ferred. But  I  know,  of  my  own  knowledge,  that  they  are  substan- 
tially correct. 

These  venerable  first  fathers  of  our  province  are  fairly  daguerre- 
otyped  in  my  memory,  both  as  to  their  physical  appearance  and  as 
to  that  diversity  of  individual  character  which  would  mark  the  in- 
terior operations  of  their  mind  and  heart.  Casting  a  glance  over 
what  I  have  said  so  imperfectly,  I  could  imagine  them,  if  that  were 
possible,  as  a  mosaic  of  painted  glass,  grouped  into  a  small  frame, 
to  be  set  in  a  large  window  of  some  great  cathedral.  From  within 
you  could  discover  the  varieties  or  the  diversity  which  they  would 
mutually  exhibit  to  the  human  eye.  In  stature — in  complexion — in 
expression  of  countenance,  in  the  analysis  of  the  color  of  their  hair 
or  their  eyebrows,  you  could  not  find  two  alike.  If  judging  from 
their  expressions  of  countenance,  you  would  perceive  that  in  their 
natural  temperament  no  two  would  be  altogether  alike.  This  would 
be  a  view  of  them,  the  shadows  within  the  walls  of  the  Cathedral. 
But  go  outside  and  look  inwards,  and  you  can  perceive  no  difler- 
ence.    They  were  all  Bishops ;   and  the  holy  Catholic  faith  which 


8EEMON8.  353 

they  preached  was  the  same  for  all.  In  that  regard  they  were  one, 
and  their  faith  was  as  combined  and  as  colorless  as  the  atmos- 
phere, which  is  identical,  and  cannot  be,  in  the  open  air,  sepa- 
rated. 

They,  too,  were  the  grains  of  wheat  that  have  now  died,  and  have 
iDorne  much  fruit.  The  result  of  their  toilsome  labors  may  be  esti- 
mated by  a  view  of  the  progress  which  religion  has  made  in  this 
Province  since  the  period  when  God  called  them,  as  His  ministers, 
to  be  glorified  with  Himself  They  fought  the  good  fight — 
they  laid,  under  the  blessing  of  God,  the  foundations  of  religion  in  this 
Province  during  their  lives,  and  after  their  death  they  brought  forth, 
much  fruit.  If  any  one  would  investigate  the  result  of  their  pri- 
mary labors,  he  can  easily  make  the  comparison  from  almanacs  or 
other  sources  of  Catholic  information,  between  the  condition  in 
which  the  diocese  of  New  York  and  Boston  were  found  when  the 
first  bishops  arrived  on  those  shores,  and  the  actual  condition  of 
the  Church  within  the  limits  of  the  Province  at  the  present 
day. 

It  is  not,  then,  without  reasonable  and  tender  motives  that  the 
Church  directs,  at  every  Provincial  Council,  the  celebration  of  a 
Solemn  Mass  of  Requiem  for  the  repose  of  the  souls  of  the  deceased 
prelates.  It  is  true  that  those  to  be  thus  prayed  for  refer  moi'e  par- 
ticularly to  such  pi-elates  as  may  have  been  called  to  their  reward 
since  the  last  Provincial  Council.  In  the  present  instance,  however, 
I  have  deemed  it  expedient  to  enumerate  the  bishops  of  this  Prov- 
ince who  have  died  from  the  beginning  of  its  hierarchy.  We  have 
every  reason  to  believe  and  trust  that  they  are  now  enjoying  the 
glory  which  Christ  promised  to  His  faithful  ministers.  Never- 
theless, it  is  a  holy  and  a  wholesome  thought  to  pray  for  the  dead, 
that  they  may  be  loosed  from  their  sins.  We  all  join,  therefore,  in 
the  intention  of  the  venerable  prelate  who  offers  the  Holy  Sacrifice 
of  the  Mass  for  the  repose  of  their  souls,  and  in  commemoration 
of  their  great  zeal  and  labors.  They  have  left  behind  them  a  noble 
example  for  those  who  are  to  come  ^er  them,  by  their  untiring 
zeal,  their  labors,  their  humility  in  prosperity,  their  Christian  pa- 
tience under  great  trials,  which  may  be  objects  of  imitation  for  the 
bishops  and  priests  who  have  succeeded  them. 
Vol.  11—33 


354  ABCHBI8H0P  HUGHES. 


SERMON  ON  THE  OCCASION  OF  THE  OPENING- 
OF  THE  CHURCH  OF  ST.  MICHAEL,  NEW  YORK, 
SEPT.  29th,  1861. 

"  My  house  shall  be  called  the  house  of  prayer." — St.  Matthew,  xxi.  13. 

These  were  the  words  of  our  divine  Saviour,  when  he  rebuked 
those  who  were  present  in  the  holy  Temple  of  Jerusalem  for  their 
want  of  reverence  towards  the  sacred  place.  In  the  outer  court  of 
that  great  and  glorious  structure — perhaps  in  the  porches  of  it — 
there  had  been  going  on  a  species  of  traffic  as  in  a  market-place  ; 
and  this  is  the  only  instance  in  which  the  Redeemer  would  seem  to 
have  exhibited  the  appearance  of  impatience,  when  He  scourged  those 
traffickers  from  the  sacred  edifice.  He  said  to  them — "My  house 
shall  be  called  the  house  of  prayer,  but  you  have  made  it  a  den  of 
thieves." 

I  am  aware,  my  dear  brethren,  that  in  sympathy  with  your  zealous 
pastor  you  have  been  and  still  are  engaged  in  the  work  of  erecting 
a  house  to  God  which  is  to  be  "  a  house  of  prayer  ;"  that  this  future 
temple,  already  commenced,  is  to  be  dedicated  to  the  service  of  the 
Almighty  under  the  auspices  of  the  glorious  St.  Michael  the  Arch- 
angel, prince  of  the  heavenly  hosts.  This,  dearly  beloved  brethren, 
is  a  great  and  glorious  work  for  you  to  have  on  hand  ;  its  commence- 
ment is  already  a  great  work ;  to  labor  on  until  it  is  completed  will 
be  the  crowning  of  that  noble  and  Christian  purpose  which  has 
prompted  you  from  the  beginning,  and  which  will  sustain  you  to 
the  end. 

It  is  a  great  work  to  take  from  any  portion  of  the  surfiice  of  this 
earth,  which  was  all  cursed  in  the  malediction  brought  upon  us,  and 
even  on  material  things,  by  original  sin — it  is  a  great  work  to  take 
a  portion  of  that  earth  to  Tiave  it  sanctified  by  benediction  and 
prayer — it  is  a  great  w^ork  to  lay  the  foundation  on  that  sanctified 
portion  of  the  earth  and  erect  thereon  a  church  to  the  honor  and 
glory  of  the  living  God,  and  to  do  this  where  a  church  had  never 
been  before.  This  is  truly  a  great  work,  and  in  this  work  I  am  happy 
to  know  that  hitherto  you  have  all  clung  together  with  zeal,  and  co- 
operated with  your  reverend  pastor  in  the  noble  enterprise,  and  I 
am  confident  that  you  will  so  persevere  until  the  work  is  completed. 

And  now  what  is  the  great  glory  of  such  an  imdertaking  ?  Is  it 
to  erect  a  material  structure  that  even  from  the  summit  of  its  cross 
shall  point  heavenward?  Is  that  all?  That  would  not  be  much. 
Still,  the  intention  being  to  promote  the  glory  and  honor  of  God, 
and  the  welfare  of  mankind  and  the  perpetuation  of  religion — even 
that  is  a  great  deal.  But  what  is  our  Christian  house  of  God  ?  A 
house  of  prayer.     Of  course  in  the  magnificence  of  structure,  in  the 


SEEMONS.  855 

richness  of  decoration,  in  the  grand  and  sublime  pomp  which  be- 
longed to  the  temple  of  Jerusalem,  we  might  hardly  venture  the 
slightest  approach  to  comparison.  At  the  same  time,  the  lowliest 
and  humblest  Christian  church  is  far  more  glorious  to  God  than  even 
that  temple  of  which  He  Himself  direpted  the  structure,  and  of 
which  I  might  say  He  Himself  was  the  architect.  But  it  was  only 
a  temple  to  prefigure  the  future  things  which  should  result  from  the 
same  divine  source,  when  His  only-begotton  Son  should  become  man 
and  die,  fulfilling  all  ancient  types,  and  accomplishing  the  redemp- 
tion of  tlie  world.  For,  after  all,  what  was  the  temple  of  Jerusalem — 
abstracting  from  it,  its  magnificence  and  glory — the  only  temple  on  the 
the  face  of  this  little  globe  of  ours  erected  to  the  honor  and  adora- 
tion of  the  true  God,  for  there  was  no  other  temple  in  which  God 
was  adored ;  but  what  was  it  ?  It  was  the  guiding  light  of  the 
first  Revelation ;  it  was  the  sustaining  hope  of  the  human  race ;  it 
was  the  place  of  real,  or  rather  symbolic  sacrifice,  for  the  real  Victim 
had  not  yet  come.  It  was  all  tiiis,  but  beyond  all  this,  oh,  it  was 
the  House  of  God ;  and  by  how  many  barriers  did  He  interpose  be- 
tween the  irreverence  and  thoughtlessness  of  the  people  and  that 
portion  of  it  called  the  "  Holy  of  Holies !"  By  how  many  ablutions 
and  purifications  were  the  people  required  to  be  cleansed  physically, 
but  still  more  morally,  before  they  put  their  foot  on  the  threshold  of 
that  holy  place  !  And  even  that  Holy  of  Holies  was  so  sacred  that  none 
might  dare  to  enter  except  the  high-priest,  and  he  only  once  a 
year.  Well  we  know  what  was  in  that  Holy  of  Holies.  It  was  a 
shadow,  or  rather  I  might  say  a  type,  of  what  we  have  now.  Only 
a  type.  The  treasures  of  that  Holy  of  Holies,  that  Sanctum  Sanc- 
torum, were  the  tables  of  the  law  on  stone,  and  a  portion  of  the 
miraculous  manna,  which  God  sent  down  from  heaven  for  the  nour- 
ishment of  His  people  during  their  wanderings  in  the  desert  from 
the  bondage  of  Egypt  to  the  promised  land.  The  manna  was 
miraculously  preserved  in  an  urn.  The  other  type  was  the  rod  of 
Aaron.  These  were  all  types,  and  their  fulfilment  is  manifest  before 
you  even  in  the  humblest  temple  the  Church  permits  to  be  conse- 
crated to  the  honor  of  God. 

The  Law  is  no  longer  to  be  ascertained  by  writing  on  marble,  but 
by  the  living  voice  of  the  Church,  which  is  the  spouse  of  Christ, 
which  speaks  by  His  authoi'ity,  and  determines  and  declares  to  you 
what  you  ought  to  do,  and  what  you  ought  to  avoid,  in  order  to 
reach  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  It  is  no  longer  a  marble  tablet,  but 
the  living  voice  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  and  this  makes  a 
great  difference  with  regard  to  that  type.  The  manna  was 
the  type  of  the  very  perfection  of  the  Christian  altar,  and  on  the 
altar  that  living  bread  which  came  down  from  heaven,  and  which  is  not 
like  the  manna,  that  the  Fathers  partook  of  in  the  desert,  but  is 
an  everlasting  food  that  was  given  for  the  sustainment  of  the  people. 
This  was  the  bread  of  life,  and  this  constitutes  the  fulfilment  of  the 
type  exemplified  by  the  preservation  of  manna  in  the  Holy  of  Holies 
in  Solomon's  temple.     The  other  type  was,  as  I  have  said,  the  rod  of 


356  AKCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

Aaron.  You  all  know  that  God  appointed  Aaron  as  the  head  of  the 
priesthood  of  His  chosen  people,  that  with  that  rod  miracles  were 
performed,  and  that  it  was  a  symbol  of  sacerdotal  authority,  but  only 
a  symbol.  That  sacerdotal  authority  has  its  perfection  and  reality 
in  the  constitution  of  the  Church.  That  rod,  properly  speaking,  be- 
longs to  the  hand  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  by  Him  was  transmitted 
clearly  and  distinctly  to  His  Apostles  and  their  successors,  for  the 
government  and  guidance  of  the  Church,  for  the  chastisement  of  the 
presumptuous  and  profane,  for  the  exercise  of  that  holy  authority 
which  could  not  be  derived  from  kings  or  human  governments,  but 
is  derived  from  the  eternal  source  of  all  that  is  worthy  of  reverence. 

The  authority  of  the  Church,  therefore,  was  symbolized  in  the  rod 
of  Aaron  in  that  Holy  of  Holies.  Here,  then,  are  the  three  great 
elements.  They  were  the  shadow,  but  since  the  coming  of  our  Sa- 
viour we  have  the  substance.  And  it  is  on  this  account  the  Catholic 
church — I  do  not  mean  now  the  Church  at  large,  but  any  temple  con- 
secrated to  God — far  surpasses,  to  the  eye  of  the  soul,  the  grandeur 
of  even  the  temple  of  Mount  Zion.  In  fact,  except  as  I  have  just 
explained,  thei-e  could  be  no  ground  of  comparison.  And  now, 
dearly  beloved  brethren,  is  it  not  a  great  work  in  which  you  are  en- 
gaged, when  not  merely  for  a  day,  nor  a  year,  nor  an  age,  but  for 
countless  generations,  you  have  laid  the  foundations  and  in  part 
erected  the  structure  of  a  temple  to  the  honor  and  glory  of  God, 
which  thus  surpasses  even  the  great  and  only  temple  which  existed 
before  Christianity? 

What  will  be  your  relations  to  this  church,  and  the  relations  of 
your  children  and  their  children,  and  children's  children  ?  The  law 
of  God  will  emanate  from  this  place.  You  will  hearken  to  its  word 
and  pay  attention  to  its  precepts.  Therefore  it  is  that  in  this  Church, 
as  upon  Mount  Zion,  God  Himself  will  speak  to  you  through  the 
ministry  of  His  appointed  priest.  This  is  a  great  deal.  You  will 
not  come  here  to  listen  to  opinions  and  speculations  and  criticisms 
and  vague  things,  such  as  fill  those  meeting-houses — not  churches — 
where  people  go  to  hear  and  discuss  questions,  and  where,  if  the 
preacher  is  philosophical,  they  hearken,  and  if  he  is  witty,  they  laugh. 
Not  so  in  the  House  of  God — iC  is  the  house  of  prayer.  You  will 
come  here  to  listen  to  His  words,  for  though  He  is  not  present  to 
your  organ  of  vision,  nevertheless  He  is  present  by  His  Holy  Spirit. 
His  Spirit  is  hei-e,  as  in  any  part  of  the  Church,  teaching  His  minis- 
ters truth,  and  bringing  to  their  recollection  whatever  He  has  told  them. 
This  is  your  law  of  God ;  this  is  the  table  of  the  decalogue,  not  en- 
graved on  marble,  but  speaking  in  the  living  voice,  according  to  the 
doctrine  of  the  Holy  Catholic  Church. 

Is  this  all  for  which  the  Christian  temple  is  distinguished  from  the 
Jewish  ?  Not  all — this  is  but  a  small  part.  In  the  Jewish  temple 
there  were  sacrifices  according  to  the  ceremonial  rite  of  that  selected 
nation,  and  that  rite  itself  having  been  prescribed  by  Divine  autho- 
rity. But  every  rite  that  was  authorized  in  the  ancient  law  was  but 
a  simple  shadow  of  the  one  Sacrifice  first  completed  on  the  Cross  of 


SERMONS.  357 

Calvary,  and  now  diifused  and  perpetuated  ia  the  Mysteries  of  the 
Holy  Altar.  Nor  is  it  the  sacrifice  of  animals — of  sheep,  of  oxen, 
of  goats,  or  of  doves,  but  what  is  called  now  the  holy  and  unbloody 
immolation  or  offering  to  God  of  the  holy  Victim  who  died  upon 
that  cross.  This  is  the  reality.  When  you  come  to  the  house  ot 
prayer,  you  will  come  as  if  you  clustered  around  the  base  of  that  hill 
on  which  the  Victim  for  the  redemption  of  tlie  world  expired.  The 
priest  is  consecrated  for  the  offering  of  the  Holy  Sacrifice — he  is  the 
outward  minister,  but  our  divine  Lord  Himself  is  both  the 
priest  who  offers  the  sacrifice  and  He  is  the  victim  that  is  immolated 
and  offered  to  His  eternal  Father.  The  Jewish  temple  had  nothing 
to  be  compared  to  it.  And  it  is  here  that  the  real  bread  of  life  is 
to  be  distributed — not  food  for  the  body,  although  you  receive  it 
under  sensible  forms,  but  food  for  the  soul.  "  Unless  you  eat  the 
flesh  of  the  Son  of  Man  and  drink  His  blood,  you  shall  not  have  life 
in  you,"  "  He  that  eateth  My  flesh  and  drinketh  My  blood  abideth 
in  Me  and  I  in  him." 

This  is  the  fulfilment  of  the  symbolic  manna  which  was  miracu- 
lously preserved  in  the  temple  of  Jerusalem.  But  I  have  only 
"spoken  of  a  few  things,  nor  shall  I  have  time  to  dwell  on  the  many 
others  that  crowd  upon  my  thought.  For  instance,  if  the  divine 
Redeemer  is  present  here  in  the  Holy  Sacrament,  what  a  privilege  it 
is  for  you,  without  being  shut  out  from  the  sancticm  sanctormn,  to 
be  able  to  approach  to  the  footstool  to  make  your  petition,  to  make 
known  to  Him  your  wants,  to  ask  of  His  mercy  what  you  need,  to 
drink  at  the  fountains  of  eternal  life  with  your  lips  almost  touching 
the  limpid  waters !  This  is  the  house  of  prayer.  It  is  true  that  we 
should  and  can  pray  everywhere  ;  and  whenever  we  pray  to  Him  ia 
sincerity  He  will  hearken  to  our  petition.  Nevertheless,  He  has 
chosen  special  places,  and  above  all  is  the  altar  of  the  Christian 
Church,  where  His  ear  is  ever  open  to  the  prayer  of  the  broken 
heart  and  the  petition  of  the  penitent,  when  he  asks  for  strength  to 
resist  evil  inclinations  and  to  withstand  temptations.  But  this  is  not 
all ;  you  know  that  from  birth  to  death  the  Church  never  loses  sight 
of  any  of  her  children.  The  pious  parent  brings  the  infant  here  to 
be  born  anew  by  the  waters  of  regeneration  in  holy  Baptism ;  and 
as  that  child  grows  up,  and  has  already  attained  to  the  use  of  rea- 
son, there  is  provided  in  the  Church  the  Sacrament  of  Confirmation 
to  strengthen  the  faith  communicated  in  Baptism,  to  make  it  vigor- 
ous, and  lively,  and  courageous.  When  men  yield  to  the  seductions 
of  the  devil  through  cupidity — by  a  desire  for  wealth  illegitimately 
obtained — a  barrier  is  raised  up  between  the  soul  and  God.  How 
is  this  barrier  to  be  removed  ?  The  sinner  must  come  to  the  priest, 
and,  as  it  were,  turn  state's  evidence  against  himself — accuse  himself 
to  himself — in  a  word,  he  must  be  his  own  accuser. 

Now,  this  Sacrament  of  Penance  is  what  the  early  Fathers  called 
the  second  after  shipwreck.  .The  first  shipwreck  was  anterior  to  Bap- 
tism, and  every  child  was  born  in  original  sin,  with  one  holy  and 
immaculate   exception.     After  Baptism  sin  comes,  and  this  is  the 


358  AECHBISHOP  HUGHES. 

second  shipwreck,  from  which  the  sinner  is  saved  by  penance. 
Well,  here  is  the  House  of  God,  the  House  of  Prayer,  and  here  is  to 
be  found  that  same  authority  by  which  sins  are  forgiven,  and  which 
descends  to  every  priest  who  is  authorized. 

Your  souls  will  also  long  for  the  sustaining  aliment  of  spiritual 
life  ;  you  will  come  to  the  House  of  Prayer,  where  you  will  assist  in 
offering  up  the  sacrifice  upon  the  altar  ;  for,  in  the  language  of  the 
Holy  Scriptures,  you  are  a  royal  priesthood — you  are  partakers  in 
the  priesthood — you  unite  with  the  priest,  and  concentrate  all  your 
thoughts  and  intentions  upon  the  act  he  is  performing.  This  is  the 
highest  act  of  worship.  Then,  for  the  sustainment  of  your  spiritual 
life,  you  are  made  partakers  of  that  spiritual  Victim — the  Bi-ead  of 
Angels  is  laid  before  you.  And  these  are  the  things  that  mark  the 
House  of  God  as  the  House  of  Prayer — prayer  in  its  broad  and  mag- 
nificent sense,  including  the  holy  offering,  which  is  that  of  the  Body 
and  Blood  of  Christ. 

You  will  remember  when  you  enter  this  place,  you  should  enter 
with  purity  of  heart,  with  uprightness  of  intention.  While  here,  you 
should  be  actuated  by  a  feeling  of  religious  awe  on  account  of  the 
presence  of  the  divine  Majesty  on  the  altar.  Decorum,  recollection, 
every  thing  that  is  becoming,  should  mark  and  stamp  your  conduct 
here,  indicating  the  presence  of  a  people  who  understand  their  duty, 
and  who  appreciate  as  they  should  the  sacredness  and  holiness 
of  the  House  of  God,  which  is  the  House  of  Prayer. 


SERMON  ON  THE  OCCASION  OP  LAYING  THE 
CORNER-STONE  OF  THE  NEW  CATHOLIC  UNI- 
VERSITY OP  IRELAND,  IN  DUBLIN,  JULY 
20tli,    1862. 

"Woe  to  yon,  lawyers,  for  you  have  taken  away  the  key  of  knowledge ;  you 
yourselves  have  not  entered  in,  and  those  that  were  entering  in  you  have  hin- 
dered."— Luke,  xi.  52. 

In  a  foregoing  portion  of  the  chapter  from  which  these  words  are 
taken,  our  Lord  denounces,  even  in  their  presence,  the  hypocrisies 
and  superior  pretensions  of  the  Pharisees.  In  the  forty-fiftli  verse, 
one  of  the  lawyers,  answering,  saith  to  him,  "  Master,  in  these 
things  thou  reproachest  us  also,"  But  He  said,  "  Woe  to  you,  law- 
yers, also,  because  you  load  men  with  burdens  which  they  cannot 
bear,  and  you  yourselves  touch  not  the  packs  with  one  of  your  fin- 
gers."    And  in  the  fifty-second  verse,  as  you  have  just  hoard,  He 


SEEMONS.  359 

again  says,  but  for  a  different  reason,  "  "Woe  to  you,  lawyers,  for 
you  have  taken  away  the  key  of  knowledge  ;  you  yourselves  have 
not  entered  in,  and  those  who  were  entering  in  you  have  hindered," 
Lawyers  among  the  Jews  were  those  who  devoted  themselves  to  the 
interpretation  of  the  Books  of  Moses,  which  contained  the  whole 
constitution,  both  civil  and  religious,  of  the  Jewish  people.  Our  divine 
Saviour  rebukes  them  for  the  difficulties  which  they  multiplied  in 
order  to  prevent  the  simple-minded  of  their  countrymen  from  adopt- 
ing the  true  sense  of  the  inspired  book.  They  were  the  expounders 
of  the  law,  whilst  the  Pharisees  affected  to  fulfil  its  requirements  to 
the  very  letter,  and  then  claimed  homage  on  account  of  their  sancti- 
monious deportment. 

The  occasion,  deai'ly  beloved  brethien,  which  has  brought  you  to- 
gether on  this  day,  and  all  the  circumstances  connected  with  it,  nat- 
urally suggested  the  text  which  I  have  chosen.  The  Pharisees,  the 
Sadducees  of  modern  times,  and  even  those  to  whom  has  been  in- 
trusted the  enactment  of  just  laws,  or  the  just  interpretation  of  those 
laws,  as  applied  at  least  to  the  Catholic  people  of  Ireland,  have  all 
been  concerned  in  imposing  burdens  on  their  fellow-men  too  weighty 
to  be  borne,  and  have  likewise  attempted  to  seize  the  key  of 
knowledge;  and,  whilst  they  themselves  have  not  entered  in, 
they  have  hindered  those  who  were  entering.  It  is  not  for 
me  to  pronounce  any  woe  against  them.  God  is  their  judge, 
and  to  Him  at  least,  if  not  to  men,  they  must  one  day  render  an  ac- 
count of  their  stewardship.  The  individual  who  addresses  you  has 
always  advocated  the  diffusion  of  true  knowledge,  and  in  the  coun- 
try to  which  he  now  belongs  has  not  ceased  to  encourage  education 
in  its  whole  extent,  from  its  elementary  principles  up  to  its  highest 
development ;  and  now  in  this,  his  native  land,  he  cheerfully  seconds, 
with  all  his  feeble  powers,  the  purpose  which  you  have  so  unani- 
mously adopted  of  establishing  a  National  Catholic  University, 
worthy  of  your  religion,  and  worthy  of  this  noble  old  kingdom.  It 
is  nearly  fifty  years  since,  that — like  some  disjointed  and  feeble 
spar,  no  longer  useful  to  the  wrecked  and  stranded  barque  of  which 
it  had  once  been  a  portion — I  voluntarily  floated  off  from  the  shores 
of  this  island.  I  was  borne  westward  to  another  country  beyond  the 
Atlantic  ocean.  In  that  country  I  had  an  opportunity  of  improving 
my  education,  for  legislation  there  had  not  attempted  to  monopolize 
and  appropriate  to  itself  the  key  of  knowledge;  and  there,  although 
a  Roman  Catholic,  I  was  made  a  freeman  and  an  American  citizen, 
long  before  the  Act  of  Catholic  Emancipation  was  passed  by  the 
British  Parliament.  My  recollections  of  Ireland  at  that  time  are, 
that  there  was  no  real  Catholic  school  within  the  boundaries  of  the 
island  ;  that  there  was  no  real  Catholic  newspaper  published  in  any 
part  of  the  British  dorninions ;  that  Catholic  books,  even  of  devo- 
tion, were  published,  if  at  all,  almost  by  stealth,  and  diflicult  to  be 
procured;  that  the  germs  of  a  Catholic  University,  such  as  you 
need,  and  such  as,  with  the  blessing  of  God,  you  are  prepared  to 
establish  in  this  land,  were  to  be  looked  for  in  the  little  schools  ob- 


360  ARCHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

scurely  kept  in  obscure  alleys  of  large  towns,  or  perchance  under 
the  shelter  of  hedges  in  the  country.  Great  changes  have  taken 
place  since  those  days.  The  laws  against  all  Catholic  teaching  have 
been  relaxed.  The  Catholics  have  been  emancipated — at  least, 
so  it  is  proclaimed — education,  intermediate  between  the  hedge 
school  and  the  University,  has  been  publicly  encouraged  and  gener- 
ally diffused  throughout  this  coimtry.  Even  this  capital  of  Ireland, 
which  is  now  blooming  afresh,  was  then  looked  upon,  after  the  loss 
of  its  parliament,  as  a  fading  and  faded  city.  The  Catholics  at  that 
period  felt  their  depression  as  a  class,  and  seemed  to  grow  up  physi- 
cally with  curved  shoulders,  fitting  them  for  heavy  burdens  which 
they  could  not  bear,  but  which  irresponsible  and  iniquitous  legisla- 
tion had  imposed  on  their  fathers  and  on  themselves.  That  same 
legislation  had  bolted  the  doors  of  knowledge  against  them,  so  that 
they  were  hindered  from  entering  any  establishment  of  education, 
except  such  as  I  have  described.  At  present  all  this  is  in  process  of 
change.  The  Catholics,  so  far  as  I  can  judge,  stand  up,  both  men- 
tally and  physically,  with  a  more  erect  and  less  crouching  attitude ; 
and,  in  proportion  as  they  maintain  that  attitude,  and  thus  prove  to 
their  countrymen  and  the  woi'ld  that  they  deserve  to  be  placed  on 
an  equality  with  the  most  favored  citizens  of  the  State,  they  are 
now,  and  will  continue  to  be,  looked  upon  with  less  hostility  and 
more  respect.  The  degrading  prejudices,  both  national  and  impe- 
perial,  which  their  fathers  had  to  struggle  against,  are  gradually  giv- 
ing way,  and  the  period  cannot  be  far  distant  when  the  British  em- 
pire will  need  their  services,  whether  in  the  cabinet  or  the  field,  and 
will  avail  itself  of  the  cultivated  intellect  of  the  whole  Irish  people, 
without  distinction  of  creed.  But  to  attain  even  this  result,  you  must 
found,  sustain,  and  cherish  your  national  Catholic  University. 

By  Catholic  University  I  do  not  mean  that  your  talented  young 
countrymen  of  any  denomination  should  be  excluded  from  the  ad- 
vantages which  such  an  institution  is  calculated  to  afford.  What  I 
mean  is,  that  such  a  University  shall  be  absolutely  entitled  to  the 
entire  confidence  of  the  venerated  hierarchy,  the  devoted  priest- 
hood, and  the  truly  Catholic  inhabitants  of  this  island.  I  may  be 
told  that  ample  provision  has  already  been  made  for  the  higher  edu- 
cation of  the  Irish  people,  and  that  the  Catholics  ought  to  avail 
themselves  of  what  has  already  been  done.  But  the  laws  of  God  will 
not  permit  them  to  do  so.  The  present  institutions  of  learning  in 
this  country  are  positively  or  negatively  hostile  to,  and  in  iheir 
tendency  destructive  of,  the  Catholic  faith.  And  the  Catholics  who 
should  co-operate  with  the  purpose  of  such  institutions,  would  neces- 
sarily co-operate  with  them  for  the  destruction  of  that  holy  faith 
which  they  have  received,  and  of  that  infiillible  Church  to  which 
they  belong.  Their  hopes  for  all  eternity  are  bound  up  with  that 
faith  and  that  Church.  If  they  were  capable  of  proving  false  to 
their  own  conscience,  folse  to  their  God — for  sake  even  of  education 
— they  would,  besides  offending  their  Creator,  deserve  to  be  re- 
garded with  distrust  and  contempt  by  their  fellow-citizens  of  other 


SEEMONS.  361 

denominations.  Having  betrayed  their  own  conscience,  violated 
their  fidelity  to  their  God,  what  confidence  could  be  placed  in  them 
by  their  country  ?  But  is  it  true  that  the  conscience  of  a  sincere 
Catholic  fother  presents  an  insuperable  objection  to  the  high-schools 
founded  nominally  by  the  State,  but  practically  at  the  expense  of  the 
people  ?  It  is  unquestionably  true.  Take,  for  example,  Trinity 
College.  If  that  institution  be  loyal  to  the  principles  on  which  it 
was  founded,  it  is,  and  avowedly  must  be,  antagonistic  to  Catholi- 
cism. It  has  had  nominally  Catholic  students  and  scholars.  But 
at  what  sacrifice  of  conscience — at  what  peril  to  their  own  souls — I 
shall  not  pretend  to  determine.  The  Queen's  Colleges  were  framed 
obviously  with  the  view  to  meet  the  supposed  general  desire  and 
wants  of  the  people  of  this  country,  without  distinction  of  creed. 
But  the  framers  of  this  system  of  mixed  education  do  not  seem  to 
have  understood  the  value  of  religious  principle,  nor  the  dignity  of 
man,  regarded  in  the  fulness  of  his  whole  being  as  a  rational .  and 
immortal  creature.  If  man's  whole  destiny  were  confined  to  the 
sphere  of  earth,  and  included  within  the  narrow  limits  of  human 
life,  then  indeed  the  Queen's  Colleges  might  be  regarded  as  unex- 
ceptionable. If  you  assume  that  man,_in  the  intention  of  his  Crea- 
tor, was  to  have  no  aspirations  beyond  the  term  of  his  mortal  exist- 
ence, then,  in  that  hypothesis,  the  colleges  referred  to  would  be 
admirably  adapted  to  the  accomplishment  of  their  purpose.  Human 
reason  in  their  halls  might  be  thoroughly  developed — knowledge  of 
any  or  every  desci'iption  might  be  there  accumulated — intellect, 
memory,  social  affections,  might  be  cultivated  Avith  great  success ; 
but  the  heart  would  still  be  left  dry  as  earth  without  water;  and  the 
will — that  dangerous  faculty — if  left  undisciplined  or  unguided  by  a 
light  far  superior  to  that  which  reason  alone  can  furnish,  would  be 
liable  to  become,  even  in  this  world,  the  scourge  of  its  possessor  and 
of  society. 

Besides  this,  and  far  above  it,  the  framers  of  this  mixed  system  of 
eduoation  have  overlooked,  I  might  say  entirely,  both  the  nature  and 
the  dignity  of  man.  Man  is  composed  of  soul  and  body.  His  soul 
is  distinct  from  his  reason.  When  his  brain  ceases  to  operate  oc- 
cording  to  its  organic  laws,  he  becomes  irrational,  his  reason  is  gone, 
but  his  soul  remains.  "When  he  dies,  reason,  will,  memory,  affection, 
have  accomplished  their  task  in  his  regard,  and  aided  him  through 
the  earthly  stage  of  his  being  as  an  immortal  creature.  And  yet,  on 
the  right  use  of  these  faculties,  improved  and  guided  by  the  light  of 
Christian  revelation  and  aided  by  Divine  grace,  depends  his  happi- 
ness in  that  second  and  eternal  state  for  which  God  had  created  him.. 
Admit  that  man  dies  all — soul  as  well  as  body,  when  he  ceases  to 
live  in  this  world — and  then,  in  that  hypothesis,  there  could  be  no 
legitimate  objection  to  the  mental  training  that  is  offered  to  the  Irish 
people  in  the  Queen's  Colleges.  But  why  this  mutilation  of  man's 
whole  nature  ?  Why  this  lowering,  if  not  destruction,  of  his  natural 
dignity,  as  left  unprovided  for  in  this  utterly  defective,  if  not  spurious 
system  of  education,  which,  if  it  were  what  it  should  be,  would tate- 


862  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

into  account  that  man  is  an  immortal,  as  well  as  a  mortal  being,  in- 
stead of  regarding  him  as  merely  a  rational  animal  with  faculties  that 
must  perish  when  the  cold  hand  of  death  shall  have  touched  and 
chilled  forever  the  throbbings  of  his  heart?  I  do  not  pretend 
to  say  that  such  results  were  intended  by  those  who  digested  the 
scheme  of  these  colleges.  But  if  these  results  be  the  necessary  or 
probable  consequences  of  the  system,  it  makes  very  little  difference 
to  fathers  and  guardians  of  Christian  youth  whether  they  were  con- 
templated or  whether  they  result  from  an  inherent  defect  or  some 
latent  bad  principle  in  the  system  itself.  In  this  view  I  am  surpi'ised 
that  sincere  and  conscientious  Protestants  do  not  entertain  the  same 
convictions  in  regard  to  any  system  of  education  founded  on  such 
an  unchristian,  if  not  anti-christian,  principle  as  that  which  lies  at 
the  root  of  the  Queen's  Colleges,  A  sincere  Protestant  father,  no 
matter  to  what  particular  denomination  he  belongs,  if  he  be  sincere, 
would  wish  his  son  to  grow  up  and  live  in  his  own  religion.  But 
how  can  that  be  if  he  sends  his  son  to  institutions  of  learning  in 
which  religion  as  a  Divine  revelation  is  utterly  and  professedly  ig- 
nored, for  the  reason,  apparently,  that  those  that  profess  Christianity 
do  not  agree  among  themselves  in  their  definition  as  to  what  it  is? 
This  objection,  however,  can  have  no  application  to  Catholics.  They 
understand  perfectly  what  Christianity  is.  It  is  the  teaching  of  God, 
made  known  in  this  world  by  His  divine  and  only-begotten  Son, 
Jesus  Christ,  preached  throughout  the  world  by  the  apostles  whom 
the  Christ  called  around  Him,  and  invested  with  His  own  divine 
prerogatives,  with  a  command  that  they  should  teach  all  nations — 
that  they  should  preach  His  doctrine  to  every  creature — that  He  was 
identified  M'ith  them  in  that  teaching  all  days,  even  to  the  end  of  the 
world.  This  divine  teaching,  however,  did  not  exclude  among  His 
disciples  a  knowledge  of  any  thing  that  another,  but  unspoken  order 
of  communication,  resulting  from  a  proper  study  of  all  His  works  in 
the  creation  of  the  world — of  all  the  capacities  of  the  human  mind 
to  investigate  these  works — to  look  up  to  the  firmament  above — to 
measure  the  distance  from  one  star  to  another,  to  calculate  the  mag- 
nitude of  each,  and  their  mutual  relations  to  each  other,  to  dive 
into  the  bowels  of  the  earth  and  bring  up  all  minerals  for  the  use  of* 
the  inhabitants  of  the  surface — coal  for  fuel,  lead,  iron,  silver,  and 
gold  by  ingots,  which  has  its  value  either  with  or  without  the  stamp 
of  a  Prime  Minister.  Under  the  guidance  of  education  even  the 
ways  of  the  trackless  ocean  are  as  familiar  to  the  human  mind  apply- 
ing itself  to  that  study  as  the  letters  of  the  alphabet. 

But  the  mariner  should  be  instructed  also  in  the  teachings  of  reve- 
lation, and  then  in  every  fitful  change  of  the  element  that  bears  him 
up  he  will  see  the  power  of  the  Almighty  God,  who  created  him 
and  created  the  ocean.  Wiien  in  a  calm,  he  looks  upon  its  surface 
as  upon  a  mirror,  reflecting  to  his  eye  all  the  majesty  of  the  firma- 
ment, he  will  watch  the  scarcely  perceptible  heavings  of  its  bosom, 
gentle  as  the  breathing  of  a  slumbering  infant ;  and  again,  when 
the  tempest  lashes  the  waters  into  commotion — when  it  increases  in 


SERMONS.  363 

violence — when  his  frail  barque  is  tossed  about  in  the  fuiious  par- 
oxysms of  the  hurricane — when  all  sounds  are  lost  to  his  ear  except 
those  which  come  from  the  groaning  mast  and  the  sharp,  whistling, 
shrill,  but  fearful  music  which  the  storm  produces  as  it  plays  through 
the  cordage  of  his  ship,  not  at  all  like  that  which  zephyrs  evoke  from 
the  ^olian  harp — then  it  is  more  particularly  that  he  will  adore  the 
God  who  controls  these  elements,  and  wonder  that  the  Creator  should 
have  endowed  man  with  the  capacity  to  meet  the  tempest,  and  guide 
his  barque  safely  amidst  its  violence.  But  why  should  I  designate 
any  one  department  of  human  science  more  than  another  ?  The 
botanist  discovers  beauties  and  evidences  of  divine  power  in  the  tiny 
frame  or  the  exquisitely  painted  cups  of  the  smallest  flower.  But 
all  this  is  concealed  from  him  if  he  be  sent  forth  to  study  nature  un- 
prepared by  the  special  revelation  of  God,  making  known  to  him 
the  spiritual  relations  which  bind  him  to  his  Creator.  It  is  said  of 
Laiande,  the  distinguished  Frencli  astronomer,  when  some  one  ob- 
served in  his  presence  that  God  wa«  clearly  manifest  in  the  external 
works  of  creation,  he  observed,  with  a  sneer,  that  he  had  been  read- 
ing astronomy  for  thirty  years,  and  he  never  saw  the  name  of  God 
written  amons^  the  stars.  The  man  who  could  use  such  lanGjuaore 
must  have  had  a  godless  training.  The  first  indication  of  the  effect 
of  such  training  will  be  found  in  the  real  or  affected  indifference  of 
the  pupils  as  well  as  professors  towards  religion  of  any  kind.  His 
light  head  will  become  intoxicated  by  a  little  learning.  In  his  voca- 
tion he  will  confound  his  earlier  companions  by  displaying  quirks  of 
science.  He  may,  if  he  be  an  Irish  Catholic  youth,  attend  5lass  out 
of  respect  for  the  feelings  of  his  parents — he  will  be  found  as  having 
made  already  some  advances  in  the  direction  of  latitudinarianism, 
popularly  called  liberality — he  will  have  discovered  that  Ireland  is 
no  place  for  an  aspiring  young  man  of  genius — that  it  is  hampered 
by  the  hereditary  superstitions  of  its  people — that  England  alone 
opens  up  for  his  ambition  a  career  of  advancement,  and  towards 
England  he  will  become  a  toady — so  far  he  will  entitle  himself  to 
notice,  and,  in  due  time,  he  will  probably  catch  the  eye  of  British 
patronage  and  receive  his  due  recompense,  not  so  much  for  his  great 
talents  as  for  his  pliant  aptitude  and  servility.  That  objections  like 
these  were  foreseen  by  the  framers  of  the  Queen's  Colleges  must  be- 
come evident  to  those  who  have  studied  their  history  so  tar.  If  they 
Avere  not  foreseen,  why,  permit  me  to  ask,  have  their  founders  ex- 
hibited up  till  this  day  such  an  anxiety  or  desire  to  have  clergymen 
of  different  religions  occupying  professional  chairs  in  these  colleges? 
Have  they  not  sought  for  them  the  approval  of  Catholic  and  Protes- 
tant clergymen  of  every  denomination  ?  Have  they  not  desired  that 
your  bishops  should  smile  approval  and  encouragement  on  them? 
Have  not  Catholic  priests  been  induced,  in  the  beginning,  at  least, 
to  accept  professorships  within  their  walls  ?  Have  not  the  ministers 
of  different  and  antagonistic  denominations  been  brought  in  as  pro- 
fessors? and  for  what  purpose  except  that  their  Christian  and  clerical 
character  might  lull  suspicion  as  to  the  unchristian,  if  not  anti-Christian, 


864  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

general  principles  on  which  those  institutions  are  founded  ?  "Was  it 
not  hoped  that  all  sectarianism  should  be  eUminated,  and  that  these 
professors  should  give  an  example,  within  the  walls  of  the  colleges, 
of  what  might  be  accomplished  if  all  religions  should  be  equally 
ignored  within  ?  The  result  would  be,  that  those  who  never  agreed 
before  on  dogmatical  questions  should  now  live  under  the  smiles  of 
government  patronage,  as  a  happy  family,  infusing  into  the  minds  of 
their  pupils,  by  the  influence  of  their  own  example,  a  total  indifference 
as  to  the  great  vital  question  of  religion,  which  had  existed  among 
the  Irish  people — as  an  apple  of  discord,  a  bone  of  contention,  among 
the  inhabitants  of  this  distracted  island.  The  salary  attached  to  a 
professorship  was  a  tempting  bait,  worth  grasping  at,  and  worth  re- 
taining. A  sly  stab  at  some  vital  doctrine  of  the  Christian  faith 
might  be  given  by  some  professor  of  history,  or  a  beautiful  panegy- 
ric pronounced  on  Ai'ianism  as  it  was  in  the  beginning  of  the  fourth 
century. 

The  abstract  philosophy  of  religion  would  not  be  overlooked,  and 
Christianity  at  large  would  be  exhibited  in  the  light  of  a  conglomer- 
ation of  discord-ant  sects  whose  petty  squabbles  were  unworthy  the 
notice  of  learned  professors,  or  to  the  inflated  sciolists  given  over 
to  their  teaching.  You  must  either  recognize  some  form  of  religion 
in  those  colleges,  and  then  they  are  clearly  sectarian  in  tlie  eyes  of 
Catholics  at  least,  or  you  must  exclude  alike  every  special  form  of 
Christian  belief,  and  they  are  clearly  atheistic.  If  you  exclude  the 
clerical  professors  of  all  religions,  you  have  but  little  to  alter  in  the 
statutes  and  regulations  of  the  system  to  adapt  it  to  the  condition  of 
a  people  living  under  a  government  whose  established  religion,  if 
the  paradox  can  be  imagined,  should  be  atheism  or  pantheism.  I 
think,  therefore,  that  the  gentlemen  who  presented  the  other  day  a 
petition  for  a  charter  to  the  Premier  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland 
made  a  serious  mistake  in  the  title  of  their  humble,  but  despised 
supplication.  They  might  have  known  that  the  word  "  Catholic" 
prefixed  to  University  would  be  fatal  to  their  hopes.  They  should 
have  called  it  "  Irish  IJniversity,"  or  qualified  it  by  some  other  vague 
epithet.  But  I  am  glad  that  in  the  name  of  the  Catholic  people  of 
Ireland  the  gentlemen  who  presented  the  petition  refused  to  adopt 
any  other  term  except  that  by  which  the  University  is  already 
known.  The  response  of  the  government  was  also  clear,  candid, 
unambiguous,  amounting  in  substance  to  the  monosyllable,  "No." 
This  monosyllable,  instead  of  preventing  the  success  of  your  under- 
taking, may  contribute  not  a  little  to  its  attainments.  It  has  the 
entire  approval  of  your  bishops  and  clergy.  It  had  already  the  ap- 
proval and  blessing  of  the  Supreme  Head  of  the  Church  on  earth, 
His  Holiness  Pius  IX.,  who,  even  while  in  exile,  did  not  hesitate  to 
lift  up  his  voice  and  point  out  to  the  bishops  of  this  island  the  dangers 
likely  to  result  to  the  faith  and  morals  of  the  people  committed  to 
their  care,  if  given  over  to  the  education  of  the  Queen's  Colleges. 
The  University  of  Louvain,  in  Belgium,  was  the  model  which  His 
Holiness  proposed  for  your  imitation.     You  have  asked  no  aid  from 


SERMONS.  365 

the  public  treasury — you  are  willing  to  leave  the  State  colleges 
to  the  exclusive  enjoyment  of  those  who,  if  any,  have  confidence  in 
them.  You  propose  to  erect  the  new  University  at  your  own  ex- 
pense, and  all  you  expected  from  the  Government  by  way  of  en- 
couragement was  a  piece  of  parchment  called  a  charter,  and  this  has 
been  refused.  You  asked  for  Imperial  permission  to  purchase  the 
bread  of  knowledge  with  your  own  money,  and  not  at  the  expense 
of  the  State,  and  the  request  has  been  denied.  Under  these  circum- 
stances, I  can  imagine  myself  as  speaking  to  the  whole  Irish  nation, 
as  if  here  assembled ;  and  if  they  are  that  people  that  I  assume,  and  al- 
most know  them  to  be,  I  look  upon  the  Catholic  University  of  this 
land,  as  counting  from  this  very  day,  virtually  an  accomplished  fact. 
It  is  evident  that  you  have  no  public  institution  of  learning  on  this 
island,  the  advantages  of  which,  as  conscientious  Catholics,  you  can 
avail  yourselves.  Then  you  must,  by  united  and  persevering  eiforts, 
erect  an  institution  of  your  own.  There  is  no  law  of  the  land  for- 
bidding it.  The  ranks  of  your  people  have  indeed  been  thinned  by 
famine,  pestilence,  and  emigration ;  still  you  are  a  Catholic  popula- 
tion of  between  four  and  five  millions  of  souls — too  many  to  be  ex- 
posed to  want  of  education,  or  to  the  risk  of  salvation  by  accepting 
that  which  has  been  offered.  You  owe  it  to  the  memory  of  your  noble 
ancestors,  who  suffered  every  privation  rather  than  forfeit  or  jeopard- 
ize their  holy  faith.  You  owe  it  to  yourselves — you  owe  it  to  your 
children,  and  to  the  future  generations  who  shall  occupy  your  place, 
and  still  inherit,  as  well  as  transmit,  the  religion  by  which  the  Apos- 
tle of  Ireland,  Saint  Patrick,  converted  your  pagan  ancestors  from 
the  darkness  of  idolatry  to  the  light  of  Christianity.  You  owe  it  to 
your  God,  who  has  preserved  you  in  that  faith — you  owe  it  to 
your  native  country,  and  to  this  empire,  if  not  to  the  world  at 
large. 

A  Catholic  University  is  the  great  need  of  your  nation  and  of 
your  fellow-citizens;  and,  in  view  of  that  need,  every  man,  woman, 
and  child  should,  in  reference  to  this  undertaking,  feel  and  appi'o- 
priate  to  himself  the  language  of  the  royal  prophet,  in  I'eference  to 
the  house  of  the  Lord,  as  yet  unbuilt.  "  O  Lord,  remember  Da- 
vid and  all  his  meekness ;  how  he  swore  to  the  Lord.  He  vowed  a 
vow  to  the  God  of  Jacob — If  I  shall  enter  into  the  tabernacle  of  my 
house — if  I  shall  go  up  into  the  bed  wherein  I  lie — if  I  shall  give 
sleep  to  my  eyes,  or  slumber  to  my  eyelids,  or  rest  to  my  temples, 
until  I  find  out  a  place  for  the  Lord,  a  tabernacle  for  the  God  of  Ja- 
cob." Yes,  build  your  University — endow  it — provide  it,  an  easy 
task,  with  suitable  professors — crowd  its  halls  with  the  talented  youth 
of  the  land,  so  fruitful  of  genius.  Do  this,  I  say,  with  or  without 
the  Prime  Minister's  charter.  Some  other  Prime  Minister  may  be 
actuated  by  a  better  spirit  towards  your  people.  But,  whether  or 
not,  make  good  and  great  Irishman  of  education,  by  the  superiority 
of  your  training — fosterthe  talents  of  your  people — elevate  the  mind 
of  your  country — inspire  them  with  a  lawful  ambition  to  emulate 
and  rival,  if  not  surpass,  whatever  is  great  in  knowledge,  in  science, 


366  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

or  in  art,  as  developed  in  other  countries — teach  your  fellow-citizens 
and  the  world  that  it  is  possible  for  Irish  Catholics  to  be  at  the 
same  time  loyal  towards  their  God  and  their  country — learned  au- 
thors— distinguished  ornaments  of  any  learned  profession,  whether 
of  theology,  jurisprudence,  medicine  in  all  its  branches,  even  states- 
manship, and  all  this  without  ceasing  to  be  good,  fervent,  and  faith- 
ful members  of  your  one  Holy  Catholic  Church.  All  this  is  what 
your  ministry  do  not  comprehend,  do  not  know,  and  are  afraid  to 
learn.  I  am  aware  that,  owing  to  the  influence  which  the  interested, 
albeit  oftentimes  trashy  literature  of  Great  Britain,  and  sometimes 
of  Ireland  itself,  has  caused  foreign  nations  to  look  upon  the  Irish 
people  as  an  ignorant  race,  who  prefer  mental  darkness  to  intel- 
lectual light.  Your  Catholic  University  must  dispel  this  delu- 
sion. 

If  there  be  any  one  characteristic  of  the  Irish  race  distinguishing 
your  people,  it  has  been  from  the  earliest  times  an  hereditary  love  of 
learning.  That  love  has  been  an  instinct,  and  almost  a  passion  of 
your  people  since  the  conversion  of  Ireland.  It  was  this  that  ren- 
dered them  so  well  known,  so  much  admired  during  the  sixth, 
seventh,  and  eighth  centuries,  when  they  were  employed  in  reti'im- 
ming  the  almost  extinguished  lamp  of  science  (such  as  it  was  in  those 
ages)  in  England,  Scotland,  and  in  many  portions  of  the  continent 
of  Europe.  Testimonies  on  this  subject  could  be  quoted  from  for- 
eign authors  sufficient  to  fill  volumes.  During  the  same  centuries  what 
was  Ireland  itself  but  one  extensive  school  of  saints  and  teachers,  to 
which  the  votaries  of  learning  came  in  crowds,  and  were  received 
with  that  generous  hospitality  for  which  the  nation  was  then,  and  is 
still,  so  celebrated  ?  The  hedge  schools  in  modern  times,  when 
learning  was  cultivated  by  stealth  and  against  the  laws,  are  a  proof 
that  their  love  of  knowledge  could  not  be  extinguished.  The  poor 
scholar  is  not  the  imaginative  creation  of  its  talented  author.  Leave 
out  the  ludicrous  incidents  connected  with  his  struggle,  and  the  sal- 
lies of  Irish  wit  which  I  suppose  was  necessary  to  render  it  pahita- 
ble  to  the  public  taste  of  the  "  sister  island"  at  least,  and  it  is  a  genuine 
type  of  that  desire  of  knowledge  which  has  been  at  all  times  natu- 
ral to  the  people  of  this  country.  If  these  things  can  be  said  with 
truth  of  the  ancient  and  modern  people  of  Catholic  Ireland,  then  the 
silly  charge  that  they  prefer  ignorance  to  light  falls  to  the  ground. 
It  is  contradicted  and  refuted  by  history.  Out  of  their  own 
country  there  is  no  people  so  ready  to  avail  themselves  of  the  ad- 
vantages of  learning.  In  America  they  are  distinguished  members 
of  the  bar ;  thgy  are  eloquent  senators  in  the  halls  of  legislation ; 
they  are  brilliant  commanders  of  ai'mies  in  the  melancholy  and  san- 
guinary struggle  that  is  now  going  on,  fomented,  as  is  believed,  by 
European  secret  interference, .prompted  by  jealousy  of  the  growing 
prosperity  and  hithei-to  united  councils  of  the  great  American  lie- 
public.  But  take  the  poorer  classes  of  Irish  who  have  emigrated  to 
that  country.  Catholics  for  the  most  part,  and  they  still  show  the 
same  zeal  for  knowledge.    There  are  about  three  hundred  and  sev- 


SEEMONS.  367 

enty  Catholic  Churches  in  the  single  state  of  New  York,  and  there 
is  scarcely  one  of  them  that  has  not  attached  to  it  a  parish  school 
for  the  education  of  their  children  in  the  faith  of  their  fathers. 
They  have,  in  all  the  country,  eleven  or  twelve  Catholic  Universities, 
not  indeed  as  well  endowed  nor  as  distinguished  as  either  Trinity 
College  or  Oxford — but  they  will  grow.  The  laws  of  the  State  have 
granted  them  the  privileges  of  imiversities  in  charters,  such  as  your 
Government  has  just  refused  to  their  countrymen  at  home.  All 
this  goes  to  prove  that  ignorance  has  no  magnetic  power  for  the 
attraction  of  the  Irish  mind. 

But  look  back  for  a  century  or  two — cast  your  eye  upon  the  sur- 
face of  Continental  Europe,  not  to  speak  of  these  islands,  and  you 
"will  find  Irishman  or  their  descendants  occupying  high  places  in  al- 
most every  Catholic  government.  The  venerable  Field-Marshal 
Nugent,  of  Austria,  is  an  Irishman.  In  the  same  country,  O'Don- 
nell,  who  saved  the  life  of  the  present  young  emperor  from  the 
dagger  of  the  assassin,  is  an  Irishman,  or  the  descendant  of  one — 
and,  if  education  had  not  been  cherished  by  his  ancestors,  whether 
at  home  or  abroad,  he  would  not  have  been  by  the  side  of  Francis 
Joseph.  O'Donnell,  who  has  lately  tamed  the  aiTogance  of  Mo- 
rocco, is  the  Prime  Minister  of  Spain.  M'Mahon,  of  France,  saved 
the  life  and  the  army  of  Napoleon  III.  on  the  battle-field  of  Magenta. 
These  and  many  others,  descendants  of  Irish  ancestors,  would  never 
have  attained  their  distinction  in  other  lands  if  they  had  not  been 
ardent  votaries  of  knowledge  and  good  education.  The  laws  and 
policy  of  Great  Britain  have  excluded  seven-eighths  of  the  people  of 
this  country  from  any  share  in  the  management  of  its  oflficial  inter- 
ests. And  yet,  from  the  favored  one-eighth,  what  distinguished 
names  has  Ireland  furnished  in  every  department  of  public  life !  All 
these  statements  have  been  made  for  no  other  purpose  than  to  prove 
that  Irishmen  at  home  and  abroad  are  naturally  fond  of  education 
and  knowldege.  This  fact  furnishes  you  an  additional  ground  of  en- 
couragement in  prosecuting  the  great  work  which  you  have  on 
hand.  It  has  been  for  some  years  past  so  much  spoken  of,  that  the 
Catholics  of  Europe  and  America  look  forward,  almost  with  impa- 
tience, to  see  it  completed.  It  is  commenced  under  auspicious  circum- 
stances. It  is  intended  to  promote  the  glory  of  God,  who  will  be 
with  you  by  His  providence  in  prosecuting  it  to  a  successful  termi- 
nation. It  has  the  approval  of  your  venerated  clergy — the  sanction 
of  the  Sovereign  Pontiff — and,  if  I  may  judge  by  the  presence  of  the 
municipal  corporations,  of  other  cities  as  well  as  of  Dublin,  among 
■whom  there  must  be  gentlemen  of  other  religious  denominations,  it 
has,  so  far  as  those  towns  and  cities  are  concerned,  the  sanction  of 
their  populations.  Your  Protestant  fellow-countrymen  cannot  be 
opposed  to  its  erection  ;  for,  though  they  may  still  have  prejudices 
against  your  faith,  yet  I  doubt  whether  there  is  one  who  would  not 
prefer  to  see  the  CathoHcs  of  this  country  rise  by  their  own  exer- 
tions into  a  more  enlightened  sphere  of  social  and  civil  life.  Neither 
England  nor  Scotland  can  be  reasonably  opposed  to  it,  since  both  coun- 


368  AECHBISHOP  HUGHES. 

tries,  especially  Scotland,  have  made  such  noble  sacrifices  for  the 
education  of  their  people.  In  conclusion,  I  beg  leave  to  remark 
that  during  a  life  which  is  by  no  means  brief,  and  in  which,  whether 
in  one  country  or  another,  I  had  to  meet  and  pass  through  unex- 
pected events,  the  circumstance  of  my  having  been  invited  to  ad- 
dress you  from  this  place,  and  on  such  an  occasion,  is  one  of  the 
most  pleasant  incidents  that  I  can  call  to  mind.  I  shall  ever  recur 
to  it  with  sentiments  of  satisfaction  and  delight.  Once  again,  and 
probably  for  the  last  time,  I  shall  soon  take  leave  of  the  country  in 
which  I  was  born.  But  I  cannot  do  so  without  invoking  upon  you 
and  upon  your  national  University,  in  the  fulness  of  my  heart,  the 
blessing  of  Almighty  God,  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the 
Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost — Amen. 


SERMON    ON    THE     WAR, 

DELIVERED  IN  ST.  PATRICK'S  CATHEDRAL,  AUGUST  17th,  1863. 

I  AM  about  to  read  the  seventh  and  eighth  verses  of  the  Gospel 
according  to  St.  Mark,  thirteenth  chapter : 

"  And  when  you  shall  hear  of  wars  and  rumors  of  wars,  fear  ye  not,  for  such 
things  must  needs  be  ;  but  the  end  is  not  yet. 

"  For  nation  shall  rise  against  nation,  and  kingdom  against  kingdom,  and 
there  shall  be  earthquakes  in  places,  and  famines.  These  are  the  beginning  of 
sorrows.  " 

I  need  not,  dearly  beloved  brethren,  express  the  comfort  and  pleas- 
ure Avhich  we  have  to-day  in  finding  ourselves  once  more  in  the 
place  from  which  we  have  often  had  the  consolation  to  address  you. 
I  need  not  invite  you  to  join  with  us  in  giving  thanks  to  Almighty 
God  for  that  benign  providence  and  constant  protection  which  He 
has  afibrded  us  during  the  dangers  of  a  long  and  too  tedious  ab- 
sence from  our  flock.  That  absence  has,  indeed,  been  much  longer 
than  I  anticipated,  and  this  has,  in  part,  grown  out  of  the  fact  that 
when  I  left  this  country  I  had  no  intimation  of  the  great  solemnity 
which  was  to  take  place  in  the  Cathedral  Church  of  the  Christian 
world,  in  the  canonization  of  the  noble  martyrs  who  preached  the 
faith  of  Christ,  and  gave  their  blood  in  testimony  of  its  truth  in  the 
islands  of  Japan.  The  knowledge  of  that  event  reached  me  about 
the  middle  of  winter,  and  prolonged  ray  stay  for  several  months 
more  than  I  desired.  I  do  not  regret  it,  however,  for  had  I  been  at 
home  at  the  same  period,  I  should,  like  so  many  of  the  venerable 
prelates  of  the  hierarchy  throughout  the  world,  have  undergone  any 
hardships  of  voyage  to  be  present  and  take  part  in  the  most  solemn 
ceremony  that  ever  Rome,  since  the  days  when  St.  Peter  first  en- 


SERMONS.  369 

tered  it,  had  seen.  There  was  a  picture  what  the  Catholic  Church 
is.  There  was  a  picture,  and,  at  the  same  time,  an  embodiment  of 
of  all  that  authors  have  said  or  written  of  its  unity,  of  its  univer- 
sality, of  its  perpetuit}',  of  its  holiness ;  for  the  servant  of  God  who 
distinguishes  himself,  even  to  the  shedding  of  blood  as  a  martyr  or 
a  hero  of  Christ,  is  not  forgotten  ;  he  is  inscribed  on  the  calendars 
of  the  holy  servants  of  God  who  follow  the  Lamb. 

But  I  presume  it  would  not  be  so  much  in  accordance  with  your 
desire  that  I  should  dwell  upon  this  topic,  leaving  out  another 
which  is  more  immediately  interesting  to  us  all,  although  it  be  not 
of  the  same  high  and  divine  character.  Next  to  religion,  men  are 
taught  by  religion  itself  to  love  and  serve  their  country.  The 
one  is  only  more  sacred  than  the  other,  but  both  have  an  intimate 
relation  to  each  other  which  ought  not  be  overlooked,  and  especially 
when  one's  country  stands  in  need  of  aid  and  support.  It  is  true  that 
I  have  had  many  opportunities  during  my  absence  of  discussing  the 
one  and  the  other  of  these  topics,  and  perhaps  no  one,  except  sent 
on  a  special  message,  has  ever  had  more  opportunities  to  under- 
stand, and  comprehend,  and  watch  the  operation  of  feelings  in  dis- 
tant countries  with  regard  to  the  melancholy  struggle  that  is  now 
agitating  this  land. 

I  had  no  message  to  deliver.  Another  could  have  carried  the 
message ;  but  none  was  committed  to  me,  except  the  message  of 
peace,  except  the  message  of  explanation,  except  the  message  of 
correcting  erroneous  ideas  as  opportunity  might  afford  me  the 
chance  of  doing,  in  the  same  spirit  and  to  the  same  end.  I  have 
lost  no  opportunity,  according  to  my  discretion,  and  that  was  the 
only  qualification  connected  with  my  going — I  have  lost  no  oppor- 
tunity to  accomplish  these  ends — to  explain  what  was  misunder- 
stood— to  inspire,  so  far  as  language  of  mine  could  have  that  ef- 
fect, the  spirit  of  peace  and  good-will  into  the  people  of  foreign 
States  towards  that  one  nation  to  which  I  exclusively  owe  allegiance 
and  fidelity.  The  task  was  not  so  easy  as  some  might  have  antici- 
pated ;  its  accomplishment  has  not  been  so  successful  as  I  could  have 
desired.  Nevertheless,  I  trust  that,  directly  or  indirectly,  my  going 
abroad,  in  great  part  for  the  purpose  of  aiding  the  country,  has  not 
been  altogether  without  effect. 

In  the  first  place,  I  found,  on  landing  in  Europe,  that  they  were 
few  who  had  any  just  conception  of  the  nature  of  the  controversy 
between  this  Government  and  a  very  large  number  of  our  fellow^ 
citizens.  Not  only  had  they  no  correct  idea,  but  their  ideas  were 
entirely  the  reverse  of  what  was  true,  and  very  many  of  them 
continue  to  entertain  those  notions.  What  was  their  theory  ? 
Their  theory  was  that  a  prosperous  portion  of  the  American  people 
had  been  repelled  by  acts  of  the  Government  to  such  an  extent,  that 
they  could  bear  the  yoke  of  oppression  and  loyalty  to  the  Govern- 
ment which  they  had  helped  to  establish  no  longer.  I  took  every 
opportunity  to  explain  to  them  that  this  was  not  the  fact ;  that 
they  themselves  had  not  presented  any  specific  charge  to  sustain 
Vol.  n.— 24 


370  ARCHBISHOP  HUGHES. 

that  allegation ;  that,  officially,  there  was  not  on  record  a  single  act 
that  could  be  called  by  the  name  of  oppression.  The  answer  to 
this  was,  it  is  impossible  that  so  many  people — so  many  States,  with 
such  interests  involved,  should  have  taken  the  ground  which  they 
have  taken,  except  forced  to  it  by  oppression  on  the  part  of 
the  Government.  The  next  ground  was,  and  especially  in  England, 
that  it  was  but  a  repetition  of  the  same  policy  that  severed  these 
colonies  nearly  one  hundred  years  ago  from  the  mother  country  ; 
that  the  Americans  had  always  boasted  that  the  Revolution  of  1776 
was  not  a  gratuitous  undertaking,  but  that  it  was  against  the  op- 
pression of  the  British  Government,  and  that  now  these  same  people 
would  not  allow  their  fellow-citizens  to  claim  the  same  privileges, 
but  that  at  any  rate  it  was  a  gallant  exhibition  to  see  men  banded 
together,  and  risking  all  their  prospects  in  life,  their  wealth, 
every  thing,  even  their  lives,  in  a  cause  which  was  presented  to  the 
world  as  one  prompted  by  a  love  of  human  liberty.  And  again, 
they  said  it  was  inconsistent  on  the  part  of  the  Government  to  op- 
pose this ;  and  finally,  which  was  the  true  reason,  that  the  country 
was  becoming  too  large  for  one  supreme  dominion.  Better  that  it 
bhould  be  divided.  Why  not  ?  Beyond  this,  what  was  the  other 
reason  ?  It  was  interest — European  interest.  Interest  is  a  pi'ompt- 
ing  motive  for  all  nations  and  for  all  men ;  but  interest  ought  to  be 
founded  upon  principle  of  some  kind,  while  in  this,  case  I  could  find 
no  rational,  just,  or  defensible  principle  on  which  they  could  found 
tneir  anti- American  policy.  It  was  the  desire  to  possess  an  article 
indispensable  for  the  support  of  their  artisans,  and  to  keep  their  vast 
machinery  from  being  eaten  up  by  rust.  This  was  at  the  bottom  of 
their  sophistries ;  and  when  it  was  founded  on  such  a  basis,  you  can 
understand  how  useless  it  would  be  to  argue  with  them.  Say  you 
came  from  the  spot,  and  that  the  facts  were  thus  and  thus,  and  their 
opinion,  formed  at  such  a  distance,  was  more  than  all  your  facts,  and 
swere  treated  as  much  more.  There  was  a  time  when  the  country, 
now  in  such  unexampled  difficulties,  was  on  the  point  of  being  at- 
tacked by  foreign  force — it  was  a  critical  moment.  The  time  passed ; 
,the  opportunity  was  lost,  owing  to  divided  councils  and  mutual 
jealousies;  not  from  any  sense  of  the  injustice  involved  in  the  un- 
dertaking, but  because  it  could  not  command  the  unity  of  power 
and  the  support  of  the  whole  people.  That  time  passed  away ;  it 
was  soon  felt  that  the  opportunity  was  lost ;  and  then  came  the  sec- 
ond phase,  which  was  mutual  self-congratulation,  that  if  Europe, 
abstained  from  intermeddling,  Americans  would  themselves  accom- 
plish their  own  work  of  division  without  costing  a  penny  to  any' 
other  State.  During  that  period  there  were  anxious  expectations 
every  day  of  hearing  of  some  result  which  would  terminate  this  aw- 
ful contest.  In  the  mean  time  came  news  of  the  wonderful  efforts 
■on  both  sides.  In  the  eflforts,  the  bravery,  and  the  sacrifices  made 
by  the  South,  as  they  called  it,  and  in  the  corresponding,  if  not 
greater  efforts  made  by  the  North,  which  they  saw  on  one  side  or 
the  other,  they  perceived  the  reality  of  their  theoretical  phantom  of 


SERMONS.  371 

growing  power  which  they  had  previously  comprehended,  and 
on  the  existence  of  which  our  safety  for  the  time  to  come  de- 
pends. 

Such  was  the  state  of  the  case,  as  near  as  1  can  judge,  when  I 
left  Europe.  I  conversed  with  men  of  nearly  every  nation,  and  the 
general  feeling  was  what  I  have  described — in  the  first  place,  a  de- 
termination, not  by  understanding  the  question,  but  by  the  decision 
of  European  will^  that  the  South  should  be  right,  and  the  North 
wrong.  That  was  fixed  in  nearly  all  minds,  and  if  you  met  one  re- 
flective and  deliberate  enough  to  hear  the  truth,  he  was  among  the 
exceptions.  I  will  not  include  in  this  category  those  who,  rising  in 
the  scale  of  human  society,  felt  it  their  duty  to  listen  and  to  reflect. 
No  one  can  tell  to  what  particular  cause  their  abstaining  from  in- 
termeddling with  us  may  have  been  occasioned  by  reflections  on  the 
whole  matter.  To  help,  however,  these  reflections,  there  were  re- 
ports of  astounding  armies  springing  spontaneously  from  the  very 
soil — from  every  city,  and  village,  and  hamlet — so  that  where  there 
was  before  less  than  fifty  thousand  men,  there  had  succeeded  six  or 
seven  hundred  thousand.  These  made  a  stronger  impression  than 
the  views  of  any  statesman  in  Europe  or  America  could  produce. 
The  result  is,  that  there  is  no  disposition  to  interfere  if  it  is  possible 
to  avoid  it.  The  only  danger  is  that  which  may  arise  from  sufiering 
and  starvation  among  the  working  classes,  who  are  not  accustomed 
to  starve,  but  accustomed  to  labor  and  to  live  by  their  labor. 
There  has  been  great  forbearance  in  France  and  England  on  this 
score.  In  France,  through  the  winter,  the  forbearance  of  the 
people,  on  the  very  verge  of  starvation,  is  worthy  of  all  praise. 
They  were  encouraged  by  hope;  their  friends  spoke  comfort  to 
them,  and  persuaded  them  that  the  time  was  not  far  distant  when 
relief  would  come  to  th^m.  Their  bishops  and  priests  encouraged 
them,  not  merely  by  words,  but  by  appealing  to  all  who  could  to 
supply  the  means  of  passing  through  the  winter  withont  any  crisis 
of  famine  or  want.  They  say  it  was  worse  in  England.  It  might 
have  been  worse  in  one  sense,  but  not  so  bad  in  another.  In  the 
great  district  of  Lancashire  the  operatives  are  suffering ;  they  are 
idle  by  twenty-five  or  thirty  per  cent,  of  the  workmen,  and  the 
probability  is  that  there  will  be  still  less  employment.  But  England, 
with  her  vast  resources,  and  the  knowledge  that  these  men  are  not 
accustomed  to  hunger,  has  come  to  their  relief,  and  they  are 
not  now  the  specially  sufftiring  class  of  that  great  nation. 

In  the  mean  time,  I  take  it  that  France  and  England  are  turning 
their  attention  in  other  directions  to  supply  the  means  of  employing 
their  operatives.  American  cotton  has  been  hitherto  all  their 
reliance ;  they  have  endeavored,  but  with  little  success,  to  culti- 
vate it  under  the  various  soils  and  climates  comprehended  within 
the  territories  of  those  nations.  They  are  turning  their  attention  to 
the  cultivation  of  flax,  which  at  one  time  was  a  great  article  of  com- 
merce and  manufacture.  This  has  no  doubt  resulted  from  a  hope 
that  this  great  controversy  in  the  United  States  would  ultimately 


372  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

lead  to  some  means  being  taken  to  reconstruct  the  country  as  it  was 
before,  and  that,  with  patience,  the  ports  in  the  Southern  country 
would  be  opened,  and  trade  allowed  to  flow  once  again  in  its  usual 
channels.  This  was  the  crime  charged  upon  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment, that  it  had  forbidden  the  regular  flow  and  reflux  of  foreign 
trade  with  the  South.  That  fact  they  can  complain  of  no  more. 
The  ports  are  open,  and  this  people,  towards  whom  they  had  pro- 
claimed such  friendship,  have  refused  to  sell  the  so  much  desired  article. 
Whether  it  is  the  refusal  of  the  South  to  sell  their  commodity,  or  of 
the  North  to  open  their  ports  for  the  traffic,  the  operatives  of  Lan- 
cashire are  subject  to  the  same  inconvenience  by  the  absence  of 
cotton. 

Finally,  they  have  taken  up  the  idea  that  it  would  be  a  danger- 
ous experiment  to  interfere  with  this  melancholy  case  ;  that  it  would 
cost  more  to  them  than  any  benefit  they  would  realize  from  the  result 
of  their  interference,  and  that  already,  during  this  period  of  suspense, 
efibrts  were  being  made  that  would  lay  the  foundations  of  national 
strength,  which  would  enable  this  country  to  compete  with  the 
whole  world.  To  these  circumstances  I  ascribe  a  great  deal  of  that 
forbearance  and  that  kindlier  tone,  for  the  public  sentiment  in  both 
countries  is  marked  by  a  milder  tone  towards  us. 

It  would  be  impossible  for  me,  and  it  would  not  be  proper  in  this 
place,  to  enter  into  details.  I  can  only  give  you  general  impressions. 
I  do  not  know  what  may  happen  in  case  this  war  should  continue  as 
it  has  been  since  I  left  this  country.  The  papers  have  rendered  the 
condition  of  the  country  perfectly  confused.  It  is  very  difficult  for 
one  even  acquainted  with  this  country  to  comprehend  how  the  land 
lies ;  and  so  it  is  with  foreigners.  Nor  is  it  in  any  one's  power 
to  say  with  absolute  certainty  what  may  happen  if  this  war  con- 
tinues. 

What  is  the  prospect  of  its  coming  to  an  end  ?  I  do  not  see  any 
prospect.  There  does  not  appear  to  be  an  issue,  and  it  may  be  that 
God,  for  some  design  of  His  own,  which  future  generations  will  ap- 
preciate, has  permitted  this  calamity  to  scourge  the  country  in  order 
to  bring  from  these  results  benefit  to  the  whole  human  race.  These 
are  circumstances,  the  results  of  which  no  man  can  fathom,  they  de- 
pend upon  so  many  conditional  circumstances.  But  there  is  one 
question  that  ought  to  be  clear  to  every  mind,  and  it  is  this — that  if 
such  a  warfare  should  continue  for  years,  it  is  recognized  as  the 
privilege  of  other  nations,  in  the  name  of  humanity,  to  try  and  put 
an  end  to  it.  The  people  themselves  should  put  an  end  to  it  with  as 
little  delay  as  possible.  It  is  not  a  scourge  that  has  visited  this  na- 
tion alone.  Wars  have  been  from  the  beginning  of  the  world,  na- 
tions against  nations,  and  that  most  terrible  of  all  wars,  civil  war,  in 
which  brother  is  arrayed  against  brother. 

How  long  is  this  to  go  on  ?  As  it  goes  on,  it  is  affording  a  pretext 
for  all  the  nations  to  combine  against  us ;  but  even  then,  I  say  their 
interference  should  not  be  permitted,  except  in  the  way  of  benevo- 
lence ;  but,  if  with  the  sword,  we  should  unite  in  setting  them  at 


SERMONS.  373 

defiance.  But  I  would  say  if  they  do  interfere,  and  interfere  suc- 
cessfully— if  the  country  and  the  Government  are  not  sustained  by 
every  sacrifice  that  is  necessary,  then  your  United  States  will  be- 
come a  Poland,  Then  it  will  become  divided  into  fragments ;  then 
the  strife  will  hover  on  all  the  borders ;  every  State  will  claim  to  be 
independent,  and  render  itself  an  easy  prey  to  foreign  powers.  Oh! 
let  not  this  be  so.  I  know  little  of  what  has  occurred  since  I  left. 
I  have  had  scarcely  time  to  look  at  a  paper  since  my  return  ;  but, 
by  all  accounts,  much  has  been  attempted,  but  not  much  realized 
towards  terminating  this  unnatural  war.  Volunteers  have  been 
appealed  to,  and  they  have  answered  the  appeal ;  but  for  my  own 
part,  if  I  had  a  voice  in  the  councils  of  the  nation,  I  would  say,  let 
volunteers  continue,  and  the  draft  be  made.  If  three  hundred  thou- 
sand men  be  not  sufficient,  let  three  hundred  thousand  more  be 
called  upon,  so  that  the  army,  in  its  fulness  of  strength,  shall  be  always 
on  hand  for  any  emergency.  This  is  not  cruelty ;  this  is  mercy ; 
this  is  humanity — any  thing  that  will  put  an  end  to  this  draggling  of 
human  blood  across  the  whole  surface  of  the  country.  Then,  every 
man,  rich  and  poor,  will  have  to  take  his  share ;  and  it  ouglit  not  to 
be  left  to  the  Government  to  plead  with  the  people,  to  call  upon  them 
to  come  forward,,  and  to  ask  if  they  will  permit  themselves  to  be 
draited.  No ;  but  the  people  themselves  should  insist  upon  being 
drafted,  and  be  allowed  to  bring  this  unnatural  strife  to  a  close. 
Other  efforts  will  be  made  on  the  other  side ;  and  who  can  blame 
them,  since  they  have  cast  their  die  on  the  issue  ?  But,  any  way, 
this  slow,  lingering  waste  of  human  life  should  be  cut  short. 

In  the  mean  while,  it  is  enough  for  us  to  weep  over  this  calamity ; 
it  is  enough  for  us  to  pray  to  God  that  it  be  brought  to  an  end.  It  is 
enough  for  us  to  make  a  sacrifice  of  every  thing  to  sustain  the  pow- 
er, and  the  authority,  and  the  unity  of  the  only  Government 
that  we  profess  to  acknowledge.  But  it  is  not  necessary  to  hate 
our  opponents,  nor  to  be  cruel  in  the  battle ;  it  is  necessary  to  be  brave, 
to  be  patriotic — to  do  what  the  country  needs ;  and  for  this  God 
will  give  us  His  blessing,  as  a  recompense  for  discharging  our  duty 
without  violating  any  just  laws,  divine  or  human. 


LETTERS. 


CONTROVERSY  WITH  THE  REV.  DR.  DELANCY. 

EMANCIPATION  OF  THE  CATHOLICS  OF  IRELAND. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  U.  S.  Gazette : 

Sir — In  the  name  of  those  American  citizens  who  profess  the 
Catholic  religion,  I  request  the  insertion  of  the  following  communi- 
cations. I  do  not  write  as  a  clergyman,  but  as  a  citizen ; — I  do  not 
wish  to  make  your  paper  the  channel  of  religious  controversy,  but 
the  medium  of  self-defence ;  I  do  not  intend  any  thing  disrespectful 
to  the  Rev.  Gentleman  whose  name  is  mentioned,^ut  I  address  my 
remarks  to  him,  because  it  would  be  unjust  to  make  others  in  any 
way  responsible  for  his  sentiments. 

i*i;ad«/^A»a,  July  13th,  1829.  J.  H. 

TO  THE  PUBLIC. 

Knowing  how  unwelcome  to  many  is  every  thing  like  religious 
controversy,  I  feel  that  a  decent  regard  to  their  sentiments  re- 
quires that  I  should  explain  the  provocation  and  assign  the  reasons 
that  have  induced  me  to  intrude  on  the  public  notice,  and  appeal  to 
the  justice  of  public  opinion.  In  the  Church  Register  of  the  6th  of 
June  last,  there  are  two  articles  calculated  to  ferment  a  spirit  of  en- 
mity between  fellow-citizens  of  the  same  commonwealth.  In  one  of 
them,  the  Catholic  religion,  which  the  writer  calls  the  Church  of 
Rome,  is  represented  under  this  figure : 

"  The  lion,  who  lies  in  his  den,  pining  with  famine,  or  wasted  and  weakened 
with  disease,  unable  to  raise  liis  feeble  limbs,  against  even  a  helpless  lamb, 
is  still  a  lion  ;  and  with  returning  health  and  vigor  vnW  recover  his  wanted 
(wonted)  ferocity,  and  wait  only  for  occasion  to  evince  it." 

If  this  charge  be  true,  the  author  is  bound  by  justice  to  prove  it ; 
if  it  be  false,  then  I  conceive  that  he  will  see  the  propriety  of  oftering  at 
least  some  apology  for  its  publication.  It  was  published  during  the 
term  of  editorial  service,  and  under  the  immediate  supervision,  of 
the  Rev.  W.  H.  Delancy,  P.  D.  I  have  good  reason  to  believe 
that  it  is  from  his  pen,  and  that  his  alone  is  the  responsibility. 

I  atn  at  a  loss  to  imagine  what  it  is  that  provoked  such  an  attack 
from  such  a  quarter.    When  I  reflect  that  the  injustice  of  this  re- 


LETTERS.  375 

mark  will  recoil  on  its  author,  towards  whom  I  entertain  no  unkind 
feeling,  the  alternative  is  painful :  but  yet  it  is  necessary  ;  for  silence 
under  such  a  charge  might  be  construed  into  a  consciousness  of  its 
being  founded  on  truth. 

la  this  country  all  religions  are  equally  free  ;  and  yet  it  is  in  the 
power  of  any  man  to  calumniate  the  religion,  and  wound  the  feelings 
of  any  other  man ;  and,  to  a  certain  extent,  cause  him  and  his  belief 
to  be  pointed  at  by  the  finger  of  popular  detestation.  Against 
this  the  laws  aflbrd  no  protection.  But  yet,  there  is  a  natural  safe- 
guard of  freedom  and  of  justice  in  the  disinterested  and  impartial 
decisions  of  society.  This  is  the  tribunal  before  which  the  offender 
can  be  summoned,  and  to  which  he  can  be  rendered  responsible ; — a 
tribunal  whose  just  judgment,  even  men  of  the  greatest  moi^l  cour- 
age are  seldom  found  bi"ave  enough  to  disregard  or  despise. 

If  different  denominations  indulge  in  blunt  abuse  of  each  other,  and 
in  mutual  recrimination,  then  all  harmonies  that  sweeten  social  life 
are  liable  to  be  continually  interrupted.  If  the  Catholic  religion  be 
as  ferocious  as  the  gentleman's  language  would  insinuate,  then  every 
voice  ought  to  be  raised  against  it,  until  it  should  be  finally  hissed  out 
of  the  world.  But  the  fact  is,  that  charges,  less  odious  perhaps, 
but  equally  unfounded,  have  been  brought  against  Episcopalians, 
and  might  have  been  brought  against  any  other  denomination  of 
Christians.  To-day  it  is  my  turn  ;  to-morrow  it  may  be  yours.  If 
our  religious  rights  are  equal,  then,  how  firm  soever  we  may  be  in 
our  respective  principles  of  belief,  we  should  respect  each  other's 
rights;  and  decorum  should  govern  our  intercourse.  Hence  it  is, 
that  I  feel  authorized  to  call  on  the  Rev.  Dr.  Delancey  publicly  for 
the  proof  of  the  charges  which  he  has  promulgated,  and,  as  it  ap- 
pears to  me,  without  any  provocation. 

I  would  have  been  satisfied  with  even  a  private  explanation,  as 
may  be  seen  from  the  following  correspondence  with  that  gen- 
tleman. 

TO  THE  REV.  DR.  DELANCEY. 

Rev.  and  Dear  Sir — Although  I  have  not  the  pleasure  of 
being  acquainted  with  you,  yet  I  hope  I  may  be  excused  for  the  lib- 
erty I  take  in  addressing  you,  in  private^  on  a  subject  which  may 
become  public  hereafter.  There  is  in  the  Church  Register  of  the 
6th  of  June  a  com'mentary  on  the  mission  of  Bishop  Fenwick  in 
Ohio,  and  also  an  article  on  Cathqlic  emancipation,  both  of  which 
are  iinjust,  illiberal,  and  wounding  to  the  feelings  of  Roman  Catho- 
lics, and  both  of  which  are  said  to  be  from  your  pen.  It  appears  to 
me,  Rev.  Sir,  that  the  Catholics  have  done  nothing  to  merit  such 
treatment  at  your  hands.  I  have  not  the  columns  of  a  newspaper  at 
command,  hut  unless  some  explanation  be  given,  I  intend  to  review 
both  articles  in  a  pamphlet.  This  may  yet  be  necessary.  And  as  I 
mean  to  hold  you  personally  responsible  for  their  language,  I  think 
that  justice  requires  of  me,  first,  to  give  you  an  opportunity  of  saying 


376  AKCHBISHOP  HUGHES. 

whether  or  not  you  are  the  author.  This  is  the  object  of  the  pres- 
ent note,  and  I  hope  the  motive  will  be  sufficient  apology  for  the 
liberty  taken  by 

Yours,  very  respectfully, 

JOHN  HUGHES. 

This  note  was  put  into  the  post-office  about  the  26th  of  June,  and 
to  this  I  received  the  following  answer,  dated  June  29,  1829. 

Philadelphia,  29th  June,  1829. 

Rev.  ajtd  Deab  Sir — My  absence  from  the  city  during  the  last  week  must 
be  my  apology  for  not  replying  to  your  private  note  sooner. 

I  am  one  of  an  association  of  derical  gentlemen  formed  for  editing  the  Church 
Register. 

It  is  a  matter  of  regret  to  me  that  the  terms  of  our  association  do  not  allow 
me  to  give  you  a  more  explicit  answer  than  the  above  statement  affords  to  your 
question,  "  whether  or  not  I  am  the  author  of  certain  articles  in  the  Church 
Register  of  June  6th,  which  you  designate  as  unjust,  illiberal,  and  hurtful  to 
the  feelings  of  Roman  Catholics." 

You  must  excuse  me  also  for  saying,  that  had  I  been  disposed  to  take  advan- 
tage of  the  circumstance,  the  intimidating  tone  of  your  note  is  of  itself  suffi- 
cient to  authorize  entire  silence  on  my  part,  especially  when  it  is  indulged  be- 
fore you  have  ascertained  on  any  solid  authority  the  authorship  of  the  objec- 
tionable articles.  In  this  free  country,  both  individuals  and  associations  are  al- 
lowed to  pen  their  sentiments  ^vith  a  freedom  which  I  am  sure  your  own  good 
sense  will  convince  you  ought  not  to  be  repressed  or  abashed  by  threats.  Editors 
are  responsible  for  what  they,  as  such,  may  have  penned  and  published ;  and, 
I  presume,  without  knowing  their  sentiments  on  the  topic,  that  the  editors  of 
the  Church  Register  will,  if  appealed  to,  be  ready  to  take  such  a  course  as  the 
cause  of  truth  and  Church  shall  require. 

If,  however,  you  intend  to  make  me  personalis/  the  object  of  your  meditated 
assault,  I  shall  prepare  my  mind  to  endure  it  with  as  much  composure  as  I  can 
summon  to  my  aid. 

And,  in  the  mean  time,  I  remain,  as  formerly, 

Very  truly  and  respectfully  yours, 

W.  H.  DeIiANCET. 


J0NE  30, 1839. 

Rev.  and  Dear  Sik — I  have  just  received  yours  of  yesterday,  in 
which  you  regret  that  "  the  terms  of  your  association"  will  not  allow 
you  to  give  a  direct  answer  to  my  inquiry.  It  is  also  to  me  a  subject 
of  regret  that  gentlemen,  and  especially  clerical  gentlemen,  should 
seek  immunity  behind  so  unworthy  a  protection.  You  are  aware, 
dear  sir,  that  editors  who  are  unknown,  are,  like  anonymous  writers, 
beyond  the  power  of  being  made  responsible.  I  cannot,  therefore, 
see  any  thing  in  your  polite  note  calculated  to  make  me  change  my 
original  determination. 

Neither  would  I  trouble  you  a  second  time,  were  it  not  to  assure 
you  that,  whether  my  words  authorized  it  or  not,  you  have  misunder- 
stood my  motive  and  my  meaning.  I  Avas  not  conscious  of  using 
"  threats  or  intimidations,"  and,  on  looking  over  a  copy  of  ray  note. 


LETTERS.  377 

I  do  not  perceive  that  it  is  fairly  susceptible  of  such  a  construction. 
With  regard  to  the  freedom  of  this  country,  and  of  the  pen  and 
press,  I  agree  in  the  propriety  of  your  observations.  When  I  made 
use  of  the  word  "personally,"  I  wished  it  to  be  understood  that  I 
should  address  my  remarks  to  you  as -"one  of  the  editors.''''  You 
seem,  I  am  sorry  to  perceive,  to  have  anticipated  all  that  is  gen- 
ei'ally  understood  by  the  expression  joerso?^a^.  I  might 'have  played 
the  part  of  an  invisible  antagonist,  but  I  deemed  it  dishonorable; 
as  I  hope  I  shall  never  write  or  say  any  thing  of  which  I  should  be 
ashamed  to  avow  myself  the  author.  Having  always  entertained 
the  same  opinion  of  you,  I  deemed  it  my  duty,  on  a  principle  of  justice 
as  well  as  honor,  to  give  you  the  first  intimation  of  the  course  I 
intended  to  pursue ;  lest,  after  having  advanced  further,  I  should 
ascertain,  contrary  to  strong  evidence,  that  the  articles  alluded  to 
were  written  by  some  other  of  the  clerical  gentlemen  of  the  associa- 
tion, I  hope,  sir,  this  explanation  of  my  motives  will  correct  the 
misconception  on  which  you  accuse  me  of  having  intended  to  intimi- 
date you  by  threats.  Neither  do  I  meditate  any  thing  that  deserves 
the  name  of  "  assault."  For  the  rest,  my  mind  is  unchanged  ;  and 
my  inquiries  are  at  an  end.  I  would  not  have  written  this  were  it 
not  to  I'emove  those  impressions — and  again  to  assure  you  that 
I  remain,  very  truly  yours, 

JOHN  HUGHES. 


Rev.  and  Dear  Sm — Your  note  of  yesterday  contains  the  following  passage : 
"  It  is  to  me  a  subject  of  regret  that  gentlemen,  and  especially  clerical  gentle- 
men, should  seek  immunity  behind  so  unworthy  a  protection.  You  are  aware, 
dear  sir,  that  editors  who  are  tmknown,  are,  like  anonomous  (anonymous!) 
writers,  beyond  the  power  of  being  made  responsible." 

From  this  quotation  I  infer  that  you  are  ignorant  of  the  fact  that  the  editors 
of  the  Church  Register  are  not  anonymous  or  unknown,  but  have  placed  their 
names  on  their  journal.  Vol.  iv.,  No.  I.,  page  7,  to  which  I  beg  leave  to  refer 

yon- 
Had  I  not  supposed  you  acquainted  with  this  fact,  I  should  have  mentioned 
it  in  my  answer  on  Monday  ;  and  my  single  object  in  troubling  you  with  this 
note  is  to  apprise  you  of  a  circumstance,  which,  you  will  perceive,  blunts  the 
edge  of  the  former,  and  destroys  the  application  of  the  latter,  of  the  two 
sentences  quoted  above  from  your  letter. 

I  remain,  very  truly  and  respectfully  yours, 

W.  H.  Delancey 
Wednesday,  July  1, 1829. 

Now,  I  intend  to  address  this  reverend  gentleman  in  two  or  three 
letters,  in  which  I  promise  myself  the  pleasure  of  showing  him 
reasons  (which,  I  know,  will  satisfy  an  impartial  public),  to  prove 
that  he  ought  not  to  have  indulged  in  the  language  which  he  has 
made  use  of.  It  is  not  my  intention  to  enter  into  a  religious  con- 
troversy with  him,  nor  to  deal  in  personalities,  but  to  confine  myself 
strictly  to  the  question  at  issue.  J.  H. 


878  AECHBISHOP  HUGHES. 


TO  THE  REV.  DR.  DELANCEY,  ONE  OF  THE  EDITORS  OF  THE 
"CHURCH  REGISTER." 

Rev.  and  Dear  Sir — If  Catholics  had  manifested  any  spirit  of 
hostility  towards  the  Episcopal  Church,  I  should  not  be  surprised  at 
the  harsh  notice  that  has  been  taken  of  them  in  the  Church  Regis- 
ter. I  think,  sir,  that  so  long  as  we  discharge  the  duties  of  good 
citizens  and  neighbors,  so  long  as  we  are  not  grasping  at  any  mo- 
nopoly of  privilege,  and  our  march  in  society  as  a  religious  body  is 
quiet  and  peaceable,  we  should  not  be  held  up  to  the  public  scorn  of 
our  fellow-citizens.  The  world  is  wide  enough  for  us  all.  The  sun 
shines  upon  the  Catholic  as  well  as  upon  the  Episcopalian,  the  laws  of 
our  country  know  no  difference  between  their  respective  creeds,  and 
why  should  they  apply  to  each  other  terras  of  opprobrium  which  will 
<>■  not  convince  the  judgment,  and  cannot  reach  the  heart,  except  per- 
haps to  beckon  forth  some  of  its  worst  passions.  If  you  publish  that 
my  religion  is  error  and  superstition,  and  I  answer  your  argument  by 
asserting  that  yours  is  heresy,  then  we  are  both  beating  the  air  ;  we 
may  excite  bad  feeling,  but  we  cannot  hope  by  such  language  to  ac- 
complish any  good  end.  If  the  child  of  error  be  a  rational  being,  the 
zeal  which  would  reclaim  him  must  be  blended  with  charity  and 
with  prudence,  and  should  address  him  in  the  words  of  mild  and 
persuasive  reasoning.  If  any  thing  in  the  world  be  calculated  to 
make  bigots  of  Catholics,  it  is  the  abuse  which  is  heaped  upon  their 
doctrines  by  a  thousand  presses.  When  the  ceremonies  of  their  re- 
ligion are  denounced  as  "  trumpery,"  their  belief  as  "  superstition," 
their  liturgy  "  mummery,"  their  clergy,  from  the  Pope  down  to  the 
lector,  as  leagued  for  the  purpose  of  palming  b  universal  delusion  on 
the  credulity  of  the  world,  their  people  as  drinking  down  absurdi- 
ties all  the  days  of  their  lives ;  in  other  words,  when  the  clergy  are 
represented  as  knaves,  and  the  laity  as  fools,  then  the  most  effectual 
means  are  taken  to  confirm  them  in  this  their  belief,  whether  it  be 
right  or  wrong. 

But,  if  they  are  in  error,  it  is  a  pity  that  the  means  taken  to  ex- 
tricate them  out  of  its  mazes  should  be  calculated  rather  to  entangle 
them  the  more.  The  experiment  has  been  fairly  tried  in  England, 
and  the  result  is,  that  there  is  no  religion  in  that  country  which  in- 
creases so  rapidly  by  the  accession  of  new  members,  or  in  moral, 
physical,  and,  permit  me  to  add,  intetlectual  influence.  In  Ireland, 
strange  as  it  may  seem  to  those  who  have  heard  so  much  about 
what  is  called  the  second  reformation,  the  case  is  precisely  the  same 
as  in  England.  Mr.  Dwight,  who  shows  his  sarcastic  enmity 
towards  Catholics  almost  as  often  as  he  speaks  of  them  (whilst 
he  treats  the  Deists  with  "  Christian  charity"),  aflirms  that  in  Sax- 
ony and  in  Prussia  the  conversions  to  the  Catholic  doctrine  are  very 
numerous.  In  this  country  the  remarks  that  have  been  made  on 
the  mission  of  Bishop  Fenwick,  show  that  you  yourself  are  not  un- 
acquainted with  its  progress.     But  England  is,  perhaps,  after  all, 


LETTERS.  379 

the  best  instance  to  prove  tliat  Catholics  are  not  to  be  reclaimed 
from  the  "  error"  of  their  ways  by  the  power  of  harsh  epithets. 
She  is  the  great  parent  of  those  societies  which  have  caused  the 
Holy  Scriptures  to  be  universally  circulated,  after  having  translated 
them  into  every  language  in  Europe,  not  excepting  even  the  Irish.  She 
is  the  great  storehouse  of  tracts  and  anti-catholic  tales,  from  Blanco 
White  and  Father  Clement  down  to  Andrew  Dunn  ;  add  to  this  the 
invective  of  the  weekly,  monthly,  and  quarterly  (soi  disant  religious) 
periodicals,  and  you  will  perceive  a  kind  of  miraculous  proportion 
between  the  increase  of  Catholics,  and  the  efforts  that  are  made  to 
emancipate  them  from  the  bondage  of  obedience  to  their  Chui-ch. 
It  is  a  remark  that  has  not  escaped  the  notice  of  wise  men,  that  ex- 
tremes are  not  so  remote  as  common  observation  generally  supposes. 
Thus  when  Protestants  are  required  to  believe  too  much  against  the 
Catholic  religion,  until  perchance  a  nearer  acquaintance  convinces 
them  that  their  credulity  has  been  abused  by  those  whose  writings 
and  assertions  they  believed,  it  produces  a  kind  of  reaction  in  their 
minds,  there  is  a  suspicion  breaks  in  upon  them,  that  if  all  were 
right  on  their  side  of  the  question,  and  wrong  on  the  other,  such 
misrepresentation  would  not  be  necessary  ;  tJds  prepares  the  mind 
for  impartial  inquiry,  and  after  the  burden  of  prejudice  is  thrown 
off,  inquiry  leads  to  a  conviction  which  makes  them  Catholics. 

The  doctrines  of  our  Church  should  be  fairly  stated,  the  argu- 
ments against  them  should  be  candid,  and  all  the  ipse  dixit  charges 
should  be  rendered  honest-looking,  by  being  kept  within  the  limits 
of  probability.  When  a  Protestant  is  told  that  80,000,000  of  ra- 
tional beings  are  kept  in  the  unity  of  the  same  faith  by  the  influence 
of  their  priests,  knowing,  as  every  Protestant  must  know,  that  it  re- 
quires nice  management  to  keep  80  souls  in  any  other  common  doc- 
trine, he  hears  enough,  if  he  be  a  man  of  good  mind,  to  shake  his  be- 
lief What !  80,000,000  believing  the  same  doctrine,  which  is  repre- 
sented to  be  a  compound  of  absurdity,  and  all  this  effected  by  a  set 
of  priests  who  live  by  their  trumperies  !  Verily,  this  is  enough  to 
make  any  man  a  Catholic.  Transubstantiation  is  nothing  to  it.  For 
there  the  omnipotence  of  God  is  concerned,  and  He  can  do  what  no 
man  understands.  But  here,  if  the  doctrines  are  so  absurd,  so  im- 
pious, and  so  opposed  to  Christian  revelation.  Heaven  can  have  noth- 
ing to  do  with  it.  And  without  the  sanction  of  Heaven,  without 
the  aid  of  witchcraft,  the  priests  can  persuade  eighty  millions  of  ra- 
tional beings  to  stake  their  immortal  souls  on  the  truth  of  a  doctrine 
which  is  said  to  flash  with  the  evidence  of  its  absurdity. 

Seeing  then  by  the  experience  of  200  years  that  the  present  mode 
of  attack  tends  to  increase  the  evil  it  was  designed  to  prevent,  I 
will  conclude  these  genwal  observations  by  suggesting  that  the  ex- 
periment be  varied,  and  that  a  truce  be  made  with  obloquy  for  fifty 
years  to  come,  in  order  to  give  it  a  fair  trial.  We  are  happy  in  our 
ignorance,  and  we  would  thank  those  who  are,  ever  and  anon,  ex- 
pressing their  contempt  for  our  credulity,  to  mind  their  own  imme- 
diate concerns,  and,  as  the  children  would  express  it — "  let  us  alone." 


880  ARCHBISHOP  HUGHES. 

Now,  sir,  we  come  to  the  point  at  issue.  In  the  Church  Heg- 
ister  of  June  6th,  there  is  an  extract  from  the  London  Catholie 
Miscellany  on  the  Catholic  Mission  in  Ohio.  By  the  power 
of  emphasis  it  is  made  to  address  the  national  as  well  as  the 
religious  prejudices  of  your  readers.  But,  even  this  is  not 
enough,  the  commentary  declares  the  Catholic  doctrine  "  comipV 
and  "  superstitious^''  and  those  by  whom  it  is  propagated,  "  aliens 
to  our  country."  I  have  no  objection  that  you  should  spirit  up  the 
missionary  zeal  of  "  Churchmen"  and  Americans,  but  when  you 
apply  the  lever  for  that  purpose,  you  would  do  well  to  find  some 
other  fulcrum.  1st.  Bishop  Fenwick  is  not  an  "  alien."  He  is  by 
birth  an  American.  2d.  The  gratitude  of  this  Republic  shown  to 
the  respected  La  Fayette,  proves  that  our  country  can  acknowledge 
obligations  to  aliens.  3d.  All  the  foreign  missionaries  of  all  the  so- 
cieties, of  every  denomination,  not  excepting  even  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Robertson  in  Greece,  are  "  aliens"  wherever  they  go,  out  of  their 
own  country.  There  are  conclusions  to  be  drawn  from  each  of 
these  propositions,  and  I  hope  it  will  not  be  necessary  for  me  to  say 
what  they  are.  I  merely  wished  to  prove  what  I  stated  in  my  no- 
tice to  the  public,  viz., — that  you  ought  not,  even  for  consistency's 
sake,  to  have  applied  the  epithets. 

As  to  the  terms  "  corrupt"  and  "  superstitious,"  they  are  adjec- 
tives, and  belong,  consequently,  to  a  part  of  speech  that  never 
proved  any  thing.  They  figure  more  consistently  in  the  arguments 
of  the  Deist  against  us  all.  But  your  application  of  them  is  like 
Connecticut  calling  Massachusetts  a  Yankee  country  because  it  lies 
to  the  north.  So  on  the  map  of  theological  controversy  "  super- 
stitions" may  be  used  in  every  degree,  from  the  poles  to  the  equator. 
You  should  have  remembered  that  the  Episcopal  Church  occupies  a 
middle  latitude,  and  that  your  invectives  against  us  may  be  turned 
against  yourselves,  by  those  who  are  less  superstitious,  because  they 
are  more  to  the  south.  However,  it  is  a  pity  that  so  many  millions 
with  better  opportunities  to  ascertain,  cannot  discover  in  the  Cath- 
olic religion  the  corruption  and  superstition  of  which  you  speak. 
Whilst  it  is  equally  lamentable  that  so  many  other  millions  who  are 
not  Catholics  pretend  to  discover  in  your  belief  many  things  which 
they  regard  as  neither  "  pre-eminently  pure,  nor  yet  very  scriptural." 
Thus,  harsh  expressions  prove  neither  the  falsehood  of  our  doctrine 
nor  the  truth  of  your  own.  They  prove  nothing ;  they  do  no  good ; 
they  only  wound  our  feelings  without  any  motive  or  necessity ;  and, 
I  repeat  it,  they  ought  not  to  have  been  used.  Why  is  it,  sir,  that 
your  zeal  never  prompted  you  to  write  a  paragraph  against  Mr. 
Owen  or  Miss  Wright,  who  have  been  endeavoring  to  establish  in 
the  "  western  wilds  of  our  country"  a  doctrine,  the  operation  of 
which  would  shake  every  stone  in  the  walls  of  your  own  beloved 
Zion  ? 

Why  is  it  that  there  is  such  constant  carping  at  the  Catholics,  and 
scai'cely  a  word  said  about  the  principles  of  New  Harmony,  which 
teach  that  the  belief  of  Jesus  Christ's  divinity  is  a  "  superstition" 


LETTERS.  381 

that  must  be  eradicated  out  of  the  human  mind,  before  man  can  be 
happy  ?  Not  long  since  this  same  Church  Register  published  in 
the  form  of  an  original  article,  that  "  twenty  Catholic  priests  had  ar- 
rived in  New  York  for  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi,"  and  in  a  laconic 
blast  sounded  the  tocsin  of  alarm,  the  echo  of  which  is  still  ringing 
throughout  the  land.  It  would  be  conferring  a  favor  on  the  Cath- 
olics, who  are  ignorant  of  such  an  "  arrival,"  and  on  the  Protestants 
whose  slumbers  have  been  disturbed  without  necessity,  if  some  of 
the  editors  of  that  paper  would  tell  us  what  became  of  the  reverend 
priests  after  their  landing,  as  nobody  has  seen  them. 

These  things  will,  perchance,  engage  your  attention,  whilst  I  pre- 
pare a  few  remarks  on  your  ideas  of  Catholic  Emancipation,  which 
will  be  the  subject  of  my  next.     In  the  mean  time, 

I  remain,  yours,  &c.,  &c., 


JOHN  HUGHES. 


July  14, 1839. 


Rkv.  and  Dear  Sir — In  your  editorial  notice  of  the  recent 
emancipation  of  the  Catholics,  you  take  occasion  to  make  the  fbl- 
lowiug  assertions,  which,  to  do  them  justice,  must  be  given  in  the 
original : 

"  If  the  pure  truths  of  the  gospel,  drawn  out  from  under  the  cumbersome 
loads  of  superstition  and  error  at  the  Reformation,  and  established,  so  far  as  the 
Church  of  England  is  concerned,  by  the  blood  of  her  Cranmers,  Latimers,  and 
Ridleys,  are  exposed  to  danger  by  any  indirect  operations  of  this  measure ;  if 
the  revival  and  dissemination  of  the  trumperies  and  delusions  of  popery  are  to 
be  the  result  of  the  change  now  effected,  we  should  be  far  from  mingling  our 
voices  with  the  general  notes  of  joy  and  satisfaction  which  have  resounded 
throughout  our  land  since  the  success  of  the  project  was  announced.  It  may 
not  be  popular  doctrine  in  tliis  age  of  indiscriminate  liberality  ;  but  we  main- 
tain it,  nevertheless,  that  the  character  of  the  Church  of  Rome  is  the  same. 
The  lion  who  lies  in  his  den  juning  with  famine,  or  wasted  and  weakened  by 
disease,  unable  to  raise  his  feeble  limbs  against  even  a  helpless  lamb,  is  still  a 
lion  ;  and  with  returning  health  and  vigor  will  recover  his  wonted  ferocity,  and 
wait  only  for  occasions  to  evince  it.  We  look  upon  the  errors  of  tlie  Eomish 
Church  as  of  too  deep  and  radical  a  character  to  be  effaced  by  any  temporary 
depression  that  may  befall  her ;  and  we  regard  them,  also,  as  too  fatal  to  the 
sound  doctrines  of  the  gospel,  not  to  feel  apprehension  when  we  see  indications, 
however  slight,  of  the  return  of  the  day  when  they  hung  their  dark  and  thickly - 
woven  pall  over  the  Church  of  the  Redeemer.  The  intermixture  of  Church  and 
State  in  England  renders  it  extremely  difficult  for  us,  who  know  nothing  of  the 
practical  operations  of  that  union,  fully  to  appreciate  the  bearing  and  iniluence 
of  the  adopted  changes  u^wn  the  interests  of  the  establishment.  We  are  not 
friends  to  a  Church  establishment  in  this  country  ;  but  with  Dr.  Chalmers,  we 
regard  the  Church  establishment  of  England  as  the  main  pillar  of  Protestant- 
ism, a  pillar  which  we  trust  and  pray  may  never  be  weakened,  undermined,  or 
broken. 

It  appears  to  me,  sir,  that  you  might  have  given  your  opinion  on 
"  Catholic  Emancipation,"  without  at  the  same  time  painting  the 
Catholic  religion,  with  which  you  are  not  well  acquainted,  in  such 


382  AKCHBL-HOP  HUGHES. 

oflions  colors.  Why  is  it  that  you  disturb  the  ashes  of  Crannier  and 
his  associates  ?  Why  is  it  that  your  arguments  against  that  Church, 
to  which  you  owe  every  thing^  amount  to  no  more  than  the  same 
mterated  epithets  of  abuse  :  "  Cumbersome  loads  of  superstition," 
"trumperies  and  delusions  of  Popery,"  every  thing  that  is  "  fatal  to 
the  pure  doctrine  of  the  Gospel  ?"  You  assert  also,  that  the  Catholic 
religion,  at  some  indefinite  period  of  time  past,  "  hung  her  dark  and 
thickly-woven  pall  over  the  Church  of  the  Redeemer."  It  would  be 
doing  more  for  the  information  of  your  readers,  if,  when  making 
this  charge,  you  had  specified  the  when,  where,  and  by  whom,  this 
*'  weaving  and  hanging  of  palls"  was  effected.  It  is  generally  ad- 
vanced against  our  religion,  by  Protestants,  that  it  is  not  7iow  what  it 
was.  This,  however,  you  assure  us  is  not  the  case.  It  is  "  still  a 
lion  /"  its  recent  good  behavior  is  to  be  ascribed  to  the  discipline  of 
the  penal  laws.  But  its  innate  ferocity  will  increase,  you  tell  us,  in 
proportion  as  its  hunger  diminishes.  Well,  the  nature  of  other  lions 
has  been  directly  the  reverse  ;  but  that  is  a  matter  of  little  con- 
sequence. 

From  the  spirit  which  these  expressions  and  insinuations  breathe, 
every  one  can  estimate  how  much  was  your  joy  at  the  deliverance  of 
millions  of  your  fellow-beings  from  the  remnant  of  the  most  cruel, 
and  disgraceful  bondage  that  ever  oppressed  the  image  of  God  in 
the  character  of  man.     "  You  rejoice  with  trembling  .'" 

But,  before  I  proceed  to  examine  the  forebodings  of  your  mind, 
about  the  evils  that  will  result  to  the  "  main  pillar  of  Protestantism," 
from  an  act  of  legislative  justice! — let  me  inquire  what  motive  has 
prompted  you  to  use  this  offensive  language,  which  would  have  been 
imkind,  even  if  it  were  as  true  as  I  am  ready  to  prove  it  otherwise. 
There  are  several  points  on  which  the  Episcopalians  claim  a  more 
elevated  ground  than  they  are  willing  to  concede  to  other  denomina- 
tions of  Protestants.  Their  liturgy,  their  hierarchy,  their  ordination 
to  the  ministry,  are  features  of  their  religion  which  they  regard  (as 
they  have  a  right  to  do,  if  they  choose)  with  peculiar  complacency. 
In  these  respects,  they  are  distinguished  from  other  Protestant 
communions,  and  are  assimilated  to  Catholics.  Hence  they  have 
designated  themselves  the  Church,  and  exercise  authority  in  the 
name  o^  the  Church,  and  require  obedience,  not  only  of  their  mem- 
bers, but  also  of  their  ministers,  to  the  decisions  and  canons  of  the 
Church.  I  find  no  fault  to  this,  since  they  choose  to  have  it  so : 
but  permit  me,  sir,  to  remind  you  that  all  these  things  are  derived 
immediately  from  the  Catholic  Church.  If  that  Church  be  so 
corrupt,  so  vicious,  so  bloated  with  superstition  as  you  represent, 
what  importance  is  to  be  attached  to  your  liturgy,  to  your  church 
authority,  and  to  what  you  regard  with  more  jealous  concern,  your 
Episcopal  and  jyriestly  ordinatio?i — seeing  that  each  and  all  of- 
these  derive  their  origin  from  a  source  which  you  proclaim  polluted  ? 
If  the  foundation  be  rotten,  how  can  the  superstructure  be  sound  ? 
If  the  tree  be  s<;  bad,  how  comes  it  that  fruit,  contrary  to  the  express 
declaration   of  our  divine   Saviour,    should    be    so   good  ?     If  the 


LETTEES.  383 

Catholic  belief  be  so  "fatal"  to  the  sound  doctrines  of  the  Gospel, 
then  how  do  you  know  that  the  copies  of  the  divine  Book,  which 
the  reformation  of  the  sixteenth  century  found,  were  not  spurious 
or  adulterated  ?  Surely  the  Catholics  had  time  enough  during  the 
"  eight  hundred  years  and  more"  preceding  that  event,  to  tear  out 
or  alter  every  leaf  in  the  sacred  volume.  Where  do  you  find  Pro- 
testant testimony  to  prove  that  they  did  not,  having  had  so  long  an 
opportunity,  and,  as  you  insinuate,  so  strong  an  Inclination  ?  These 
are  questions  which,  in  self  defence,  you  have  compelled  me  to  ask ; 
and  the  public  will  look  through  the  soundness  of  your  answer. 
Your  assertions  against  our  doctrine  constitute  one  horn  of  the 
dilemma,  and  no  one  can  blame  me  for  having  supplied  the 
other. 

•But  there  is  something  else,  sir,  to  which  I  must  be  permitted  to 
call  your  attention.  You  say  that  if  the  "  revival  and  dissemination 
of  the  trumperies  and  delusions  of  popery"  (you  mean  the  increase 
of  Catholics)  is  to  be  the  result  of  Emancipation,  then  yoit  icill  not 
indulge  any  feeling  of  joy  at  its  success.  But,  sir,  if  it  be  a  measure 
of  justice  towards  a  long-injured  people,  why  should  you  not  rejoice, 
throwing  consequences  to  the  wind  ?  God  loves  justice.  And  there 
is  no  motive  except  inability  that  can  authorize  a  refusal  to  execute 
it,  unless  you  admit  that  the  ewfZ  justifies  the  means.  If  Protestant- 
ism be  what  I  allow  you  to  think  it  is,  and  what  you  will  permit  me 
to  think  it  is  not,  the  religion  that  Christ  revealed  from  heaven,  and 
the  Apostles  preached  to  the  world,  it  ought  not  to  be  afraid  of  any 
consequence  resulting  from  so  holy  a  principle  as  justice.  Again, 
with  Dr.  Chalmers,  you  regard  the  Chiirch  establishment  in  England 
as  the  "  main  pillar  of  Protestantism,"  and  you  "  trust  and  pray  it 
may  never  be  weakened,  undermined,  or  broken."  If,  sir,  you 
believe  that  Christ  is  the  foundation-stone  of  that  pillar,  how  can 
you  admit  the  possibility  of  its  being  either  undermined  or  broken  ? 
But  the  fact  is,  and  you  seem  to  be  aware  of  it,  that  this  pillar  would 
be  as  weak  as  any  of  the  others  in  the  edifice,  were  it  not  for  the 
support  of  the  British  Pai'liament.  And  a  "  main  pillar"  has  been 
erected  in  Constantinople  on  the  same  principle.  I  mention  this, 
not  as  a  comparison,  but  as  an  illustration.  You  remember,  no 
doubt,  that  Dr.  Chalmers,  whose  opinions  you  seem  to  respect,  calls 
the  Parliament  the  "  crutches,"  which,  in  his  prophetic  wisdom,  he 
says,  are  by  no  means  necessary  for  the  support  of  Protestantism. 
Give  him  only  the  Bible,  and  he  will  rout  the  corruptions  of  Popery, 
with  as  much  ease  as  Burke  would  have  in  purging  the  abuses  of  a 
bad  government  by  the  influence  of  a  free  press.  Albeit,  the  Dr. 
should  have  the  Bible  long  since,  on  these  conditions.  But,  leaving 
his  opinions  entirely  aside,  it  is  strange  that  you  should  declare 
your  joy  at  the  act  of  Justice  by  which  the  Catholics  of  Great 
Biitain  and  Ireland  are  restored  to  their  rights,  and  yet,  in  appre- 
hension of  its  consequences,  proclaim  to  the  world  that  you  "rejoice 
with  trembling  /" 

I  shall  press  you  no  further  at  present  on  this,  but  will  take  the 


884  ARCHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

liberty  to  refer  you  to  the  saying  of  Gamaliel  in  the  Jewish  Council. 
The  Ecclesiastical  history  of  nearly  2,000  years  proves  the  truth 
and  the  wisdom  of  his  observation,  viz.,  that  the  religion  which  is 
the  design  or  work  of  man,  will  fall  to  nothing  ;  but  that  which  is 
of  God  cannot  be  destroyed.  It  was  in  the  spirit  of  this  advice  that 
Bishop  Cheverus,  on  his  arrival  in  France,  admonished  the  clergy  of 
his  diocese  that  their  own  good  examples,  and  the  piety  of  their 
flocks,  would  do  more  to  convert  their  Protestant  brethren  than 
could  be  done  by  acrid  controversy,  in  which  there  was,  perhaps, 
more  of  zeal  than  of  charity  or  prudence.  Such  was  the  conduct  of 
a  Catholic  brshop,  in  a  country  where  the  "  lion  is  neither  famished 
with  hunger,  nor  weakened  by  disease."  It  is  the  example  of  a 
Samaritan,  if  you  choose,  but  even  this  does  not  render  it  unworthy 
of  imitation.  If  we  Catholics  were  assailed  in  this  country  only  hy 
controversy,  we  would  have  no  reason  to  complain  ;  but  when  our 
religious  doctrines  are  qualified  by  degrading  epithets,  calculated  to 
render  us  contemptible,  if  not  dangerous,  in  the  eyes  of  our  fellow- 
citizens,  then  we  must  claim  a  hearing  in  our  own  defence.  The 
good  opinion  of  our  fellow-citizens  is  onv  property,  until  it  shall  have 
been  forfeited  by  our  own  misconduct ;  and,  in  the  mean  time,  no 
man  has  a  right  to  invade  it — no  man  shall  invade  it  with  impunity. 
Morality  is  the  offspring  of  religious  belief;  and,  if  the  religion  of 
Catholics  be  so  "  corrupt  and  ferocious^'  as  you  assert,  then,  what 
opinion  must  their  fellow-citizens  entertain  of  their  moral  worth  and 
integrity  I 

I  do  not  say  that  you  intended  to  injure  us.  But  you  should 
reflect  that  the  Avound  of  the  poisoned  arrrow  is  not  the  less  fatal, 
because  it  was  shot  at  random,  or  without  intention  to  kill.  Your 
language,  which  many  of  your  Episcopal  i-eaders  considered,  to  say 
the  least  of  it,  unnecessary  and  uncharitable,  may  have  appeared  to 
some  others,  and  to  yourself^  perfectly  harmless  and  unexcep- 
tionable. 

Some  persons  may  even  wonder  how  it  was  possible  for  me  to 
make  such  a  "  mountain  out  of  a  mole-hill."  But  let  them  imagine 
a  similar  attack  made  on  their  belief,  and  their  astonishment  will  be 
considerably  diminished.  It  is  not  the  person  who  inflicts  the  blow, 
nor  they  who  are  simply  lookers  on,  that  can  estimate  rightly  the 
smart  it  has  occasioned.  This  can  be  done  only  by  those  who  have 
felt  it.  There  is  yet,  in  the  breast  of  every  man,  that  principle  of 
nature  which  prompts  him  to  repel  injury.  And  those  who  wish  to 
have  their  own  rights  respected  should  be  careful  to  respect  the 
rights  of  others;  and,  let  it  be  remembered,  I  was  not  the  first  to 
attack. 

In  conclusion,  reverend  sir,  permit  me  to  assure  you  that  towards 
yourself  I  cherish  not  one  unkind  feeling.  I  have  assigned  the  reasons 
why  you  should  not  have  applied  those  harsh  expressions  to  a  religion 
of  Avhich  you  are  not  a  teacher,  and  the  members  of  which  have  not 
given  you  any  just  ground  of  offence.  You  will,  of  course,  select 
your  own  mode  of  replying  to  them.     I  hope  I  have  not  used  any 


LETTERS.  383 

contemptuous  epithet,  as  I  desire  to  strike  a  wide  distinction  between 
abuse  and  argument. 

Yours,  &c.,  &C., 

JOHN  HUGHES. 
Jtot,  15, 1829. 

Rev.  Sir — I  have  now  to  begin  with  No,  5  of  your  reply,  in 
which  you  imagine  yourself  extricated  from  the  dilemma,  for  the 
fabrication  of  which  you  have  supplied  the  materials,  leaving  to 
me  only  the  secondary  merit  of  putting  them  together.  You  had 
asserted  that  the  Catholic  Church  was  "  superstitious,  corrupt, 
erroneous  in  faith,  etc."  Now,  seeing  that  Episcopalians  pretend  to 
have  inherited  priestly  and  episcopal  ordinatiofi  from  the  Catholic 
Church,  I  said  that  those  accusations  coming  from  you  were  as 
inconsistent  as  they  were  unkind.  We  all  know  that  Episcopalians 
do  not  consider  the  clergymen  of  other  Protestant  denominations  as 
authorized  to  preach  the  gospel  or  administer  the  ordinances ;  and 
why  ?  Because  they  are  destitute  of  ordination.  Bishop  Dowdell 
asserts  that  "  where  there  is  no  ejnscopal  ordination  there  is  no 
mitiistri/ /  there  is  no  sacrament/  there  is  no  churchy  If  this 
doctrine  of  the  Episcopal  Church  be  true,  it  cuts  off  at  once  all  these 
Protestant  communions  that  reject  Episcopal  ordination.  Now, 
this  ordination,  so  absolutely  necessary,  is  derived  from  the  Catholic 
Church,  which  you  have  proclaimed  to  be  "  corrupt  and  erroneous 
in  faith."  If  she  was  corrupt  and  erroneous  in  faith,  she  could  not 
be  the  Chui-ch  of  Christ;  the  Presbyterians  are  more  consistent  in 
rejecting  her  ordination.  And  yet,  for  this  rejection,  they,  and 
nearly  all  the  other  Protestant  denominations,  are  considered  to 
have  no  ministry,  no  sacrament,  no  church !  Hence  it  was  I  asked 
you,  what  was  the  value  of  ordination,  derived  from  a  "  corrupted" 
source  ? 

Now,  instead  of  meeting  my  argument  fairly  and  fearlessly  in 
your  reply,  you  glide  past  it,  and  we  find  you  seeking  for  a  solution 
in  the  regions  of  political  analogy.  You  say  that  my  argument 
would  prove  "  the  United  States  to  be  tyrannical,  because  they 
sprang  from  the  bosom  of  a  tyrannical  empire."  Tli/ere  is  at  least 
something  original  in  this  mode  of  reasoning.  But  you  will  find 
there  is  no  analogy.  In  the  first  place,  the  United  States  sprang 
from  the  will  of  the  people,  it  was  the  creation  of  the  people ;  ii 
never  pretended  to  exercise  authority  except  such  as  it  derived  from 
the  people,  and  the  first  as  well  as  the  best  act  it  ever  performed 
was  to  snap  the  link  by  which  it  had  hitherto  been  bound  to  the 
"  tyrannical  empire." 

Will  you  say  that  the  spiritual  government  of  the  Episcopal 
Church  is,  like  that  of  the  United  States,  an  independent  and  self- 
created  establishment  ?  Is  it  not,  on  the  contrary,  in  virtue  of  that 
golden  link  which  connects  you  with  the  hierarchy  of  the  Catholic 
Church,  that  you  claim  to  be  Apostolical,  and  believe  yourselves  a 
continuation  of  that  mighty  chain  which  reaches  from  the  time  oi" 
Vol.  11—25 


386  ARCHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

Christ  down  to  the  present  day?  Thus,  there  will  be  found  no 
correct  analogy  between  the  United  States  and  the  Episcopal 
Church,  and  consequently  the  dilemma  remains,  viz.,  you  published 
in  the  Megister  that  the  Church  by  which  ordination  Mas  conferred 
upon  Episcopalians  is  now,  and  was  then,  "  corrupt."  If  it  was,  I 
again  ask  you,  what  importance  is  to  be  attached  to  ordination  so 
derived  ? 

With  regard  to  the  Holy  Scriptures,  I  said  there  was  no  depend- 
ence to  be  put  on  their  correctness,  by  you,  if  you  supposed  the 
Catholic  Church  to  be  so  "  radically  corrupt"  as  you  represented. 
You  have  admitted  that  previous  to  the  Reformation  there  was  no 
other  witness  to  betray  her  except  the  Greek  Church ;  and  you  sup- 
posed that  the  fear  of  "  this  great  rival  in  the  east"  deterred  her 
from  attempting  to  adulterate  the  word  of  God.  Now,  observe  the 
inconsistency  of  your  reasoning.  Tlie  Greek  Church  testifies  to  the 
authenticity  of  the  scriptures,  to  the  mass,  to  the  seven  sacraments, 
to  the  invocation  of  saints,  and  the  doctrine  of  purgatory.  She 
says  that  all  these  are  tenets  of  divine  institution  and  apostolic  ori- 
gin, and  in  fact  the  same  motives  which  deterred  the  Church  of 
Rome,  as  you  suppose,  from  corrupting  the  scriptures,  would  also 
have  deterred  her  from  inventing  these  doctrines.  The  Greek 
Church  bears  witness  that  these  doctrines  were  not  invented  by 
men,  and  you  reject  her  testimony.  It  appears  she  never  tells  truth 
except  when  she  testifies  that  the  Church  of  Rome  did  not  adul- 
terate the  Holy  Scriptures!  Here,  then,  is  the  original  dilemma. 
If  the  Greek  Church  is  competent  authority  in  reference  to  the  in- 
spired writings,  so,  also,  is  she  competent  in  regard  to  those  tenets 
of  the  Catholic  Church  against  which  you  have  arrayed  so  many 
quotations  from  the  "articles."  If  she  is  not  competent  in  both 
cases,  she  is  competent  in  neither.  If  she  is  competent  in  neither, 
then  comes  the  question,  how  do  you  know  that  the  Scriptures, 
which  the  Reformation  found  in  the  world  about  1500  years  after 
■they  were  written,  are  the  same  identical  Scriptures  that  came  from 
the  pens  of  the  apostles  ?     The  public  wait  for  an  answer. 

In  remarking  on  the  unity  of  belief  that  prevails  among  the 
Catholics  throughout  the  world,  contrasted  with  the  interminable 
divisions  of  those  who  claim  to  have  "pure  doctrines"  on  all  sides,  I 
said  that  to  ascribe  the  former  to  the  influence  of  the  Catholic  priests 
is  enough  to  raise  doubts  in  the  mind  of  a  well-informed  Protestant. 
By  these  remarks,  however,  you  represent  me  as  arguing  "  that 
every  Protestant  should  believe  my  i-eligion  true,  his  own  false,  and 
immediately  become  a  Roman  Catholic."  Not  immediately,  sir  ;  if 
he  consulted  me  on  his  doubts,  I  would  advise  him  to  examine,  and 
then  act  according  to  evidence  and  the  convictions  of  his  conscience. 
He  had  been  accustomed,  peradventure,  to  hear  that  "  nothing  good 
could  «ome  from  Nazareth  ;"  and  I  would  merely  say  to  him, 
"  come  and  see.''' 

You  say  that  if  the  amount  of  number's  living  in  the  unity  of  the 
same  laith  is  to  be  a  criterion,  I  would  be  obliged  by  my  own  rea- 


LETTERS.  387 

soning  to  turn  Mahomedan.  This,  sir,  was  not  the  import  of  my 
reasoning ;  but  even  if  it  had  been,  your  Hindoo  argument  would 
not  bje  a  refutation.  It  is,  like  your  political  conijiarison,  destitute 
of  correct  analogy.  1st.  Because  it  is  not  true,  as  you  supposed, 
that  these  millions  are  kept  in  the  unity  of  any  faith.  They  are 
known  to  us  by  general  names,  in  the  same  manner  as  we  say  Prot- 
estants in  general,  without  distinguishing  between  Episcopalians  and 
Methodists,  or  between  Universalists  and  Unitarians.  But  it  is 
generally  known  and  admitted  that  the  Mahomedans,  for  example, 
are  divided  into  a  great  variety  of  sects,  among  which  there  is  "  no 
unity  of  faith."  2d.  Because  these  religions  are  like  Avhat  Dr. 
Chalmers  and  you  call  the  "  main  pillar  of  Pi-otestantism"  in  England ; 
they  are  connected  with  the  institutions  of  the  country,  and  sup- 
ported by  the  strong  arm  of  the  states  in  which  they  prevail ; 
whereas  Catholics  preserve  the  \inity  of  faith  in  all  countries,  in  all 
languages,  and  under  every  description  of  government.  3d.  Those 
nations  are  unenlightened  by  education,  but  this  cannot  be  said  of 
Catholics.  Consequently  every  argument  built  on  this  comparison 
is  destitute  of  foundation,  and  I  am  surprised  at  your  having  intro- 
duced it. 

With  regard  to  the  "  New  York  Ti-uth  Teller,''''  I  have  only  to 
observe  that  Catholics  as  a  body  are  by  no  means  responsible  for  its 
publications.  The  gentleman  who  edits  it  is  a  Catholic,  but  not  a 
clergyman  ;  and  the  paper  itself,  though  generally  and  deservedly 
patronized  by  Catholics,  is  not  the  official  organ  of  their  seijtiments. 
The  case  is  directly  the  reverse  with  tlie  Church  Register  •  and  yet 
it  would  be  unjust  in  me  to  charge  the  Protestants  at  large  with 
the  language  of  your  notice,  or  the  sentiments  it  expressed. 

I  certainly  consider  the  manner  in  which  Bishop  Hobart  and  the 
Protestant  religion  are  mentioned  in  the  extracts  from  the  "  Truth 
Teller^''  to  be  indecorous  and  reprehensible.  But  the  editor  or  the 
Avriter  alone  is  responsible  in  such  cases.  Howevei-,  you  suppose 
the  paper  to  be  Catholic,  and  that  the  Catholics  (How  many?) 
.wrote  it ;  and  from  these  suppositions  you  seem  to  infer,  not  only 
the  vindication  of  the  abusive  epithets  with  which  you  have  already 
loaded  the  Catholic  religion,  but  also  the  right  to  repeat  them  as 
often  as  you  please.  If  that  be  your  detei'mination,  then  reasons  to 
the  contrary  are  put  forth  in  vain. 

In  conclusion,  you  will  permit  me  to  observe  that  the  "  peaceful 
suggestions"  of  my  former  letters,  for  which  you  have  given  me 
credit,  came  from  the  sincerity  of  my  heart.  For,  in  this  coimtry, 
Catholics  and  Protestants  are  disposed  to  dwell  peaceably  together 
And  this  is  neither  the  time  nor  the  place  to  indulge  in  the  cry  of 
"  No  Popery  !"  There  were  thousands  and  thousands  of  generous 
Protestant  hearts  in  this  community,  that  throbbed  with  exultation 
at  the  triumph  which  justice  achieved  in  the  emancipation  of  the 
C.-xtholics  of  Gre-at  Britian  and  Ireland — that  event,  at  which  you  re- 
joiced "  with  trembling."  Who  is  it  that  has  forgotten  the  caution 
with  which  you  then  proceeded  in  your  attack  on  the  Catholic  re- 


388  AKCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

ligion?  as  if  you  dreaded  the  frown  of  the  liberal  feelings,  which  the 
occasion  called  forth  from  men  of  every  creed ;  when  you  observe 
that  the  course  you  were  pursuing  might  not  be  "  popular  in  this 
age  of  ifidiscrirninate  liberality."  As  if  Catholics  at  all  times  and  in 
all  places  should  be  made  an  exception,  and  debarred  from  a  com- 
mon portion  of  that  charity  whicli  the  Christian  religion  dispenses J.o 
all.  This  was  tlie  moment  you  selected  to  publish  that  the  Catholic 
belief  would  (as  soon  as  it  could)  "  evince  its  wonted  ferocity  !"  It 
might  not  be  popular  doctrine  in  this  "  age  of  indiscriminate  liber- 
ality;" but  you  would  maintain  it,  nevertheless.  But  it  is  not 
always  they  who  are  the  most  adventurous  in  attack,  that  are  the 
most  successful  in  defence.  If  your  charges  are  true,  we  will  see 
how  you,  as  an  Episcopalian,  are  to  meet  the  consequences  that  flow 
from  them — with  regard  to  Episcopal  ordination,  without  which,  in 
the  language  of  Bishop  Dodwell,  "  there  is  no  ministry,  no  sacra- 
ment, no  church."  When  other  Protestants  attack  the  Church,  it 
is  not  so  strange  ;  but  when  I  see  Episcopalian  clergymen  laboring 
to  prove  her  corruption,  it  appears  to  me  as  if  I  saw  persons  digging 
away  the  foundation  of  the  house  they  live  in. 

I  remain,  &c.,  &c., 

JOHN  HUGHES. 
Jtoy  28, 1829. 


THE  INFALLIBILITY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

REMARKS  ON  THE  REV.  MR.  MASON'S  CONVENTION  SERMON 
AND  THE  REVIEW  OF  IT  IN  THE  "PROTESTANT  EPISCOPA- 
LIAN." 

FIRST     ARTI CLE. 
From  the  Pliiladelphia  Catholic  Herald^  October  16,  1834. 

"  A  Convention  Sermon"  in  the  Episcopal  Church  becomes  an 
ecclesiastical  and  oflicial  document  when  it  is  preached  by  or  in  the 
presence  of  the  bishop  and  of  the  clergy  assembled,  and  is  published 
with  approbation.  This  is  the  case  with  Mr.  Mason's  sermon.  _  It 
does  not  seem  to  have  provoked  any  censure  among  his  clerical 
brethren  in  New  Jersey,  whilst  it  has  deeply  troubled  the  repose  of 
the  Episcopal  press  both  in  New  York  and  Philadelphia.  When  the 
sermon  first  appeared  it  was  assailed  with  unqualified  reproach,  in 
which  the  author  himself  was  implicitly  comprehended.  The  Epis- 
copal Recorder  hinted,  in  no  ambiguous  terms,  that  it  would  be  ''  a 
shadow  on  his  path."  The  Churchman  attacked  it  once  and  again ; 
but,  instead  of  subverting  its  principles  in  the  onset,  we  feel  author- 
ized to  infer,  from  the  subdued  tone  of  his  pen  in  his  latest  remarks, 


LETTERS.  389 

that  he  is  conscious  of  his  inability  to  cope  with  the  arguments  on 
which  the  deductions  of  the  sermon  are  founded.  The  Protestant 
Episcopalian^  finally,  in  a  lengthy  review,  combats  the  "  unfortunate 
notions"  of  Mr.  Mason,  as  he  terms  them  ;  and  combats  them,  he 
tells  us,  "  in  earnest."  But  we  do  not  thihk  he  has  been  successful 
in  proportion  to  his  earnestness;  and  for  this  opinion  we  shall  now 
proceed  to  state  our  reasons. 

In  the  midst  of  those  uncertainties  which  have  necessarily  in- 
vaded the  Protestant  mind  in  reference  to  the  doctrines  of  Revela- 
tion, it  is  gratifying  to  see  Mr.  Mason  breaking  through  the  prejudices 
of  his  education,  and,  by  the  unaided  energy  of  a  sound  understand- 
ing, seizing  on  the  conclusion  that  the  Church  of  Christ  is,  must  be, 
essentially  infallible.  But  he  supposes  it  to  be  the  Episcopal  Church, 
and  here  is  his  mistake.  In  his  arguments  in  favor  of  Infallibility  he 
is  triumphant  and  unanswerable  ;  but  in  his  application  of  them  his 
reviewers  have  the  advantage  over  him.  They  have  proved  to  him 
that  he  was  only  wasting  a  giant's  strength  in  attempting  to  sustain 
the  tottering  fabric  of  Protestant  Episcopal ianism  by  arguments  of 
Infallibility.  They  knew — and  indeed  it  is  strange  if  he  did  not 
know — that  it  was  originally  built  on  private  opinion,  and  that  he 
who  would  alter  the  foundation  must  destroy  the  edifice.  His  case 
presents  several  points  of  resemblance  to  that  of  Socrates,  who  in- 
curred the  reproach  of  atheism  for  having  I'ecognized  but  one  God, 
and  yet  made  an  offering  to  Esculapius.  The  philosopher  was  con- 
demned to  drink  hemlock  for  the  truth  he  had  discovered ;  whilst 
Mr.  Mason,  for  a  similar  cause,  is  doomed  to  taste  the  cup  of  theo- 
logical reprehension,  although  the  hand  which  administers  it,  in  the 
Protestant  Episcojyalian^  at  least,  has  touched  the  brim  with  sugar 
and  honey,  to  make  the  draught  less  bitter. 

The  ]^eviewer  begins  by  stating  that  Mr.  Mason  is  "  an  able,  useful 
and  risihg  minister  ;"  and  after  having  written  twelve  closely-printed 
pages  to  show  that  the  principle  of  the  sermon,  in  reference  to  in- 
fallibility, is  anti-scriptural,  anti-logical,  anti-Episcopalian,  he  returns 
to  words  of  gentleness  and  soothing,  and  concludes  by  observing  that 
"  the  Church  looks  to  the  reverend  author  of  the  sermon  ior  further 
services  (?),  regarding  him  as  one  of  her  prominent  sons,  a  pillar  and 
ornament  of  the  temple."  How  the  reviewer  can  speak  thus  of  a 
minister  whose  sermon  has  won  almost  universal  censure  from  his 
clerical  brethren,  is  what  we  do  not  pretend  to  understand  ;  neither 
is  it  our  concern.  We  would  merely  observe  that  the  views  set  forth, 
in  the  sermon  must  come  in  for  a  portion  of  that  honorable  testi- 
mony which  the  reviewer  bears  to  Mr.  Mason's  soundness  and 
talents.  Indeed,  if  he  were  not  what  he  is  stated  to  be,  we  should 
not  have  been  gratified  by  the  perusal  of  such  a  sermon  as  he  has 
produced.  That  he  may  render  "  further  services"  is  what  we  sin- 
cerely hope  ;  and  if  we  cannot  agree  with  the  Reviewer  in  calling 
him  a  '•'- pillar^''  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  the  reason  is,  that  the  Epis- 
copal Church  is  already  so  low  that  it  rests  on  the  flat  earth,  and 
consequently  does  not  stand  in  need  of  '■'■pillars.''* 


390  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

The  Reviewer  does  not  treat  Mr.  Mason's  argument  as  a  xolioh. 
He  first  cuts  it  up  into  shreds,  which  he  arranges  in  a  manner  to 
suit  the  peculiar  views  of  Episcopalian  prejudice;  and  then  asks,  as 
he  holds  them  up  one  after  another,  "  Is  this  Infallibility  ?"  He 
overlooks  entirely  the  strongest  of  the  arguments  on  which  the  ser- 
mon establishes  its  conclusion.  They  are  the  promises  of  Jesus 
Christ :  "Thou  art  Peter,  and  on  this  rock  I  will  build  my  Church, 
and  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail  against  it."  Again,  to  His. 
apostles  He  says :  "  I  will  pray  the  Father,  and  He  shall  give  you 
another  comforter ;  and  he  shall  abide  with  you  for  ever,  even  the 
spirit  of  truth.  And  when  he,  the  Spirit  of  Truth  is  come,  he  shall 
lead  you  into  all  truth."  "  Behold  I  am  with  you  all  days,  even  to 
the  consummation  of  the  world."  These  are  the  Scriptural  evidences 
from  which  Mr.  Mason  concludes  that  the  Church  is  infallible.  This 
he  expresses  in  the  following  words  : 

"  But  in  this  aspect  of  the  subject  it  will  doubtless  be  demanded  :  Who  shall 
be  competent  to  judge,  who  to  determine,  these  fundamentals  of  truth  and 
order?  The  only  answer  to  be  given  is — the  Church  herself.  Infallible  in 
both,  she  is  to  detennine  what  they  are.  And  perilous  in  the  extreme  is  the 
condition  of  him  by  whom  her  decision  is  despised.  If  she  be  not  invested 
with  the  right  of  making  this  determination,  it  must  be  made  in  her  behalf. 
By  whom,  or  how?  Is  she  to  be  arraigned  before  the  tribunal  of  every  indivi- 
dual, or  is  it  hot  the  dictate  of  common  sense,  as  well  as  the  voice  of  her 
Prophet,  Priest  and  King,  that  every  individval  should  be  brought  for  judg- 
ment before  her  ?  If  he  will  not  hear  the  Church,  let  him  be  imto  thee  as  an 
heathen  man  and  a  publican ;  for  the  Church  is  the  pillar  and  ground  of  the 
truth." 

It  is  not  a  little  remarkable  that  the  Reviewer  does  not  attempt 
to  show  that,  in  support  of  this  conclusion,  Mr.  Mason  had  inisin- 
terpreted  the  texts  of  Scripture  quoted  above.  The  author  of  the 
sermon  seems  to  have  been  carried  away  by  his  respect  for  the 
veracity  of  Christ,  involved  in  the  redeeming  of  these  pledges  to 
the  Church  ;  and  in  his  zeal  for  the  tnith  he  appears  to  have  forgotten 
or  disregarded  the  bearing  which  his  reasoning  might  have  on  the 
particular  sect  to  which  he  belonged.  Not  so  his  reviewer.  His 
pen  is  the  pen  of  a  partisan.  The  author  reasons  as  a  logician  : 
"The  Church  of  Christ  is  infallible  ;  therefore  the  Episcopal  Church 
is  infallible."  The  reviewer  reasons,  not  as  a  logician,  but  as  an 
Episcopalian.  "The  Episcopal  Church  is  not  infallible;  therefore 
Christ  has  no  infallible  Church."  But  then  it  was  incumbent  on  the 
reviewer  to  explain  what  the  Saviour  meant  by  promising  the  Spirit 
of  Truth  to  "lead  His  Church  into  all  truth,  and  to  abide  with  her 
for  ever."  This,  however,  is  what  he  takes  special  care  to  avoid. 
Instead  of  this,  he  commences  by  breaking  up  the  great  principle  of 
infallibility  into  a  number  of  petty  distinctions. 

"  Many  persons,"  says  he.  "  agree  that  the  Church  does  always  preserve  es- 
sential truth,  regarding  this  as  a  fact  verifiable  by  history,  and  ascribing  it, 
perhaps,  to  the  promises  of  Christ ;  yet  they  reject  the  infallibility  of  this  func- 
tion of  the  Church,  because  there  is  no  infallible  interpreter  of  these  promises. 
Others  add  this  infallibility  in  the  preservation  of  truth  by  the  Church.    Others 


LEITEKS.  *  391 

allege  also  that  she  is  an  infallible  judge  in  such  matters  of  truth  as  are  essen- 
tial. And  yet  others  make  her  infallible  in  all  doctrinal  truth,  so  that  she  is 
always  perfectly  secure  in  both  asserting  what  is  correct,  and  denying  what  is 
erroneous.  Here  are  four  distinct  points  in  the  opinions  on  this  subject.  The 
last  of  the  four  is  inconsistent  with  Protestantism,  and  with  notorious  fact ; 
none  but  the  ostrich  stomach  of  a  Romish  faith  can  digest  it.  The  other  three 
are  maintained  by  Mr.  Mason ;  but  as  the  first  relates  to  history  rather  than 
doctrine,  we  confine  our  strictures  to  the  other  two^tliat  the  Church  infallibly 
rrudntains  essential  truth — that  she  is  an  infallible  judge  of  it.  We  can  not 
subscribe  to  either  of  these  propositions,  nor  do  we  think  that  Mr.  Mason  has 
proved  them." 

The  classical  idea  of  "  an  ostrich  stomach  to  digest  Romish  faith," 
indicates  sufficiently  that  the  reviewer  is  not  very  remarkable  for 
either  refinement  of  conception,  or  courtesy  of  manners.  But  it  is 
with  his  reasoning  and  not  with  his  literary  taste  that  we  have  now 
to  do.  After  the  distribution  of  the  subject  in  the  above  extract,  he 
proceeds  to  argue  against  Mr.  Mason,  "  that  the  perpetuity  of  the 
Church  does  not  imply  its  infallibility."  To  this  Mr.  Mason  may  re- 
ply, that  infallibiUty  results  from  the  promise  of  Christ  to  his  Church. 
This  answer  alone  is  sufficient  to  vindicate  the  sermon  from  all  that 
the  Protestant  Episcopalian  has  to  say  against  it.  But  does  not 
perpetuity  imply  infallibility  ?  We  think  it  does.  The  Church  of 
Christ  implies  a  society  professing  the  doctrines  of  Christ ;  and 
such  a  society  would  not  be  perpetual,  if  at  any  time  it  ceased  to 
teach  the  true  doctrines,  or  taught,  as  of  Divine  Revelation^  doc- 
trines which  had  not  been  revealed.  The  teaching  of  truth,  and  of 
all  truth  is  precisely  that  on  which  the  very  existence  of  the  Church 
of  Christ  depends.  For  how  could  that  be  the  Church  of  Christ 
which  should  reject  true,  or  teach  false  doctrines  ?  Hence  it  follows 
that  the  moment  the  Church  would  cease  to  be  infallible,  it  would 
cease,  as  such^  to  exist.  So  that  the  very  perpetuity  of  the  Church, 
admitted  by  the  reviewer,  necessarily  implies  the  infallibility  which 
he  labors  to  refute.  His  argument  is  curious.  "  All  truth,"  says  he, 
"  being  preserved  in  the  Bible,  is  it  not  possible  for  the  Church  to 
forget  the  Bible  for  a  century  ?  etc.  No :  it  is  not  possible  for  the 
Church  to  do  so  and  yet  remain  the  Church,  as  the  reviewer  sup- 
poses. "  Would  not,"  he  continues,  "  the  Church  still  exist,  as  a 
body,  all  this  period  ?"  Why  no,  if  "  all  truth  be  preserved  in  the 
Bible  ;"  and  "  if  the  Church  should  forget  the  Bible  for  a  century  or 
more,"  then  during  that  period  the  Church  would  not  exist  either  as 
a  body  or  a  soul.  You  might  as  well  say  that  the  Church  could 
teach  Mahomedism  for  a  century  or  more,  and  yet  exist  as  the 
Church  of  Christ.  So  that  the  reviewer  only  begs  the  question  /  and 
the  supposition  by  which  he  overthrows  her  fallibility  is  equally 
fatal  to  her  existence. 

Mr.  Mason's  conclusion,  therefore,  stands  unmoved ;  it  is  strength- 
ened by  the  admission  of  the  Church's  perpetuity.  As  well  might 
the  reviewer  suppose  that  Mr.  Mason  could  preach  Unitarian  doc- 
trine for  half  a  century,  and  at  the  same  time  continue  to  be  a  min- 
ister of  the  Episcopal  Church,  as  to  suppose  that  the  Chui'ch  of 


392  "  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

Christ  could  continue  to  be  the  Church  of  Christ,  while  she  -was 
teaching  error. 

In  lelation  to  the  Jewish  Church,  the  reviewer  asserts  (without 
proof)  that  even  while  "  its  promise  lasted,  it  fell  into  essential  error." 
We  should  like  to  know  how  he  came  to  make  this  wonderful  dis- 
covery. He  set  out,  restricting  himself  to  the  question  of  infallibility 
as  it  relates  to  truth  of  doctrine.  Under  this  view,  then,  what  can 
he  mean  by  asserting  that  "  the  Israelites  remained  in  the  Church  in 
spite  of  their  idolatry  ?"  If  he  means  that  the  Israelites  in  their  ec- 
clesiastical character  taught  idolatry,  and  at  the  same  time  remained 
the  Church  of  God,  we  can  only  say  that  the  proposition  is  nonsen- 
sical. The  only  argument  he  could  bring  from  the  history  of  the 
Jews  against  Mr.  Mason's  proposition  is  their  rejection  of  the  Mes- 
siah ;  but  it  is  to  be  observed  that  then  the  perpetuity  of  that 
Church  had  reached  its  term,  as  well  as  its  infallibility. 

The  reviewer  continues — "  Our  readers  will,  of  course,  bear  in 
mind  the  distinction  between  what  is  the  duty  of  the  Church,  and 
what  is  essential  to  its  existence.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  Chnrch  to 
profess  and  teach  the  truth  perpetually ;  but  the  fulfilment  of  this 
duty  is  not  the  point  on  which  its  existence  depends." 

Now,  we  have  already  shown  that  all  this  is  a  distinction  without 
a  difference — since  the  Church  ceases  to  be  the  Church  from  the  mo- 
ment she  ceases  to  "fulfil  the  duty"  for  which  the  Church  was 
established.  Hence  all  the  petty  sophistry  which  the  reviewer 
built  on  this  pretended  distinction,  falls  to  the  ground  with  it. 

The  reviewer  next  labors  to  perplex  the  reader  by  showing  "  that 
Mr.  Mason,  in  determining  what  are  the  fundamental  truths  neces- 
sary to  the  Church's  existence,  is  obliged  to  have  recourse  to  private 
judgment,  and  thus  abandon  the  principle  of  his  sermon — that  since 
Catholics,  Unitarians,  Calvinists,  etc.,  disagree  about  fundamental 
truths,  he  will  have  to  decide  for  himself  It  is  Mr.  Mason's  misfor- 
tune, that  as  an  Episcopalia7i  he  cannot  answer  this  objection 
without  causing  his  argument  to  recoil  on  the  sect  to  which  he 
belongs."  But  as  Catholics  we  can  answer  it  for  him.  How  ?  By 
telling  the  reviewer  that,  as  he  knows,  the  Church  was  xinited  as 
well  as  Catholic,  when  Socinius,  and  Calvin,  and  Henry  VIII.  be- 
came the  progenitors,  respectively,  of  the  several  sects  which  he  intro- 
duces, as  if  they  had  existed  from  the  beginning  of  Christianity. 
These  are  the  men  whom  the  principles  of  Mr.  Mason's  sermon  con- 
victs of  spiritual  rebellion,  by  showing  that  the  Church  was  then, 
as  she  is  now,  infallible,  and  that  "  perilous  in  the-  extreme  is  the 
condition  of  him  by  whom  her  decisions  are  despised."  The  reason- 
ing of  the  sermon  demonstrates  very  clearly  the  spurious  origin  of 
all  sects,  his  own  among  the  rest,  which  commenced  in  the  proud 
and  "  perilous"  act  of  individuals,  who  despised  the  decisions  of  the 
Church  in  order  to  propagate  the  heresies  of  their  private  opinions. 

The  next  advantage  which  the  reviewei-  takes  of  Mr.  Mason  on 
account  of  his  unhappy  position,  in  reference  to  the  principle  of  the 
sermon  is,  that  a«  an  Episcopaliany  he  must  believe  that,  although 


LETTERS.  393 

the  church  was  fallible  and  even  corrupt,  previous  to  her  purification 
by  Henry  VIII.,  still  she  existed  whereas,  according  to  the  prin- 
ciple of  the  sermon,  her  "  lapse  into  one  essential  error  would  be 
fatal,  not  only  to  her  infallibility,  but  even  to  her  existen-ce."  Here 
again  the  author  of  the  sermon  is  worsted,  in  consequence  of  his 
being  an  Episcopalian.  We,  as  Catholics,  can  refute  the  i-eviewer's 
objection,  by  replying  that  the  Church  of  Christ  before  the  Refor- 
mation, or  since,  neither  did,  nor  could  "  fall  into  one  single  essential 
error" — neither  did  nor  could  deviate  from  one  single  essential 
truth,  for  the  very  plain  and  simple  reason,  set  forth  in  the  sermon, 
that  she  was  and  is,  the  Church  of  Christ. 

The  reviewer's  next  profound  observation  is  expressed  in  the  fol- 
lowing words :  "  There  is  yet  another  modification  of  opinion  on 
this  subject,  viz.,  that  all  essential  truth  must  be  held  by  a  portion^ 
at  least  of  the  Church,  or  she  will  cease  to  exist. 

The  reply  to  this  is  obvious.  It  is  that  the  "  portion"  which  does 
not  hold  "  all  essential  truth"  cannot  from  the  very  nature  of  the 
case  constitute  any  part  of  the  Church.  Out  of  this  "  modification" 
the  reviewer  extracts  seven  others  which  were  founded  on  the  above 
hypothesis — and  of  course  were  destroyed  with  it.  The  reviewer 
continues : 

"  We  have  said  that  the  infallibility  advocated  by  Mr.  Mason  is  different  from 
that  claimed  by  the  Church  of  Rome.  He  maintains  the  infallibility  of  the 
Church  in  preserving  fundamental  truth,  but  does  not  allege,  as  far  as  we  per- 
ceive, that  it  is  a  preservative  against  the  admixture  of  error  with  the  truth 
thus  held.  The  Church  of  Rome  arrogates  infallibility  in  both  these  points. 
The  one  is  a  really  Catholic  notion  of  infallibility,  which  includes  all  in  the 
Church,  who,  whatever  be  their  mistakes,  retain  the  great  doctrines  Christi- 
anity, together  with  apostolic  order.  The  other  is  but  a  sectarian,  narrow- 
minded  dogma,  misnamed  Catholic." 

It  is  difficult  to  imagine  a  more  palpable  instance  of  mental  ob- 
liquity than  that  furnished  by  this  extremely  silly  paragraph.  What 
kind  of  an  idea  of  infallibility  does  the  reviewer  ascribe  to  Mr. 
Mason  ?  An  infallibility  which  would  enable  the  Church  to  preserve 
essential  truth,  and  at  the  same  time  allow  her  to  adopt  and  teach 
essential  error  /  Does  not  Mr.  Mason  say  that  the  Chuich  being 
"infallible,  the  condition  of  the  man  who  despises  her  decision  is 
perilous  in  the  extreme  ?"  And  how  could  he  say  this,  if  he  did 
not.  believe  that  the  infallibility  of  the  Church  is  as  necessary  and  ag 
certain,  in  those  "  decisions,"  by  which  she  excludes  error,  as,  in 
those  by  which  she  maintains  truth  ?  And  this  perversion  of 
common  sense,  if  not  of  Mr.  Mason's  argument,  is  what  the  reviewer 
calls  "  a  really  Catholic  notion  of  infallibility  .'" 

The  remainder  of  the  review  combats  Mr.  Mason's  notion  that 
something  of  infallibility  is  set  forth  in  one  of  the  articles  of  the 
Episcopal  Church.  In  this  the  author  of  the  sermon  was,  no  doubt, 
mistaken.  The  Church  of  England  did  not  contend  for  the  theory^ 
but  was  satisfied  with  the  practice  of  infallibility. 

On  the  whole,  we  regard  as  embarrassing  Mr.  Mason's  position 
between  the  scriptural  evidences  and  sound  argument  of  his  sermon 


394:  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

in  support  of  infallibility,  on  one  side,  and  his  connection,  on  the 
other,  with  a  church  which  is  compelled  to  disclaim  it.  We  are 
clearly  of  opinion,  that  to  be  consistent,  he  must  recede  from  the 
principle  of  the  one  or  the  other.  He  must  give  up  infallibility  al- 
together, with  the  reviewer,  or  he  must  give  up  the  Church  which 
acknowledges  that  she  has  no  right  to  appropriate  to  herself  any  of 
those  splendid  promises  which  Jesus  Christ  made  to  His  Church.  It 
is  by  virtue  of  His  promises  that  the  Church  is  infallible,  and  the 
denomination  which  disclaims  the  inheritance  of  tliose  promises 
bears  testimony  against  itself,  that  it  is  not  the  Church  which  was 
founded  by  the  Saviour  1800  years  ago.  Mr.  Mason  finds  in  the 
scripture  the  divinely  communicated  attributes  of  perpetuity  and 
infallibility,  he  lays  them  on  the  shrine  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  and, 
behold !  the  offering  is  rejected.  Why  ?  Because,  in  fact,  a 
Church  which  has  existed  only  30Q  years,  and  whose  doctrines,  even 
during  that  period,  have  not  been  uniform  or  invariable,  would  only 
expose  herself  to  ridicule  by  pretending  to  either  infallibility  or  per- 
petuity. 

There  is  one  sophism  which  pervades  the  review,  viz.,  that,  after 
all,  the  belief  of  infallibility  rests  on  the  exercise  of  private  judg- 
ment, and  is  therefore  useless  in  Mr.  Mason's  sense — but,  as  we  have 
already  exceeded  the  bounds  which  we  had  prescribed  for  this  ai*- 
title,  we  shall  i*eserve  the  consideration  of  this  objection  to  a  future 
occasion. 

SECOND   ARTICLE. 
From  the  Fhiladelphia  Gaiholic  Herald,  October  23,  1834. 

If  the  reviewer  of  Mr.  Mason's  sermon  had  held  the  scales  of 
criticism  with  a  steady  and  impartial  hand — if  he  had  fairly  ex- 
hibited the  merits  and  demerits  of  the  reverend  author's  arguments, 
he  would  have  fulfilled  the  duties  of  his  office.  But,  when  he  allows 
prejudice  to  guide  his  pen,  when,  under  the  plea  of  breaking  down 
Mr,  Mason's  sermon,  he  is  slyly  building  up  that  of  Bishop  Onder- 
donk  on  the  same  subject,  then  is  he  sporting  with  public  credulity. 
In  fact,  light  and  darkness  are  not  more  opposed  to  each  other  than 
these  two  Episcopal  Convention  Sermons.  The  doctrine  of  one 
subverts  the  doctrine  of  the  other.  It  is  the  church  of  infallibility 
against  the  church  of  opinion.  The  one  invests  the  church  with 
those  characteristics  that  show  her  divine  in  her  origin,  and  in- 
destructible in  duration — the  other  Avould  exhibit  her  destructible, 
and  inferior  to  private  judgment.  The  principles  of  Mr.  Mason's 
sermon  are  essentially  conservative  of  ecclesiastical  authority — those 
of  the  Bishop  are  radically  subversive  of  all  authority,  leaving  the 
truths  of  eternal  life  to  be  guessed  at  by  the  exercise  of  individual 
speculation, 

Mr,  Mason's  sermon  is  more  true  and  less  popular,  because  it 
proves  that  the  Church  of  Christ  is  something  more  than  what 
Episcopalianisra  can  modestly  pretend  to.  That  of  the  Bishop  is  a 
production  of  more  labored  ingenuity,  less  consistent  with  the  prom- 


LETTERS.  395 

ises  of  Christ  to  the  Church,  but  more  in  accordance  with  the  fact 
of  Protestantism.  If  there  be  one  fundamental  question  of  doctrine 
in  all  revelation,  the  piinciple  involved  in  these  sermons  is  cer- 
tainly and  essentially  connected  with  it.  And  it  would  be  impos- 
sible for  imagination  to  form  a  case,  in  which  an  appeal  to  infal- 
libility somewhere^  is  more  palpably  indispensable  than  in  the  present 
instance.  The  doctrine  of  the  presbyter  contradicts  that  of  the 
prelate.  Both,  albeit,  possess  the  same  religion — both  are  ministers 
of  the  sarne  church — pastors  of  the  same  fold — watchmen  on  the 
same  towers'  but  their  "  trumpets  give  an  uncertain  sound,"  and 
while  the  astonished  people  may  ask  their  spiritual  guides,  "  Who 
is  right  ?" — for  both  cannot  be — they  are  sure  that  the  echo  which 
repeats  the  question  will  never  be  disturbed  from  its  slumber  by  the 
voice  of  the  answer. 

Besides  being  in  direct  opposition  to  the  Bishop's  views,  Mr. 
Mason's  sermon  has  another  tendency,  from  which  the  reviewer  de- 
rives all  the  feeble  strength  of  his  criticism.  He  scarcely  disputes 
the  reasoning,  he  does  not  pretend  that  the  authorities  from  scrip- 
ture in  support  of  infallibility  were  either  misquoted  or  even  mis- 
applied, but  he  construed  the  adverse  conclusion — 1st,  on  assumed 
facts,  which  are  no  facts.  2d,  on  analogies  between  the  Church  of 
Christ  and  human  chartered  "  corporations,"  as  if  God  were  like 
man,  the  Church  like  a  boai'd  of  trustees,  or  the  city  council.  3d, 
on  an  ingenious  application  of  small  metaphysics,  to  the  attribute  of 
infallibility  in  the  abstracts ;  and  4th,  on  the  tendency  of  the  ser- 
mon in  favor  of  the  Primitive  Church.  On  the  first  of  these  we 
have  already  remarked  at  some  length.  The  second  we  dismiss,  as 
unworthy  of  notice.  The  last  is  personal  to  Mr.  Mason,  and  does 
not  touch  the  premises  of  the  sermon.  The  reviewer,  since  he  can 
condescend  to  such  an  artifice,  may  divide  Mr.  Mason  against  hira- 
selfi  and  make  the  churchman  betray  the  logician.  But  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  sermon  cannot  be  afifected  by  the  n;anceuvre,  and  until 
Mr.  Mason  disavows  the  premises,  he  cannot,  if  he  would,  destroy 
the  conclusion  to  which  they  lead. 

He  may  be  told,  indeed,  that  if  infallibility  be-  admitted  as  an 
essential  attribute  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  the  influence  must  be  in 
favor  of  the  Catholic  Church,  which,  if  he  be  an  orthodox  Protestant, 
he  must  hold  an  absurd  consequence.  Mr.  Mason  has  but  one  true 
and  dignified  course  for  meeting  this  ungenerous  mode  of  attacking 
him  through  the  folds  of  his  surplice.  It  is  by  teaching  the  reviewer 
that  the  consequence  which  is  fairly  derived  from  sound  premises, 
cannot  be  absurd,  though  it  should  be  in  favor  of  the  Turkish  religion. 
It  is  by  teaching  him,  too,  that  an  honest  man,  and  especially  an 
honest  minister,  should  be  prepared  to  follow  truth,  and  that  he  can 
have  no  pretension  to  the  character  of  either  who  abandons  the  path 
of  truth,  whenever  it  happens  to  diverge  from  the  smoother  way  of 
interest,  popularity,  and  party  prejudice. 

The  great  burden  of  the  reviewer's  metaphysics,  as  applied  to  the 
doctrines  of  the  sermon,  is  to  show  that  infallibility,  even  if  admitted, 


396  ARCHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

rests  only  on  opinion,  and  that  the  promise  of  it  may  have  been  "  a 
promise  (almost)  without  a  boon."  The  promise  either  ^was  or  was 
not  without  a  boon.  And,  were  it  not  for  that  lialf  yes,  half  no, — 
that  fear  to  assert,  and  that  dread  to  deny,  which  the  founder  of  the 
Episcopal  Church,  Queen  Elizabeth,  introduces  into  its  doctrinal 
and  liturgical  language,  we  should  be  at  a  loss  to  account  for  the 
word  "almost"  in  the  above  phrase.  But  the  portion  of  the  review 
which  expresses  the  concentrated  force  of  the  writer's  objection  is 
the  following  passage : 

"  Tou  say  the  Church  is  infallible,  in  either  sense — why  ?  Because  certain 
passages  of  Scripture,  in  your  opinion,  establish  this  point.  In  other  words, 
you  go  to  private  judgment  to  establish  infallibility.  Surely  infallibility  can 
be  established  by  nothing  less  than  infallibility  ;  is  private  judgment,  then, 
infallible,  when  examining  these  claims  you  prefer  for  the  Church,  yet  fallible 
in  all  its  other  operations  ?  You  build  infallibility  on  opinion — and  when  you 
have  made  your  opinion  favorable  to  it,  you  decry  opinion — and  thus,  by  your 
own  showing  you  build  your  house  on  the  sand — or,  in  the  opinion  of  others, 
you  build  a  castle  in  the  air.  How  will  Mr.  Mason  get  over  this  obvious 
absurdity?  The  Romanists  prescribe  a  large  dose  of  implicit  faith — believe  it 
— believe  that  Scrijiture  declares  the  Church  to  be  infallible — only  believe  it ; 
that  your  belief  is  but  opinion  matters  not,  swallow  both  the  opinion  and  the 
belief,  and  then  you  have  a  brave  appetite  for  implicit  faith  in  all  the  other 
points  of  our  creed.  Will  Mr.  Mason  recommend  a  similar  prescription  ?  No, 
he  cannot,  his  mind  is  in  too  healthy  a  condition  not  to  nauseate  such  a  drug. 
How  then  will  he  get  over  the  absurdity  of  building  infallibility  on 
opinions  ?" 

The  reviewer  grows  witty  as  he  advances.  He  calls  for  a  "  brave 
appetite"  to  "  swallow,"  and  the  whole  "  ostrich's  stomach  of  a 
Romish  faith"  to  "  digest"  all  the  "  absurdities"  which  he  brings  forth 
from  his  dialectic  larder.  When  presented  to  Mr.  Mason,  however, 
this  strong  dish  is  suddenly  metamorphosed  into  a  "  drug,"  which 
his  healthy  mind  is  expected  to  nauseate.  We  too  are  expected  to 
reject  it,  whether  it  be  presented  in  the  name  of  the  cook  or  of  the 
apothecary ;  and  leaving  Mr.  Mason  to  reply  for  himself,  we  shall 
proceed  to  expose  the  absurdity,  not  of  infallibility,  but  of  the 
reviewer's  logic. 

We  may  suppose  that  the  reviewer  will  admit  God,  at  least,  to  be 
infallible — and  yet  his  reasoning,  if  sound,  would  overthrow  the 
conclusion — since  he  tells  us  gravely  that  "  infallibility  can  be 
established  by  nothing  less  than  infallibility,"  from  which  absurd 
position  it  would  follow  that  he  must  establish  the  infallibility  of 
God,  on  the  infallibility  of  Himself  !  ! 

The  reviewer  will  not  deny  that  such  would  be  the  operation  of 
his  argument — equally  absurd  and  impious,  and,  we  may  ask  him, 
"  How  he  will  get  over  it  ?" 

The  reviewer  confounds  certainty  with  infallibility.  The  one  is 
exemption  from  error,  the  other  is  exemption  from  doubt.  We  can 
be  certain  of  facts  without  infallibility,  but  without  it  we  cannot  be 
certain  oi  doctrines.  Now,  \he  facts  of  Christianity  we  examine  by 
private  judgment,  by  historical  criticism,  by  universal  testimony,  by 


LETTEES.  397 

all  the  perceptive  and  intellectual  faculties  we  possess ;  and  the 
result  is  a  convictioii^  a  certainty  that  Christianity  is  a  divine  religten ; 
that  Jesus  Christ,  the  founder  of  it,  was  infallible — that  this  religion, 
comprising  all  the  doctrines  Christ  had  revealed,  was  to  be  believed 
and  professed  in  all  future  ages  till  the  end  of  the  world  ;  that, 
therefore,  there  must  be  some  infallible  means  for  preserving  and 
perpetuating  it.  I  am  sure  the  reviewer  will  not  attempt  to  overturn 
this  reasoning.  In  addition  to  these  general  facts,  take  the  historical 
facts  of  the  Scripture,  considered  as  history,  and  they  prove  that 
Jesus  Christ  made  promises  and  declarations  to  His  teachers  collec- 
tively., implying  that  they  should  not  err  in  the  commission  with 
which  He  intrusted  them.  Besides  those  adduced  by  Mr.  Mason,  I 
shall  quote  only  one  other : — "  He  that  hears  you  hears  Jfe."  That 
He  said  so,  is  a  fact  which  the  reviewer  will  admit.  If,  then,  Christ, 
as  He  declared,  speaks  to  us  through  the  pastors  of  His  Church,  so 
that  in  hearing  them  we  hear  Him,  the  point  is  established,  not  on 
opinion,  as  the  reviewer  pretends,  but  on  facts  incontrovertible. 
But,  as  he  can  split  a  hair  with  the  acuteness  of  his  dialectics,  he 
will  ask  how  I  can  know  with  certainty,  that  the  words  quoted  con- 
stitute a  pledge  of  infallibility  to  the  Church  ?  I  answer,  just  as 
we  know  that  an  endorsement  of  a  note  renders  the  endorser  re- 
sponsible for  the  payment  of  the  sum.  I  am  not  infallible  in  either 
case — I  am  cei'tain  in  both — because  the  conclusion  in  both  is  founded 
on  facts — which  we  challenge  the  reviewer  to  deny,  consistently 
with  his  belief  as  a  Christian.  Thus,  then,  Ave  arrive  at  the  establish- 
ment of  intallibility,  without  having  recourse  to  opinion  in  the 
matter.  The  reviewer's  objection,  which,  by  the  way,  is  not  original, 
is  founded  on  the  incorrect  assumption  that  we  are  incapable  of 
judging  with  certainty  o^  events,  facts,  things,  as  we  are  in  judging 
of  theorifs — and  that  our  conclusions,  in  reference  to  both,  are 
nothing  but  opinio7is.  He  can  hardly  be  ignorant  of  the  difference. 
We  are  infallibly  certain  that  the  convent  in  Charlestown  has  been 
consumed  by  fire — because  it  is  a  fact — but  we  are  not  certain  that 
our  interpretation  of  the  Constitution  is  the  true  one. 

Apply  the  illustration  to  the  subject  before  us.  It  is  by  the  tes- 
timony of  facts  that  we  prove  the  infallibility  of  the  Church.  And 
the  infallibility  of  the.  Church  being  proved,  we  learn  from  this 
divinely  appointed  teacher  what  are  the  doctrines  of  life  which 
Christ  has  taught  from  the  beginning,  and  teaches  by  her  ministry. 
We  receive  them  with  simplicity,  as  coming  from  God.  Our  faith 
is  founded  upon  the  infallibility  of  Christ  communicated  to  the  pas- 
tors of  the  Church  for  the  preservation  of  his  doctrines,  and  the 
exclusion  of  errors ;  and  our  faith  resting  on  this  foundation,  every 
individual  of  the  Catliolic  Church  has  infallible  certainty,  although 
he  has  not  personal  infallibility.  He  hears  Christ  through  those 
whom  Christ  has  appointed  to  teach  him ;  and  here  is  his  security. 
If  there  is  any  "  absurdity"  in  this  reasoning,  let  the  reviewer  ex- 
pose it. 

Is  there  any  thing  in  this  which  a  "  healthy  mind"  like  Mr.  Mason's 


398  AKCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

must  necessarily  nauseate  ?  This,  in  fact,  is  the  true  position  which 
the  principle  of  his  sermon  straggled  powerfully,  but  in  vain,  to  oc- 
cupy. If  he  had  taken  this  ground,  how  easily  he  might  break 
through  the  gossamer  net  which  his  reviewer  has  laid  for  him  !  How 
inevitable  would  he  have  rendered  his  conclusion,  that  "  perilous  in 
the  extreme  is  the  condition  of  him  by  whom  the  decisions  of  the 
Church  are  despised !" 

But  before  closing  these  remarks,  I  would  remind  the  reviewer 
that  in  attempting  to  show  what  Protestantism  is  not — infiillible — 
he  has  but  too  faithfully  exhibited  what  it  is.  Infidelity  requires 
men  to  disbelieve  the  doctrines  of  Christianity — Pyrrhonism  brings 
into  doubt  only.  But  unless  there  be  a  medium  between  belief  and 
disbelief,  and  I  can  discover  none,  where,  I  would  ask,  is  the  real 
difference  between  Pyrrhonism  and  Infidelity  ?  Now,  07i  the  review- 
er's system^  pyrrhonism  is  not  only  obvious — it  is  unavoidable.  He 
is  pleased  to  assign  no  other  foundation  for  infallibility  but  opinion  / 
and,  although  I  have  proved  that  he  is  mistaken,  yet  let  us  see  how 
the  Protestant  belief  is  affected  by  his  reasoning.  If,  as  he  says  in 
the  extract  quoted  above,  to  ground  an  article  of  belief  on  opinion 
is  to  "  build  your  house  on  sand,"  or  to  "  build  a  castle  in  the  air," 
as  it  certainly  is,  then  what  are  to  come  of  the  articles  of"  belief  held 
by  Protestants,  since  they  are  all  in  this  very  predicament  ?  The 
Trinity,  the  Incarnation,  the  Atonement,  the  Inspiration  of  the 
Scripture,  on  what  does  the  belief  of  these  doctrines  rest  among 
Protestants  f  On  opinion  ;  and,  according  to  the  reviewer,  those 
who  believe  on  opinion  are  "  building  a  castle  in  the  air."  How 
will  he  get  over  this  obvious  consequence  ?  I  cannot  better  illus- 
trate the  difficulty,  than  by  giving  their  true  application  to  his 
words.  Methinks,  then,  I  hear  him  recommending  after  this,  the 
belief  of  the  Trinity,  for  instance,  to  a  Protestant  audience  :  "  Be- 
lieve it — believe  that  Scripture  declares — only  believe  it — that  your 
belief  is  but  opinion  matters  not — swallow  both,  the  opiuion  and 
belief,  and  then  you  will  have  a  brave  appetite  for  implicit  faith  in 
all  the  other  points  of  our  creed.  Will  Mr.  Mason  recommend 
a  similar  prescription  ?  No,  he  cannot ;  his  mind  is  in  too  heal- 
thy a  condition  not  to  nauseate  such  a  drug.  How,  then,  will 
he  get  over  the  absurdity  of  building  his  (Pi-otestant)  i'aith  on 
opinion  ?" 

Now,  since  according  to  the  revLewer  all  doctrines  in  the  Protest- 
ant system  are  only  opinions  ;  and  since  the  very  word  opinion 
implies  the  absence  of  proof  in  the  premises,  and  consequently  the 
absence  of  certainty  in  the  conclusion  ;  and  since  the  absence  of 
certainty  implies  doubt,  I'd  leave  to  the  reviewer  and  Mr.  Mason 
the  melancholy  task  of  marking  the  lines  of  separation  between 
Protestantism,  Pyrrhonism,  and  Infidelity. 

We  are  not  sorry  that  we  have  taken  the  pains  to  follow  the 
reviewer  in  the  substance  of  his  arguments,  such  as  they  were. 
Under  pretence  of  refuting  Mr.  Mason,  he  took  occasion  to  fling 
much  rubbish  around  the  base  of  the  Catholic  Church.     The  trouble 


LETIERS.  399 

of  clearing  it  away  has  been  compensated  by  the  comfort  of  again 
beholding  the  rock  of  adamant  on  which  are  laid  the  corner-stone 
and  foundation  of  the  divinely  planned  and  imperishable  structure. 
The  tempest  and  the  rain  may  beat  against  it,  but  have  no  power 
to  shake  it.  With  its  summit  reaching  to  the  skies,  it  stands  a 
monument  without  a  parallel,  towering  in  solitary  grandeur  amid 
the  sects  that  error  has  multiplied,  and  the  broken  sceptei's  and 
ruined  empires  that  time  has  scattered  around  it. 


From  the  Philadelphia  Catholic  Herald,  Jan.  15,  1835. 

TEN  LETTERS  TO  REV.  MR.  MASON. 

LETTER  I. 

Dear  Sir — The  individual  who  now  addresses  you,  became  ac- 
quainted with  your  name  through  the  medium  of  your  Convention 
Sermon,  a  copy  of  which  some  friend  was  kind  enough  to  send  me. 
The  principles  set  forth  and  vindicated  in  that  sermon  were  calcu- 
lated, coming  as  they  did  from  a  Protestant  clergyman,  to  win  his 
respect  for  the  talents  and  independence  of  its  author.  At  a  period 
in  the  history  of  Protestantism,  when  the  value  of  first  principles  in 
sustaining  the  Christian  religion  is  not  only  not  understood  but  is 
entirely  disregarded,  it  was  consoling  to  behold  at  least  one  Piotestant 
arm  stretched  forth  to  arrest,  if  possible,  the  downward  coui'se  of 
things  in  the  Episcopal  denomination.  It  has  not  escaped  your  ob- 
servation that  in  the  absence  of  the  authority  of  the  Church  in  deter- 
mining what  things  have  been  revealed,  and  what  things,  conse- 
quently, her  children  are  bound  to  believe,  there  is  nothing  left  for 
the  guidance  of  the  human  mind,  on  the  most  momentous  of  all 
subjects,  but  speculation  and  opinion.  You  have  seen  the  errors 
into  which  that  principle  seduced  its  votaries  in  every  age  since  the 
foundation  of  the  Christian  Church.  It  was  the  principle  of  the 
Ebionites,  and  the  Gnostics,  the  Ariang,  the  Nestorians,  the  Mani- 
chasans.  It  is  the  principle  of  the  Presbyterians,  Quakers,  Unita- 
rians, Universalists,  and  Deists;  And  seeing  the  consequences  to 
which  it  has  led,  it  is  no  wonder  that  in  your  zeal  for  the  doctrines 
of  tliat  denomination  that  has  been  the  least  injured  by  its  operation, 
you  should  have  attempted  to  make  it  subordinate  to  another  prin- 
cii)le — that  of  Church  authority.  This  authority  you  traced  to  the 
legitimate  source — Christ  Himself.  Your  arguments  have  been 
replied  to  in  The  Churchman,  of  New  York  ;  The  Episcopal  Re- 
corder;  and  latterly,  at  more  length,  in  Tlie  Protestant  Episco- 
palian. But  they  have  not  been  anywhere  answered  or  refuted. 
Your  reviewers  have  proved  that  Episcopalianism  could  not,  consis- 


400  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

tent  with  her  origin  and  history,  occupy  the  position  you  had  selected 
for  her — which  is,  in  fact,  tlie  position  of  the  true  Church. 

Among  your  reviewers  there  is  one  who  has  espoused  the  cause 
of  private  opinion  in  opposition  to  Church  authority  with  a  devo- 
tion which  is  less  distinguislied  for  ardor  and  energy  than  for  plod- 
ding and  pertinacity.  If  this  individual  were  a  Deist,  contending 
for  the  pretended  rights  of  human  reason  against  the  incomprehen- 
sible doctrines  set  forth  in  the  Thirty-nine  Articles,  I  should  regard 
him  as  laboring  in  a  vocation  consistent  with  his  character.  But  if 
he  be  a  Christian,  and  a  minister  of  the  Episcopal  Cliurch,  I  cannot 
help  regarding  him  as  one  who  betrays  the  sacred  deposit  of  whicl 
he  professes  to  be  one  of  the  private  guardians.  It  is  precisely  in 
this  character  that  he  assumed  the  office  of  reviewer ;  and  yet  he 
destroys  the  efficacy  of  his  own  criticism  ;  for,  taking  him  on  his  own 
ground,  one  is  at  a  loss  to  understand  why  your  opinion  in  favor  o\ 
Church  infallibility  should  not  be  as  near  the  truth  as  his  opinion  to 
the  contrary.  In  calling  you  to  an  account,  however,  for  the  doc- 
trines contained  in  your  sermon,  he  virtually  arrogates  to  himself 
some  portion  of  that  infallibility  (although  he  is  too  modest  to  say  so) 
which  he  will  not  allow  to  be  ascribed  to  the  whole  Catholic 
Church. 

The  present  writer  took  the  liberty  of  publishing  in  the  Catholic 
Herald  of  October  23,  1834,  some  remarks  on  the  relative  merits  of 
the  controversy,  as  it  stood  between  yourself  and  your  reviewer. 
This  the  reviewer  has  resented,  with  becoming  ill-humor,  in  the  latest 
number  of  the  Protestant  Episcopalian.  The  sometimes  sneering 
and  always  disrespectful  allusions  which  he  made  to  the  doctrine  of 
the  Catholic  Church  on  the  subject  of  your  sermon,  would  have  fur- 
nished to  any  one  desiring  it  an  ample  apology  for  retorting  on  the 
reviewer  and  his  creed  with  well-provoked  severity.  This,  however, 
is  not,  even  now,  my  intention.  Instead  of  discussing  the  question 
On  the  ground  on  which  your  sermon  has  placed  it,  I  shall  take  a 
retrospective  view  of  its  history  and  bearings,  and  call  your  attention 
to  principles  and  facts  connected  with  the  subject  which  it  has  not 
been  practicable  hitherto  to  pass  in  review.  I  shall  not  lose  sight, 
however,  of  the  reviewer  or  his  arguments, — if  arguments  we  may 
call  his  ingenious  elusions  of  the  true  point  at  issue ;  or,  when  this 
is  impossible,  his  dexterous  retreat  into  the  sanctuary  of  all  unbe- 
lievers— his  own  opinion. 

In  addressing  these  lettei*s  to  you,  dear  sir,  around  whose  name 
the  controversy  has  hitherto  revolved,  my  intention  is,  without 
changing  the  sphere,  to  enlarge  the  circle  in  which,  owing  to  cir- 
cumstances already  alluded  to,  I  find  myself  comprehended.  I 
make  no  apology  for  using  your  name  without  your  permission.  I 
believe  that  none  is  necessary.  If  you  will  condescend  to  read  these 
letters,  you  will  have  an  opportunity  of  judging  between  the  princi- 
ples which  have  been,  at  least,  partially  set  forth  in  your  own  sermon, 
and  those  by  which  they  have  been  controverted  by  your  Episcopal 
brethren. 


LETTERS.  401 

At  all  events,  I  shall  consider  myself  amply  rewarded  if  I  should 
succeed  in  putting  one  single  individual  effectually  on  his  guard 
against  the  irreligious  and  ske])tical  principle  advocated  by  the  re- 
viewer, under  the  seductive  but  deceitful  plea  of  vindicating  the 
rights  of  human  reason  against  the  requirements  of  divine  revela- 
tion. This  plea  has  already  converted  Protestant  into  infidel  Ger- 
many. What  it  has  done  in  Germany  it  will  do  here ;  and  the 
songs  of  your  reviewer  are  in  the  syren  notes  by  which  its  harbin- 
gers may  be  recognized  everywhere. 

If  there  is  any  thing  which  the  reviewer  has  made  clear  it  is  this: 
that,  according  to  him,  all  the  security  afforded  by  the  Christian  re- 
ligion for  the  truths  on  which  Christians  build  the  hope  of  salvation, 
is — opinion.  This  he  admits  to  be  the  case  with  Protestants,  and 
asserts  that,  with  regard  to  certainty,  the  condition  of  Catholics  is 
equally  desperate.  "  Assumption,"  says  he,  "  and  opinion  are  the 
only  basis  for  the  doctrine  of  the  infallibility  of  the  Church."  This  I 
shall  endeavor  to  disprove  in  the  course  of  these  letters.  In  my 
former  remarks  I  had  stated  "  that  the  very  word  opinion  implies  the 
absence  of  proof  in  the  premises,  and  consequently  the  absence  of 
certainty  in  the  conclusion."  This  the  reviewer  calls  "  prating," 
and  settles  the  question  with  the  following  ipse  dixit  authority; 
"Neither  of  these  assertions  is  true.  In  no  reasonable  opinion  of  a 
reasonable  man  is  there  tlie  absence  of  proof"  A  better  critic  than 
the  reviewer,  defining  the  meaning  of  the  word  according  to  common 
usage  and  to  common  sense — Dr.  Johnson — tells  us  that  opinion  is 
"  persuasion  of  the  mind,  without  proof  or  certain  knoxcledgeP 
"  Opinion  is,"  says  Hale  (quoted  by  Johnson),  "  when  the  assent  of 
the  understanding  is  so  far  gained  by  evidence  of  probability  that  it 
rather  inclines  to  one  persuasion  than  to  another,  yet  not  altogether 
without  a  mixture  of  uncertainty  or  doubting P  Such,  then,  is  the 
tenure  by  which  the  reviewer  t>oasts  that  it  is  the  privilege  of  Pro- 
testants to  hold  their  belief  of  the  various  doctrines  of  the  Christian 
religion  !  Now,  this  definition  of  opinion  corresponds  with  what  I 
said  of  it,  and  fully  bears  me  out  in  stating  that  the  reviewer's  sys- 
tem virtually  encourages  '^' Pyrrhonism  and  infidelity."  The  re- 
viewer, however,  sensible  of  this  difficulty  and  its  consequences,, 
qualifies  and  speaks  of  "  reasonable  opinion."  But  who  shall  de- 
termine when  and  whether  an  opinion  is  reasonable  ?  You  would 
answer  that  it  belongs  to  the  Church.  The  reviewer  thinks  differ- 
ently ;  he  would  refer  the  settlement  of  the  question  back  to  the 
tribunal  where  it  originated — opinion.  Thus,  taking  Dr.  Johnson's 
definition  of  opinion,  and  our  reviewer's  acknowledgment  that  this 
word  expresses  the  measure  of  his  belief  in  the  doctrines  of  Chris- 
tianity, it  follows  inevitably  that  his  faith  is  the  "  persuasion  of  his 
mind,  without  proof  or  certain  knowledge;" — in  other  words,  that 
he  believes,  "  yet  not  altogether  without  a  mixture  of  uncertauity 
and  doubting."  Is  not  this  Pyrrhonism  ?  Our  reviewer  may 
scatter  the  seeds  of  opinion  in  the  Church — infidelity  will  reap  the 
harvest. 

Vol.  n.-26 


402  ARCHBISHOP  HUGHES. 

Look  abroad,  dear  sir,  and  witness  the  consequences  of  having 
banished  the  doctrine  of  Church  authority  for  which  your  sermon 
contended,  and  of  having  substituted  the  criterion  of  opinions  for 
ascertaining  the  doctrines  of  the  Christian  rehgion.  Look  at  the 
state  of  tiie  Protestant  religion  generally,  even  in  the  United 
States.  It  presents  a  multitude  of  sects,  so  blended,  that  the  vo- 
taries of  each  have  only  to  turn  round  on  their  seats  to  hear  the  ref- 
utation of  one  set  of  doctrines  by  the  advocates  of  another — it 
exhibits  the  ministers  contradicting  each  other — the  people  carried 
about  from  one  sect  to  another  by  caprice  ;  here,  instructed  to  re- 
ject the  mystery  of  redemption,  and  there  worked  up  to  fury  and 
fanaticism — everywhere  flattered  for  their  superior  intelligence,  and 
in  return  giving  themselves  up  to  the  opinions  of  their  preachers  for 
the  time  being.  In  the  mean  time,  men  of  learning,  engaged  in  sec- 
ular pursuits,  stand  aloof  from  all  religion  ;  taught  by  our  reviewer's 
system  that  they  ca>i  learn  from  the  sacred  desk  only  opinions,  and 
persuaded,  often  with  reason,  that  their  own  are  as  likely  to  be  cor- 
I'ect  as  those  of  the  minister.  They  may  sometimes  go  to  the  church, 
but  let  them  be  questioned  on  the  great  truths  of  Christianity, 
Original  Sin,  the  Incarnation,  the  Atonement,  the  Trinity,  &c.,  <fec., 
and  you  will  find  that  they  do  not  come  up  to  the  accommodating 
standard  of  the  reviewer  ;  and  that  their  belief  of  these  mysteries 
is  too  vague  and  feeble  to  merit  the  appellation  even  of  opinion. 
Turn  from  these  to  the  multitudes  who,  dispersed  through  the 
country,  are  obliged  by  self-education  to  get  their  religion  as  they 
may,  from  Bibles  which  they  seldom  read  or  understand.  The  con- 
sequence is,  that  they  have  none.  From  these  again  turn  to  the 
crowds  of  mechanics  and  apprentices  in  our  large  cities,  and  you 
will  find  that  taking  our  reviewer's  key  to  unlock  the  Bible,  they 
bring  forth  its  opinions  as  the  theme  of  merriment  and  ridicule, 
when  compared  with  the  rational  system  of  Tom  Paine  and  his  co- 
adjutors— whose  disciples  form  at  this  moment,  if  they  could  be  con- 
gregated, the  largest  class  of  m,ale  votaries  in  the  United  States. 
Look  at  the  high  places  of  learning,  where  Socinianism  has  taken 
pjossession  of  your  oldest  Universities,  and  is  thence  shooting  its 
baleful  influence  to  the  furthest  bounds  of  the  land.  If  infidelity, 
dark  and  destructive  as  that  which  Voltaire  and  his  associates  wished 
to  establish  on  the  ruins  of  Christianity,  wished  to  invade  the  mind 
of  a  believing  nation,  what  more  successful  plan  could  be  adopted 
to  prepare  the  people  for  its  reception  than  to  persuade  them  that 
the  highest  grade  of  belief  which  they  can  have  on  the  subject  of 
religion,  is,  after  all,  no  higher  than — Opinion. 

It  is  no  wonder,  then,  that  in  view  of  this  state  of  things,  you 
should  have  attempted  to  re-establish  the  conservative  principle  of 
Church  authority,  in  determining  what  are  the  doctrines  of  the 
Christian  faith.  But  it  is  too  late.  The  principle  is  recognised  only 
in  the  Catholic  Churcli ;  and,  it  is  no  small  tribute  of  involuntary 
homage  Xo  her  right,  that  no  other  denomination  dares  publicly  to 
.claim  it,  though  all  are  ready  to  exercise  it,  by  the  acquiescence  or 


LETTEKS.  403 

toleration  of  their  members.  It  was  by  the  contempt  of  this  prin- 
ciple, at  the  period  of  the  Reformation,  so  called,  that  the  seal  of 
authority  was  broken  ;  and  the  tide  of  oj^inions  which  then  burst 
forth  may  be  moditied,  and,  if  you  please,  arrested  for  a  moment  in 
its  progress;  but,  its  course  is  onward,  and  no  human  power  can 
cause  it  to  flow  back  to  its  source.  Still,  in  the  proofs  of  indefec- 
tibility  and  infallibility  secured  to  the  Church  by  her  divine  Spouse 
and  Founder,  as  exhibite<i  in  your  sermon,  you  discovered  a  pan- 
oply of  immortal  truth,  in  which  the  Saviour  sent  fbith  His  religion 
to  the  World,  and  with  a  filial  devotion  that  does  you  credit  you  ten- 
dered it  at  the  feet  of  the  only  spiritual  mother  yon  were  acquainted 
with.  Your  reviewere  interposed,  saying  that  she  may  not  put  it 
on — that  her  business  is  not  to  teach  truths  as  truths,  but  as  opin- 
ions.    In  this  they  are  not  mistaken. 

I  shall  conclude  this  introductory  letter  with  a  quotation  or  two 
from  tlie  writings  of  learned  members  of  the  English  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church.  They  will  serve  to  sustain  the  remarks  I  have 
made,  and  to  place  the  reviewer  of  your  sermon  in  that  position,  in 
reference  to  the  doctrines  of  your  Church,  which  its  friends  need 
not  be  ambitious  to  occupy.  "  Of  this,"  says  Hooker  (Eccles. 
Polit.,  Piaef ,  Art.  6,)  "  we  are  sure,  that  nature,  Scripture,  and  ex- 
perience itself,  have  taught  the  world  to  seek  for  the  ending  of  con- 
tentions by  submitting  to  some  judicial  or  definite  sentence,  where- 
unto  neither  party  that  contendeth  may,  under  any  pretence  or 
color,  refuse  to  stand."  This  doctrine  is  very  difterent  from  that  of 
the  reviewer.  "  To»  resist,"  says  another,  "against  any  thing  de- 
livered ab  omnibus,  icbique  semper  in  all  places,  at  all  times,  by  all 
Christians,  pastors  and  people,  not  noted  for  heresy  or  singularity, 
were  extreme  folly  and  madness."  (Dr.  Field's  Church,  p.  887.)  Our 
reviewer  has  no  notion  of  this — according  to  him  it  would  be  "  folly 
and  madness"  not  to  resist,  if  the  doctrine  thus  delivered  does  not 
correspond  with  the  opinions  of  the  individual. 

Another  writer  of  the  same  Church  (Robson,  Sermon  15,  vol.  ii.) 
says,  in  the  entire  spirit  of  your  sermon — "  When  I  look  at  the  sec- 
taries, I  perceive  every  thing  afloat,  and  nothing  fixed  ;  when  I  look 
at  the  Cliurch,  I  perceive  a  secure  harbor,  wherein  I  can  fix  the 
anchor  of  my  soul,  both  sure  and  steadfost.  Observe  the  way  in 
which  the  Lord  affected  the  Jews,  when  He  opened  to  them  the 
things  concerning  the  kingdom  of  heaven  ;  His  word  was  with  power, 
for  He  taught  them  as  one  who  had  authority,  and  not  as  the  scribes 
— not  saying,  so  it  m.ay  be,  or  so  it  seems  to  be,  but  so  it  is.  I  feel, 
therefore,  certainty  and  safety  whilst  I  bow  to  the  authority  of  the 
Church,  and  I  am  satisfied  that  I  cannot  materially  err  while  I 
have  Scripture  for  my  guide,  and  the  Church  for  my  commentator." 
Alas !  for  the  author  of  these  sermons — how  badly  he  would  have 
fared  in  the  hands  of  the  reviewer  ! 

"  It  was  not  contemplated" — says  the  Protestant  Episcopalian 
Wix,  in  his  work  entitled  "  Reflections  concerning  the  expediency 
of  a  Council,"  (pp.  80-82) — '•  it  was  not  contemplated  by  the  early 


404  AECHBI8H0P   HUGHES. 

Reformers,  that  the  time  wouhl  arrive  when  every  individual 
witli  the  Bible  in  his  hands,  would  consider  himself  qualified  and 
justified  to  form  his  own  faith,  and  to  reject  all  that  had  been  con- 
cluded on  in  the  piety  and  learning  of  his  ancestors,  which  did  not 
accord  with  his  notions ;  but  now  this  folly,  this  pride,  this  worse 
than  folly  and  pride  united,  has  prevailed  to  the  alarming  extent, 
that  each  person  considers  himself  at  full  liberty  to  form  and  choose 
whatever  faith  he  pleases,  and  to  deny  doctrines  however  plainly  re- 
vealed which  are  above  his  comprehension.  Thus  in  the  profane- 
ness  of  reason,  unchastised  by  the  admonition  and  teaching  of  divine 
revelation  and  ancient  persuasion,  the  prominent  articles  of  Christian 
faith  are  denied  by  those  who  call  themselves  the  followers  of  the 
meek  and  humble  Jesus." 

These  quotations,  compared  with  the  latitudinarian  principle  of 
your  reviewer,  show  how  much  the  pretensions  of  your  Church  have 
degenerated  since  the  days  of  their  authors.  They  saw  the  progress 
of  evil  as  you  see  it — their  minds  suggested  the  remedy  which  your 
mind  suggests — and  which,  in  fact,  Christ  had  provided^  for  the 
perpetual  maintenance  and  preservation  of  revealed  truth.  But 
their  age  was  not  without  the  advocates  of  latitudinarianism  any 
more  than  ours.  Bishop  Watson  of  your  Church  defined  the  Pro- 
testant religion  to  be  the  right  of  every  one  "  to  think  what  he 
pleases,  and  say  what  he  thinks."  I  quote  the  definition  not  to 
dispute  its  correctness,  but  because  it  is  tjie  undisguised  develop- 
ment of  our  reviewer's  doctrine  of  opinions.  The  same  learned 
divine  elsewhere  instructs  bis  clergy  "  not  to  esteem  any  particular 
opinion  concerning  the  Trinity^  Satisfaction,  Original  Sin,  neces- 
sary to  salvation."  I  sympathize  with  Bishop  Watson  and  the 
reviewer  in  the  admirable  harmony  of  their  common  opinion — while 
I  proceed  to  show  that  there  is  an  infallible,  as  well  as  indefectible 
Church,  from  which  the  true  believer  may  learh  the  doctrines  that 
Christ  revealed,  with  a  conviction  which  excludes  every  "  mixture 
of  uncertainty  and  doubting." 

I  am,  &G., 

J.  H. 


LETTER  II. 

Dear  Sir — ^If  the  very  essence  of  what  mankind  in  strict  reason- 
ing understand  by  the  word  Opinion,  be  the  exclusion  of  certainty, 
as  distinguished  from  probability,  as  I  have  endeavored  to  show  in 
my  first  letter,  then  it  follows  that  the  reviewer  in  the  Protestant 
JEpiscopalian  is  advocating  doctrines  which  reduce  the  belief  of 
Christianity,  with  its  mysteries,  to  something  less  than  faith,  and 
barely  more  than  infidelity.  He  may  check  the  progress  of  inquiry 
in  such  minds  as  were  affected  by  the  arguments  of  your  sermon, 
but  the  service  which  he  renders  to  the  Episcopal  Church  is  vastly 


LKTTERS. 


405 


outweighed  by  the  inquiry  which  he  does  to  the  Christian  religion. 
Of  thi>rinjury  he  seems  not  to  be  altogether  unconscious;  for,  after 
telling  us  that  "  in  no  reasonable  man  is  there  the  absence  of  proof," 
he  proceeds  to  say,  "in  no  such  opinion,  therefore^  is  there  the 
absence  of  probability  or  certainty,  of  some  grade^  in  the  conclusion." 
And  in  the  opinions  which  form  the  principal  article  of  Christian 
belief,  there  is  the  highest  moral  certainty,  founded  on  proof,  per- 
fect and  convincing.  What  !  "  proof  perfect  and  convincing !" 
And  yet  the  conclusion  founded  on  that  proof  is  nothing  but 
opinion!  Articles  of  Christian  belief  resting  on  the  highest 
moral  certainty,  and  yet  nothing  but  opinions!  And  articles 
of  Christian  belief,  founded  on  "proof  perfect  and  convincing," 
furnish  only  "  i)robability  or  certainty  of  some  gradt  in  the 
conclusion !"  I  regret  that  the  reviewer  should  have  selected  a 
position  in  the  controversy,  for  the  maintenance  of  which  he  is 
obliged  thus  to  trifle  both  with  language  and  with  common  sense. 
In  opposing  the  argument  of  infallibility  he  was  obliged  to  assert 
that  the  articles  of  Christian  belief  are  only  opinions,  and  having 
escaped  the  Scylla  of  Popery  by  falling  into  the  Charybdis  of  Infi- 
delity, he  endeavors  to  regain  his  true  course  as  quickly  as  possible. 
He  first  reaches  "  probability,"  or  "  certainty  of  some  grade,"  then 
"  the  highest  moral  certainty,"  and  finally,  "  proof  perfect  and  con- 
vincing." Thus  he  would  cross  the  boundary  between  certainty 
(which  is  not  opinion)  and  opinion  (which  is  not  certainty),  in  as 
palpable  a  fog  as  ever  sophistry  enveloped  a  false  argument  Avithal. 
The  whole  passage  is  a  paradox.  The  human  mind  is  so  constituted 
that  it  must  suppose  infallibility  in  the  premises  before  it  can  assume 
a  certainty  in  the  conclusion.  This  is  true  of  all  subjects — whether 
moral  or  intellectual — on  which  the  reasoning  faculties  are  exercised. 
Protestants,  therefore,  who  reject  infallibility  in  the  premises,  on 
which  their  belief  of  the  Christian  doctrines  is  founded,  cannot 
possibly  arrive  at  any  thing  but  opinion  in  their  conclusion.  The 
diflference  between  opinion  and  certainty  is  doubt.  Can  you  point 
out  any  other?  Can  the  reviewer?  It  may  not  be  the  positive  or 
professed  doubt  of  the  skeptic — it  may  not  be  the  involuntary  and 
transient  doubt  that  sometimes  passes  as  a  temptation  over  the 
minds  of  those  who  believe  in  the  doctrines  of  their  religion,  with 
as  firm  a  conviction  as  they  have  of  their  own  existence — but  it  is 
the  doubt  essentially  inherent  in  that  grade  of  conviction  which  is 
expressed  by  the  word  opinion,  as  applied  by  the  reviewer.  It  is  a 
negative  doubt,  the  doubt  by  principle,  the  doubt  unavoidable  from 
the  moment  when  you  deny  infallibility.  This  is  the  actual  and 
avowed  condition  of  the  Protestant  creed, even  in  theEpiscopal  Church. 
Do  not  say,  in  answ'er  to  this,  that  in  your  communion  many 
believe  as  firmly  as  if  they  were  members  of  the  Catholic  Church. 
This  is  all  possible,  but  if  they  do,  it  is  because  either  they  assume 
that  they  are  guided  by  the  infallible  word  of  God,  or  because  they 
do  not  inquire  into  the  motives  of  their  belief,  or  because,  less 
unable  to  analyze  the  operations  of  their  minds,  it  never  occurred 


406  AECIIBISHOP    HUGHES. 

to  them  to  inquire  whether  their  belief  is  mere  opinion  or  not.  But, 
let  them  ask  tlie  learned  raviewer,  and  he  will  diminish  or  destroy 
the  firmness  of  their  belief  by  assuring  them  it  is  only  opinion.  By 
this  he  admits  the  possibility  of  error  in  every  doctrine  which  he 
professes  to  believe  as  true — and,  consequently^  the  possibility  of 
truth  in  every  doctrine  he  rejects  as  error!  Here,  then,  the  Deist 
will  congratulate  him  on  his  liberal  exposition  of  the  Christian 
religion.  Both  will  agree  on  three  things:  First,  that  if  God  made 
a  revelation  to  man,  every  tittle  of  that  revelation  is  true  ;  second, 
that  whether  He  made  that  revelation  ;  and  third,  if  He  did,  that 
the  doctrines  it  contains  are  matters  of  opinion.  The  reviewer 
will,  according  to  his  principle,  admit  the  possibility  that  truth  is 
with  the  Deist — and  the  unbeliever  will  have  no  hesitation  in  re- 
turning the  compliment  by  a  similar  concession. 

Since  this  is  the  helpless,  hopeless  condition  of  belief  among  the 
denominations  that  have  rejected  the  idea  of  infallibility,  it  follows 
that  faith  and  certainty  and  infallibility^  if  they  exist  at  all,  must 
belong  to  the  communion  of  the  Catholic  Church,  There  is  no  other 
communion  that  pretends  to  claim  them.  If,  then,  I  prove  that 
infallibility  does  exist,  and  always  has  existed,  since  the  first  day  on 
which  God  proftosed  a  revelation,  and  required  of  men  the  belief 
of  it,  the  claim  of  the  Catholic  Church  will  be  admitted  even  by  the 
reviewer. 

In  setting  forth  the  grounds  on  which  the  infallibility  of  the 
Catholic  Church  is  proved,  I  shall  not  be  expected  to  do  what  no 
philosopher  has  ever  yet  been  able  to  accomplish.  The  principle 
which  is  laid  down  by  Descartes  as  the  corner-stone  of  his  system 
may  be  admitted  as  an  axiom,  but  it  certainly  fails  as  an  argument. 
When  he  said,  "  I  think,  therefore  I  am,"  he  assumed  the  ante- 
cedent w^ithout  proof  or  demonsti'ation  ;  and  if  it  was  necessary  to 
prove  that  he  existed,  it  Avas  equally  so  to  prove  that  he  thought. 
His  existence  was  not  the  consequence  of  his  thinking,  but  the  act 
of  thinking  implies  the  fact  oi' existence.  His  reputation  as  a  philoso- 
pher would  not  have  suifered  had  he  omitted  the  word  "  therefore," 
and  taken  the  whole  matter  as  granted. 

The  primary  truths  that  are  the  foundation  of  all  science  and  all 
knowledge,  are  truths  which  are  not  susceptible  of  demonsti-ation  by 
reasoning,  but  which  it  would  be  a  violation  of  the  common  sense  of 
mankind  to  deny.  From  these  truths  you  may  reason  ;  philosophers 
may  trace  them  out  to  their  remotest  consequences,  or,  beginning 
with  the  consequences,  may  trace  the  stream  upwards  to  its  source  ; 
but  whenever  they  pretend  to  go  further  with  their  reasoning,  they 
speak  things  which  are  very  foolish.  Hume  is  a  remarkable  instance 
of  this.  Any  man  who  should  have  laid  down,  as  the  convictions  of 
his  own  mind,  the  conclusions  at  which  Hume  arrived  by  reasoning, 
would  have  been  consigned  by  the  public  voice  to  the  guardianship 
of  a  keeper  and  the  discipline  of  a  madhouse.  But  it  has  always 
been  the  privilege  of  philosophy,  so  called,  to  adopt  and  express  ab- 
surdities of  which  folly  itself  would  be  ashamed ;  and  il  is  of  this 


LETfEES.  407 

class  that  the  Apostle  has  said,  "  professing  themselves  to  be  wise, 
they  became  fools,"  The  foundation  of  all  philosophy  is  faith — 
that  is,  belief  of  certain  truths,  not  because  they  are  proved  by  de- 
monstration of  any  kind,  but  because — by  the  force  of  the  law  which 
necessarily  governs  the  human  mind,  and  by  the  universal  consent 
of  mankind,  produced  by  the  uniform  operation  of  that  law — they 
are  admitted  as  axioms  of  which  no  sane  man  ever  doubted  until 
after  he  had  reasoned  about  them,  nor  even  then,  unless  he  had 
reasoned  foolishly.  The  English  philosopher  Hume  followed  out  his 
system  into  a  demonstration  which  amounted  to  a  denial  of  his  own 
existence.  Yet  he  lived,  so  far  as  this  world  is  concerned,  as  if  he 
did  not  believe  one  word  of  his  doctrine.  When  he  was  hungry  he 
required  something  to  eat,  and  when  he  was  sick  he  sent  for  the 
doctor,  just  as  other  people  do. 

I  make  these  observations  to  illustrate,  by  a  case  which  is  indeed 
extreme,  but  on  th^t  account  the  more  striking,  the  tendency  of  the 
reviewer's  doctrine  of  opinions.  The  reviewer  is  indebted  to  the 
fallacy  of  the  doctrine,  no  less  than  to  the  ingenuity  with  which  he 
applies  it,  for  any  apparent  credit  which  his  reasoning  may  have  ob- 
tained in  the  minds  of  hasty  or  superficial  readers.  The  fallacy  con- 
sisted in  this,  that  no  matter  how  deeply  the  foundation  which  sup- 
ports tlie  arguments  of  infallibility  be  laid,  he  may  apply  the  sapping 
principle  of  doubt  or  opinion  to  a  point  deeper  still,  and  ask  what 
supports  the  foundation.  This,  for  instance,  the  general  maxim  laid 
down  in  his  review  of  your  sermon,  viz.,  that  "  infallibility  can  be 
established  by  nothing  less  than  infallibility."  To  the  ignorant  or 
unreflecting  reader  this  would  appear  a  plausible  proposition  ;  but 
knowledge  and  experience  prove  that  it  is  false  both  in  fact  and  in 
philosophy.  In  philosophy  it  would  require  the  proof  of  the  proof 
ad  infinitum.  In  fact  and  experience,  it  would  require  us  to  hold 
ourselves  in  doubt  on  every  matter  of  human  testimony,  until  the 
witnesses  should  have  proved  their  infallibility.  Develop  these 
consequences,  and  you  will  perceive  that  the  maxims  of  our  reviewer 
in  combating  the  arguments  of  your  sermon  diifer  in  degree,  but  not 
in  essence,  from  the  principles  involved  in  that  system  of  rational 
insanity  which  immortalized  the  Scotch  infidel. 

In  my  remarks  in  the  Catholic  Herald  of  October  23,  1834,  I 
pressed  the  reviewer  to  say — since,  according  to  him,  "  infallibility 
can  be  established  by  nothing  less  than  infallibility" — on  what  other 
infallibility  he  would  establish  the  infallibility  of  God  ?  Forced  by 
the  pressure  of  his  own  principle  to  the  very  brink  of  the  precipice, 
our  reviewer  retracts  his  philosophy,  and  replies  that  infallibility  is 
an  attribute  of  God,  a  compound  of  others — as  omniscience,  veracity, 
&c.,  &G. ;  that  it  does  not  depend  on  opinion,  but  on  the  unavoid- 
able admission  which  precludes  unsaying  after  saying, — we  must  not 
announce  a  perfect  Deity,  and  then  deny  him  a  perfection.  In 
scientific  language,  he  adds :  "  The  doctrine  is  a  j^ostrdate  in  the- 
ology." Here,  then,  he  admits  that  infallibility  can  be  established 
on  a  "  postulate." 


408  ARCHBISHOP  HUGHES. 

Now,  what  the  reviewei'  here  calls  a  postulate,  belongs  to  that 
class  of  primary  truths  wliich  constitute  the  basis  of  all  knowledge, 
belief,  reasoning,  and  philosophy.  They  are  truths  received  by  that 
sort  of  "  iHjavoidable  admission"  on  which  the  reviewer  receives  the 
infallibility  of  God,  without  seeking  any  other  infallibility  whereon 
to  establish  it. 

Since,  then,  God  is  infallible,  we  are  bound  to  believe,  with  a  con- 
viction of  certainty  as  absolute  and  unqualified  as  we  have  of  our  ex- 
istence, whatever  doctrines  God  has  been  pleased  to  reveal.  To  say, 
with  the  reviewer,  that  the  "  articles  of  Christian  belief"  are  but 
opinions  would  be  to  assert,  by  implication,  that  God  is  capable  of 
deceiving  us.  But  suppose  they  are  mysteries,  must  we  still  believe 
them  with  that  absolute  conviction  of  their  truth  which  excludes  all 
doubt  and  uncertainty  ?  Yes.  And  why  ?  Because  they  have 
been  revealed  by  God,  who  is  infallible.  This  is  the  foundation  of 
faith.  But  shall  there  be  no  right  to  exercise  that  "  noble  independ- 
ence of  the  mind"  of  which  the  reviewer  is  the  champion  ?  Shall 
there  be  no  room  for  opi7iions  f  Not  a  particle.  But  why  ? 
Because  in  the  testimony  of  an  infallible  witness  there  is  no  possi- 
bility of  error,  there  is  no  room  for  opinions.  When  God  declares, 
we  are  bound  to  believe  ;  when  He  promises,  we  are  bound  to  ex- 
pect ;  when  He  commands,  we  are  bound  to  obey.  But  in  iha  faith 
by  which  we  believe,  in  the  confidence  by  which  we  Ao/>€,  in  the 
charity  by  which  we  obey,  there  is  the  same  eternal,  immovable 
foundation  of  certainty,  which  is  the  infalUbility  of  that  God  who  de- 
clares, promises,  commands.     What  room  is  there  for  opinion  P 

I  am  sure  that  you,  at  least,  will  not  dispute  one  single  article  in 
this  argument.  I  should  hope  that  even  the  reviewer  would  lay 
down  those  "  nobler  feelings  which  he  brings  to  the  feet  of  the 
Saviour,"  viz.,  his  opinions,  and  acknowledge  that  whatever  God 
has  revealed  he  is  bound  to  believe  with  certainty  as  absolute  and 
essential  as  God's  infallibility.  If  he  does  this,  he  will  perceive  that 
the  "offering"  of  his  opinions  "  at  the  feet  of  the  Saviour"  would  be 
useless,  absuid,  and  impious.  God  makes  a  revelation  of  particular 
doctrines,  and  the  reviewer  condescends  to  hold,  as  his  oj)inion,  that 
those  doctrines  are  true !  But  this  is  the  case  with  not  only  the  re- 
viewer, but  with  the  clergy  and  laity  of  the  entire  Episcopal  Church, 
and  all  Christians  of  whatever  denomination,  who  reject  that  doc- 
trine of  your  sermon  for  the  refutation  of  which  the  reviewer  took 
up  his  pen. 

But  he  will  say,  perhaps,  that  if  he  was  certain  that  God  had  re- 
vealed those  articles  of  Christian  belief  which  he  holds  as  opinions^ 
he  would  believe  them  with  a  certainty  as  infallible  as  the  veracity 
of  their  Author.  Without  he  admits  infallibility  in  the  medium  of 
communication  by  which  he  receives  those  doctrines,  he  never  can 
be  certain  that  God  did  reveal  the  articles  which  he  holds  ;  and 
since  he  rejects  all  infallibility  save  the  "  responsible  action"  of  his 
own  mind,  which  he  accuses  rae  of  wishing  to  "  crush  and  fetter," 
it  is  manifest  that  his  convictions  of  the  truth  of  those  doctrines 


LETTEKS.  409 

never  can  rise  higher  than  mere  opinions.  This  is  the  unhappy 
situation  in  which  the  apostacy  of  Protestantism  i'rom  the  unity  of 
the  Church  has  placed  all  those  who  have  been  involved  in  its  conse- 
quences. The  only  thing  which  amounts  to  a  certainty  in  their 
minds  is  the  conclusion  that  the  Church  of  Christ  is  not  infallible. 
On  this  point  one  would  suppose  each  of  them  had  received  a  special 
revelation  from  God,  and  our  reviewer  is  no  mean  specimen  of  the 
dogmatism  with  which  they  treat  it.  When  he  compounds  with 
the  Deist  he  is  modest,  as  a  man  who  has  nothing  but  opinions  to 
put  forth  in  the  name  of  Christianity  ought  to  be.  But  when  he 
opposes  the  doctrine  of  your  sermon,  he  rises  to  a  tone  of  positive- 
ness,  strong  and  clear  and  unequivocal  as  the  voice  of  infallibility 
itself.  His  words  are  these:  "To  go  to  Scripture,  to  the  promises 
of  Christ,  is  to  go  to  the  interpretation  of  Scripture — in  other  words, 
to  opinion.  Assumption  and  opinion,  therefore,  are  the  only  basis 
for  the  doctrine  of  the  infallibility  of  the  Church.  We  defy  all  the 
Romanists  on  the  face  of  the  earth  to  gainsay  this  conclusion — to 
meet  it  with  sound  argument,  to  refute  it  with  honest  reasoning." 
This  conclusion  which  he  flings  at  "  Romanists"  with  such  an  air  of 
self-complacency,  is,  it  appears,  the  only  article  of  faith  in  the  re- 
viewer's creed  ;  all  the  rest  are  but  opinions.  Yet  his  argument  is 
false.  The  Scripture  is  historical  as  well  as  doctrinal ;  and  when  it 
records  events  and  occurrences^  it  furnishes  ground  of  belief  on  which 
we  may  build  something  more  than  opinion.  The  facts  of  our 
Saviour's  apprehension  in  the  garden,  of  His  trial,  condemnation,  and 
death,  are  tacts  which  may  be  learned  with  certainty  from  the 
Scripture,  considered  as  an  historical  record.  So  that  the  sweeping 
argument  with  which  the  reviewer  "defies  all  the  Romanists  on 
earth,"  is  defective  in  its  premises  as  well  as  conclusion,  as  I  shall 
show  more  at  length  in  my  next  letter. 

I  am,  &c., 

J.  H. 


LETTER  in. 

Dear  Sir — I  now  resume  the  distinction  made  at  the  close  of 
my  last  letter  between  Scripture  when  it  is  merely  historical  and 
Scripture  when  it  is  doctrinal.  When  the  inspired  text  informs  us 
that  Christ  said  to  his  apostles,  "  Go  ye,  therefore,  teach  all  nations, 
&c.,"  it  bears  testimony  to  a  fact.,  which  is  as  easily  and  as  certainly 
understood,  as  when  we  read  in  ordinary  history  that  Napoleon  or- 
dered his  army  to  cross  the  Rhine.  But  whilst  the  fact  of  the 
commission  is  certain,  the  nature  of  that  commission  may  be  a  sub- 
ject of  dispute,  and  where  infallibility  of  interpretation  is  rejected, 
must  be,  as  the  reviewer  says,  mere  opinion.  This  difference  be- 
tween historical  and  doctrinal  Scripture  destroys  that  gossamer  net 
from  which  the  reviewer  "  defies  all  the  Romanists  on  the  face  of 


410  ARCHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

the  earth"  to  escape.  To  quote  facts  attested  by  Scripture  is  not 
the  interpretation  of  Scripture,  and  therefore  infallibility  founded 
on  these  facts  is  proved  to  rest  on  another  basis^  besides  that  which 
he  is  pleased  to  assign,  viz.,  "  assumption  and  opinion."  And  here, 
allow  me  to  observe,  is  the  solution  of  that  "vicious  circle"  with 
■which  Protestant  writers  on  this  subject  confuse  themselves  and 
others.  They  say  that  we  begin  by  private  interpretation,  and  by 
infallibility.  No  ;  we  begin  by  the  certainty  of  facts,  and  from  that 
certainty  deduce  infallibility  as  a  necessary  consequence.  Thus, 
when  we  know  as  a  fact  that  God  has  commissioned  an  individual, 
as  St.  Paul,  for  instance,  to  teach,  we  know  that  the  doctrines  taught 
Avithin,  and  during,  and  by  virtue  of  that  commission  are  infallibly 
true — for,  to  suppose  the  contrary,  would  be  to  suppose  that  God 
could  commission  St.  Paul  to  deceive  us.  The  veracity  of  God  is 
pledged  in  the  commission,  and  those  who  inherit  the  commission, 
either  in  proposing  originally  or  in  perpetuating  the  revelations  of 
God,  inherit  with  it  the  infallibility  secured  by  the  veracity  of  Him 
who  has  authorized  them  to  teach.  Opinions  they  cannot  teach,  for 
God  revealed  no  opinions.  The  commission  may  expire  in  one  body, 
and  pass  to  another,  as  in  the  transition  of  the  Church  from  Judaism 
to  Christianity.  But  then,  in  such  a  case  it  is  requisite  that  the  fact 
of  the  transition  be  made  evident  by  signs  which  man  by  his  own 
power  cannot  exhibit.  This,  we  see,  was  the  case  when  the  reve- 
lations made  through  Moses  were  added  as  the  development  and 
sequel  of  those  which  had  been  handed  down  from  the  patriarchs, 
among  the  children  of  Jacob.  This  was  also  the  case  when  the 
Jewish  covenant  received  completion  and  perfection  by  Jesus  Christ. 
The  doctrinal  part  of  religion  has  remained  the  same  from  the  be- 
ginning of  the  world.  Always  rejected  by  the  infidel,  scoffed  at  by 
the  wicked,  doubted  of  by  the  skeptic,  it  has  always,  nevertheless, 
been  believed  with  certainty  by  the  faithful,  and  always  taught  with 
infallible  authority  by  those  who  in  the  several  epochs  of  its  history 
were  commissioned  to  teach. 

When  God  himself  conversed  with  and  instructed  the  fathers  of 
the  human  race,  they  believed  with  certainty,  because  they  were 
under  the  guidance  of  Him  who  could  not  deceive.  Witness  the 
case,  among  others,  of  faithful  Abraham.  How  long  was  his  faith 
tried  in  waiting  for  the  beginning  of  the  fulfilment  of  the  promise, 
that  in  his  seed  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  should  be  blessed  !  And 
when  at  length  the  pledge  of  the  promise  did  appear,  in  the  child 
of  his  old  age,  how  severely  again  was  his  faith  tried  when  he  was 
commanded  to  immolate  the  only  germ  of  his  hope,  to  sacrifice  his 
son  Isaac  on  the  mountain  !  But  believing  the  original  jt?ro»/we  with 
a  certainty  which  infallibility  alone  could  create,  he  obeys  the  com- 
mandment which  seemed  to  be  in  contradiction  of  the  promise  it- 
self Again,  when  the  Israelites  entered  on  their  passage  through 
the  Red  Sea,  it  was  in  the  faith  that  they  were  under  the  security  of 
Divine  infallibility.  What  else  but  the  certainty  of  the  veracity  of 
God,  who  had  appointed  Moses  to  be  their  leader,  was  pledged  for 


LETTERS.  411 

their  deliverance,  conld  have  stayed  their  fears,  and  supported  their 
hearts  whilst  the  waters  of  the  deep,  which  had  gathered  themselves 
up  at  the  touch  of  their  leader's  rod,  stood  in  liquid  and  trembling 
embankments  on  the  right  hand  and  on  the  left. 

But  under  the  Christian  dispensation,  the  believers  in  the  cer- 
tainty of  the  truth  which  they  had  learned  from  the  infallible  teach- 
ing of  Christ  and  His  apostles,  exposed  themselves  to  the  torture 
of  persecution  and  the  death  of  martyrdom.  So  that  from  the  be- 
ginning of  the  world  until  this  hour,  there  has  always  existed  an 
authority  to  propose,  teach,  determine,  perpetuate  infallibly  the 
revelations  which  God  has  been  pleased  to  make  to  mankind. 

And  because  that  authority  was  instituted  by  the  same  Eternal 
Being,  of  whose  revelations  it  was  the  appointed  guardian,  the  true 
believers  froni  the  beginning  of  the  world  have  received  and  held 
the, doctrines  which  it  proposed,  with  a  conviction  of  certainty  as 
strong  as  the  attribute  of  God's  veracity  is  calculated  to  produce  in 
the  human  mind.  When  God  vouchsafes  to  speak  to  men  immedi- 
ately by  Himself,  or  through  persons  appointed  by  Himself  to  pro- 
claim the  truths  which  he  is  pleased  to  reveal.  He  utters  no  opinion, 
He  authorizes  them  to  utter  none.  So  that  when  the  ministers  of 
religion  profess  to  teach  only  opinions,  they  acknowledge  virtually 
that  God  has  not  authorized  them  to  teach  at  all.  They  give  up  the 
question.  They  acknowledge  either  that  the  commission  has  expired 
in  their  regard,  or  that  they  have  transcended  the  limits  which  the 
commission  prescribed,  or  that  the  commission  never  reached  them. 
To  suppose  the  contrary,  would  be  to  suppose  that  God  revealed 
truths,  and  yet  revealed  them  in  such  an  ungodlike  manner,  that 
before  they  reach  the  beings  for  whose  benefit  thej'  are  intended, 
they  become  doubtful  propositions,  which  the  teacher  or  believer  may 
receive  or  reject  at  pleasure.  Not  so  the  prophets  who  iiad  been 
commissioned  to  communicate  the  revelation  of  God  to  His  people; 
they  generally  began  and  concluded  with  "  thus  saith  the  Lord  of 
Hosts."  The  apostles,  also,  in  the  discharge  of  their  commission, 
speak  in  the  same  tone :  "  It  hath  seemed  good  to  the  Holy  Ghost 
and  to  us." 

But  besides  those  who,  like  the  prophets  and  apostles,  weie  ap- 
pointed to  be  the  primary  organs  of  God's  revelations  by  an  extra- 
ordinary commission  which  they  proved  by  miracles,  there  was  a 
necessity  for  the  commission  to  some  ordinary  authority  for  the 
preservation  of  the  doctrines  thus  revealed.  It  is  quite  unnecessary 
for  me  to  enter  on  the  proof  of  this  commission,  since  it  constitutes 
the  riglit  on  which  even  the  reviewer  himself  claims  to  preach  the 
gospel,  administer  the  ordinances,  and  receive  his  salary.  On  these 
three  points  there  are  no  opinions  in  his  creed.  But  when  he  denies 
the  existence  of  intallibility  in  the  Church, — when  he  proclaims  that 
the  "  articles  of  Christian  belief"  which  he  preaches  are  only  opinions 
— when  he  maintains  that  certainty  is  denied  both  to  the  preacher 
and  hearer — does  he  not  destroy  the  only  purpose  for  which  a  divine 
commission  was  given  by  the  Father  and  Redeemer  of  mankind  ? 


412  AKCIIBISHOP   HUGHES. 

He  does  not  discharge,  but  he  betrays  his  commission  The  purpose 
of  the  commission  is  to  perpetuate  and  preserve  the  truths  of  God 
as  distinguished  from  the  errors  of  men  ;  and  when  the  reviewer  not 
only  admits  but  proclaims,  that  so  far  as  Protestantism  is  concerned 
this  purpose  has  entirely  failed,  we  are  at  a  loss  to  understand  why 
it  was  given.  He  claims  divine  authority  to  preach.  But  to  preach 
what  ?  "  Opinions  !"  says  he.  But  if  his  opinions  are  errors^  what 
then  ?  Is  he  warranted  to  preach  error,  and  deceive  the  people  by 
virtue  of  authority  derived  from  the  God  of  truth  ?  If  he  has  the 
commission,  why  does  he  not  preach  according  to  the  commission  ? 
If  he  has  not,  why  does  he  preach  at  all  ?  Why  does  he  receive 
credit  and  compensation  lor  preaching  the  gospel  of  Christ,  whilst 
he  acknowledges  that  he  proclaims  only  his  own  opinions. 

Wherever  the  commission  to  teach  is,  there  are  truth  and  infalli- 
bility. Wherever  that  infallibility  is  disclaimed  in  the  teaching  body, 
there  the  commission  to  teach  is  wanting.  When  they  come  to  you 
with  only  their  opinions,  they  prove  sufficiently  that  God  did  not 
send  them  ;  for  God  never  gave  authority  to  any  one  to  preach 
opinions  in  His  name.  The  idea  is  preposterous  and  wicked  ;  for  it 
is  to  suppose  that  God  would  send  messengers  to  men,  and  whilst 
they  adhered  to  the  commission  that  they  should  forget,  or  be  in 
doubt  as  to  what  the  message  was  with  which  he  intrusted  them. 
It  would  imply  that  God  was  not  able  to  accomplish  his  own  design  ; 
that  men  by  their  fallibility  were  able  to  defeat  it,  notwithstanding 
the  attributes  of  veracity  and  omnipotence  in  the  Deity. 

These  principles,  dear  sir,  which  are  evolved  from  the  attributes 
of  the  Deity,  taken  in  connection  with  the  acknowledged  purpose  of 
revelation,  are»  abundantly  sustained  by  the  facts  recorded  in  the 
history  of  religion.  There  never  was  a  period  when  the  Church  of 
God  was  without  the  presence  of  an  ultimate  authority  for  deciding, 
by  the  divine  appointment,  those  questions,  on  the  infallibility  of 
whose  decision  depended  the  purity  and  perpetuation  of  faith  and 
moral  doctrine.  There  never  was  a  time  when  there  was  not  such 
an  authority,  as  it  would  be  sinful,  schismatical,  or  heretical  to  sepa- 
rate from.  And  the  criminality  of  the  secession  is  a  proof  that  the 
authority  is  infallible.  If  the  teaching  tribunal,  the  umpire  of  con- 
troversies in  the  last  resort,  were  itself  liable  to  err  in  the  decision, 
it  is  manifest  that  to  appeal  to  it  would  be  useless,  and  to  disregard 
its  decision  could  not  be  criminal  in  the  contending  parties.  God 
would  not,  consistently  with  his  justice,  and  with  that  inward  light 
of  reason  which  he  has  placed  in  our  minds,  oblige  us,  under  pain  of 
sin,  schism,  or  heresy,  to  relinquish  our  own  judgment,  and  bow  in 
acquiescence  to  that  of  any  tribunal  which  could  lead  us  into  error, 
which  is  not  infallible. 

This  seems  to  me  the  proper  place  to  take  up  a  favorite  topic  with 
the  reviewer,  and  by  the  abuse  of  which  he  has  endeavored  to  com- 
bat the  general  doctrines  of  your  sermon.  He  had  advanced  that 
the  Jewish  Church  had  taught  idolatry  without  ceasing  to  be  the 
Church  of  God  •  and  inferred  that,  therefore,  the  Christian  Church 


/ 


LETTERS.  413 

is  liable  to  err  in  her  teaching  and  decisions  of  doctrines.  Now, 
even  if  the  premises  were  true,  the  inference  is  not  either  just 
or  logical,  inasmuch  as  promises  were  made  to  the  Church  of 
Ciirist  which  had  not  been  made  to  the  synagogue.  Neither  are 
the  premises  con-ect.  In  remarking  upon  them  I  observed,  "  If  the 
reviewer  means  that  the  Israelites  in  their  ecclesiastical  character* 
taught  idolatry,  and  at  the  same  time  remained  the  Church  of  God, 
that  proposition  was  nonsensical."  To  this  he  replies,  "Feeble 
critic  !  does  he  not  know  enough  of  the  Bible  to  be  awai-e  that  Je- 
rusalem as  Jerusalem  is  censured  for  idolatry,  and  for  leading  her 
children  into  it;  that  Israel  as  Israel  the  Church;  the  Israelites  in 
their  ecclesiastical  character."  Truly,  I  did  not  know  this.  It 
never  occurred  to  me  that  the  Church  of  God  could  teach  idolatry, 
and  yet,  even  in  the  act,  continue  to  be  the  Church  of  God  ;  and 
though  I  might  as  well  quarrel  with  infallibility  itself  as  to  dispute 
the  reviewer's  opinion  in  this,  still  I  must  say  with  great  deference, 
that  he  has  by  no  means  convinced  me.  The  Israelites  in  their 
"  ecclesiastical  character,"  mean  that  authority  which  God  had  ap- 
pointed to  teach  and  determine  the  truths  of  the  Jewish  doctrine ; 
and  it  never  entered  the  mind  of  the  "feeble  critic"  that  God 
would  or  could  create  such  an  authority  to  teach  idolatry  in  his 
name.  However,  accordiog  to  the  reviewer,  this  was  quite  a  com- 
mon occurrence.  His  interpretation  of  the  "  covenant  seals"  (and 
tlie  editors  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal ian  agree  with  him  in  opin- 
ion), is  illustrated  by  the  allegory  of  a  marriage  between  Jehovah 
and  the  Jewish  Church  ;  and  he  seems  to  take  a  pleasure^  which 
would  be  more  in  place  coming  from  the  pen  of  Voltaire  or  Gibbon, 
in  recounting  the  instances  in  which  the  spouse  was  permitted  to 
play  the  harlot,  in  virtue  of  authority  from  her  husband,  without  any 
violation  of  the  marriage  alliance,  "  till  the  time  of  our  Saviour." 
In  regard  to  all  this,  I  confess  that  I  was  ignorant  and  am  incredu- 
lous. He  is  satisfied  that  I  should  consider  all  this  as  somewhat 
nonsensical ;  but,  he  adds,  "  the  nonsense  is  the  word  of  God." 
"How  strange,"  he  continues,  "  how  unfortunate,  that  he  (the  '  fee- 
ble critic')  allows  his  pretty  ecclesiastical  logic  to  blind  him  to 
spiritual  truth !  And  with  such  scriptural  truth  fully  displayed,  will 
any  one  say  that  the  perpetuity  of  the  Church  implies  its  infallibility  ?" 
Let  us  now  clear  away  the  fog  with  which  the  reviewer  contrived 
to  surround  his  investigations  whilst  he  made  these  pretended  dis- 
coveries of  spiritual  truth.  I  believe  it  is  unnecessary  to  add  one 
word  by  way  of  showing  that  he  succeeded  in  this  exhibition  of  the 
subject  to  extract  from  the  word  of  God  nonsense  which  happily  it 
never  contained.  Having  elsewhere  reduced  doctrine  to  the 
standard  of  the  infidel,  he  now  betrays  morality,  and  furnishes  the 
libertine  with  a  bright  excuse  for  conjugal. infidelity — viz.,  the  Church 
of  God  teaching,  as  such,  idolatby,  without  any  interruption  of 
the  matrimonial  alliance.  He  did  not  consider  that  if  what  he  says 
were  true,  the  disgrace  of  the  spouse  would  reflect  on  the  husband; 
and  how  desperate  must  be  his  condition,  when  to  defend  a  favorite 


414:  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

opinion  he  is  reduced  to  the  necessity  of  representing  the  God  of 
Holiness  and  Truth  as  wedded  to  an  idolatrous  Church  !  Piidet! 
Pudet ! 

The  fact  is  that  he  has  applied  to  the  whole  Jewish  Church  those 
highly  figurative  terms  and  language  of  reproach  which  the  prophets 
addressed  to  those  of  that  nation  who  had,  by  contemning  the 
doctrines  of  the  Churchy  fallen  into  the  crimes  specified.  Even  when 
but  a  single  image  of  thought  is  expressed  to  portray  their  ingrati- 
tude and  iniquity,  the  description  extends  not  to  the  whole  Church, 
nor  to  that  portion  of  it  which  God  had  appointed  either  to  pro- 
claim or  interpret  the  law,  in  His  name,  but  to  the  faithless  part  of 
that  fickle  and  ungrateful  nation. 

Thus,  when  our  reviewer  represents  the  Israelite  people  continuing 
"  God's  chosen,  God's  people,  God's  Church,  in  spite  of  their 
idolatry"  in  worshipping  the  golden  calf,  he  forgets,  or  chooses  not 
to  mention,  several  circumstances  which  are  essential  to  the  under- 
standing of  the  passage.  1,  That  the  "ecclesiastical  character"  of 
the  Israelites  at  that  period  was  sustained  by  Moses,  vvho  derived, 
by  habitual  intercourse,  his  authority  from  God.  2.  That  it  was 
not  by  virtue  of  this  authority,  but  by  opposition  to  it,  that  the 
people  fell  into  idolatry.  3.  That  the  tchole  people  did  not  fall  into 
it — for  the  sons  of  Levi  joined  themselves  to  Moses  on  the  Lord's 
side  (Exod.  xxxii.  26) — and  the  sons  of  Levi  were  22,000  (Numbers 
iii.  39).  Again,  the  reviewer  applies  to  the  whole  Jewii^h  Church 
what  is  said  of  the  kingdom  of  Israel  alone,  after  the  schism  of  the 
ten  tribes — and  even  then,  he  conceals  the  testimony  of  3  Kings 
X.  18  :  "And  I  will  leave  to  me  seven  thousand  men  in  Israel  whose 
knees  have  not  been  bowed  to  Baal,"  But  in  the  kingdom  of 
Judah,  among  the  two  tribes,  the  true  religion  was  preserved  under 
the  pious  kings  Asa,  Josaphat,  Azarias,  Joathan,  Ezechias,  and 
Josias.  Others,  indeed,  were  idolaters  among  the  princes,  as  Achaz, 
Manasses,  Amnion.  Others,  again,  were  immoral  and  wicked,  with- 
out being  idolaters.  But  we  have  the  historical  testimony  of 
2  Machabees  i.  19,  that  at  the  period  of  the  Babylonish  captivity  the 
priests  hid  the  sacred  fire  which  was  used  at  the  daily  sacrifices 
(Leviticus  ix.  and  x.),  showing  that  until  this  time  the  use  of  sacrifice 
according  to  the  law  of  Moses  had  been  continued.  But  it  is  un- 
necessary to  multiply  proof  in  detail.  Enough  has  been  adduced  to 
show  that  the  reviewer  has  failed.  It  is  not  asserted  that  one  portion 
or  another  of  the  Jewish  nation  did  not,  at  various  times,  fall  into 
the  crime  of  idolatry  ;  but  it  is  asserted  confidently  that  the  whole 
nation  did  not  at  any  one  time  fall  into  this  crime :  and  with  equal 
confidence  is  it  asserted  that  no  portion  of  it  ever  fell  into  idolatry 
by  obeying  those  whom  God  h.ad  commissioned  to  expound  the 
revealed  law,  whether  in  the  ordinary  succession  of  the  priesthood 
or  in  the  extraordinary  mission  of  the  prophets.  This  would  have 
been  what  he  affirmed,  and  what  his  "  feeble  critic"  denied — the 
Israelites  teaching  idolatry  in  their  "  ecclesiastical  character."  But 
let  us  suppose — what  is  manifestly  impossible — that  they  had  done 


LETTERS.  415 

SO  ;  to  say  with  the  reviewer,  that  even  then,  in  the  act  of  adoring 
and  teaching  the  adoration  of  idols,  they  were,  notwithstanding,  the 
Church  of  God,  is  a  proposition  which  an  Atheist  or  Infidel  would 
pronounce  "  nonsensical,"  and  which  a  believer  must  look  upon  to 
be  impious  as  well  as  absurd. 

And  it  is  by  advocating  principles  thus  subversive  of  revelation,  of 
faith,  and  consequently  of  Christian  morals,  which  from  faith  derive 
their  motives — it  is  by  indulging  opinions,  such  as  I  have  been 
analyzing  and  reducing  to  their  primary  elements  of  uncertainty  and 
Pyrrhonism,  that  this  reviewer,  professing  to  be  a  Christian,  and  a 
minister  of  Christianity,  would  overturn  the  facts  and  i-easoning  of 
your  sermon  !  !  He  may,  indeed,  show  that  these  facts  and  reason- 
ings are  in  lavor  of  the  Catholic  Cliurch,  and  not  of  the  Episcopal,  or 
any  other  Protestant  denomination.  But  they  are  not  the  less  true 
and  solid  on  that  account.  The  diadem  may  be  ofiered  in  mistake 
to  a  page  of  royalty,  and  it  would  be  futile  for  him  to  deny  the 
existence  of  the  offering,  merely  because  he  dare  not  encircle  his 
own  brows  with  it.  It  is  not  the  less  real,  that  it  belongs  to  another. 
So,  with  the  facts  and  arguments  of  your  sermon.  They  rest  upon 
the  veracity  of  God,  which  is  pledged  to  those  whom  he  has  com- 
missioned to  teach  and  preserve,  and  perpetuate  the  truth  of  revela- 
tion. And  though  it  is  not  your  privilege  to  dwell  beneath  the 
dome  ofthe  edifice  which  your  hands  have  erected,  yet  of  one  thing 
you  may  be  assured,  that,  resting  on  such  a  foundation,  it  is  not  to 
be  overthrown  by  the  gusty  breath  of  the  reviewer's  opinions. 

I  am,  &c., 

J.  H. 


LETTER  IV. 

Dear  Sir — In  my  last  letter  I  had  occasion  to  remark  that  the 
reviewer,  even  if  he  had  succeeded,  as  egregiously  as  he  had  in  fact 
failed,  to  prove  that  the  Jewish  Church  either  was,  or  could  be,  the 
Church  of  God,  and  yet  at  the  same  time  an  idolatrous  Church,  still 
the  argument  could  not  reach  the  principle  of  your  sermon.  And 
this  for  two  reasons.  The  one  is,  as  I  then  intimated,  that  the 
Synagogue  was  not  founded  on  such  promises  as  those  which  apper- 
tain to  the  Christian  Church.  The  other  is,  that  in  the  economy  of 
God,  the  true  religion  having  been  handed  down  from  the  origin  of 
the  human  race  by  the  domestic  tradition  of  the  patriarchs,  was 
marked  by  specific  and  appointed  rites  from  the  moment  it  was  ex- 
tended to  a  whole  ?iatlon,  to  be  thus  perpetuated  from  the  days  of 
Moses  until  the  coming  of  Christ.  During  that  period  it  was  in  a 
state  of  promise  on  the  part  of  God  ;  and  on  that  of  the  people,  of 
hope  that  those  promises  should  be  fulfilled  ;  whilst,  as  regarded  the 
other  nations  ofthe  earth,  the  general  course  of  public  events  was 
working  a  more  extensive  preparation  for  the  reception  of  divine 


416  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

truth,  so  that  the  domestic  religion  of  the  patriarchs  should  become 
the  national  religion  of  the  Jews,  and  the  catholic  or  universal  re- 
ligion of  the  Christians.  Being  confined  to  the  Jewish  nation,  it  was 
preserved  among  them  by  various  precepts  and  prohibitions  of  the 
exterior  order,  and  particularly  the  rite  of  circumcision,  which  was 
never  interrnpted,  by  all  of  which  the  Jews  were  distinguished  from 
every  other  people.  The  tribe  of  Levi  constituted  the  Levitical 
order — the  priesthood  was  confined  to  the  family  of  Aaron  ;  whilst 
that  of  Juda  exulted  in  the  promised  glory  of  giving  birth  to  the 
Saviour  of  man.  They  carried  in  their  flesh  the  sign  of  their  adop- 
tion, and  the  seal  of  their  alliance  with  God,  until  the  period  for  the 
fulfilment  of  His  promises.  Consequently  they  carried  with  them, 
even  in  the  prevarications  of  which  portions  of  them  were  at  various 
times  guilty,  the  external  marks  of  the  true  religion,  which  was  in 
part  identified  with  the  carnal  succession  of  children  to  their 
parents,  and  in  so  much  could  not  perish  except  with  the  extinction 
of  their  race. 

To  a  Church  thus  constituted  for  a  temporary  duration,  restricted 
to  a  single  nation,  and  that  nation  divided  into  distinct  tribes  and 
families,  with  religious  and  national  rites  reaching  to  every  indi- 
vidual, and  these  rites  emphatically  conservative  of  the  common 
faith — to  such  a  Church  the  attribute  of  infallibility  was  not  so  es- 
sentially necessary  as  in  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ,  The  Church 
of  Christ  consists  in  the  profession  of  the  doctrines  of  Christ ;  and, 
to  distinguish  between  the  doctrines  of  Christ  and  the  opinions  of 
men,  requires  the  interposition  and  action  of  some  teaching  or  judg- 
ing authority  ;  but,  such  an  authority  could  not  accomplish  the  very 
object  of  its  existence,  unless  it  were  infallible.  The  Jews  were  in- 
corporated with  the  faithful  by  their  very  birth — they  were  born 
Jews — the  Christians  are  not  born  so ;  but,  after  birth,  are  associated 
by  the  vocation  and  adoption  of  God.  The  Jewish  Church  per- 
petuated its  existence  by  the  succession  of  families  in  the  order  of 
carnal  generation — the  Christian  Church,  by  the  spiritual  generation 
of  her  children  and  the  unbroken  profession  of  the  doctrines  of  the 
Son  of  God.  So  that  if  she  could  have  ceased  TO  PROFESS  these 
doctrines  at  any  time,  she  would  in  that  same  hour  have  per- 
ished  UTTERLY,    AND   DISAPPEARED   FROM   THE   EARTH. 

Hence,  the  reasoning  and  the  conclusion  of  the  reviewer,  in  de- 
nying the  infallibility  of  the  Christian  Church,  merely  because,  ac- 
cording to  one  of  his  opinions,  the  Jewish  Church  was  fallible,  and 
fell,  even  in  her  "  ecclesiastical  character,"  are  illogical,  false,  and  so- 
phistical. The  promises  in  the  one  case  do  not  furnish  him  with  a 
conclusion  applicable  to  the  other.  The  circumstances  are  diflferent. 
We  do  not  read  that  the  Divine  author  of  revelation  said  of  the 
Synagogue,  at  any  time,  what  he  declared  of  the  Christian  Church, 
that — "  The  gates  of  hell  should  not  prevail  against  it."  Such  a  dec- 
laration, considering  the  peculiar  situation  of  the  Jewish  nation, 
was  not  so  necessary,  seeing  that  in  its  political  as  well  as  religious 
existence  were  blended  so  many  rites  and  ordinances  for  the  pres- 


LETTERS.  417 

ervation  of  truth,  which  do  not  belong  to  the  Church  of  Christ — 
the  Church  of  all  nations. 

But,  besides  all  this,  there  was  another  means  of  preserving  truth, 
peculiar  to  the  Jewish  Church,  which  the  reviewer  has  not  found 
convenient  to  mention.     I  allude  to  the  succession  of  the  prophets. 

These  were  the  reformers,  whom  God  sent  as  extraordinary 
teachers  of  truth,  whenever  the  perverseness  of  that  perverse  na- 
tion required  correction  and  reprehension.  But,  in  discharging 
their  commission,  they  condemned,  by  anticipation,  the  impiety  of 
those  pretended  reformers  of  modern  times — they  proved  their  mis- 
sion from  God — they  produced  no  schism  in  the  Jewish  Church — 
they  headed  no  revolt  against  the  established  order  of  the  nation — 
they  left  not  their  names  as  a  brand  of  sectarianism  to  distinguish 
the  faction  that  adhered  to  them.  In  all  this  they  were  diiferent 
from  the  impostors  of  the  sixteenth  century,  who,  without  mission, 
or  miracle,  or  prophecy,  undertook  to  substitute  their  own  opinions 
for  the  revelations  of  God — to  raise  the  standard  of  rebellion  against 
the  Church  of  Christ — to  tear  and  divide  it  among  them  as  the  sol- 
diers did  His  garment  at  the  crucifixion — and,  then,  lest  their  im- 
piety should  be  sui-passed  by  their  arrogance,  to  call  this  work  of 
destruction  the  Reformation  of  the  Church.  Of  these  teachers 
among  the  Jews  the  reviewer  declines  making  mention.'  Was  this 
omission  accidental  ?  Does  he  include  the  prophets  also  when  he 
informs  his  "  feeble  critic"  that  the  Israelites  in  their  '"  ecclesiastical 
character"  were  censured  for  idolatry,  and  for  leading  the  people 
into  it  ?  "  Does  he  not  know  enough  of  the  Bible"  to  be  aware 
that  the  very  censure  of  the  idolatry  is  the  refutation  of  his  argu- 
ment ?  But  again,  was  it  accidentally  that  he  omitted  to  mention 
the  teaching  of  Elias  among  the  schismatical  tribes,  and  the  seven 
thousand  who  had  not  bowed  the  knee  to  Baal ;  and  that  he  said 
nothing  of  the  kingdom  of  Juda  where,  at  the  time,  the  true  re- 
ligion and  the  true  worship  prevailed  ?  Must  he  not  have  presumed 
largely  on  the  ignorance,  not  only  of  his  critic,  but  also  of  his 
readers,  as  to  biblical  history,  Avhen  he  ventured  to  condemn  the 
Jewish  Church  of  God  as  practising  and  teaching  idolatry  even  in 
their  "ecclesiastical  character?"  And  this,  too,  by  stating  the  part 
of  the  case  that  was  necessary  to  his  argument,  and  concealing  the 
2}ortion  which  refutes  him  ! 

Here  then,  in  the  detection  of  the  reviewer's  fallacies,  we  find  a 
second  means  appointed  by  God  for  the  perpetual  teaching  and  per- 
petuation of  revealed  truths.  The  ministry  of  the  prophets  was  to 
preach  the  doctrines  and  declare  the  judgments  of  the  Lord  of 
Hosts,  and  thus  recall  to  the  standard  of  infallible  pi-eaching  those 
disobedient  portions  of  the  people  who  quit  the  Church  to  follow 
their  02)i?iions,  and  in  whom  idolatry  was  at  once  the  consequence 
and  the  punishment  of  their  presumption.  They  had  the  prophets, 
by  whose  mouth  God  was  admonishing  his  people,  day  and  night. 
(Paralip.  xxxvi.  15  ;  Jer.  xi.  7  ;  xxv.  3-4.)  Neither  are  we  to  sup- 
pose that  these  prophets  stood  alone  in  their  fideUty  to  God.  The 
Vol.  n.-27 


4:18  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

martyrs  of  truth  and  righteousness  were  not  wanting  in  the  days  of 
the  wicked  Manasses,  since  it  is  written  that  he  "  shed  also  very 
much  innocent  blood,  till  he  tilled  Jerusalem  up  to  the  mouth."  (4 
Kings,  xxi.  16),  when  he  attempted  to  destroy  the  doctrines  of  God, 
and  establish  his  own  opinions  in  the  Holy  City. 

Here  again,  therefore,  you  perceive  that  without  the  infallibility 
of  the  Christian  Church,  the  disciples  of  Christ  are  less  secure  from 
error  of  doctrines  than  were  the  children  of  Abraham,  before  his 
coming.  We  have  no  prophets  to  sound  the  alarm  when  men  are 
leading  us  into  spiritual  ruin  by  their  opinions.  If  the  reviewer  will 
take  away  the  infallibility  of  the  Church,  let  him  provide,  at  least, 
the  ministry  of  the  prophets.  Let  him  not  leave  us,  under  the  law 
of  Christ,  more  derelict  and  forsaken  than  the  faithful  weie  under 
the  law  of  Moses.  They  had  the  guidance  of  their  nationality,  of 
their  civil  laws,  of  their  religious  ceremonies,  of  their  genealogical 
descent  by  tribes  and  fiimilies,  of  their  rites,  and  especially  circum- 
cision ;  they  had  moreover  their  God  teaching  them  by  his  messen- 
gers, the  inspired  prophets.  Instead  of  all  these  we  had  the  promise 
of  Jesus  Christ  that  the  gates  of  hell  should  not  prevail  against  His 
Church — and  we  are  satisfied.  But,  when  the  reviewer  tells  you 
that  the  Church  can  deceive  you,  notwithstanding  the  promise — that 
you  are  thrown  out  on  the  ocean  of  uncertainty,  to  be  tossed  about 
by  the  winds  of  human  opinion,  to  have  the  waves  of  doubt  break 
over  your  souls — that  all  you  can  be  certain  of,  as  legards  the  doc- 
trine of  Christ  is,  that  you  are  not  certain  that  those  which  you  hold 
and  teach  as  such  are  true  or  false — then,  dear  sir,  you  may  envy 
the  birthright  of  our  older  brother  who  heard  the  Word  of  God 
infallibly^  from  the  inspired  lips  of  the  holy  prophets,  beginning  with 
Moses  and  ending  with  John  the  Baptist.  Oh  !  unhappy  blindness 
of  those  who  persuade  themselves  that  God  has  made  a  revelation 
of  doctrines  to  be  perpetuated  till  the  end  of  the  world,  and  yet 
provided  no  means  whereby  they  may  be  known  with  infallible  cer- 
tainty;  that  he  established  a  Church  to  be  the  depository  and 
guardian  of  these  doctrines — a  Church,  against  which  the  gates  of 
liell  should  not  jirevail — and  yet  that  this  Church  is  capable  of  leading 
us  into  error^  and  thus  of  co-operating  with  the  gates  of  hell  in  its 
propagation  !  That  whereas  the  Jews  had  their  rites,  and  laws,  and 
prophets  to  guide  them — the  Christian  has  nothing  but  his  opinion. 
I  ask  you,  dear  sir,  are  not  these  consequences  fairly  deduced  from 
th«  grounds  taken  by  your  reviewer ;  and  is  it  not  a  glorious  testi- 
mony in  support  of  the  arguments  and  principle  of  your  sermon, 
that  it  is  necessary  for  him  to  adopt  grounds  which  go  to  the  utter 
destruction  of  revelation  and  Christianity  in  order  to  refute  you? 

I  shall  now  proceed  to  show,  that  besides  all  that  has  been  men- 
tioned, there  was  a  perpetually  subsisting  tribunal  among  the  Jews, 
established  by  divine  appointment,  for  the  express  object  which  ren- 
ders infallibility  necessary  in  the  Christian  Church ;  and  that  from 
the  judgment  of  this  tribunal  there  was  no  right  of  appeal.  In 
doing  thi«,  I  <trust  I  shall  convince  him  that  I  am  not  quite  so  ig 


LETTERS.  419 

norant  of  the  Bible  as  he  has  prematurely  been  led  to  suppose. 
Neither  shall  I  use  it  as  he  has  done,  by  quoting  three  words  of  the 
text  and  adding  ten  of  his  own.  I  shall  use  it  as  history,  and  prove 
by  its  testimony  that  the  existence  and  authority  of  the  tribunal  to 
which  I  refer,  are  facts  which  cannot  be  gainsayed. 

The  Jewish  historian,  Josephus,  who  was  well  acquainted  with 
the  laws  and  religion  of  his  nation,  says  (Contra  Apion,  Lib.  2)  : 
"  The  high  priest  offers  sacrifice  to  God  before  the  other  priests  ; 
he  guards  the  laws,  judges  controversies^  punishes  the  guilty  ;  and, 
whoever  disobeys  him  is  punished,  as  one  who  is  impious  towards 
God."  This  authority  is  expressly  given  to  him  with  the  counsel, 
in  Deut.  xvii.  8  : 

"  If  thou  perceive  that  there  be  among  you  a  hard  and  doubtful  matter  in 
judgment  between  blood  and  blood,  cause  and  cause,  leprosy  and  leprosy  :  and 
thou  see  that  the  words  of  the  judges  within  thy  gates  do  vary  ;  arise  and  go  up  to 
the  place  which  the  Lord  thy  God  shall  choose.  And  thou  shalt  come  to  the  priests 
of  the  Levitical  race,  and  to  the  Judge  that  sJinll  be  at  that  time  yand  thou  shalt 
ask  of  them,  and  they  shall  show  thee  the  truth  of  the  judgment.  And  thou 
shalt  do  whatsoever  they  shall  say,  that  preside  in  the  place  which  the  Lord 
shall  choose,  and  what  they  shall  teach  thee  according  to  his  law  ;  and  thou 
shalt  follow  their  sentence :  neither  shalt  thou  decline  to  the  right  hand  nor  to 
the  left  hand.  But  he  that  will  be  proud,  and  refuse  to  obey  the  commandment 
of  the  priest,  who  ministereth  at  the  time  to  the  Lord  thy  God,  and  the  decree 
of  the  judge,  that  man  shall  die,  and  thou  shalt  take  away  the  evil  from  Israel." 

Here  is  a  tribunal  appointed  by  Almighty  God  for  decidiilg  in  the 
last  resort ;  and  from  whose  sentence  there  is  no  appeal.  Either, 
then,  God  provided  that  this  tribunal  should  judge  infallibly — and 
then  the  penalty  enjoined  is  just — or  else  he  ordained  the  punish- 
ment of  death  for  resisting  a  judgment  which  was  possibly  false  and 
iniquitous.     Which  will  the  reviewer  prefer  ? 

You  are  aware  that  among  the  Jews  there  were  inferior  tribunals 
in  the  different  cities,  and  that  it  was  when  the  judges  of  them  disa- 
greed that  the  case  was  brought  forward  before  the  Great  Coimcil 
in  Jerusalem.  Of  the  institution  of  these  local  tribunals,  we  read  in 
Deut.  xvi.  18:  "Thou  shalt  appoint  judges  and  magistrates  in  all 
the  gates  which  the  Lord  thy  God  shall  give  thee,  in  all  thy  tribes : 
that  they  may  judge  the  people  with  just  judgment,  and  not  go  aside 
to  either  part."  When  they  disagreed  in  the  judgment  of  some 
"  hard  and  doubtful  matter,"  the  case  might  be  brought  before  the 
great  council,  in  which  the  high-priest  presided.  Here  the  "truth 
of  the  judgment"  was  determined  without  appeal.  The  origin  and 
occasion  of  these  lesser  tribunals  are  stated  in  Exod.  xviii.  13  : 

"  And  the  next  day  Moses  sat  to  judge  the  people,  who  stood  by  Moses  from 
morning  till  night.  And  when  his  kinsman  had  seen  all  things  that  he  did 
among  the  people,  he  said  :  What  is  it  that  thou  dost  among  the  people?  why 
sittest  thou  alone,  and  all  the  people  wait  from  morning  till  night?  And 
Moses  answered  him  :  The  people  come  to  me  to  seek  the  judgment  of  God. 
And  when  any  controversy  falleth  out  among  them,  they  come  to  me  to  judge 
between  them,  and  to  show  the  precepts  of  God,  and  his  laws.  But  he  said : 
The  thing  thou  dost  is  not  good.  Thou  art  spent  with  foolish  labor,  both  thou, 
and  this  people  that  is  with  thee ;  the  business  is  above  thy  strength,  thou 


420  AECHBI8H0P  HUGHES. 

alone  canst  not  bear  it.  But  hear  my  words  and  counsels,  and  God  sliall  be 
with  thee.  Be  thou  to  the  people  in  those  things  that  pertain  to  God,  to  bring 
their  words  to  him  :  and  to  show  the  people  the  ceremonies  and  the  manner  of 
worshipping,  and  the  way  wherein  they  ouglit  to  walk,  and  the  work  they  ought 
to  do.  And  provide  out  of  all  the  people  able  men,  such  as  fear  God,  in  whom 
there  is  truth,  and  that  hate  avarice,  and  appoint  of  them  rulers  of  thousands, 
and  of  hundreds,  and  of  fifties,  and  of  tens,  who  shall  judge  the  people  at  all 
times  ;  and  when  any  great  matter  soever  shall  fall  out,  let  them  refer  it  to  thee, 
and  let  them  judge  the  lesser  matters  only." 

And  Moses  having  appointed  these  judges,  the  text  informs  us 
(verse  26)  that  "  they  judged  the  people  at  all  times ;  and  whatsoever 
was  of  greater  difficulty  they  referred  to  him,  and  they  judged  the 
easier  cases  only. 

The  institution  of  the  great  council  is  found  in  Numbers  xi.  16, 
etc.,  where  God  commands  Moses  to  choose  seventy  elders  of  the 
people,  who  should  share  th-^  spirit  which  he  had  given  to  Moses, 
and  aid  him  in  the  pronouncing  of  judgments.  And  when  Moses 
had  done  as  ^.directed,  "  the  Lord  came  down  in  a  cloud  and  spoke 
to  him,  taking  away  of  the  spirit  that  was  in  Moses,  and  giving  to 
the  seventy  men.  And  when  the  spirit  had  rested  on  them  they 
prophesied,  nor  did  they  cease  afterwards."  (Verse  25.) 

Here,  then,  is  by  divine  appointment  the  origin  of  that  council 
which  was  supreme  among  the  Jews  for  the  determining  of  the 
doctrines  of  God,  whenever  there  was  a  "  question  concerning  the 
law,  the  commandment,  the  ceremonies  and  justifications."  (See 
Paralip.  xix.  4.)  In  this  council  the  liigh-priest  presided;  and 
such  was  the  infallibility  of  its  judgment,  that  the  individual  who  re- 
jected it  was  condemned  to  death  by  the  direction  of  the  Divine 
Legislator  himself.  There  was  tlien  no  room  for  the  reviewer's 
theory  of  opinions ;  and  as  this  tribunal  was  not  abrogated  from  the 
time  of  Moses  until  the  coming  of  Christ,  it  follows  that  the  people 
of  God  never  were  without  an  authority  to  declare,  teach,  judge,  and 
determine  infallibly  the  doctrines  which  had  been  revealed.  Can 
the  reviewer  point  out  an  instance  in  which  the  ancient  people  fell 
into  error  by  following  the  judgment  of  this  tribunal  in  its  "ecclesi- 
astical character  ?"  Can  he  point  out  an  instance  of  their  prevarica- 
tion which  was  not  begun  by  their  turning  away  from  the  judgment 
of  that  tribunal,  and  giving  the  preference  to  their  own  opinions  ? 
And  if  not,  with  what  justice  can  he  appeal  to  the  violation  of  the 
rule  as  an  evidence  that  the  rule  does  not  exist  ?  As  well  might  he 
quote  the  excesses  of  the  Arians  or  Albigenses,  to  prove  that  the 
Christian  Church  is  not  infallible. 

Did  this  tribunal  ever  fall  into  error,  as  a  tribunal  discharging  the 
duties  for  which  it  was  appointed,  until  the  period  when  its  authority 
expired,  and  was  superseded  by  that  of  Christ?  Never.  Was  its 
sentence  on  doctrinal  questions  pronounced  in  judicial  form  infalli- 
ble ?  It  was.  God  would  not  have  commanded  the  obedience  of 
his  people  at  the  penalty  of  death,  to  a  sentence  which  was  not  infal- 
lible. God  himself,  be  it  said  with  reverence  to  his  holy  name,  could 
not  command  his  people  to  submit  to  the  judgment  of  an  authority 


*  LETTERS.  421 

capable  of  leading  them  into  error  of  doctrine  by  a  false  decision. 
The  reviewer  may  allege  the  case  of  Aaron's  idolatry,  which,  by  the 
way,  occurred  before  his  priesthood  ;  he  may  quote  the  personal 
prevarication  of  the  high-priest  Urias  in  erecting  a  forbidden  altar 
in  the  temple  at  the  command  of  the  wicked  king  Achaz,  and  oifer- 
ing  strange  sacrifices  upon  it ;  he  may  add  to  these  tlie  reproach  of 
Isaias,  and  the  complaints  of  Jei'emias  against  the  priests,  and  the 
people,  and  the  prophets.  But  until  he  comes  to  the  condemnation 
of  Christ  by  the  Sanhedrim,  he  will  find  no  error  in  the  official 
judgment  of  the  high-priest,  when  "  the  question  was  concerning 
the  law,  the  commandment,  the  ceremonies,  the  justifications" 
(2  Paralip.  xix.  10.)  How  strangely,  then,  must  our  reviewer 
have  allowed  his  opinions  to  blind  him  to  "scriptural  truth," 
when  he  could  venture  to  assert  that  the  ancient  Church  of  God 
both  practised  and  taught  idolatry  even  in  her  "  ecclesiastical  char- 
acter !" 

Finally,  at  the  birth  of  the  Messiah  we  find  this  council  still  giving 
the  inlallible  interpretation  of  the  prophecies  regarding  the  place  of 
His  nativity.  (Matt.  xi.  4.)  Later  still,  when  the  miracles  of  Christ 
had  already  proclaimed  that  the  synagogue  had  accomplished  the 
object  of  its  institution,  and  when  the  council  assembled  to  oppose 
those  miracles  by  the  last  effort  of  dying  authority,  the  inspired 
historian  tells  us  that  "  Caiphas,  being  the  high-priest  for  that  year, 
said  to  them :  You  know  nothing  at  all.  Neither  do  you  consider 
that  it  is  expedient  that  one  man  should  die  for  the  people,  and  that 
the  whole  nation  perish  not.  And  this  he  spoke  not  of  himself,  but 
BEING  HIGH-PRIEST  THAT  YEAii  he  prophesied  that  Jesus  should  die 
lor  the  nation."  (John  xi.  49-51.)  Did  he  err  in  the  declaration? 
Was  it  not  "  expedient  ?"  And  even  in  this  instance  did  not  God 
so  overrule  the  wickedness  of  the  man  as  to  vindicate  the  inerrancy 
of  the  office,  and  compel  the  "  high-priest  for  that  year"  to  pro- 
nounce an  infallible  sentence  ?  But  it  was  the  last.  JSefore  the  as- 
sembling of  another  council,  the  miracles  and  doctiine  of  Clirist  had 
proved  that  the  authority  of  the  synagogue  was  now  superseded  by 
that  of  Him  to  whom  "  was  given  all  power  in  heaven  and  on 
earth."  (Matt,  xxviii.  18.) 

To  recapitulate  then,  briefly  ;  God  had  appointed  in  the  Jewish 
Church  a  tribunal,  presided  over  by  the  high-priest,  to  judge  of 
controversies  both  of  doctrine  and  morals,  by  a  sentence  wliich  was 
final  and  without  appeal ;  so  that  its  judgment  was  /tzs  judgment,  of 
which  they  were  the  only  legitimate  organ.  It  7iever  evved  in  judg- 
ing according  to  the  commission,  until  after  the  commission  had  ex- 
pired. The  objections  that  would  appear  in  the  history  and  writings 
of  Aaron,  of  Urias,  of  Isaias,  and  Jeremias  are  not  objections;  for 
they  do  not  come  within  the  limits  of  the  question.  The  last  objec- 
tion shows,  in  fine,  the  proof  of  the  very  proposition  which  it  is  em- 
ployed to  refute,  since  it  shows  tliat  Caiphas  spoke  not  of  himseltj 
but  "  being  high-priest  that  year,  he  prophesied  ;"  in  otlicr  words, 
that  God  vindicated  to  the  last  His  veracity  pledged  to  the  office  of 


422  AKCHBISHOP  HUGHES. 

that  judge  whom  He  had  appointed  to  pronounce,  by  ajinal  sentence, 
what  was  the  doctrine  of  Heaven,  as  distinguished  from  the  opiniojis 
of  men. 

I  am,  &c.y 

J.  H. 


LETTER  V. 

Dear  Sir — My  last  letter  closed  at  the  period  in  the  history  of 
revelation,  when  the  divine  commission  passed  from  the  Synagogue, 
and  the  Son  of  God  Himself,  Jesus  Christ,  became  the  teacher  of 
men.  He  did  not  derive  His  infallibility  from  the  prerogatives  of 
the  ancient  covenant.  He  brought  it  from  heaven — it  was  the  inherent 
attribute  of  His  divinity.  He  did  not  require  that  homage  of  the 
human  understanding  which  we  call  faith,  until  after  He  had 
proved  by  His  miracles  that  it  was  His  right  to  claim  it.  He  taught 
by  Himself — He  taught  by  His  apostles,  to  whom  also  He  gave 
power  to  work  miracles,  in  proof  of  the  divinity  of  the  commission 
with  which  He  intrusted  them.  The  nature  of  that  commission 
required  the  co-operation  of  associates  and  successors  for  the  fulfil- 
ment of  His  divine  purpose,  which  was  to  extend  the  knowledge  of 
His  religion  to  the  boundaries  of  the  earth,  and  to  perpetuate  the 
same  to  the  end  of  time.  These  were  witiiesses  to  Him  in  Judea 
and  Samaria,  and  to  all  the  nations  of  the  world.  As  witnesses  they 
were  to  preach  what  they  had  seen  and  heard.  They  had  seen  HLs 
miracles — they  had  heard  His  doctrines.  They  were  to  testify  of 
both ;  and,  by  their  own  miracles,  to  prove  to  the  nations,  that, 
though  they  were  strangers,  proclaiming  strange  doctrines,  yet  they 
were  not  impostoi's,  but  persons  to  whose  testimony  was  affixed  the 
seal  of  God — the  seal  of  infallibility.  They  were  not  sent  to  express 
OPINIONS,  as  our  reviewer  would  have  it,  but  to  "  teach  whatsoever 
He  had  commanded  them,"  Here  was  their  commission.  It  was 
qualified  by  specific  injunction  and  specific  limitation.  They  knew 
what  Christ  had  commanded  them  to  teach — and  their  teaclnng  of 
it  was  simply  their  testimony  to  a  general  fact.  Those  who  yielded 
to  the  infallible  evidence  of  their  testimony  believed,  and  thus  we 
read  that  God  added  daily  to  the  Church  such  as  should  be  saved. 
Thus  the  propagation  of  Christianity,  in  the  formation  of  the  Church, 
was  but  the  extension  and  multiplication  of  the  witnesses  as  to  the 
facts  of  which  the  apostles  had  borne  their  first  testimony.  Here  is 
then  a  visible  society  of  Christians,  composed  of  pastors  and  of  prose- 
lytes, professing  the  doctrines  of  Christ,  practising  the  sacraments, 
ordinances  of  Christ,  paying  deference  to  those  who  were  called  to 
fulfil  the  apostolical  mission  of  Christ. 

This  society  constituted  the  Church  of  Christ ;  the  doctrines  of 
Christ  are  confined  to  the  keeping  of  its  testimony — the  commission 
of  Christ  to  teach  all  nations,  belongs  to  its  pastors.     Distinguished 


LETTEES.  423 

by  the  profession  and  practice  of  its  own  doctrines,  it  constitutes  a 
visible  and  perpetually  subsisting  body  of  believers,  scattered  more 
or  less  over  the  earth,  but  united  in  their  faith,  like  the  children  of 
one  household.  Does  some  member  propose  a  doctrine  which  it  did 
not  profess  before?  It  testifies  against  that  doctrine  as  error. 
Does  he  reject  some  tenet  that  it  had  always  believed  ?  It  lifts  its 
Catholic  voice  against  the  sacrilegious  attempt.  Has  the  disease 
infected  other  members  besides  that  in  which  it  originated  ?  It 
applies  the  remedy  of  fraternal  correction,  and  if  this  fail,  it  ampu- 
tates the  putrid  limb,  and  flings  it  with  all  its  putrescence  beyond  the 
pale  of  its  own  communion. 

The  exercise  of  this  prerogative  is  necessary  to  its  self-preservation 
and  existence.  This  is  recognized,  not  only  by  Catholics,  but  by 
every  denomination  of  Christians.  The  question  then  is,  does  that 
society  err?  Can  it  err  in  vindicating  its  own  existence?  In  other 
words,  is  it  the  right,  as  you  ask  in  your  sermon,  of  the  individual 
to  arraign  the  Church,  or  the  right  of  the  Church  to  arraign,  judge, 
condemn,  or  approve  the  doctrine  of  the  individual,  as  it  is  found  to 
agree  with  or  to  contradict  the  teaching  and  belief  of  the  whole 
society  ?  I  answer,  unhesitatingly,  that  it  is  not  only  the  right,  but 
it  has  been  the  practice  from  the  beginning  of  Christianity,  for  the 
Church  to  declare  the  doctrines,  which  she  received  from  Christ  and 
the  apostles,  and  to  judge,  condemn,  and  cut  off  from  her  communion 
every  individual  who  attempted  to  inci'easeor  diminish  their  number 
or  pervert  their  meaning.  The  contest  is  not  between  equals — it  is 
between  an  individual  and  the  whole  Church.  The  causes  are  not 
the  same — on  the  one  side  it  is  the  whole  Church  "  witnessing"  for 
Christ — according  to  His  commission — bearing  testimony  to  the 
FACT  of  its  own  doctrines  ;  on  the  other,  it  is  opinion.  This  was  the 
position  of  the  Church  at  the  commencement  of  every  controversy 
since  the  day  on  which  the  Holy  Ghost  descended  on  the  apostles. 
The  heresy  of  the  Gnostics,  the  Ebionites,  the  Sabellians,  the  Mon- 
tanists,  the  Manicheans,  the  Arians,  the  Eutychians,  the  Nestorians, 
and  of  all  the  modern  sects,  began  by  an  opinion,  adopted  and 
obstinately  persevered  in,  by  some  individual. 

And,  if  there  is  any  unknown  error  which  the  ingenuity  of  human 
speculation  has  not  yet  discovered,  it  will  commence  precisely  in  the 
same  way  ;  and,  in  the  same  way,  if  it  originate  in  the  Church,  will 
the  Church  condemn  it. 

Has  the  Church  the  inherent  right  thus  to  assert  her  doctrine — 
thus  to  condemn  error?  She  has,  and  the  reviewer  himself  will 
hardly  venture  to  deny  it.  But  she  has  this  right,  only  inasmuch 
as  she  is  infallible — that  is,  inasmuch  as  she  is  removed  from  the 
possibility  of  pronouncing  a  false  judgment.  Otherwise  the  Church 
would  be  defenceless — unable  to  preserve  the  doctrines  which  she 
was  commanded  to  teach — and  Arius  would  have  as  much  riglit  to 
condemn  the  Council  of  Nice,  as  the  council  had  to  condemn  liim. 
If  the  council  were  not  infallible,  it  might  err  in  condemning  his 
opinions ;  and  if  it  might  err  in  this,  it  is  because  his  opinions  might 


424:  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

be  the  true  doctrines ;  and  if  so,  by  what  right  did  the  council  con- 
demn liis  opinions?     So  of  all  others. 

Hence,  dear  sir,  in  the  history  of  the  sects,  both  of  ancient  and 
modern  times,  there  are  no  facts  to  illustrate  the  question  now  under 
consideration.  Infallibility  was  an  essential  attribute  of  the  j!;r«ne- 
tive  society,  which  inherited  the  doctrines  of  Christ,  and  the  com- 
missioii  to  teach  them.  Not  only  this,  but  the  term  is  entirely 
inappropriate  when  applied  to  "the Church  Catholic,"  as  undei-stood 
in  the  vague  and  indefinite  sense  of  your  sermon.  The  prerogative 
of  inerrancy  or  infallibility  contended  for,  if  it  exist  at  all,  must 
belong  to  some  society  of  Christians,  united  among  themselves,  and 
distinguished  from  all  other  societies  by  the  apostolical  succession  of 
its  pastors,  and  the  immutability  of  its  doctrines.  This  is  so  clear, 
that  all  denominations  which  are  not  of  this  description,  have  frankly 
disclaimed  every  pretension  to  infallibility.  Their  defence  of  their 
doctrines  is  their  defence  of  their  own  opinions.  And  yet,  acknowl- 
edging what  they  are — and  feeling  what  they  ought  to  be,  but  are 
not — they  have  usurped  the  exercise  of  that  prerogative  which  they 
disclaimed.  The  Synod  of  Dort  was  as  dogmatical  as  the  Council 
of  Trent.  The  subordinate  Synods,  that  of  Alet  in  1620,  and  of 
Charenton  in  1623,  required  ministers  not  only  to  subscribe.,  but 
even  to  swear  their  belief  of  a/^  the  points  of  faith  setitled  by  that 
of  Dort.  The  councils  of  the  Catholic  Church,  acknowledged  to  be 
infallible  by  all  Catholics,  seldom  required  this  much,  and  certainly 
never  demanded  more. 

In  the  Acts  of  the  Convocation  of  1603  (pp.  2,  3,  4,  64),  held  in 
London,  the  "  Sacred  Synod"  of  the  Church  of  England  pronounces 
a  series  of  excommunications  against  such  persons  as  should  hold 
certain  supposed  errors,  then  and  there  specified  ;  among  them  the 
denial  of  the  purity  of  worship,  or  of  the  infallibility  (though  the 
word  is  not  expressly  used)  of  the  Thirty-nine  Articles,  were  promi- 
nently conspicuous.  The  advocates  of  one  set  of  opinions  excom- 
municating the  advocates  of  another  set  of  opinions !  Hence,  a  con- 
tinental writer,  Count  Le  Maistre,  speaking  of  the  awful  pi-actice  of 
making  the  clergy  of  the  Establishment  swear  to  the  Thirty-nine 
Articles,  makes  the  following  observations  : 

"  The  Church  of  England  is  the  only  association  in  the  world  that  has  de- 
clared itself  null  and  ridiculous  in  the  very  act  wliich  constitutes  it.  In  this 
act  it  has  solemnly  declared  that  Thirty-nine  Articles,  neither  more  nor  less,  are 
necessary  for  salvation  ;  and  that  to  belong  to  this  Church  men  must,  moreover, 
sicear  to  them.  Now,  one  of  these  very  articles  declares  solemnly  that  God,  in 
forming  His  Church,  left  no  infallibility  on  the  earth ;  that  all  the  Churches 
have  fallen  into  error,  beginning  with  that  of  Rome  ;  and  that  they  have  been 
grossly  deceived  both  in  relation  to  doctrines  and  to  morals ;  so  that  none  of 
them  possess  the  right  to  prescribe  what  men  should  believe  ;  and  that  the 
Scriptures  alone  arc  the  sole  rule  of  faith.  Therefore,  the  case  is,  that  the 
Church  of  England  declares  to  its  members  that  it  has  no  right  to  command, 
but  that  they,  also,  have  a  ri":ht  not  to  obey.  So  that,  in  the  very  same  moment, 
with  the  very  same  pen,  with  the  same  dip  of  ink  and  upon  the  same  slip  of 
paper,  it  declares  the  dogma,  and  declares  that  it  has  not  any  right  to  declare  it. 


LETTERS.  425 

I  hope  that  in  the  endless  catalogue  of  human  inconsistencies  this  will  always 
hold  one  of  the  first  places." 

Here,  a<jain,  is  the  disavowal  combined  with  the  exercise  of  as- 
sumed infallibility.  Turn  which  way  you  will,  you  will  discover  .not 
only  the  Establishment,  but  even  the  petty  sects  of  Protestantism, 
playing  off  this  same  prerogative  of  authority  to  guard  truth  and 
repel  error  ;  and  this,  too,  while  it  confesses  that  it  has  no  authority, 
and  that  the  propositions  which  it  condemns  are  of  the  same  order 
as  those  which  it  approves,  both  being  mere  opinions.  By  the  ac- 
knowledgment of  the  parties,  the  opinions  vindicated  tnay  he  false — 
those  condemned  may  be  true.  Of  what  authority,  then,  is  the  de- 
cree ?  With  what  pungency  of  retort  may  the  condemned  in  every 
case  turn  on  their  judges,  in  the  language  of  the  remonstrants 
against  the  decrees  of  Dort  Synod  : 

"  Why,"  say  these  able  advocates  of  Protestant  liberty,  "  why  exact  that  our 
inspiration  or  judgment  should  yield  to  your  opinions  ?  The  opinion  of  every 
society,  our  apostles -the  first  reformer& — declared  to  be  fallible ;  and,  conse- 
quently, to  exact  submission  to  its  dictates,  they,  with  great  consistency,  de- 
fined to  be  tyranny.  Thus  they  defined  it  in  regard-  of  the  Church  of  Kome, 
and  yourselves  have  sanctioned  their  decision.  Why,  therefore,  exercise  a 
dominion  over  us  which  you  stigmatize  as  tyranny  in  a  Church  compared 
with  wliose  greatness  you  dwindle  into  insignificance  'i  If  there  be  any  crime 
in  resisting  the  decisions  of  our  pastors,  then  are  you,  and  we,  and  all  of  us 
guilty  of  resisting  the  authority  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  which  existed  before- 
us,  and  of  which  our  forefathers  were  a  portion.  K,  indeed,  such  resistance 
be  a  crime,  then  let  us  altogether  abandon  the  Reformation,  blot  out  the  stain 
of  our  origin,  and  run  back  to  the  bosom  of  Catholicity.  Or,  if  such  resistance 
be  no  crime,  why  require  of  us  a  submission  we  do  not  owe  you  ?  You  object 
to  us  that  our  doctrine  is  contrary  to  the  Word  of  God,  and  we  assert  that  it 
is  yours  which  is  repugnant  to  it.  When  the  Church  of  Rome  imperiously 
demanded  the  submission  of  our  fathers,  our  fathers  requested  to  be  first  in- 
structed and  convinced  of  the  truth  of  the  doctrines  thus  pressed  upon  them ; 
and  because  they  were  not  convinced  of  their  truth,  they  refused  to  subscribe 
to  them.  We  present  to  you  the  same  request — instruct  and  convince  us. 
Or,  since  you  do  not  convince  us — as  your  decisions  are  contrary  to  our  in- 
spirations and  to  the  dictate  of  our  reason — allow  us  to  difler  from  you,  as  you 
do  from  the  parent  Church.  Either,  in  short,  allow  us  the  liberty  which  our 
forefathers  claimed  and  yourselves  approve,  or  let  us  altogether  rim  back  to 
the  fold  which  they  abandoned." 

It  may  not  be  superfluous  to  observe  that  the  representatives  of  the 
Church  who  had  passed  those  dogmatical  decrees  were  only  the  dele- 
gates of  a  few  scattered  congregations  of  a  particular  sect,  without 
any  remarkable  agreement  among  themselves  as  to  the  points  of 
belief.  In  what  diiftinished  contrast  does  it  stand  when  compared 
with  a  council  of  the  Catholic  Church,  of  which  the  author  of  the 
letters  of  Atticus,  himself  a  Protestant,  writes  thus : 

"  How  am  I  struck  with  admiration  when  I  come  to  consider  the  antiquity  of 
this  Raman  Church  ;  its  vast  extent ;  the  majesty,  the  magnificence,  the  sym- 
metry of  its  edifice  ;  its  immutable  stability  amid  all  the  persecution  it  has 
undergone  ;  its  admirable  discipline,  which  seems  traced  out  by  the  hand  of 
supernatural  wisdom  ;  the  impotence  of  its  adversaries,  notwithstanding  all  their 
sophistry,  invectives,  and  csdumnies  ;  when  I  contemplate  the  dignity,  the 
viitue,  tlie  talents  of  its  apologiste ;  the  vices,  the  dishonesty  of  its  first  assailants ; 


4:26  AECHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

the  total  extinction  of  so  many  sects  which  have  risen  up  against  it ;  the 
little  consistency  of  the  present  sects  ;  their  variations  on  points  of  doctrine, 
&c.,  &c." 

I  admit  that  this  is  only  a  description,  eloquently  put  forth,  of  the 
author's  feelings  in  the  contemplation  of  the  Catholic  Church.  But 
what  is  the  authority  of  a  sect — commencing  one  or  tvvo  or  three 
centuries  ago,  restricted  to  a  few  provinces,  disagreeing  in  opinions^ 
and  professing  to  teach  nothing  more — when  compared  with  the 
authority  of  that  Church,  universal  in  its  extent,  apostolical  in  origin, 
united  and  unchanging  in  its  faith,  bearing  testimony  to  its  own 
doctrines,  and  blasting  every  error  by  the  simple  publication  of  that 
testimony  ? 

In  the  foregoing  observations  my  design  has  been  to  show,  by  the 
conduct  of  those  who  disclaim  it,  the  necessity  of  a  real  or  assumed 
infallibility.  The  Reformers,  so  called,  rallied  their  adherents  under 
the  bannei-s  o'ifree  opinion.  And,  whilst  they  did  this,  it  was  natural 
for  them  to  declaim  against  the  infallibility  which  had  branded  them 
as  innovators  in  doctrine.  But,  by  and  by,  the  new  camp  was  one 
scene  of  religious  anarchy.  Every  one  judged  for  himself.  One 
opinion  was  as  good  as  another,  since  all  were  free.  When  opinions 
clash,  who  should  decide  ?  The  Bible  ?  But  a  reference  to  its  pages 
only  multiplied  the  disputes  which  it  was  invoked  to  terminate. 
-This  was  observed  at  an  early  period.  Dudith  says,  writing  to  his 
friend  Beza: 

"  You  contend  that  the  Scriptures  are  a  perfect  rule  of  faith ;  but  you  are, 
all  of  you,  divided  about  the  sense  of  them.  Neither  have  you  as  yet  settled 
who  shall  be  the  judge.  You  say  one  thing.  Stancarus  says  another.  You 
quote  the  Bible.  He  quotes  the  Bible.  You  reason.  He  reasons.  You  require 
of  me  to  believe  you.  I  do,  no  doubt,  respect  you  ;  but  why  should  I  trust  you 
rather  than  Stancarus  ?  You  say  he  is  a  heretic.  But  the  Catholics  say  you 
are,  both  of  you.  heretics.  Whom,  then,  shall  I  believe '?  They  quote  historians 
and  fathers.  So  do  you.  To  whom  then,  do  you,  all  of  you,  address  your- 
selves ?  Where  is  the  judge  ?  You  have  thrown  off  the  yoke.  Allow  me  to 
throw  off  mine.  You  say  I  am  no  prophet.  I  say  you  are  none.  Who  is  the 
judge?  Having  freed  yourselves,  as  you  call  it,  from  tyranny,  why  do  you  turn 
tyrants  yourselves — and  even  more  cruel  tyrants  than  were  those  against  wliom 
you  declaim  so  violently  ?  Does  not  all  the  world  know  that  you  are  a  set  of 
demagogues?  You  talk  of  your  Augsburg  Confession,  &c.;  of  your  unanimity 
and  fundamental  articles.  I  keep  thinking  of  the  commandment — '  Thou  shalt 
not  kill.' " 

Here  is  our  reviewer's  principle  of  opinion  sketched  with  pro- 
phetic but  frightful  accuracy  by  the  pencil  of  a. Protestant — one  of 
the  iathers  of  the  pretended  Reformation.  But  the  same  causes 
acting  on  the  human  mind  and  heart  would  have  produced  the  same 
effect  in  every  age ;  and  the  Church  of  Christ  would  have  been  from 
the  commencement  a  scene  of  anarchy  and  confusion,  had  not  her 
divine  Founder,  whose  commission  she  was  appointed  to  fulfil  in  all 
nations  and  ages,  invested  her  with  the  authority  to  distinguish  by 
an  infallible  judgment  between  His  doctrines  and  the  opinions  of  man. 
In  the  societies  professing  the  Christian  religion,  but  separated  from 
the  Church,  all  kinds  of  expedients  were  resorted  to  as  human  sub- 


LETTERS.  427 

8titut.es  for  infallibility.  Articles  and  creeds  were  drawn  up — oaths 
were  prescribed  by  synods  and  parliaments,  as  if  swearing  added  to 
the  quantum  of  faith.  But  it  was  like  the  magicians  of  Egypt 
mocking  the  power  of  Moses.  They  might,  and  did,  to  a  certain 
extent,  conjure  up  and  allay  opinions  by  moving  their  wands  ;  but 
the  rod  of  infallible  authority  still  continued  in  the  liands  of  that 
Church  which  God  had  founded,  and  to  which  He  had  intrusted  the 
teaching  and  preservation  of  His  doctrine  until  the  consummation  of 
the  world. 

In  short,  sir,  we  must  depend  on  authority  for  our  belief  of  the 
doctrines  of  revelation.  There  is  no  escape.  Turn  to  the  Bible  alone, 
or  to  the  Church  and  Bible  together — still  it  is  authority.  The 
authenticity,  the  inspiration  of  the  sacred  volume,  even  the  reviewer 
must  take  on  authority.  And  until  he  admits  that  the  authority 
which  attests  the  tact  is  infallible,  he  must  hold  the  character  of  £he 
book  to  be  doubtful — that  is,  he  must  admit  the  possibility  of  its  not 
being  the  inspired  Word  of  God. 

Allow  me  to  close  with  the  following  eloquent  and  argumentative 
elucidation  of  this  part  of  the  subject,  taken  from  Gaillard's  Life  of 
Francis  the  First : 

"  The  human  mind,"  says  Gaillard,  "  admits  only  two  arbiters  of  belief — 
reason  and  authority.  One  of  the  most  noble  functions  of  reason  is  to  feel  its 
own  impotence,  and  the  want  in  which  it  stands  of  a  guide  to  conduct  and  help 
it.  In  matters  of  religion,  reason  does  not  reach  beyond  the  boundaries  of  nat- 
ural religion.  Mysteries  being  placed  out  of  its  sphere,  surpass  its  compre- 
hension ;  and,  therefore,  if  it  admit  them,  it  is  only  as  objects  of  faith  decided  by 
divine  authority.  Reason,  it  is  true,  conducts  to  this  authority,  by  proving  in 
the  first  place  that  it  is  necessary ;  and  secondly,  by  evincing  that  it  should 
possess  those  marks  and  evidences,  by  which  it  cannot  be  mistaken.  Thus,  re- 
ferred by  reason  to  authority,  we  penetrate  under  its  iinerring  guidance  into 
dogmas  and  mysteries  of  revelation,  and  enter  into  the  regions  and  empire  of 
faith.  If  the  unbeliever  reject  these  dogmas  and  mysteries,  merely  because  he 
does  not  understand  them,  I  consider  him  a  daring  madman,  who,  requiring  two 
guides,  obstinately  persists  in  taking  only  one ;  and  one,  too,  which  admonishes 
him  incessantly  to  take  another,  and  another  surer  than  itself.  He  errs,  because 
he  gives  too  much  reason ;  believing  nothing  beyond  the  sphere  of  his  own 
weak  and  contracted  understanding.  However,  he  is,  in  this,  neither  incon- 
sequent nor  absurd  ;  at  least,  he  is  not  inconsequent  and  absurd  in  the  same 
degree  as  the  reasoning  theologian,  who  owning  the  inefficiency  of  reason,  and 
the  consequent  necessity  for  authority,  and  who,  receiving  dogmas  and  mys- 
teries, combats  the  authority,  modifies  the  dogmas,  alters  the  mysteries,  so  that 
they  still  remain  mysteries,  but  cease  to  be  supported  upon  the  basis  of  sufii- 
cient  authority  to  render  them  the  objects  of  faith  and  veneration.  Consist- 
ency and  wisdom,  then,  should  reason  in  this  manner  :  If  nothing  ought  to  be 
believed  but  what  reason  comprehends — if  it  be  false  that  reason  itself  ad- 
monishes us  to  obey  the  injunctions  of  authority,  then,  it  is  certain  that  it  is 
necessary  to  reject  all  mysteries  entirely,  and  all  the  dogmas  of  revelation  ;  it 
is  unreasonable  even  to  allow  that  the  incredulity  of  the  unbeliever  is  wiser 
than  the  faith  of  the  believer.  But,  if  reason  be  too  feeble  to  conduct  us  in  the 
paths  of  truth,  and  authority  be  necessary  to  lead  us  securely  in  them,  then  it 
becomes  criminal  to  change  the  oracles  of  such  authority  ;  and  it  is  our  duty, 
without  restriction  or  modification,  to  adore  the  mysteries  which  it  proposes  or 
enforces.  It  is  certainly  profane  in  man  to  touch  or  change  the  work  of  God. 
Wherefore,  when  Luther,  for  example,  proposes  to  me  to  substitute  consub- 
stantiation  in  the  room  of  transubatantiation,  to  what  tribvmal  does  he  refer 


428  AKCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

me  ?  To  aufhority  ?  Bat  authority  is  completely  against  him.  To  reason  ? 
But  reason  understands  as  little  of  consubstantiation,  as  of  transubstantiation. 
When  another  reasoning  dogmatist  tells  me  that  Christ  is  present  in  the  Eu- 
charist by  faith,  I  aslc  him  what  he  means  by  a  j)resence  by  faith  ?  Either 
Christ  is  present,  or  He  is  not  present.  If  He  be  not  present,  then  my  faith 
cannot  render  him  present ;  and,  of  course,  I  do  wrong  to  believe  Him  present. 
If  He  be  present,  then  my  faitli  has  nothing  to  do  witli  bringing  Him  tliere  ; 
and  He  is  there,  whether  I  believe  it  or  believe  it  not.  And,  where  then  is  the 
wisdom  of  your  reasoning  1  If  you  do  not  emancipate  my  reason  ;  if  you  still 
leave  it  subject  to  a  yoke,  let  this  yoke  be,  not  the  profane  which  you  hold  out, 
but  one  that  is  sacred  and  divine.  Mystery  for  mystery — I  am  not  able  to  be- 
lieve any  mystery  which  is  not  proposed  to  me  by  a  competent  authority.  You 
imdertake  too  much,  and  too  little.  Either  retrench  nothing,  or  retrench  all 
that  reason  does  not  understand  ;  if  reason  itself  can  assent  to  such  retrench- 
ment. The  deist  wanders  further,  it  is  true,  from  the  paths  of  salvation  than 
you  do.  But  he  is  also  nearer  re-entering  the  paths  of  salvation  than  you  are. 
His  mode  of  reasoning  is  more  rational  and  consistent ;  and  let  him  only  once 
feel  the  necessity  of  authority  to  direct  him,  he  wiU  yield  implicit  submission 
to  its  directions,  without  any  of  the  ridiculous  reservations  which  modify  your 
creeds." 

Such  is  the  point  of  view  in  which  wisdom  contemplates  the 
vague  opinions  of  heresy,  and  those  nnphilosopliic  alterations  which 
Luther,  Calvin,  and  the  reformers  have  thought  proper  to  intrude 
into  the  doctrines  of  the  church.* 

I  am,  &c.,  &c., 

J.  H. 


LETTER  VI. 

Dear  Sir — Almighty  God  has  appointed  two,  and  only  two, 
principles  of  guidance  for  the  judgment  of  the  human  mind — the 
principle  of  reason  and.  that  of  authority.  If  ever  conclu.sion  was 
founded  on  the  testimony  of  both  united,  that  conclusion  is  the  in- 
fallibility of  the  Church  of  Christ.  The  necessity  of  this  infal- 
libility is  manifest  from  all  the  foregoing  considerations  of  these 
letters.  God  is  the  author  of  revelation — and  when  God  speaks, 
whether  by  himself  immediately,  or  through  those  commissioned  by 
him  to  communicate  his  will  to  mankind,  it  is  the  plain  dictate  of 
reason  that  there  can  be  no  deception  in  the  testimony ;  in  other 
words,  that  the  speaking  tribunal  is  infiillible.  If  this  were  not  the 
case,  the  consequence  would  be  blasphemous,  viz.,  that  even  when 
God  is  our  teacher,  still  we  may  be  deceived.  The  man  who  denies 
the  infallibility  of  the  Church  cannot  escape  the  dreadful  alternative. 
Can  you,  dear  sir,  have  recourse  to  it?  Can  you  join  the  reviewer 
in  denying  all  infallibility  both  of  the  Church  and  of  private  judg- 

•  In  religion,  one  of  these  two  points  is  necessary ;  eltlier  with  the  Catholic  to  acknowledge  an 
InfiiUible  authority,  which  decides  iii)on  questions  without  appeal,  or,  with  the  deist,  to  consider  and 
admit  reason  as  the  sole  arbiter  of  opinion.  There  is  no  medium  between  the  two;  and  therefore 
upon  this  question  there  is  no  conf-isteut  man  who  is  not  either  a  Catholic  or  a  Deist;  he  can  dis- 
cover no  oi  her  resource;  or,  as  Gaillard  e.xpresses  It,  ^^un  esprit  consequent  ri'apperQoit  pas  tin 
tiers  parte." 


LETTERS.  429 

ment,  and  still  continue  to  preach  in  a  fold  which,  by  the  very  dis- 
claimer^ acknowledges  its  want  of  authority  to  speak  in  the  name 
of  God  ? 

In  regarding  the  opinions  laid  down  with  such  industrious  sub- 
tlety by  the  reviewer,  it  has  more  than  once  occurred  to  me  to 
doubt  whether  they  were  the  writings  of  a  believer  in  Christianity 
or  not.  Take,  for  instance,  his  commentary  of  the  texts  of  the  New 
Testament  adduced  by  you,  or  myself,  and  observe  how  he  disposes 
of  them.  He  refutes  the  words  of  Christ,  "  He  that  hears  you, 
hears  me,"  as  follows  : — 1.  This,  they  tell  us,  was  said  to  the  seventy 
disciples ;  and  Christ,  he  goes  on  to  say,  "  never  addressed  these 
words,  or  words  equivalent,  to  the  apostles !"  But  you  tell  him, 
that  to  the  apostles  this  was  said — "  He  that  receiveth  you,  receiveth 
me."  "  Yes,"  replies  the  reviewer,  "  but  the  same  was  said  to  little 
children,"  So  that  his  first  conclusion  is,  that  the  little  children 
were  equal,  and  the  seventy  disciples  superior^  to  the  twelve  apos- 
tles !  2.  He  says  the  force  of  these  words,  "  whatever  that  may 
have  been,"  ceased  with  those  disciples.  And,  3.  That  it  must  have 
expired  icith  them.  But,  4.  It  did  not  mean  that  they  were  infal- 
lible, but  only  that  they  were  Christ's  messengers,  whether  they 
spoke  the  truth  or  not  (?)  5.  The  reviewer  "knows"  that  Peter  and 
Barnabas  erred  in  delivering  their  message  !  He  is  surprised  that 
this  lowest  grade  should  be  infallible,  and  yet  more,  that  there 
should  be  no  evidence  of  the  apostles  being  similarly  situated!  And, 
finally,  he  is  surprised  that  the  advocates  of  infallibility  should  de- 
rive this  supposed  attribute  of  the  Church  through  bishops  oa 
whom  no  such  privilege,  as  he  contends,  was  ever  bestowed.  Is 
not  this  weak  attempt  to  confuse  the  order  and  abolish  the  prom- 
ises of  Christ  unworthy  of  a  Christian  pen  ?  And  not  only  this, 
after  having  multiplied  weapons  of  attack  to  be  used  by  the  infidel, 
he  tells  you  that  any  different  conclusion  to  which  the  Christian 
may  come  is,  after  all,  only  "  opinion  !"  Thus  it  is  that  the  re- 
viewer would  explain  away  every  text  of  Scripture  sooner  than  allow 
one  of  them  to  stand  against  him  ;  and  denying  infallibility,  we  yet 
see  him  deciding  the  question  as  dogmatically  as  if  he  himself  were 
infallible.  I  have  now  answered  all  the  semblance  of  argument  in 
this  reviewer  of  "  Mr.  Mason  and  the  Catholic  Herald^''''  and  I  have 
done  with  him. 

You  have  seen,  dear  sir,  that  all-  Protestant  denominations  have 
assumed  the  exercise,  whilst  they  disclaimed  the  doctrine,  of  infal- 
libility. The  question  is  about  the  substance  of  things,  and  not 
about  the  names  by  which  they  are  called.  Supposing  you  were  to 
leach  the  doctrine  of  the  "  real  presence"  as  believed  by  Catholics, 
would  not  the  Episcopal  Church  condemn  and  expel  you  ?  And 
the  act  by  which  it  would  condemn  you,  pray  what  is  that,  but  the 
assumption  of  infallibility  ?  Every  act  of  deciding  controversy 
without  appeal,  is,  in  the  substance  of  things,  a  return  to  the  prin- 
ciple for  which  you  contend. 

The  first  proof,  therefore,  in  favor  of  infallibility  is  the  2)ractice 


430  AKCriBISHOP    HUGHES. 

of  all  Protestant  denominations.  And  here  I  beg  you  to  reflect  on 
the  power  and  evidence  of  a  principle  in  the  Christian  religion,  which 
extorts  from  the  very  sect  that  deny  it  the  practical  refutation  of 
their  theories.  When  they  deny  it,  they  prove  that  it  does  not 
belong  to  them  :  when  they  practise  it,  they  add  their  own  testimony, 
without  intending  it,  to  prove  that  the  religion  of  Christ  could  not 
subsist  without  it.  When  they  wished  to  affect  a  schism  of  the 
Church,  or  propagate  heresy,  they  were  obliged  to  deny  it — when 
they  wished  to  prevent  heresies  among  themselves,  they  were  obliged 
to  counterfeit  it; — and  so  they  determined  that  their  act  in  deciding 
doctrines  (acknowledged  to  be  fallible)  should,  nevertheless,  have 
all  the  binding  force  of  an  infallible  judgment. 

But  it  is  time  to  leave  the  sects,  and  return  to  the  Church,  and 
her  evidences.  Let  us  then,  if  you  please,  lose  sight  of  the  skeptical 
age  we  live  in — let  us  forget  the  reviewer,  and  the  chaos  of  opinions, 
in  which  he  would  confound  truth  and  error  in  one  general  mass  of 
uncertainty  and  confusion.  Come  with  me  back  to  the  council  of 
the  ancients,  and,  standing  with  silent  reverence  and  awe,  let  us 
hear  the  words  of  divine  wisdom  and  of  human  testimony  on  the 
subject  of  the  Holy  Catholic  Church.  Here  is  the  fountain  from 
which  the  waters  of  immortal  life  cease  not  to  flow,  night  or  day, 
carrying  health  and  vigor  to  all  the  members  of  the  mystical  body 
of  Christ. 

In  this  assembly  is  Jesus  Christ,  the  head  and  centre  of  His  Church 
— laying  her  foundations — arranging  the  plan  of  her  structure — 
appointing  the  order  and  subordination  of  the  builders — and  cement- 
ing the  whole  spiritual,  with  His  promises — One,  Holy,  Catholic, 
Apostolical.  On  His  left,  the  prophets  extending,  in  the  order  of 
ascent,  back  to  the  creation  ;  around  Him  the  apostles,  receiving 
their  last  instructions  from  His  sacred  lips ;  and,  iii  the  train  of  suc- 
cession down  to  the  present  day,  the  venerable  array  of  fathers,  and 
doctors,  and  bishops,  and  pastors,  of  all  the  nations  under  heaven. 
Let  them  speak,  and  let  us  be  silent. 

Micheas,  iv.  1, 2. — "And  it  shall  come  to  pass  in  the  last  days  that  the  mountain 
of  the  house  of  the  Lord  shall  be  prepared  on  the  top  of  the  mountains,  and 
high  above  the  hills :  and  people  shslll  flow  to  it.  And  many  nations  shall 
come  in  haste,  and  say  :  Come,  let  us  go  up  to  the  mountain  of  the  Lord,  and 
to  the  house  of  the  God  of  Jacob  :  and  he  will  teach  us  his  ways  ;  and  we  will 
walk  in  his  jiaths :  for  the  law  shall  ^o  forth  out  of  Sion,  and  the  word  of  the 
Lord  out  of  Jerusalem." 

Imias,  ii.  2. — "  And,  in  the  last  days  the  mountain  of  the  house  of  the  Lord 
shall  be  prepared  on  the  top  of  mountains,  and  it  shall  be  exalted  above  the 
hills  :  and  all  nations  shall  flow  into  it." 

Matt,  xxviii.  18,  19,  20.— "'And  Jesus  coming,  spoke  to  them,  saying:  All 
power  is  given  to  me  in  heaven  and  on  earth.  Go  ye,  therefore,  and  teach  all 
nations ;  baptizing  them  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the 
Holy  Ghost ;  teaching  them  to  observe  all  things  whatsoever  I  have  com- 
manded you  ;  and,  behold,  I  am  with  you  all  days,  even  to  the  consummation 
of  the  world." 

Matt.  xvi.  18. — "  And  I  say  to  thee :  That  thou  art  Peter,  and  upon  this  Rock 
I  will  build  my  Church  ;  and  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail  against  it." 


LErrEES.  431 

John,  xiv.  16,  26.—"  And  I  will  ask  the  Father,  and  he  Bhall  give  you  another 
Paraclete,  that  he  may  abide  with  you  for  ever.  But  the  Paraclete,  the  Holy 
Ghost,  whom  the  Father  will  send  in  my  name,  he  will  teach  you  all  things, 
and  bring  all  things  to  your  mind,  whatsoever  I  shall  have  said  to  yoiT." 

John,  xvi.  13. — '  But  when  he,  the  Spirit  of  Truth,  shall  come,  he  will  teach 
you  all  truth;  for  he  shall  not  speak  of  himself :  but  what  things  soever  he 
shall  hear,  he  shall  speak  :  and  the  tilings  that  are  to  come,  he  will  show 
you." 

1  Tim.  iii.  14,  15. — "  These  things  I  write  to  thee,  hoping  that  I  shall  come 
to  thee  shortly.  But  if  I  tarry  long,  that  thou  mayst  know  how  thou  oughtest 
to  behave  thyself  in  the  liouse  of  God,  which  is  the  Church  of  the  living  God, 
the  pillar  and  ground  of  the  truth." 

Matt,  xviii.  17. — "  And  if  he  will  not  hear  them,  tell  the  Church.  And  if 
he  will  not  hear  the  Church,  let  him  be  to  thee  as  the  heathen  and  the  pub- 
lican." 

Luke,  X.  16. — "  He  that  heareth  you,  heareth  me  :  and  he  that  despiseth  you, 
despiseth  me.    And  he  that  despiseth  me,  despiseth  Him  that  sent  me." 

Romans,  x.  17,  18. — "  Faith,  then,  cometh  by  hearing  :  and  hearing  by 
the  word  of  Christ.  But  I  say :  Have  they  not  heard  ?  Yes,  verily,  their 
sound  went  over  all  the  earth,  and  their  words  unto  the  ends  of  the  whole 
world." 

1  Cor.  xii.  28-31. — "And  God,  indeed,  hath  set  some  in  the  Church: 
First,  apostles ;  secondly,  prophets  ;  thirdly,  teachers  ;  after  that  miracles,  then 
the  graces  of  healings,  helps,  governments,  kinds  of  tongues,  interpretations  of 
speeches.  Are  all  apostles?  Are  aU  prophets?  Are  all  teachers?  Are  all 
workers  of  miracles?  Have  all  the  grace  of  healing?  Do  all  speak  with 
tongues  ?  Do  all  interpret  ?  But  be  zealous  for  the  better  gifts.  And  I  yet 
show  to  you  a  more  excellent  way." 

1  John,  iv.  6. — "  We  are  of  God.  He  that  knoweth  God  heareth  us :  He  that 
is  not  of  God,  heareth  us  not ;  by  this  we  know  the  Spirit  of  Truth,  and  the 
spirit  of  error." 

St.  iRENiEUS  IN  THE  SECOND  Age. — "  Things  being  thus  made  plain  (the 
descent  of  doctrine  from  the  apostles),  it  is  not  from  others  that  truth  is  to  be 
sought,  which  may  be  readily  learned  from  the  Church.  For  to  this  Church, 
as  into  a  rich  repository,  the  apostles  committed  whatever  is  of  divine  truth, 
that  each  one,  if  so  inclined,  might  thence  draw  the  drink  of  life.  This  is  the 
way  to  Ufe :  all  our  teachers  must  be  shunned  as  thieves  and  robbers — For 
what  ?  Should  there  be  any  dispute  on  a  point  of  small  moment,  must  not 
recourse  be  had  to  the  most  ancient  of  Churches,  where  the  apostles  resided, 
and  from  them  collect  the  truth  ?" — Adv.  Hoereses,  lib.  III.,  c.  iv.,  p.  205.  Edit. 
Oxonii,  1702. 

"  It  is  a  duty  to  obey  the  priests  of  the  Church,  who  hold  their  succession 
from  the  apostles,  and  who,  with  that  succession,  received,  agreeably  to  the 
will  of  the  Father,  the  sure  pledge  of  truth.  But,  as  to  those  who  belong 
not  to  that  leading  succession,  in  whatever  place  they  may  be  iinited,  they  should 
be  suspected,  either  as  heretics  or  as  schismatics,  proudly  extolling  and  pleasing 
themselves,  or  as  hypocrites  actuated  by  vain-glory,  or  the  love  of  lucre.  But 
they  who  impugn  the  truth,  and  excite  others  to  oppose  the  Church  of  God,  their 
fate  is  with  Dathan  and  Abiron  ;  while  schismatics,  who  violate  the  Church's 
unity,  experience  the  punishment  which  fell  on  King  Jeroboam." — Ibid.,  lib. 
IV.,  c.  xliii.,  p.  313,  344. 

St.  Clement  op  Alexandria  in  Egypt. — "  Those  who  seek  may  find  the 
truth  ;  and  clearly  learn  from  the  Scriptures  themselves  in  what  manner  here- 
sies have  gone  astray ;  and  on  the  contrary,  in  what  manner  accurate  knowl- 
edge and  the  right  doctrine  is  to  be  found  only  in  the  truth  (or  the  true)  and 
ancient  Church.  He  ceases  to  be  faithful  to  the  Lord,  who  revolts  against  the 
received  doctrines  of  the  Church  to  embrace  the  opinions  of  heretics.  They 
{the  heretics)  make  rise,  indeed,  of  the  Scriptures  ;  but  wlien.  they  used  not  all  the 


432  ARCHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

sacred  'books ;  those  they  use  are  corrupted,  or  they  chiefly  urge  amhiguous 
passages.  They  corrupt  those  truths  which  agree  with  the  inspired  word,  and 
•were  delivered  by  the  holy  apostles  and  teachers,  opposing  the  divine  tradi- 
tions by  human  doctrines,  that  they  may  establish  heresy.  But  it  is  clear  from 
what  has  been  said,  that  there  is  only  one  true  Chttrch,  which  is  alone  ancient ; 
as  there  is  but  one  God  and  one  Lord."  jStrom.  L  888,  890,  891,  896,  899. 
Edit.  Oxonii,  1715. 

Tertxillian,  L.  C. — "  We  are  not  allowed  to  indulge  our  own  humor,  nor  to 
choose  what  another  has  invented.  We  have  the  apostles  of  our  Lord  for 
founders,  who  were  not  themselves  the  inventors  nor  authors  of  what  they  have 
left  us  ;  but  they  have  faithfully  taught  the  world  the  doctrine  which  they  re 
ceived  from  Christ." — De  Proescriptione,  c.  vi.,  p.  331.  Edit.  Pamelii,  Botho- 
magi,  1663. 

"  Now  to  know  what  the  apostles  taught — that  is,  what  Christ  revealed  to 
them — recourse  must  be  had  to  the  Churches  which  they  founded,  and  which 
they  instructed  by  word  of  mouth,  and  by  their  epistles.  For  it  is  plain  that 
all  doctrine  which  is  conformable  to  the  faith  of  these  mother  Churches  is  true, 
being  that  which  they  received  from  the  apostles,  the  apostles  from  Christ, 
Christ  from  God  ;  and  that  all  other  opinions  must  be  novel  and  false." — Ibid.,  c. 
xxi.,  p.  334. 

Origen,  O.  G. — "As  there  are  many  who  think  they  believe  what  Christ 
taught,  and  some  of  these  differ  from  others,  it  becomes  necessary  that  all 
should  profess  that  doctrine  which  came  down  from  the  apostles,  and  now  con- 
tinues in  the  Church.  That  alone  is  truth  which  in  nothing  differs  from  what 
is  thus  delivered." — Prcef.,  lib.  I.,  Periarchon,  T.  i.,  p.  47.  Edit.  P.  P.  8.  Maun, 
Paris,  1733. 

"  Let  him  look  to  it  who,  arrogantly  puffed  up,  contemns  the  apostolic  words. 
To  me,  it  is  good  to  adhere  to  apostolic  men,  as  to  God  and  His  Christ ;  and  to 
draw  intelligence  from  the  Scriptures,  according  to  the  sense  that  has  been  deliv- 
ered by  them.  If  we  follow  the  mere  letter  of  the  Scriptures,  and  take  the  in- 
terpretation of  the  law  as  the  Jews  commonly  explain  it,  I  shall  blush  to 
confess  that  the  Lord  should  have  given  such  laws.  But  if  the  law  of  God  be 
understood  as  the  Church  teaches,  then  truly  does  it  transcend  all  human  laws, 
and  is  worthy  of  him  that  gave  it." — Horn.  vii.  in  Levit.  i.  11,  p.  224,  226. 

"As  often  as  heretics  prodiace  the  canonical  Scriptures,  in  which  ever}' 
Christian  agrees  and  believes,  they  seem  to  say  :  Lo !  with  us  is  the  word  of 
truth.  But  to  them  (the  heretics)  we  cannot  give  credit,  nor  depart  from  the 
first,  and  ecclesiastical  tradition  :  we  can  believe  only  as  the  succeeding  Churches 
of  God  have  delivered." — Ti'act  xxix,,  in  Matt.  T.  iii.,  p.  864. 

St.  Pacianus,  L.  C. — "  In  the  time  of  the  apostles,  you  will  say,  no  one  was 
called  Catholic.  Be  it  so.  But  when  heresies  afterwards  began,  and  under 
different  names  attempts  were  made  to  disfigure  and  divide  our  holy  religion, 
did  not  the  apostolic  people  require  a  name  whereby  to  mark  their  unity ;  a 
proper  appellation  to  distinguish  the  head  ?  Accidentally  entering  a  populous 
city  where  are  Marcionites,  Novatians,  and  others,  who  call  themselves  Chris- 
tians, how  shall  I  discover  where  my  own  people  meet  unless  they  be  called 
Catholics  ?  1  may  not  know  the  origin  of  the  name  ;  but  what  has  not  failed 
through  a  long  time,  came  not  surely  from  any  individual  man.  It  has  nothing 
to  say  to  Marcion,  'nor  Apellus,  nor  Montanus.  No  heretic  is  its  author.  Is  the 
authority  of  apostolic  men,  of  the  blessed  Cyprian,  of  so  many  aged  bishops, 
so  many  martyrs  and  confessors,  of  little  weight  ?  Were  not  they  of  suflBcient 
consequence  to  establish  an  appellation,  which  they  always  used  ?  Be  not 
angry,  my  brother :  Christian  is  my  name  :  Catholic  is  my  surname." — Ep.  1, 
ad  Sympronian.    Bib.  P.  P.  Max.,  T.  iv.,  p.  306. 

How  much  stronger,  dear  sir,  is  the  language  of  those  early  wit- 
nesses in  favor  of  the  Church,  than  that  of  your  sermon  ?  Why 
have  your  brethren  censured  you  for  speaking  the  language  of  the 
Fathers,  and  of  Christ,  and  of  the  apostles  and  prophets,  except  that 


LETTERS.  433 

the  communion  to  which  you  belong  have  departed  from  their  doc- 
trines, as  I  shall  more  fully  prove  in  my  next  letter. 

I  am,  &c.,  <fec., 

J.  H. 


LETTER  Vn. 

Dear  Sir — In  order  to  appreciate  the  worth  of  the  testimony  ex- 
tracted from  the  writings  of  the  fathers,  it  is  necessary  to  keep  the 
following  considerations  constantly  present  in  the  mind.  1.  That 
these  witnesses  were  of  various  nations.  2.  That  they  lived  in  dif- 
ferent ages,  from  the  first  to  the  fifth  century  inclusive.  3.  That  the 
question  on  which  they  testify  is  precisely  the  inerrancy,  or  infalli- 
bility of  the  Church  ;  that  is  the  identical  question  between  you  and 
the  reviewer.  4.  That  the  Church  teaches  now  on  this  subject  as 
she  taught  when  they  lived  and  wrote,  5.  That  consequently  the 
criterion  by  which  truth  is  distinguished  from  error  in  doctrine  has 
remained  the  same  from  the  beginning  of  Christianity  until  the 

E resent  hour.  By  this  criterion  all  heresies  were  virtually  condemned 
efore  they  were  broached  by  their  authors.  The  arguments  in 
favor  of  the  Church  are  as  true  and  powerful  now,  as  they  were  in 
the  days  of  the  Cyprians,  the  Cyrils,  and  the  Augustines,  The 
principle  which  convicted  Arius,  Manes,  Donatus,  Nestoi'ius,  Euty- 
ches  is  the  same  which  was  applied  to  Berengarius  in  his  temporary 
wanderings,  to  Luther,  to  Calvin,  and  the  other  individuals  by  w'hora 
the  opinions  of  modern  sects  were  introduced.  In  discerning  au- 
thoritatively the  doctrines  of  revelation,  error  on  the  one  side  is  the 
counterpart  of  infallibility  on  the  other.  Keeping  in  view,  then,  the 
nniform  aud  invariable  principle  of  the  Church,  the  testimony  of  the 
Fathers,  the  circumstances  of  time  and  place  in  which  they  were  wit- 
nesses, and  the  nature  of  the  question,  you  will  be  able  to  compre- 
hend the  length  and  breadth  of  the  attempt  which  the  reviewer  has 
made  on  public  credulity,  by  asserting  that  "  the  principles  of  Pro- 
testantism were  the  principles  of  the  primitive  Church."  I  have 
already  shown  what  the  "  principles  of  Protestantism,"  for  which  tha 
reviewer  contends,  are  ;  and  now  I  shall  array  my  witnesses  on  be- 
half of  the  primitive  Church.  The  first  shall  be  St.  Cyprian,  Bishop, 
of  Carthage,  in  Africa.  "  Christ  says  to  his  apostles,  and  through 
them  to  all  ministers  who,  by  a  regular  ordination,  succeed  to  them^ 
'  he  that  heareth  you,  heareth  me  /  afid  he  that  despiseth  you,  de- 
spiseth  me.''  (Luke,  x.  16.)  And  thence  have  schisms  and  heresies 
arisen,  when  the  bishop,  which  is  one,  and  who  presides  over  the 
Church,  is  proudly  despised." — Ep.  Ixvi.,  p.  166.  Edit.  Oxon.^  1682. 
In  his  treatise  "  On  the  Unity  of  the  Church,^''  he  says  that  men  are 
exposed  to  error — 

"  Because  they  turn  not  their  eyes  to  th<?  fountain  of  truth  ;  nor  is  the  head 
sought  for,  nor  the  doctrine  of  the  Heavenly  Father  upheld.     Which  things 
would  any  one  seriously  ponder,  no  long  inquiry  would  be  neceasarv.    The  proof 
Vol.  "II. -28. 


4r34  ARCHBISHOP  HUGHES. 

is  easy.  Christ  addresses  Peter  :  I  say  to  thee,  thou  art  Peter,  and  upon  this 
rock  I  will  build  my  Churcli,  and  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail  against  it. 
He  that  does  not  liold  this  unity  of  the  Church,  can  he  think  that  he  holds  the 
faith  ?  He  that  opposes  and  withstands  the  Church,  can  he  trust  that  he  is  in 
the  Church?"— i?6  Unit.  Eccl.,  pp.  105,  lOG,  108. 

Pity  that  our  reviewer  did  not  live  in  the  time  of  St.  Cyprian,  to 
instruct  him  tliat  the  words,  "  he  that  hears  you,"  &c.,  were  ad- 
dressed to  the  seventy  disciples,  and  not  to  the  apostles.  Perhaps 
the  bishop  of  the /^nmiYiwe  Church  wovXd  have  answered  by  what 
the  schools  have  since  called  the  argument  d  fortiori — that  since  the 
declaration  was  true  of  the  disciples,  it  would  be  rash,  if  not  impious, 
to  hold  it  as  untrue  of  the  apostles. 

Let  us  now  hear  St,  Cyril,  of  Jerusalem  : 

"  Learn  sedulously  from  the  Church  which  are  the  books  of  the  Old  and 
New  Testaments."— Ca«.  iv.,  n.  20,  p.  64.    Edit.  Oxon.,  1703.     "  The  Church 

is  called  Catholic because  it  teaches  catholicity,  and,  without  any 

omission,  all  points  that  men  should  know  concerning  things  visible  and 
invisible,  heavenly  and  earthly." — Ibid.,  Cat.  xviii.,  n.  2,  p.  270.  "  Guard  the 
faith,  and  that  faith  alone,  which  is  now  delivered  to  thee  by  the  Church,  con- 
firmed as  it  is  by  all  the  Scriptures." — Cat.  v.,  n.  7,  p.  75. 

The  writer  thus  shows  the  catechism  of  the  primitive  Church.  He 
taught  us  in  this  what  was  held  on  the  very  spot  where  the  Saviour  died 
for  the  redemption  of  the  world,  sanctifying  the  Church  with  His 
blood.  He  died  about  the  year  .^85.  Was  the  principle  of  Protest- 
antism in  the  Church  when  he  wrote  ?  Certainly  it  was  not.  He 
teaches  that  it  is  from  the  Church  that  we  must  learn  "  which  are 
the  books  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments." 

St,  Athanasius,  to  whom  is  attributed  that  creed  which  the  Epis- 
copal Church  of  England  still  holds,  witnesses  the  same  doctrine  in 
Alexandria,  in  Egypt : 

"  If  you  wish  to  confound  the  opinions  of  the  gentiles  and  of  the  heretics, 
and  to  show  that  the  knowledge  of  God  is  not  to  be  found  with  them,  but  in 
the  Church  alone,  you  may  repeat  the  words  of  the  seventy-fifth  Psalni." — Ep 
(td  Marcel,  T.  i,,  p.  996,  Edit.  Bened.  Pansies,  1698.  "  Let  us  again  consider 
from  the  earliest  period,  the  tradition,  the  doctrine  and  the  faith  of  the  Catholic 
Church,  which  God  first  delivered,  the  Apostles  proclaimed,  and  the  succeeding 
Fathers  fostered  and  preserved.  On  these  authorities  the  Church  is  founded, 
jind  whoever  falls  from  her  communion  neither  is  nor  can  be  called  a  Christian." 
— Ep.  1,  ad  Serapion,  T.  i.,  parte  2,  p.  676. 

Everywhere,  dear  sir,  the  testimony  shows  that  the  "true  faith," 
the  "certain  road,"  the  "  word  of  life,"  the  "  knowledge  of  God," 
the  "  uncorrupted  doctrine,"  were  to  be  found  and  sought  in  the 
Church  ;  and  that  to  be  out  of  the  Church  is  to  be  out  of  the  ordi- 
nfU'y  wa}^  of  salvation. 

Let  us  hear  St.  Hilary,  in  Gaul,  l^ishop  of  Pollers : 

•"  Christ  (teaching  from  the  ship)  intimates  that  they  who  are  out  of  the 
Chujch  can  possess  no  understanding  of  the  divine  word.  For  the  ship  is  an 
emblem  of  the  Church,  within  which,  as  the  word  of  life  is  placed  and  preached, 
8o  they  who  are  without,  being  as  barren  and  useless  sands,  cannot  understand 
it," — Com.. iri.  Matt,  xiii.,  p.  675.    Edit.  Bened.    Pansies,  1693. 


LETfERS.  435 

St,  Ephrem,  Deacon  of  Edessa,  in  Syria : 

"  They  again  must  be  reproved  wlio  wander  from  the  road,  and  run  into  un- 
certain and  devious  tracks ;  for  the  way  of  salvation  holds  out  certain  marks  by 
which  you  may  learn  that  this  is  the  path  which  the  messengers  of  peace  trod  ; 
which  the  wise,  whom  the  Holy  Spirit  instructed,  passed  over,  and  the  prophets 
and  apostles  pointed  out  to  us.  My  brethren,  let  us  walk  in  this  way  by  wliich 
the  Father  sent  his  divine  Son  ;  this  royal  road  which  will  lead  us  all  to  hap- 
piness."— Serm.  xxv..  Adv.  Hmr.,  T.  iv.,  p.  495.-    Ed.  QuiHni.    Romoe,  1740. 

St.  Epii^hanius,  Bishop  of  Salamis,  in  Cyprus,  says : 

"  There  is  a  royal  way,  which  is  the  Church,  and  the  road  of  truth.  But 
each  of  these  heresies,  deserting  that  royal  way,  turning  to  the  right  or  to  the 
left,  and  trusting  to  error,  is  carried  away,  so  as  to  keep  within  no  bounds. 
Therefore,  j-e  servants  of  God,  and  children  of  the  Church,  who  follow  a  sure 
rule  of  faith,  and  walk  in  the  way  of  truth,  take  care  that  you  be  not  deceived 
by  the  inconsistent  discourses  of  lying  sects." — Hmr.,  xlix..  T.  i.,  p.  504.  Edit. 
ColonioB,  1682. 

And  St.  Jerome : 

"  The  Church  to  which  you  should  adhere  is  that  which,  having  been  founded 
by  the  Apostles,  continues  to  the  present  day." — Adv.  Lucif,  T.  i,,  p.  627. 
Edit.  Paris,  1609. 

St.  Augustine,  of  Africa,  writing  against  Faustus,  says : 

"  If  you  hear  him  contradicting,  not  one  particle,  but  the  whole,  and  declaring 
that  it  is  false,  what  will  you  do — which  way  will  you  turn  yourself?  The 
rise  of  what  book,  what  authority,  what  series  of  succession  will  you  cite  as  a 
witness  ?  For  if  you  sliall  attempt  this,  you  will  effect  nothing  ;  and  you  here 
see  what  the  authority  of  the  Catholic  Church  can  do,  which  is  confirmed  by 
the  series  of  bishops  succeeding  to  one  another,  from  the  Sees  founded  by  the 
Apostles  down  to  the  present  day :  to  this  add  the  agreement  of  nations." — 
Contra  Faustum,  L.  xi.,  T.  vi.,  p.  103.    Edit.  Paris,  1614. 

"  These,  so  many  and  so  great,  ties,  bind  the  believing  man  to  the  Catholic 
Church.  But,  unless  the  authority  of  this  Church  induced  me  to  it,  I  would 
not  believe  the  Gospel.  As  then  I  obey  those  who  say  to  me.  Believe  the 
Gospel  ;  so,  why  should  I  not .  obey  them  when  they  say,  Believe  not  the  Ma- 
nicheans  ?"     Contra  ep,  Fundum,  T.  vi.,  p.  46. 

"  This  Church,  moreover,  the  divine  authority  commends  ;  and  as  it  cannot 
deceive  us,  he  w/to  fears  to  bs  imposed  on  under  the  obscurity  of  the  present 
question  (concerning  baptism)  mil  consult  the  Church,  which  without  any  am- 
biguity the  Scriptures  establish.     Contra  Creszon.    L.  i.,  T.  vii.,  p.  168. 

"Do  thou  run  to  the  tabernacle  of  God  ;  hold  fast  to  the  Catholic  Church; 
do  not  depart  from  the  rule  of  truth ;  and  thou  shalt  be  protected  in  the 
tabernacle  from  the  contradiction  of  tongues."  Enar.  III.,  in  Psal.  xxx.,  T.  viii., 
p.  74. 

Here  are  the  host  of  witnesses  of  different  countries  speaking  the 
testimony  of  primitive  faith  as  if  with  one  mouth.  They  use  various 
words  and  figures,  but  they  all  testify  the  same  thing,  that  "  the 
Church  cannot  deceive  us" — in  other  terms,  that  she  is  infalliljle. 

Let  us  now  hear  an  author,  St.  Vincent  of  Lerins,  who  is  some- 
times quoted  by  writers  of  the  Episcopal  Church  Avith  approbation 
— the  author  of  the  famous  "  Qnod  xihique.,  quod  semper.,  quod  ah 
omnibus  creditum  est.''"'  He  not  only  lays  down  the  principle,  but 
also  develops  it,  and  answers  some  of  the  objections  that  might 
be  urged  by  the  adveisary  against  it : 


436  AKCIIBISHOP   HUGHES. 

"  But,  in  this  Catholic  Church,  we  must  be  careful  to  hold  fast  that  doctrine 
which  has  been  believed  in  all  places,  at  all  times,  and  by  all.  For,  as  the  word 
itself  plainly  denotes,  there  is  nothing  truly  and  properly  Catholic,  but  that 
which  comprehends  all  in  general.  Now  it  Avill  be  so,  if  we  follow  universality, 
antiquity,  and  unanimous  consent.  We  shall  follow  unitersality,  if  we  believe 
that  doctrine  alone  to  be  true  which  the  ( -hurch  everywhere  admits.  We  shall 
follow  antiquity,  if  we  depart  not  from  the  opinions  which  our  ancestors  and 
fathers  openly  maintained.  We  shall  follow  unanimous  consent,  if  we  adhere 
to  the  sentiments  of  all,  or  of  almost  all  our  pastors  and  tt^achers."  Commanit., 
l,  a.  ii.,  p.  317.    Bdit.  Pans,  1684. 

"  But,"  he  proceeds,  "  what  shall  the  Catholic  Christian  do,  if  any  portion  of 
the  Church  fall  from  the  universal  faith  ?  Prefer  the  sanity  of  the  whole  body 
to  the  distempered  member.  Should  the  novel  contagion  strive  to  infect  the 
whole  Church  ?  Then  also  will  he  be  careful  to  hold  fast  to  antiquity,  which 
no  fraud  of  novelty  can  seduce.  But,  if  in  that  antiquity  itself  should  be  de- 
tected the  error  of  two  or  three  men,  or  of  a  city,  or  a  province  ?  In  that  case, 
the  rashness  or  ignorance  of  a  few  must  be  met  by  the  decrees  of  some  ancient 
council.  Should  no  such  decrees  be  found,  then  will  he  consult  and  weigh  to- 
gether the  opinions  of  his  elders,  of  those  who,  though  living  at  different  times 
and  in  different  places,  yet  abiding  in  the  communion  and  faith  of  the  one  Cath- 
olic Chiirch,  were  deemed  worthy  teachers ;  and  what,  not  one  or  two  only,  but  all 
of  them  shall  be  found,  with  unanimity,  publicly,  frequently,  and  perseverantly, 
to  have  held,  and  taught,  and  written,  that,  without  hesitation,  he  must  em- 
brace."— Ibid.,  n.  iii.,  p.  318.  '"  These  rules,"  he  adds,  "  were  practically  ex- 
emplified in  Africa,  when  the  errors  of  the  Donatists  had  seduced  many  ;  and, 
on  a  larger  scale,  through  the  Christian  world,  during  the  great  Arian  contro- 
versy." n.  v.,  vi. — "  Thus,"  he  observes,  "  was  antiquity  preserved,  and  novelty 
exploded," — Ibid.,  n.  ix.,  p.  323. 

"  Never  was  it  allowed,  never  is  it  allowed,  never  will  it  be  allowed,  to  de 
liver  any  doctrine  to  the  Catholic  Christian,  that  has  not  been  received  ;  and,  it 
ever  has  been,  is,  and  ever  will  be  a  duty  to  anathematize  those  who  introduce 
any  novelty.  Who,  therefore,  shall  dare  to  preach  what  he  has  not  received  ? 
Who  shall  show  himself  so  easy  of  belief,  as  to  admit  what  the  Church  has  not 
delivered  ?  So  taught  the  great  Apostle.  But,  I  hear  some  vain  men  cry,  and 
cry  to  Catholics  ;  under  our  authority,  our  rule,  our  exposition  condemn  what 
you  held,  take  up  that  which  you  condemned,  reject  your  ancient  belief,  the 
doctrines  of  your  fathers,  the  institutes  of  your  elders,  and  embrace — what  ? 
I  shudder  to  utter  it !" — lUd,  n.  ix.,  p.  328. 

"  Reflecting  often  on  these  things,  I  am  astonished  at  the  madness,  the  im- 
piety, the  lust  of  error  in  some  men,  who,  not  content  with  the  rule  of  faith 
once  delivered  and  received,  are  ever  seeking  for  something  new,  and  are  ever 
anxious  to  add  to  religion,  to  change,  or  to  take  away,  as  if  what  was  once  re- 
vealed was  not  a  celestial  dogma,  but  a  human  institution,  which,  to  be  brought 
to  perfection,  requires  constant  emendation,  or  rather  correction.  If  novelty 
must  be  shunned,  antiquity  must  be  held  fast ;  if  novelty  be  profane,  antiquity 
must  be  sacred." — Ibid.,  n.  xxi.,  p.  348. 

"  What  mean  those  words  to  Timothy  (1  Tim.  vi.  20) — Keep  that  which  is 
committed  to  thy  trust  ?  They  mean — That  which  was  intrusted  to  thee  ;  not, 
what  was  invented  by  thee :  what  thou  didst  receive,  not  what  thou  didst 
devise  :  a  thing  not  of  ingenuity,  but  of  doctrine  ;  not  of  private  science,  but 
of  public  delivery  ;  brought  to  thee,  not  arising  from  thee  ;  a  thing,  of  which 
thou  must  be  the  guardian,  not  the  author  ;  the  disciple,  not  the  master  ;  the 
follower,  not  the  leader.  What  is  intrusted  to  thee,  that  retain,  that  deliver. 
Thou  hast  received  gold,  no  base  metal,  no  counterfeit !  O  Timothy,  if  the 
divine  bounty  hath  given  thee  the  capacity,  use  it  to  polish  the  precious  gems 
of  the  divine  word,  to  arrange  them  with  fidelity,  with  skill  to  embellish  them  ; 
give  them  splendor,  grace,  and  beauty  ;  what  before,  though  involved  in  ob- 
scurity, was  believed,  whilst  thou  expoundest,  be  it  more  clearly  understood. 
Posterity,  to  thee  indebted,  may  behold,  in  a  brighter  day,  what  their  fathers 


LETTERS.  437 

venerated  in  obscurity  ;  but,  teach  what  alone  thou  didst  learn  ;  that,  while  the 
expression  may  be  new,  th(;  thing  may  be  ancient  " — Ibid.,  n.  xxii.,  p.  350. 

"  Why,  then,  it  may  be  said  :  Is  the  Church  of  Christ  to  make  no  advance, 
no  proficiency,  in  religious  knowledge?  God  forbid  !  But,  let  it  be  a  real  pro- 
ficiency, not  a  change.  By  the  first  is  understood,  that  the  thing  be  improved 
within  itself:  by  the  second,  that  something  be  introduced  from  without.  Let 
Intellect,  science,  wisdom,  in  all  orders  of  men  and  in  all  ages,  receive  every 
possible  increase ;  but,  without  any  change  in  the  dogipa,  in  its  sense,  in  its 
acceptation."'  Tlus  he  illustrates  from  the  growth  of  the  human  body,  which 
through  all  its  changes  from  childhood  to  manliood,  retains  its  identity  ;  and 
then  adds :  So,  may  the  dogma  of  Christian  belief  follow  the  same  laws  of  in- 
crease ;  be  expanded  by  age,  be  consolidated  by  years  ;  itself  ever  remaining 
unchanged  and  untouched  ;  full  and  perfect  in  all  its  parts  and  members,  with- 
out any  admixture,  any  loss  of  substance,  any  variation  of  meaning." — Ibid.,  n. 
xxiii.,  *p.  350-352. 

"  Should  the  license  of  change  be  allowed,  I  shudder  to  think  to  what  utter 
ruin  religion  must  be  exposed.  For,  one  point  of  belief  being  surrendered, 
another,  and  a  third  will  follow,  and  then  more,  as  by  an  acquired  privilege. 
Thus,  the  whole  must  fall  into  ruins." — Ihid.,  p.  353. 

But,  what  this  writer  testifies  in  the  fifth  century,  is  what  the 
Church  still  holds,  and  what  is  strongly  established  by  the  testimony 
ot"  Polycarp's  disciple,  St.  Irenaeus,  in  the  second  century : 

"  The  Church,  extended  to  the  boundaries  of  the  earth,  received  her  faith 
from  the  apostles,  and  their  disciples.  Having  received  it,  she  carefully  retains 
it,  as  if  dwelling  in  one  house,  as  possessing  one  soul  and  one  heart ;  the  same 
faith  she  delivers  and  teaches,  with  one  accord,  and  as  gifted  with  one  tongue : 
for,  though  in  the  world  there  be  various  modes  of  speech,  the  tradition  of  the 
Church  is  one  and  the  same.  In  the  churches  of  Germany,  in  those  of  Spain 
and  Gaul,  in  those  of  the  East,  of  Egypt,  and  of  Africa,  and  in  the  middle 
regions,  is  the  same  belief,  the  same  teaching.  For,  as  the  world  is  enlightened 
by  one  sun,  so  does  the  preaching  of  one  faith  enlighten  all  men  that  are 
willing  to  come  to  the  knowledge  of  truth.  Nor,  among  the  pastors  of  the 
Church,  does  he  that  is  eloquent  deliver  other  doctrine — for  no  one  is  above 
his  master  :  nor  he  that  is  weak  in  speech,  diminish  the  truth  of  tradition. 
Faith  being  one,  cannot  be  affected  by  the  powers  or  the  want  of  utterance." — 
Adc.  Hayeses,  lib.  i.,  c.  ii.,  iii.,  p.  45,  46.     Edit.  Oxon.^  1702. 

"  God  placed  in  His  Church  apostles,  prophets,  doctors  ;  and  the  whole  opera- 
tion of  the  Spirit,  of  which  they  do  not  partake  who  are  not  united  to  t|;ie 
Church  ;  but.  by  their  own  bad  designs  and  actions,  they  deprive  themselves  of 
life.  For,  where  the  Church  is,  there  is  the  Spirit  of  God ;  and,  where  this 
Spirit  is,  there  is  the  Church,  and  all  grace:  the  Spirit  is  truth." — Ibvd.,V^.  iii., 
c.  xl.,  p.  266.     Vide  lib.  iv.,  c.  62. 

I  shall  not  add  words  of  mine  to  these  testimonies.  They  show 
what  the  Catholic  Church  was  during  the  first  500  years.  What 
she  WAS  she  is  still — the  pillar  and  ground  of  truth.  The  children 
of  schism  and  of  heresy  are  placed  under  the  necessity  of  denying 
her  divine  prerogative,  in  order  to  have  a  pretext  for  not  returning 
to  her  bosom.  Hence  the  efforts  that  have  been  made  to  discredit 
the  principle  of  your  sermon,  which,  in  its  true  and  original  applica- 
tion, is  the  genuine  and  only  conservative  principle  of  the  Christian 
religion. 

I  am,  <&c.,  &c., 

J.  H. 


438  AECHBISHOP   HUGHES. 


LETTER  Vm. 


Dear  Sir — I  had  not  concluded  ray  argument,  when  circum- 
stances, at  the  close  of  my  last  letter,  obliged  me  for  a  season  to 
break  off,  and  the  interruption  has  lasted  much  longer  than  was  at 
that  time  anticipated.  The  question  is,  however,  too  vital  to  have 
lost  any  of  interest  in  your  estimation.  Infallibility  is  an  essential 
attribute  of  the  Christian  religion.  The  individual  who  is  under  the 
guidance  of  any  religious  authority  which  is  less  than  infallible, 
necessarily  finds  himself  in  the  mazes  of  uncertainty  and  doubt,  and 
where  the  eternal  destinies  of  the  human  soul  ai'e  at  stake  on  the 
issue,  such  a  condition  involves  the  mind  in  the  violent  conflict  of 
its  own  speculations.  That  Protestantism  furnishes  no  clue  to  ex- 
tricate its  votaries  from  this  labyrinth,  is  a  proposition  which  your 
Episcopal  critics,  and  especially  the  reviewer,  have  saved  me  the 
trouble  and  the  necessity  of  proving.  They  reject  infallibility,  and 
seem  to  glory  in  the  disclaimer.  Tliey  have  succeeded  in  showing 
that  the  infallibility  contended  for  in  your  sermon  was  misplaced 
and  misapplied,  but  they  have  not  disproved  the  existence  of  that 
dogma,  nor  refuted  the  arguments  set  forth  by  you  to  establish  its 
existence. 

If  you  will  be  pleased  to  examine  the  testimonies  adduced  from 
the  writings  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  as  well  as  from  the 
Fathers,  you  will  discover  that  the  Church  of  God,  under  the  Jewish 
and  under  the  Christian  dispensation,  has  been  at  all  times  invested 
by  the  divine  appointment  with  supreme  authority  to  decide  con- 
troversies in  the  last  resort,  by  a  decision  against  which  it  was 
criminal  in  the  sight  of  God  to  persevere  in  rebellion.  The  dis- 
organizers  of  the  Church  in  the  sixteenth  century  did  rebel,  did  per- 
severe in  their  rebellion,  and  the  schisms  and  heresies  of  wliich  they 
were  the  parents  have  imposed  on  their  followers  the  fatal  necessity 
of  employing  the  cobweb  sophistry  which  characterizes  the  pages 
that  have  been  devoted  to  the  refutation  of  your  sermon.  Now, 
the  orthodox  tenet  of  all  ages  is  precisely  that  for  which  you  con- 
tend— viz.,  that  the  Church  of  Christ  is  infallible.  In  order  to 
understand  how  conformable  this  doctrine  is  to  the  dictates  of 
reason  and  the  requirements  of  revelation,  it  is  necessary  to  have  a 
clear  conception — 1st,  Of  what  is  the  Church  of  Christ ;  and  2d, 
What  is  infallibility. 

1 .  The  Church  of  Christ  is  the  visible  society  of  all  the  believers 
nnited  by  the  professioi  of  the  same  faith,  the  participation  of  the 
same  sacraments,  and  the  submission  to  the  same  legitimate  pastors. 
This  definition  is  not  intended  to  reach  those  individuals  who,  though 
not  belonging  to  the  external  communion  of  the  Church,  yet,  owing 
to  circumstances  of  which  God  alone  can  judge,  may  be  numbered 
on  the  day  of  account  with  her  true  children.  It  has  reference  only 
to  the  society  of  believers  formed  by  Jesus  Christ,  and  perpetuating 
its  existence  by  fidelity  to  the  doctrines  which  it  inherited  from 


LEITERS.  439 

Ilim.  His  coming  to  the  earth  was,  to  establish  a  religion,  to  teach 
the  manner  in  which  God  would  be  adored  and  honored,  and  pro- 
vide the  means  whereby  eternal  happiness  might  be  attained.  Every 
religion  implies  the  idea  of  association  among  those  who  profess  it ; 
and,  consequently,  those  who  profess  His  religion  must  constitute  a 
society  distinct  from  all  others  who  profess  a  religion  that  is  not  His. 
The  eternal  salvation  of  souls  is  the  common  interest,  and  hence,  in 
the  means  appointed  for  its  attainment,  the  union  of  all  the  members, 
should  be  common  and  complete.  Allow  disunion  on  either  the  faiths 
the  sacraments,  or  the  spiritual  government  of  the  Church,  and  the 
society  is,  not  indeed  destroyed,  but  diminished  by  the  departure 
of  those  who  rupture  the  ties  appointed  by  Christ,  and  break  away 
to  form  a  society  apart,  founded  on  principles  of  their  own. 

Fiom  the  day  on  which  the  Holy  Ghost  descended  on  the  apostles, 
there  has  been,  and,  to  the  end  of  the  world,  there  will  be,  such  a 
society  as  has  been  here  described,  and-  that  society  constitutes  the 
visible  Church  of  Christ  on  eailh.  All  other  sects  have  gone  out 
from  it ;  itself  has  gone  out  from  none.  All  other  sects  have,  at  their 
origin,  violated  the  bond  of-  union,  in  one  or  other  of  the  above  par- 
ticulars; itself  has  never  burst  a  tie.  It  is  the  Church  of  Christ, 
persevering  in  the  same  faith,  the  same  sacraments,  the  same  eccle- 
siastical government,  which  were  appointed  by  its  divine  Founder. 
No  diminution  nor  increase  of  its  doctrines — no  alteration  in  its 
sanctifying  institutions — no  revolution  in  the  history  of  its  eccle- 
siastical government.  It  is  not  the  society  of  Calvin,  nor  of  Henry 
VIII.,  nor  of  Luther,  nor  the  anomalous  compound  of  them  all 
together.  It  is  not  the  society  of  Wickliffe,  nor  of  Huss,  nor  of 
Nestorius,  nor  of  Eutyches,  nor  of  Arius,  nor  of  ManicliEeus,  nor  of 
Ebion  and  Cerinthus,  nor  of  Simon  Magus ;  for  it  is  older  than  all 
of  these. 

It  is  the  society,  all  the  members  of  which  are  united  in  the  same 
faith,  the  same  sacraments,  and  subject  to  the  same  church  govern- 
ment— the  society  of  Christians,  which  has  been  from  the  beginning 
'what  it  now  is — the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ. 

Do  you  desire  to  know  how  this  true  Church  is  to  be  distinguished 
from  the  sects  that  have  not  had  Christ  for  their  founder  ?  Then, 
observe  the  words  of  Christ  Himself  He  never  employs  a  term  to 
designate  His  Church  which  does  not  convey  the  idea  of  xinity. 
It  is  His  "  sheepfold,"  his  "  kingdom  ;"  and,  any  "kingdom  divided 
against  itself  shall  be  made  desolate  ;  and  every  city  or  house 
divided  against  itself  sliall  not  stand."  (Matt.  xii.  24.)  He  would 
have  the  members  of  His  Church  to  be  united,  as  He  and  His  Father 
were  united.  (John,  xvii.  2.)  He  had  other  sheep,  who  were  to  be 
brought  to  the  fold.  (John,  x.  16.)  St.  Paul  develops  the  idea  of 
this  unity,  by  comparing  the  Church  with  the  human  body,  in  which 
the  members  have  different  function.'*,  and  yet  in  such  a  way  that  if 
one  sutlers  they  all  suifer.  (1  Cor,  xii.  13,  15.)  It  is  unnecessary 
to  enlarge  on  the  other  marks  of  the  Church,  of  Christ,  its  Holiness, 
its  Catholicity,  its  Apostolicity,     Its  primitive  and  continued  unity 


440  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

in  the  belief  of  the  same  faith,  the  same  sacraments,  the  same  lawful 
pastors,  is  alone  sufficient  to  distinguish  it  from  each  and  all  of  the 
other  sects  calling  themselves  by  the  Christian  name. 

Now,  to  tliis  society  belong  those  promises  of 'Christ,  those  testi- 
monies of  our  Fathers,  which  establish  the  infallibihty  of  the  Church. 
In  my  last  letter  I  adduced  a  multitude  of  witnesses, — any  one  of 
Avhom  would  be  sufficient  authority  with  Episcopalians  on  some 
other  points, — for  instance,  the  divine  right  of  Episcopacy  ;  and  from 
their  writings  it  is  evident  that  tlie  infallibility  of  the  Church  was  a 
universal  dogma  of  Christianity  during  the  first  500  years.  But,  if 
the  faith  of  Christians  was,  that  the  Church  is  infallible,  then 
it  is  certain  that  she  was  infallible,  according  to  the  admission 
of  Protestants  themselves.  During  those  ages,  they  tell  us,  the 
Church  possessed  the  pure  doctrine  of  Jesus  Christ.  Then,  since 
she  possessed  infallibility,  it  follows  tliat  infallibility  is  one  article 
of  that  "  pure  doctrine."  Besides,  the  infallibility  of  the  Church 
is  a  point  on  which  it  would  have  been  not  only  difficult,  but 
absolutely  impossible,  for  the  Christian  society  composing  the 
Church  to  have  changed  her  doctrine.  .It  was,  more  than  any  othei', 
a  practical  doctrine — a  doctrine  whose  action  in  the  decision  of  con- 
troversies became  necessarily  very  frequent.  From  the  very  origin 
of  the  Church  in  the  days  of  the  apostles,  there  arose  questions,  dis- 
putes, and  heresies.  Now,  it  was  impossible  that  the  faithful  should 
not  be  fully  and  entirely  instructed  as  to  the  nature  and  character 
of  that  authority,  which  was  constantly  exercised  in  deciding  those 
questions,  judging  of  those  disputes,  and  condemning  those  heresies. 
It  is  impossible  that  they  should  be  ignorant  whether  this  authority 
was  believed  to  be  infallible,  or  subject  to  error  in  its  exercise — 
whether  they  were  bound  to  yield  the  interior  assent  of  faith  to  its 
decisions,  or  at  liberty  to  regard  those  decisions  as  erroneous.  They 
had,  therefore,  necessarily  a  clear,  distinct,  and  positive  knowledge 
of  the  doctrine  of  the  Church  on  the  subject  of  infallibility. 

Hence,  this  doctrine  of  infallibility  in  the  Cimrch,  for  which  all 
the  Fathers  are  witnesses,  had  been  received  from  Christ  and  Hia^ 
apostles,  or  it  was  added  at  a  subsequent  period.  But  the  least  re- 
flection will  convince  you  that  the  forging  and  addition  of  this  tenet 
was  utterly  impossible.  The  first  errors  were  judged  and  condemned 
by  the  apostles  themselves.  The  subsequent  errors  of  the  first  and 
second  centuries  were  judged  and  condemned  in  the  same  manner 
by  their  successors.  Certainly  the  faithful  understood  the  degree  of 
submission  that  was  due  to  the  decision  of  the  apostles.  ^  And  the 
motive  of  that  submission  was  the  infallibility  of  the  judgment  by 
which  the  decision  was  made.  The  successors  of  the  apostles  exer- 
cised the  right  of  judging  and  condeuining  error  in  the  midst  of 
Ciiurches  founded  and  instructed  by  the  apostles  themselves — would 
they  have  submitted  to  the  introduction  of  a  dogma  which  they 
must  have  known  to  be  a  forgery  ? 

Already  the  Cimrch  was  spread  into  many  countries — so  that  the 
faithful  throughout  the  world  would  have  been  startled  at  the  novelty 


LETTEE8.  441 

and  impiety  of  the  claim,  if  tliey  liad  not  learned  from  the  apostles 
themselves,  that  the  infallibility  of  the  Church  in  deciding  questions 
of  doctrine  had  been  revealed  by  the  Saviour  Himself.  If  you 
assign  a  still  subsequent  period,  you  only  increase  the  difficulty — 
multiplying  the  witnesses  who  could  all  depose  that  it  had  never 
been  a  part  of  their  belief  before !  Fi-om  the  s?cond  century  down 
to  the  present,  the  members  of  the  Christian  society,  the  writers, 
doctors,  pastors,  all  give  unanimous  testimony  that  those  who  refused 
to  abide  the  decision  of  the  Church  in  matters  of  doctrine,  were 
rebelling  against  the  authority  of  God — which  would  be  an  absurd 
consequence,  had  they  not  been  instructed  from  the  beginning  in 
the.  fliith  that  the  decision  of  the  Church  was  infallible. 

But,  not  only  that,  the  schismatics  and  heretics  of  tho.se  ages, 
whom  the  Church  condemned,  and  whom  she  professed  to  condemn 
with  infallibility  of  judgment,  would  not  have  failed  in  their  senti- 
ment to  reproacli  her  with  the  arrogance  of  the  pretension — to  have 
referred  to  the  purer  days  when  she  held  no  such  doctrine  on  the 
subject  of  her  authority — to  have  marked  the  epoch  of  its  intro- 
duction— to  have  fastened  the  impiety  on  the  name  of  the  man  who 
first  broached  that  pretension,  as  certainly  as  history  has  fastened 
Lutheranism  on  the  name  of  Luther, — to  have  recorded  the  time 
and  place,  when  and  where  it  originated — to  have  detailed  the 
trouble  and  strife  it  gave  rise  to,  as  it  passed  from  one  province  to 
another,  until  it  infected  the  whole  society  of  believers.  Has  our 
reviewer  reflected  on  this  ?  Has  he  satisfied  his  own  mind  that  the 
thing  was  possible  ?  Can  he  give  any  solution  to  the  difficulty 
Avhicli  he  would  not  be  ashamed  to  submit  to  the  understanding  of 
thinking  men  ?  If  not,  let  him  return  to  the  doctrines  laid  down 
in  your  sermon,  and  find  their  application  to  the  undivided  Church, 
from  which  his  "fathers  in  the  fever  of  human  passions  incautiously 
sepai'ated.  Let  him  not  labor  to  sacrifice  a  doctrine  which  is  es- 
sential to  Christianity,  in  the  vain  efibrt  to  justify  their  rashness. 

Much  as  has  been  done  by  Protestant  historians  in  their  reference 
to  early  Christianity  to  confuse  and  confound  things  that  are  in 
themselves  perfectly  distinct,  still  there  are  pervading  the  whole 
lapse  of  ages  certain  peculiar  features  of  the  Church  which  they 
have  been  unable  to  disguise  or  obliterate.  One  of  the  most  promi- 
nent of  these  is  her  uniform  claim  and  exercise  of  infallibility  in  aSvSei1> 
ing  the  doctrines  of  Christ,  and  in  condemning  the  adverse  opinions  of 
men,  as  often  as  these  were  promulgated  in  circumstances  to  make 
them  dangerous  to  the  household  of  the  faith.  Hers  is  the  only 
society  that  ever  exercised  a  judgment  founded  on  the  basis  pro- 
claimed— infallibility.  All  other  societies  of  the  early  or  modern  ages, 
even  when  basking  in  the  sunshine  of  imperial  tavor,  were  obliged 
to  disclaim  infallibility  ;  and  thus,  by  a  wise  providence  of  God,  con- 
strained to  acknowledge  the  sjjuriousness  of  their  own  origin.  They 
retained  some  portions  of  the  Christian  religion,  but  the  doctrines  of 
Christ,  resting  on  fallible  authority,  became  revelation — Humanized. 

Another  feature  of  the  Church  of  Christ  is  in  the  historical  fant 


442  AKCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

that  she  exercised  judgment  on  the  errors  of  doctrine  that  have  been 
broached  since  the  beginning  of  Christianity,  and  cast  out  of  her 
communion  all  such  as  continued  obstinate  in  the  profession  of  them. 
Hence  the  only  principle  of  unity  discoverable  in  the  sects  that  have 
been  separated  is  the  hatred  which  they  bear  her.  In  other  things 
they  disagree  and  condemn  each  other;  in  this  they  are  united. 
All  other  sects  come  out  of  her  communion  branded  with  the  stamp 
of  heresy  and  excommunication,  and  the  mark  is  indelible  until  they 
return.  /She  cama  out  from  no  other;  and  though  she  has  been 
condemned,  yet  it  has  always  been  by  those  whom  she  had  previ- 
ously expelled  as  the  corrupters  of  the  Christian  faith,  and  in  cir- 
cumstances analogous  to  those  in  which  Luther  most  ludicrously  ex- 
communicated the  Catholic  Church, — because  the  Church  had  just 
excommunicated  him. 

By  these  t'^w  marks  it  is  easy,  amidst  the  multitude  of  societies 
calling  themselves  by  the  Christian  name,  to  distinguish  the  true 
Church  of  the  Son  of  God.  She,  and  she  alone,  is  infallible.  The 
others;  are  not ;  and,  indeed,  from  the  nature  of  the  case,  could  not 
have  any  pretensions  to  be  so.  First,  because  they  are  of  modern 
origin.  Secondly,  because  they  were  founded  by  men  of  doubtful 
character,  and  actuated  by  very  questionable  motives.  Thirdly,  be- 
cause these  men  had  received  no  divine  authority  to  become  the 
founders  of  new  sects ;  or,  if  they  did,  they  thought  proper  to  con- 
ceal it  from  the  rest  of  mankind.  Fourthly,  because  they  com- 
menced, not  only  without  the  authority,  but  with  the  condemnation 
of  all  that  had  been  the  Christian  Church  until  then.  Fifthly,  be- 
cause the  starting  principle  was,  that  every  man  should  exercise  over 
the  doctrines  of  revelation  that  judgment  which  it  was  given  to  the 
whole  Church  to  exercise.  Sixthly,  because,  as  a  consequence  of 
this,  every  man  thought  for  himself,  and  there  was  no  unity  of  faith. 
Seventhly,  because  their  pastors  derived  their  authority  to  exercise 
the  ministerial  office  by  virtue  of  self-appointment,  or  of  a  commis- 
sion derived  from  an  illegitimate  source. 

From  all  that  has  been  said,  it  is  manifest  that  the  whole  subject 
resolves  itself  into  one  or  two  plain  and  simple  questions.  The  first 
question  is :  Was  there  any  time  since  the  beginning  of  revelation 
xchen  there  did  not  exist  a  living  authority  to  determine  controversies 
of  doctrine  by  a  final  judgment,  from  which  there  was  no  appeal? 
That  such  an  authority  existed  in  the  Jewish  Church  will  not  be 
denied.  When  that  Church  had  accomplished  its  career,  Christ 
himself  became  the  living  authority.  When  He  withdrew  from  the 
earth.  He  left  His  Church  with  the  promise  that  He  would  not 
abandon  her  for  a  single  day  forever.  The  authority  of  the  Church 
was  in  existence  and  in  action  from  the  begiuHing  of  Christianity. 
It  is  attested  by  all  the  Fathers.  It  was  exercised  in  the  condemna- 
tion of  every  heresy  from  the  days  of  Simon  the  Magician  until  the 
present  time.  It  never  passed  from  the  original  society.  Was  it 
lawful  for  the  individual  to  rebel  against  the  doctrinal  decision  of 
this  living  authority,  either  in  the  Jewish  Chui'ch  before  Christ,  or 


LETTERS.  443 

in  the  Christian  Churoh  after,  or  in  Christ  himself?  To  say  that  it 
was,  is  to  go  against  the  Word  of  God  and  the  faith  of  those  ages 
Avhich  Protestants  call  the  ages  of  pure  doctrine.  To  say  that  it  was, 
is  to  advocate  the  principles  of  all  heresies.  To  say  that  it  was  not 
lawful,  is  to  admit  the  inerrancy  and  infallibility  of  that  living  and 
perpetual  authority ;  it  is  to  condemn  all  heresies  and  schisms. 

But  Protestant  writers  have  formed  to  themselves  a  confused  and 
exaggerated  notion  of  the  nature  of  this  living  authority  in  the 
Cliurch  of  Christ.  They  conceive  of  it  as  arbitrary  and  irregular, 
like  the  domination  of  majorities  which  is  carried  on  in  their  own 
sects.  This  is  a  great  mistake.  The  decision  of  a  doctrinal  question 
in  the  Church  of  Christ — not  the  collection  of  opinions,  but  the  at- 
testation of  facts,  for  which  the  whole  society  composing  the  Chui'ch 
are  competent  witnesses.  Hence  the  judicial  decision  of  the  Church 
is  nothing  but  the  concentration  of  testimony  to  the  fact  whether  or 
not  the  disputed  doctrine  formed  part  and  portion  of  the  revelation 
given  by  Jesus  Ciirist,  and  held  as  such  by  the  great  society  of  His 
disciples.  This  portion  of  the  subject  requires  a  development,  which 
will  be  given  in  the  next  letter. 

I  remain,  &c.,  &u., 

J.  H. 


LETTER  EX. 

Dear  Sir — Before  I  enter  on  the  exposition  of  what  infallibility/ 
is,  I  must  say  a  few  words  in  showing  what  it  is  not,  but  what  Pro- 
testants, in  the  confusion  of  their  theological  ideas,  suppose  it  to  be. 
The  corner-stone  of  the  Protestant  system  is,  that  each  individual  is 
the  arbiter  of  his  own  belief;  that  authority  is  to  be  entirely  disre- 
garded, or,  at  least,  made  of  secondary  importance,  whilst  the  judg- 
ment of  the  individual  is  to  determine,  from  the  perusal  of  Scripture, 
what  doctrines  Christ  has  or  has  not  revealed.  Hence  the  creed  of 
the  individual  is  the  opinion  of  the  individual.  And  as  the  society 
or  societies  of  Protestantism  are  made  of  individuals,  the  creed  or 
creeds  of  those  societies  can  be  nothing  more  than  the  aggregate  of 
individual  opinion,  set  forth  in  the  form  of  a  social  opinion,  operating 
aa  a  bond  of  religious  union  among  those  who  originally  contributed 
to  its  tbrmation.  This  aggregate  of  individuals  then  becomes  a  re- 
ligious sect  or  society,  and  the  aggregate  of  opinions  becomes  a 
"  confession  of  faith,"  or  "articles  of  doctrine."  But  the  whole  par- 
takes of  the  nature  of  iha  parts  which  compose  it,  and  consequently 
the  superstructure  is,  like  the  foundation,  fallible  and  uncertain. 
Human  legislatures  may  invest  it  with  the  attribute  of  State  ortho- 
doxy, but  it  is  no  more  true  or  more  certain  on  that  account.  Now, 
this  is  the  character  of  all  those  sects  that  in  modern  ages  have  quit 
the  Church,  and  constitute  what  is  called  by  the  general  name — 
"  Protestants." 


4rM  ARCHBISHOP    HCGHES. 

I  need  not  inform  you,  who  are  so  well  acquainted  with  the  fact, 
in  what  manner  controversies  are  decided  in  any  of  those  sects 
which  compose  the  aggregate  of  Protestantism.  In  the  decision  of 
all  disputes,  it  depends  on  the  majority  of  votes  whether  the  con- 
tested doctrine  shall  or  shall  not  be  considered  true.  Hence,  those 
sects  exercise  over  their  own  members  all  the  domination  of  legiti- 
mate authority  without  any  of  its  corresponding  advantages.  The 
minority  must  succumb,  or  else  separate  and  rally  under  a  con- 
demned tenet.  It  is,  whether  in  the  individual  or  in  the  aggregate, 
whether  in  the  majority  or  the  minority,  from  the  beginning  to  the 
end,  mere  matter  of  opinion.  To  suppose  infallibility  in  such  de- 
cisions would  be  absurd  ;  and,  as  Protestants  judge  of  the  Catholic 
Church  and  her  decision  on  points  of  doctrine  by  analogies  derived 
from  the  practice  of  their  own  sects,  they  infer  that  the  pretension  to 
infallibility  would  be  equally  absurd,  everywhere,  as  it  is  among 
themselves. 

They  are  unacquainted  in  general  with  the  essential  difference  be- 
tween the  Catholic  and  the  Protestant  religions.  The  Protestant 
believes  and  professes  a  certain  doctrine,  because  he  thinks  it  is  re- 
vealed in  the  Bible.  The  Catholic  believes  it  because,  not  only  he 
thinks  it  revealed  in  the  Bible,  either  expressly  or  impliedly,  but 
also,  because  from  the  origin  of  the  society  of  which  he  is  a  member, 
there  never  was  a  time  when  it  was  not  believed  and  professed  by 
that  society.  And,  as  that  society  descends,  by  an  unbroken  suc- 
cession of  witnesses,  from  Christ  and  his  Apostles,  by  whom  it  was 
founded,  so  he  holds  the  tenet,  not  as  an  opinion,  but  as  a  fact  of 
revelation. 

Tiie  discussions,  of  which  your  sermon  has  been  the  subject  in 
the  Episcopal  papers,  furnish  me  with  an  illustration  whereby  to 
make  the  distinction  palpable.  All  your  critics,  and  especially  the 
reviewer,  deny  the  existence  of  infallibility  as  an  attribute  of  the 
Church  of  Christ.  This  was  their  opinion.  It  was  but  a  feather ; 
and  yet,  owing  to  the  majority-principle  of  Protestantism,  it  pre- 
vailed over  the  mass  of  evidence,  positive  evidence,  adduced  by  you 
to  prove  the  fact  which  they  denied.  Here  you  were  on  a  solid 
and  triumphant  ground.  Their  opinions  could  no  more  affect  your 
argument,  than  the  strength  of  an  Arab  could  affect  the  Pyramid  of 
the  desert. 

But,  the  order  was  completely  changed  when  you  attempted  to 
make  that  infallibility  an  attribute  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  or  of  a 
certain  indefinite  collection  of  Christian  sects  whom  you  called  the 
"  Church  Catholic.''  Then,  your  critics  had  the  advantage,  because 
they  were  surrounded  by  the  evidences  of  the  fact,\\\aX  neither  Epis- 
copalians, nor  Protestants  of  any  name,  ever  held  such  a  doctrine. 
Here  they  had  only  to  ascertain  whether  or  not  infallibility  had  ever 
been  a  doctrine  professed  or  admitted  by  any  Protestant  sect. 
Wlien  they  proved  that  it  had  not,  they  only  produced  the  attestation 
of  a  fact  which  settled  the  question,  so  far  as  Protestants  are  wit- 
nesses, and  no  further.     But  the  testimony  of  the  whole  Christian 


LETTEBS.  445 

Church,  attesting  the  belief  of  infallibility,  from  the  origin  of  Chris- 
tianity down  to  the  commencement  of  Protestantism,  proves  that 
in  rejecting  this  doctrine  the  Protestants  have  denied  the /act  and 
preferred  the  opinion. 

Now,  the  object  for  which  infallibility  is  indispensable,  is  to  pro- 
pagate and  perpetuate  the  doctrines  revealed  by  the  Son  of  God. 
The  Christian  society,  at  first  confined  to  the  Apostles  and  Disci- 
ples of  our  Lord,  was  founded  on  the  belief  of  His  doctrines.  Before 
the  death  of  the  Apostles  that  society  was  increased  by  the  acces- 
sion of  innunierable  converts,  in  various  countries; — coadjutors  in 
the  preaching  of  its  doctrines  w^ere  multiplied ;  particular  churches 
were  founded. 

When,  therefore,  this  society  bears  testimony  to  the  fact,  that 
from  its  origin  it  has  held  such  and  such  doctrines,  as  tenets  re- 
vealed by  Christ,  its  testimony  is  necessarily  infallible.  Because  the 
fact  which  it  attests  is  a,  public  fact,  of  which  every  member  of  the 
whole  society  is  a  witness.  Supposing  then,  that  at  the  end  of  the 
first  century  a  dispute  should  have  arisen,  as  to  whether  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Trinity,  of  the  Incarnation,  or  of  the  real  presence  of 
Christ  in  the  Eucharist,  of  the  infallibility  of  the  Church,  had  been 
revealed  by  Christ — the  answers  of  the  members  of  the  society 
would  be  simply  Yes  or  No.  And  in  giving  the  answer  they  would 
not  be  uttering  an  opinio?i,  but  witnessing  a  fact,  namely,  that  these 
doctrines  had  been  taught  by  the  Apostles,  and  believed  and  pro- 
fessed by  the  faithful.  But  supposing  that  some  individual  at- 
tempted to  convince  them  of  the  contrary  ;  the  attempt  would  be 
borne  down  by  the  Catholic,  or  universal  testimony,  of  the  whole  so- 
ciety. If  he  perseveied  in  his  opinion,  he  would  thereby  burst  the 
bond  which  held  him  united  to  the  society  of  Christ — that  society 
would  remain  diminished  by  the  excision  of  one  member,  but  undi- 
vided in  itself  as  before. 

Such,  in  fact,  has  been  the  action  of  the  Church  on  all  disputed 
doctrines  since  the  beginning  of  Christianity.  And  when  we  say 
that  the  Clmrch  is  infallible,  it  means  simply  that  from  the  nature 
of  the  case,  it  is  impossible  for  her  to  err  in  the  discharge  of  her 
commission,  wiiich  was  that  she  should  be  a  witness  unto  Christ  in 
Jerusalem,  and  Judea,  and  Samaria,  and  to  the  uttermost  parts  of 
the  earth.  In  this  society,  founded  by  Jesus  Christ,  there  are  the 
pa!^to^s  to  whom  was  given  the  commission  to  teach  all  nations,  and 
the  people  who  were  taught.  All  wei-e  witnesses.  The  possibility 
of  error,  therefore,  in  the  testimony,  must  be  predicated  on  one  or 
other  of  three  suppositions,  neither  of  which  will  stand  the  test  of 
common  sense.  The  first  is,  that  the  primitive  members  of  the 
Christian  society  embraced  tlie  Saviour's  religion  without  having  a 
distinct  knowledge  of  what  those  doctrines  were.  This  is  too  absurd 
to  require  refutation.  The  second  is,  that  having  known,  and  be- 
lieved, and  professed  those  doctrines  for  a  few  ages,  they  all  at  once 
FOKGOT  what  tenets  of  faith  were,  and  began  to  profess,  bona  fide, 
as  revelations  of  Christ  which  they  and  their  predecessors  had  always 


446  ARCHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

believed,  tenets  which  had  hitherto  been  unknown  in  the  Christian 
Church.  This,  also,  is  a  little  too  much  even  for  anti-Catholic  cre- 
dulity. 

The  third  hypothesis  is,  that  the  supposed  errors  miglit  have 
"  crept  in"  by  accident,  and  been  adopted  by  all  the  members  of 
the  great  Catholic  society.  But  this,  again,  is  so  pregnant  with  ab- 
surdity, that  a  few  words  will  suffice  for  its  refutation.  l>st.  The  doc- 
trines were  pure  when  the  ei  ror  was  broached  for  the  first  time.  The 
individual,  therefore,  who  adopted  and  undertook  to  introduce  it 
into  genei-al  belief^  must  have  known  that  it  was  an  error,  and  had 
not  been  a  part  of  the  doctrine  received  from  the  apostles.  2nd. 
Every  individual  to  whom  it  was  subsequently  proposed  for  adoption 
must  have  known  equally  that  it  was  an  error.  Hence  the  error  did 
not  "creep  in,"  at  least,  but  must  have  been  embraced  by  every 
member  of  the  Church,  with  the  personal  knowledge  that  in  doing 
so  he  was  apostatising  deliberately  from  the  doctrines  of  Christ. 
But,  thirdly,  the  propagation  of  such  an  error  would  necessarily 
create  divisions ;  some  would  advocate,  others  oppose.  The  conse- 
quence would  have  been  a  separation  ;  and  then  history  would  have 
added  another  sect  to  the  catalogue  of  heresies  that  have  been  con- 
demned by  the  Church.  Besides  these  there  are  no  other  possible 
ways  in  which  the  doctrines  received  from  the  apostles  could  be 
depraved  by  error.  History  informs  us  that  individuals  have  fre- 
quently made  the  attempt ;  but  the  issue  has  invariably  been  that 
the  error  has  been  branded  as  error  by  the  Catholic  testimony  of 
the  Church,  and  that  those  who  have  adhered  to  it  have  been  cut  off 
from  the  Christian  society. 

Thus  from  the  very  nature  of  the  Christian  doctrine,  and  the  con- 
stitution of  the  Christian  Church,  its  testimony  furnishes  the  broadest 
and  most  solid  basis  of  moral  evidence  that  ever  was  laid  for  the 
support  of  human  certainty.  The  facts  of  profane  history  that  are 
best  authenticated,  are  not  as  well  established  by  moral  evidence  as 
the  facts  of  the  Catholic  doctrine.  And  the  reason  is,  that  dynasties 
have  been  overturned  and  supplanted,  nations  hav-e  been  partially 
extinguished  and  remodeled  ;  but  the  great  primitive  Catholic  so- 
ciety, uncontined  by  geographical  limits,  unchanged  by  national  dis- 
asters, has  preserved  its  identity,  and  never  suffered  a  revolution  in 
its  government,  or  a  subversion  of  its  principles.  After  eighteen 
centuries  it  exhibits  a  spectacle  of  some-two  hundred  millions  of  souls, 
divided  by  language,  by  national  habits,  by  climate,  by  everything 
that  diversifies  the  surface  of  the  globe ;  and  yet  agreeing  in  the 
"  belief  of  the  same  doctrines,  participation  of  the  same  sacraments, 
and  subjection  to  the  same  legitimate  pastors."  The  doctrines  now 
professed  have  been  professed  by  all  the  preceding  ages  and  genera- 
tions of  the  Churcii  from  the  days  of  the  apostles,  making  the  testi- 
mony of  society  universal  and  uniform  both  with  regard  to  time  and 
place. 

This  kind  of  natural  or  moral  certainty,  produced  by  the  tmanimous 
testimony  of  the  Catholic  Church,  is  no  hindrance  to  that  divine  as- 


LETTERS.  .  447 

sistance,  that  supernatural  infallibility  which  Jesus  Christ  promised 
to  His  Church.  The  Holy  Scriptures  teach  us  positively  that  He 
promised  to  be  with  His  Church  all  days,  even  to  the  end  of  the 
world,  and  that  the  gates  of  hell  should  never  prevail  against  hei'. 
Now  these  and  other  declarations  to  the  same  effect,  set  forth  in  these 
letters  and  in  your  sermon,  should  leave  no  doubt  in  the  minds  of 
those  who  admit  the  omnipotence  and  veracity  of  Jesus  Christ. 
That  these  declarations  were  understood  as  the  divine  guarantee 
for  the  infallibility  of  the  Church,  is  a  point  which  the  doctrine  and 
practice  of  the  Church  itself,  and  the  writings  of  the  fathers  against 
the  heretics  of  their  times,  place  beyond  the  reach  of  controversy. 
I  only  make  a  passing  allusion  to  this  topic  here,  as  it  has  been 
treated  elsewhere,  and  as  the  object  of  the  present  essay  is  to  show 
what  is  meant  by  infallibility  as  an  attribute  of  the  Church  of  Christ. 
Infallibility  belongs  by  nature  only  to  God  ;  but  He  can  communi- 
cate of  that  attribute  to  those  to  whom  he  has  confided  the  preach- 
ing and  preservation  of  his  message  to  mankind.  The  successors  of 
the  apostles  are  commissioned  to  preach  that  lesson  of  revealed  truth 
by  the  same  authority  which  deputed  the  apostles  themselves. 
These  successors  were  bound  to  neither  add  to  nor  take  I'rom  the 
doctrines  of  the  Church;  they  were  bound  by  their  office  to  suffer 
no  alteration  of  them  Avithin  the  limits  of  their  jurisdiction.  What 
then  is  the  nature  of  their  testimony,  whether  assembled  in  general 
council,  or  dispersed  in  the  various  countries  of  the  globe  ?  Is  it,  as 
among  Protestants,  in  the  nature  of  determining  truth  by  ballot^  and 
deciding  on  the  dogma  of  revelation  by  the  test  of  a  majority  ?  No. 
It  is  simply  determining  whether  the  point  in  dispute  had  or  had  not 
^been  held  as  a  doctrine  revealed  by  Jesus  Christ  in  the  various  por- 
tions of  the  Church  in  which  they  presided  as  bishops.  This  testi- 
mony is  a  concentration  of  evidence  which  attests  the  universal  be- 
lief of  the  Church ;  and  as  this  belief  has  never  changed  since  the 
foundation  of  Christianity,  determines,  in  a  way  consonant  with  rea- 
son, consonant  with  revelation,  consonant  with  the  unchangeable 
nature  of  truth,  consonant  with  the  safety  of  the  believer,  and  the 
attributes  of  the  divine  founder  of  the  Church,  what  are  the  doctrines 
revealed  by  him  for  the  salvation  of  men. 

Such  is  the  manner  in  which  the  bishops  of  the  Church  are,  and 
have  been  from  the  beginning,  bound  by  the  very  obligations  of 
their  office,  to  guard  and  transmit  the  deposit  of  taith  which  was 
once  delivered  to  the  saints.  Did  any  one  of  them  attempt  to  alter 
one  tittle  of  it?  The  testimony  of  the  people  over  whom  he  pre- 
sided, who  had  been  instructed  by  his  predecessor  in  the  Episcopal 
office,  before  the  attempt  to  introduce  the  novelty  of  doctrine, 
would  convict  him.  The  testimony  of  his  clergy  who  were  ac- 
quainted with  the  doctrines  of  the  Church,  would  convict  him.  The 
le->timony  of  his  Episcopal  colleagues  throughout  the  world  would 
convict  him.  He  could  7iot,  if  he  would,  succeed  to  corrupt  the 
doctrines  of  a  Church  guarded  from  the  approach  of  error  by  a  uni- 
verse of  witnesses. 


448  ABCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

Since  this  has  ever  been  the  condition  of  the  Catliolic  Church,  strike 
into  its  history  at  whatever  period  you  may  choose  to  select,  it  fol- 
lows— both  from  the  means  which  Christ  appointed,  for  the  trans- 
mission of  His  doctrine  and  the  promise  of  His  Holy  Spirit  to  teach 
her  all  truth — that  her  testimony  in  determining  what  are  the  doc- 
trines of  the  Revelation  is  invested  with  such  circumstances,  both 
of  the  natural  and  supernatural  order,  as  to  preclude  the  possibility 
of  error  or  deception.  Testimony,  in  which  error  or  deception  is  im- 
possible, is  infallible  testimony.  And  the  Church  which  is  compe- 
tent to  give  snch  testimony,  is  an  infallible  Church. 

Protestantism  can  have  no  such  claim.  And  although,  as  has  been 
said  before,  you  Mere  triumphant  in  that  portion  of  your  sermon 
which  went  to  prove  the  existence  of  infallibility  as  a  necessary  at- 
tribute of  the  Church  of  Christ,  you  were  singularly  unhappy  in  at- 
tempting to  connect  it  with  those  sects  of  Christians  who  are  not  in 
communion  with  the  great  primitive  Catholic  society.  The  Episco- 
pal denomination  seems  to  have  a  body  of  doctrines  expressed  in 
her  articles.  But  these  are  only  the  opinions  oi  iho^e  by  whom  the 
articles  were  diawn  up. 

They  are  interpreted  variously  by  those  who  profess  to  believe 
in  them.  Consequently  they  are  not  susceptible  of  testimony — and 
if  they  were,  Episcopalians  could  not  be  admitted  competent  wit- 
nesses, inasmuch  as  their  evidence  could  extend  only  to  a  period  of 
three  hundred  out  of  eighteen  hundred  years.  This  same  remark  is 
applicable  to  all  sects,  even  as  far  back  as  the  Arians  in  the  fourth  cen- 
tury. How  tlien  could  the  infallibility  of  the  Church  of  Christ  be 
applicable  to  any  of  these  ?  The  stream  must  flow  from  the  foun- 
tain of  life  by  an  uninterrupted  and  traceable  course — the  chain  of 
witnesses  must  be  unbroken,  not  a  link  missing  in  the  whole  lapse 
of  ages. 

These  are  found  in  the  Catholic  Church  alone,  and  with  them  that 
infallibility  which  was  promised  by  its  divine  Founder.  I  am  not 
unmindful  that  many  objections  can  be  raised  against  this  essential 
tenet  of  the  Christian  religion.  But  in  this  it  is  like  the  other  doc- 
trines of  Revelation — they  are  exposed  to  the  objections  of  the 
captious  and  the  unbeliever  ;  but  they  are  not  less  true  on  that  ac- 
count. In  ray  next  letter  I  propose  to  bring  up  those  objections 
which  are  really  worthy  of  notice. 

Yours,  Ac, 

J.H. 


LETTER  X. 


Dear  Sir — At  the  close  of  my  last  letter  I  observed  that  the 
doctrine  of  the  infallibility  of  the  Church,  though  sustained  by  reason, 
by  revelation,  and  history,  is  still  the  theme  of  objection.  This  will 
not  appear  surprising  to  you,  who  are  aware  of  the  objections  that 
are  raised  against  the  mission  of  the  Apostles,  the  chai'acter  of  Christ, 


LETTERS.  44:9 

and  even  the  existence  of  God  Himself.  But  you  are  equally  aware 
that  these  objections  prove  nothing  against  the  doctrines  tlyey  are 
intended  to  assail,  but  only  prove  the  darkness  and  depravity  of 
the  understanding  fiom  which  they  emanate.  So  it  is  with  regard 
to  the  objections  usually  preferred  against  the  infallibility  of  the 
Church  of-  Christ.  Still  they  are  common  ;  and,  as  they  have  some 
influence  on  the  minds  of  uneducated  Protestants,  owing  to  the  fact 
that  the  ministers  and  dignitaries  of  the  Protestant  Church  believe, 
or  affect  to  believe,  in  their  solidity,  it  is  but  reasonable  that  all 
such  as  are  worthy  of  notice  should  be  examined  and  refuted.  This 
is  what  I  propose  to  do  in  the  present  letter. 

1.  It  is  OBJECTED — "  That  the  pastors  of  the  Churchy  by  virtue 
of  her  infallibility^  lord  it  over  the  faith  of  the  people^  xoho^from 
the  moment  they  are  imbued  with  this  belief  will  receive  imjjlicetly 
whatever  their  spiritual  guides  think  proper  to  erect  into  faith ^'' 

Now  those  Avho  can  be  deluded  by  this  objection  are  persons  who 
have  never  examined  the  true  state  of  the  case.  It  is  a  sacred  prin- 
ciple in  the  society  of  Christians  that  compose  the  Church  visible 
and  militant,  that  it  would  be  sacrilegiously  criminal  either  to  add 
to,  or  to  take  from,  the  doctrines  originally  revealed  by  Jesus,  and 
taught  by  His  Apostles.  Hence,  the  faith  of  the  people  composing 
that  society  is  always  older  than  the  ordination  and  appointment 
of  those  who  are  to  be  its  official  teachers  and  the  dispensers  of  the 
divine  mysteries.  The  bishops  of  the  Church  are  the  authorized 
expounders  of  the  Christian  doctrines,  the  heirs  of  the  apostles  in 
all  things  appertaining  to  the  deposit  of  the  faith  and  the  adminis- 
tration of  the  sacraments.  Hence,  not  only  the  belief  of  the  whole 
society  is  older ^  but  the  whole  episcopal  body  is  in  the  discharge  of 
its  functions  anteriorly  to  the  consecration  of  each  bishop,  by  whom 
the  apostolic  succession  in  the  Church  is  continued.  He  is  bound 
to  teach  what  the  Church  teaches,  and  what  had  been  taught  by  his 
predecessors  in  the  great  communion  of  the  Catholic  Church  from 
the  beginning  of  Christianity.  He  is  not  only  a  teacher,  but  a  be- 
liever ;  he  is  not  a  maker  of  creeds,  but  a  witness  of  truth ;  not 
the  irresponsible  arbiter  of  doctrine,  but  a  disciple  of  faith.  Before  he 
could  succeed  to  pervert  the  faith  of  the  Church,  he  must  first  per- 
vert the  memory  and  judgment  of  not  only  his  flock,  but  also  of  his 
colleagues  throughout  the  world.  Hence,  the  true  state  of  the  ques- 
tion presents  the  fact  as  directly  the  opposite  of  what  is  supposed  in 
the  objection.  It  is  the  faith  of  the  people,  the  faith  of  the  clergy,  the 
faith  of  the  Episcopal  body.  In  a  word,  the  faith  of  the  Catholic 
Church,  that  "  lords  it"  over  the  pastors  as  well  as  the  flocks.  One 
bishop  or  another  may  fall  away,  because  •nfallibility  is  not  a  per- 
sonal attribute  ;  but  if  he  does,  it  is  by  a  flagrant  violation  of  the  terms 
on  which  he  was  associated  in  the  discharge  of  the  heavenly  trust. 
His  profession  of  faith  was  the  Apostles'  Creed,  in  which  he  was 
bound  to  believe  "in  the  holy  Catholic  Church."  What  is  here 
said  of  one  bishop,  is  true  of  all.  Hence,  the  infallibility  of  the 
Church;  and  the  belief  of  it  in  the  minds  of  the  faithful,  so  far  from 
Vol.  11—29 


450  ARCHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

enabling  the  pastors  to  corrupt  the  faith  of  ihe  people,  is  precisely 
the  ciuterion  which  would  betray  the  attempt  of  the  hireling  shep- 
herd, who  would  sacrilegiously  attempt  to  model  the  ark  according 
to  his  own  erring  opinions.  A  faith  such  as  that  established  by 
Christ,  unalterable,  has  unity  and  uniformity  for  its  characteristics. 
It  is  believed  by  all  the  members  in  the  communion  of  the  great 
Christian  society  to  which  it  was  originally  revealed  ; — ^this  consti- 
tutes unity.  It  icas  believed  by  all  the  preceding  generations  of 
this  society ; — here  is  its  apostolicity.  How  then,  could  the  pastor 
of  a  church  change  a  doctrine  so  guarded  by  the  wisdom  of  the  divine 
Architect  of  the  Christian  Church  ?  What !  Under  pretence  of  a 
prerogative,  attempt  to  alter  the  doctrines  for  xohose  preservation 
that  had  been  given,  and  in  the  act,  proclaim  to  the  world  that  they 
liad  forfeited  it  ?  Make  a  palpable  change  by  way  of  proving  that 
the  doctrines  are  immutable!  No,  dear  sir,  it  is  in  the  Catholic 
Church  alone  that  the  clergy  cannot  "  lord  it"  over  the  faith  of  the 
people.  The  pastor  of  a  congregation,  and  the  bishop  of  a  diocese,  and 
the  Pope  are  all  as  subject  to  the  faith  of  the  One,  Holy,  Catholic, 
and  Apostolical  Church  as  the  humblest  member  of  the  communion. 

The  objection,  therefore,  is  founded  on  ignorance  of  the  true 
state  of  the  case.  In  consequence  of  this  ignorance,  Protestants 
judge  of  the  Catholic  ministry  as  they  do  of  their  own.  They  won- 
der how  it  happens  that  the  preaching  and  teaching  of  the  Catholic 
priesthood  have  so  much  more  reverence  in  the  minds  of  their  flocks 
than  the  same  ottices  have  when  discharged  by  Protestant  ministers. 
The  reason  is  obvious:  The  Catholic  priesthood  are  the  organs  of  a 
CnuitCH  whose  faith  is  immutable ;  the  Protestant  ministers  are  the 
organs  of  their  own  opinions.  And  the  reasoning  of  the  objection 
is  this:  "If  our  ministers  can  so  much  "  lord  it"  over  our  belief, 
being  fallible  men,  how  much  more  power  would  they  have  to  lead 
us  astray  if  they  belonged  to  a  Church  which  is  infallible." 

2.  It  is  OBJKCTED — "  l^hat  all  men  are  fallible  ;  that  many  pas- 
tors, xcho  fell  into  eri'or  themselves,  persevered  i?i  it,  and  drew  tlieir 
flocks  also  into  error?'' 

You  will  be  able  to  appreciate  the  importance  of  this  objection 
when  you  reflect  that,  w^hilst  Protestants  urge  it  against  the 
Church,  the  Deists  press  it  against  the  Scriptures,  written  by  men, 
and  handed  down  to  us  by  men.  Now,  in  refutation  of  the  pre- 
tended objection,  it  is  sufficient  to  observe  that  all  men,  individually 
taken,  are  indeed  fallible.  But  even  in  ordinary  transactions,  when 
a  great  number  of  man  bear  unanimous  testimony  to  a  fact  of  which 
they  are  competent  to  judge  and  testify,  and  in  circumstances  which 
render  collusion  among  fliem  impossible,  then  their  testimony  pro- 
duces a  moral  certainty,  and  is  rendered  morally  infallible. 

Thus  the  testimony  on  which  we  believe  in  the  expulsion  of 
Charles  X.,  -and  the  substitution  of  Louis  Phillippe  as  King  of 
France,  is  sustained  by  infallibility  of  the  natural  or  moral  order, 
although  we  deny  the  attribute  to  every  witness  that  ever  testified 
to  the  fact. 


LETTEES.  451 

Now,  the  ground  of  certainty  for  all  the  doctrines  of  the  Catholic 
Church  are  broader  and  deeper  than  those  which  sustain  the  fact 
just  mentioned.  Because  it  would  be  easier  to  falsify  a  fact  of  which 
one  kingdom,  almost  one  city,  was  the  scene,  than  to  falsify  another 
of  which  the  whole  Catholic  world  is  the  theatre,  and  every  raejnber 
a  witness.  The  fact  in  question  is  not  whether  the  doctrine  is  true, 
but  whether  it  is  or  is  not  an  article  of  Catholic  belief.  The  fact 
being  settled,  it  comes  under  the  test,  long  since  sanctioned,  for  de- 
termining the  doctrines  of  truth.  ''  Quod  semper^  quodubique,  quod 
ah  omnibus,  creditiim  esty  The  falling  off  of  particular  pastors 
proves  only  the  fallibility  of  human  opinion,  but  not  the  fallibility  of 
the  Church,  which,  besides  the  certainty  produced  by  the  univ,ersal 
and  uniform  character  of  its  testimony,  has  the  unfailing  promise  of 
the  Son  of  God,  that  He  will  be  with  its  pastors  "all  days,  till  the 
consummation  of  the  world." 

3.  It  is  OBJECTED — "  That  during  those  ages  which  are  called  the 
dark  or  middle  ages,  when  ignorance  icas  so  general,  not  only  the 
peopU,  but  also  the  clergy,  were  too  uneducated,  too  unenlightenedy 
to  decide  on  questions  of  doctrine.'''* 

The  answer  in  this  is  very  simple.  In  the  first  place,  the  ignorance, 
however  great  it  might  be  as  to  other  branches  of  knowledge,  never 
aftected  the  doctrines  of  Christianity.  Secondly,  there  were  among 
the  clergy  many  whose  writings  prove  that,  both  by  their  genius 
and  acquirements,  they  would  have  done  honor  to  any  age.  Thirdly, 
the  matters  to  be  decided,  whenever  a  controversy  arose  on  doc- 
trine, was  simply  a  matter  of  fact,  viz.,  whether  or  not  such  or  such 
a  point  was  a  portion  of  Catholic  faith.  Fourthly,  the  infallibility  of 
the  Church  was  not  made  to  depend  on  the  science  of  its  ministers. 
Lastly,  besides  all  this,  it  is  put  beyond  dispute  that,  on  all  the  arti- 
cles of  Christian  doctrine,  the  Church  of  the  tenth  and  of  the 
eighteenth  centuries  believed  precisely  the  same  as  the  Church  of  the 
third,  Iburih,  and  fifth,  when  her  doctrines  were  attested  by  the 
writings  and  adorned  by  the  holy  lives  of  the  fathers,  against  whom 
the  charge  of  ignorance,  except  by  the  infidels,  has  not  been  preferred^ 

4.  It  has  been  objected — "  That  the  doctrines  of  the  Church 
have  not  been  uniform — that  councils  have  been  opposed  to  councils?"* 

This  is  a  common  objection,  and  if  it  had  any  foundation  in  truth,  it 
would  have  been  an  easy  matter  for  those  who  urge  it  to  establish 
its  validity  by  proof  of  the  fact.  In  the  first  place,  it  is  utterly  false 
that  what  was  defined  as  an  article  of  faith  in  one  council  was  ever 
discarded  or  condemned  by  another.  It  is  a  sheer  calumny,  invented 
by  the  Protestants  to  cover  the  glaring  criminality  of  the  schism 
and  heresies  which  even  the  Scriptures  denounce  as  crimes.  The 
charge  made  against  the  Council  of  Rimini,  as  having  contradicted 
or  condemned  the  decision  of  the  Council  of  Nice,  is  founded  on 
ignorance  of  the  particular  question,  or  on  disingenuousness  in  stating 
it.  The  question  was  about  the  divinity  of  Christ,  which  the 
Arians  denied.  In  defining  the  doctrine,  the  one  council  used  a 
term  to  express  it,  and  to  brand  the  heresy,  which  the  other  did  not 


452  ARCHBISHOP  HUGHES. 

use,  the  meaning  being  the  same  in  both  cases.  This  involved  no 
contradiction  ;  and  besides,  the  Council  of  Rimini  did  not  represent 
the  Ch'jrch,  being  composed  only  of  the  western  bisliops,  in  which 
the  Pope  did  not  preside,  neither  by  himself  nor  by  his  legates. 

5.  It  is  OBJECTED — "  That  the  question  of  general  councils  is 
cor/iplicated  /  that  there  is  no  certain  sign  whereby  to  distinguish  a 
general  council  from  one  that  is  not  general.''''  In  answer  to  this, 
it  is  to  be  observed  that  a  council  is  general  or  oecumenical  when 
the  bishops  of  the  whole  Catholic  Church  are  invited  to  attend,  and 
the  supreme  bishop,  the  Bishop  of  Rome,  presides  in  it  either  by 
himself  or  by  his  legates.  Thus  the  question  about  whether  the 
Pope  is  superior  to  the  council,  or  the  council  superior  to  the  Pope, 
and  on  which  so  mucl;  has  been  said  and  written,  is  of  no  practical 
utility. 

The  collision  between  the  Pope  and  a  general  council  is  impossible, 
because  a  general  council  supposes  the  concurrence  of  the  Pope. 
Without  this  the  whole  Church  is  not  represented,  and  except  the 
whole  Church  be  represented,  tlie  council  is  not  general  or  oecu- 
menical. The  supposition,  therefore,  is  like  that  which  would  ascribe 
a  twofold  sovereignty  to  the  human  agent,  and  suspend  its  action 
until  it  should  be  determined  whether  the  sovereignty  of  the  head 
is  to  absorb  the  sovereignty  of  the  body,  or,  vice  versa,  whether  the 
body  is  to  exercise  supremacy  over  the  head.  Tliere  is  but  one 
sovereignty,  one  supremacy^  and  it  is  the  body  and  head  united. 
So  is  it  in  the  Church.  Again,  it  is  a  mistake  to  suppose,  as  many 
Protestants  do,  that  the  attestation  of  Catholic  faith  must  depend 
absolutely  on  the  testimony  of  a  general  council.  In  fact,  the 
Church  is  as  a  general  council  in  perpetual  session  since  the  days  of 
the  Apostles.  Whether  the  bishops  of  the  Church  are  assembled 
together  or  separate,  and  presiding  in  their  respective  sees  through- 
out the  world,  their  character  of  witnesses  and  judges,  as  well  as  the 
nature  of  the  testimony,  is  identically  the  same ;  the  diflference  con- 
sists only  in  the  mere  circumstances  of  time  and  place. 

6.  It  is  OBJECTED — "  That  councils  have  decreed  new  articles  of 
faith.''''  This  objection  is  founded  on  the  ignorance  or  bad  faith-  of 
those  who  put  it  forth.  In  etfect,  those  definitions  of  doctrine  which 
emanated  froin  general  councils  were  nothing  but  the  attestation  of 
the  apostolic.  Catholic  faith,  in  language  so  precise  and  so  condem- 
natory of  the  opposite  error,  that  neither  the  heretics  nor  the  faithful 
could  pervert  or  mistake  the  true  meaning  of  the  dogma.  Thus,  in 
the  Council  of  Nice,  325,  the  heresy  of  Arms  was  branded  with  the 
indelible  mark  by  the  use  of  a  word  which  had  not  been  used  before 
to  express  a  doctrine  which  had  always  been.  The  Cliurch  testified 
that,  according  to  her  doctrine,  Jesus  Christ  was  "  consubstantial" 
with  the  Father.  The  divinity  of  the  Holy  Ghost  she  attested,  in 
language  equally  apt  and  appropriate,  in  the  Council  of  Constanti- 
nople, in  381.     So  of  the  councils  of  the  succeeding  ages. 

The  definition  of  doctrines,  in  set  and  precise  terms,  was  neces- 
sary only  in  proportion  as  heresy  attempted  to  corrupt  the  faith  of 


LETTERS.  453 

believers.  The  epoch ^of  those  definitions,  respectively,  indicates, 
not  the  time  when  the  doctrines  which  they  define  began  to  be  be- 
lieved, but  the  time  when  the  heresies  opposed  to  them  began  to  be 
broached.  The  divinity  of  Christ,  always  believed,  would  have  been 
defined  at  an  earlier  period  if  Arias  had  lived  earlier,  and  attempted 
its  rejection.  The  doctrine  of  Transubstantiation,  always  believed, 
did  not  require  to  be  expressed  by  this  word  until  Berengarius  and 
his  followers  were  impious  enough  to  deny  or  explain  it  in  a  sense 
imknown  to  the  Church.  In  short,  the  Protestants — whose  g)"eatest 
religious  ambition  seems  to  have  been  to  prove  that  the  Church  of 
Christ  could  lead,  and,  in  fact,  had  led,  its  members  into  error — 
I'lave  an  easy  way  to  accomplish  their  object,  if  the  fact  were  not  the 
very  opposite  of  what  they  wished  to  make  it  appear.  How  often 
have  they  asserted  that  the  Church  at  different  times  gave  contra- 
dictory decisions  on  the  sajne  article  of  Christian  faith  ?  How  often 
l)ave  they  bearded  with  defiance  as  to  the  exhibition  of  \kiQ  proof  ? 
And  yet  the  proofs  would  be  at  hand  if  the  thing  had  ever  occurred. 
Call  on  your  reviewers,  then,  and  since  they  deny  the  infallibility  of 
the  Church  of  Christ,  let  them  produce  facts  to  sustain  their  denial. 
Every  dictate  of  reason  tells  us  that  a  Chui-ch,  founded  by  Him  who 
Avas  truth  itself,  and  founded  for  the  express  purpose  of  teaching  the 
doctrines  which  He  had  revealed,  ought  to  be  so  guarded  by  the 
wise  provisions  of  divine  omnipotence,  as  that  those  who  should  abide 
by  her  teaching  could  not  be  deceived.  Every  page  of  the  sacred 
■writing  relating  to  this  subject  is  in  strict  accordance  with  the  dic- 
tate of  our  reason  just  referred  to,  and  tells  us  that  so  Chi'ist  did 
establish  His  Church.  Every  page  of  ecclesiastical  history  bids  de- 
fiance to  the  individual  who  would  search  it  for  evidence  and  facts 
to  show  that  the  Church  has  ever  been  less  than  what  the  inspired 
apostle  designates  her  to  be — the  "  pillar  And  ground  of  the  truth.''* 
And  yet,  dear  sir,  the  critics  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  who  have  been 
so  much  offended  with  the  principles  of  your  sermon — principles 
Avhich  constitute  the  shame  of  those  who,  in  the  name  of  religion, 
impugn  them — these  critics  affect  to  believe  that  infallibility  is  a 
privilege  which  Christ  could,  but  did  not,  bestow  on  His  Church. 
These  men,  unhappily,  are  pledged  by  their  position  to  oppose  the 
belief  of  infallibility  in  the  Church  of  Christ.  Hence  they  frame  an 
idea  of  that  infallibility  according  to  the  wants  of  their  argument. 
When  they  pretend  to  state  the  Catholic  belief  on  the  subject,  they 
only  falsify  it,  and  thus  mislead  thousands. 

It  was  provided  by  the  Saviour  of  men  for  the  preservation  of 
doctrines  as  revealed  by  Him  ;  they  make  it  apply  to  points  of  mere 
discij^line,  and  variations  in  discipline  are  adduced  to  disprove  uni- 
formity of  doctrine,  and  consequently  to  disprove  infallibility.  It 
was  given  as  the  protection  of  the  people,  whereby  they  might  be 
guarded  from  the  delusions  of  human  opinion,  on  which  the  whole 
Protestant  system  is  made  to  wheel.  Your  critics  treat  it  as  a  fond 
pretension  of  the  Catholic  clergy  to  enable  them  the  more  effectually 
to  lead  the  people  astray. 


45J:  AECUBISHOP  HUGHES. 

Thus  it  is  that  they  confound  things  entii^ly  distinct,  in  order 
extract  from  the  contusion  the  appearance  or  argument  against  tLc 
infallibility  of  the  Church. 

The  object  of  the  foregoing  letters  has  been  to  show,  that  from  the 
origin  of  revelation,  under  the  Old  as  well  as  under  the  New  Testa- 
ment, there  has  ever  been^  in  the  society  of  true  believers,  a  tribunal 
against  whose  decision,  in  matters  of  doctrine,  no  individual  could 
rebel,  without  incurring  the  displeasure  and  violating  the  precepts 
of  Almighty  God.  In  the  ancient  law  the  text  is  clear,  as  I  had  oc- 
casion to  show  in  the  first  portion  of  these  letters.  After  the  Jewish 
Church  passed  away,  Christ  was  the  teacher;  and  after  him,  the 
Apostles  and  their  successors,  who  were  appointed  to  teach,  not  their 
own  opinions,  but  "  whatsoever  He  had  commanded  themP  The 
fathers  of  the  Church  were  adduced  as  witnesses,  and,  according  to 
their  testimony,  the  Church  was  the  umpire  to  decide,  without  ap- 
peal, in  all  controversies  of  faith.  According  to  their  testimony,  it 
was  heresy  to  contemn  the  decision  of  the  Church.  What  was  true 
of  the  Church  then  is  still  true.  The  nature  of  that  infallibility  has 
been  examined,  and  it  has  been  seen  that,  from  the  very  circum- 
stances of  the  doctrines  to  be  attested,  and  of  the  witnesses,  the  tes- 
timony is  of  such  a  character  as  to  preclude,  even  on  the  rules  of 
moral  evidence,  every  possibility  of  Catholic  error.  But  add  to  this 
the  promises  of  the  Saviour  to  the  Church,  and  the  moral  certainty 
is  exalted  to  the  order  of  divine  faith.  The  opposite  side  of  the 
case  presents  a  variety  of  sects  scattered  along  the  pathway  of  the 
Church,  whose  opinion  it  is  that  she  is  fallible  !  And  what  is  the 
origin,  the  source  of  this  judgment?  Simply  that  she  did  not 
(Change  her  faith  by  sanctioning  their  errors!  And  what  is  the 
weight  of  this  judgment  ?  Precisely  that  which  is  due  to  persons 
Avhose  opinions  change  fi-om  day  to  day,  and  who  cannot  agree 
among  themselves.  AcknowledijinQ:  that  Christ  made  a  revelation 
of  doctrines,  and  yet  in  perpetual  contradiction  with  each  other  as 
to  what  those  doctrines  are  !  Here  are  the  two  sides  of  the  question, 
having  no  medium  between.  It  is  for  a  wise  man,  who  values  things 
temporal  and  things  eternal,  according  to  the  estimate  of  a  St.  Paul, 
to  determine  whether  it  is  safer  to  believe  with  the  Catholic  Church, 
than  to  doubt  and  deny  with  the  reviewer.     Farewell. 

Yours,  &c., 

J.  H. 


From  the  AnnaU  of  the  Propagation  of  the  Faith,  1840. 

THE  CONVERSION  OF  THE  DODGE  FAMILY. 

The  following  narrative  has  been  addressed  to  the  Central  Com- 
mittee of  Paris,  by  Mgr.  Hughes,  Bishop  of  Basileopolis,  and  Coad- 
jutor of  New  York : 


LETTEES.  455 

Among  the  instances  of  conversion  from  Protestantism,  there  have 
been  some  of  persons  eminent  by  their  position  in  society,  and  dis- 
tingnislied  by  their  talents.  There  is  one  case  in  particular  within 
my  knowledge,  the  circumstances  of  which  cannot  but  edify  those 
pious  and  devout  souls  who  are  associated  in  your  truly  Catholic  and 
holy  work.  In  the  interior  of  the  diocese  of  New  York,  in  Onon- 
dago  County,  there  is  a  little  congregation,  composed  entirely  of 
converts  from  Protestantism.  It  consists  of  eighteen  already  re- 
ceived into  the  Church,  and  two,  who  as  catechumens,  are  preparing 
for  baptism.  Nearly  all  are  members,  or  immediate  relatives,  of 
the  principal  family ;  and  when  the  first  conversion  took  place,  the 
nearest  priest  was  at  a  distance  of  sixty  miles.  Even  at  present  they 
liave  no  priest  nearer  than  eighteen  miles.  The  head  of  this  family 
is  a  farmer  of  large  wealth  and  property ;  a  man  of  good  education, 
and  strong  understanding,  who  has  been  a  representative  of  the 
county  in  the  legislature.  From  himself  and  his  excellent  lady  I 
had  the  account  of  their  conversion,  which  I  give  as  nearly  as  possible 
in  their  own  words.  But  written  words  can  convey  no  idea  of  the 
expiession  of  spiritual  joy  and  peace  of  soul  which  beamed  on  their 
countenances  whilst  they  related  it. 

One  evening  in  the  spring  of  1836,  a  peddler  was  passing  along  the 
road  in  front  of  their  house.  The  road,  as  usual  in  spring,  was  deep; 
and  his  horse,  in  dragging  the  wagon  through  the  mud,  broke  some 
of  the  harness,  and  he  could  not  proceed.  ColonefDodge,  the  farmer 
referred  to,  seeing  the  situation  of  the  poor  man  from  his  window, 
came  out  and  ordered  his  men  to  assist  in  extricating  the  wagon. 
As  it  was  near  night,  he  invited  the  peddler  to  stay  at  his  house  till 
morning,  when  he  might  proceed  on  his  journey.  After  supper  the 
farmer  entered  into  conversation  with  his  guest,  and  the  time  passed 
agreeably  until  the  hour  for  retiring  approached  ;  when,  all  at  once,  it 
occurred  to  Mrs.  Dodge  that  perhaps  the  peddler  was  a  Catholic; 
and  the  idea  of  having  a  Catholic  to  sleep  under  her  roof  frightened 
her  very  much.  She  spoke  to  her  husband  ;  for,  believing,  as  she 
had  been  taught,  that  Catholics  were  idolaters,  and  capable  of  every 
crime,  she  thought  it  sinful,  as  well  as  dangerous,  to  harbor  one  of 
them  in  her  house.  Her  husband  made  inquiry,  and  found  that  the 
poor  man  was  really  a  Catholic — but  it  was  too  late  to  send  him 
away. 

Colonel  Dodge,  who  had  found  his  guest  very  sensible  and  modest 
in  conversation,  thought  it  a  pity  that  so  apparently  honest  a  man 
should  be  involved  in  the  supposed  errors  of  our  faith ;  for  although 
he  did  not  partake  in  the  alarm  of  his  wife  (who  had  probably  never 
seen  a  Catholic  before),  still  this  much  he  was  at  least  convinced  of, 
that  no  man  of  common  sense  could  believe  in  what  he  imagined  to 
be  the  absurdities  of  our  doctrine.  Pitying  the  man,  and  yet  curious 
to  hear  what  answer  he  would  give.  Colonel  Dodge  began  to  expos- 
tulate with  him,  and  express  his  surprise  that  he  should  believe  in 
the  doctrines  of  the  Church  of  Rome.  The  peddler  answered  with 
great  modesty  and  prudence.     He  said  he  was  a  firm  Catholic,  but 


456  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

unqualified,  for  want  of  education,  to  defend  or  explain  his  doctrine. 
He  concluded  by  saying  that  if  Colonel  Dodge  kneio  what  the 
Catliolic  faith  was  he  would  have  a  better  opinion  of  it. 

Next  morning  the  peddler,  in  returning  thanks  for  the  kindness  and 
hospitality  he  had  received,  observed  that  he  had  a  book,  which  he 
would  be  happy  to  leave,  and  which  might  induce  Colonel  Dodge 
to  think  better  of  the  Catholic  Church.  To  this  the  colonel  agreed, 
and  invited  the  peddler  to  call  at  the  house  when  he  should  have 
occasion  to  pass  that  way  again. 

The  gentleman  began  to  read  his  book,  the  first  Catholic  work  he 
had  ever  seen  on  the  subject  of  religion,  and  as  he  advanced  he  was 
struck  and  surprised  at  the  unexpected  strength  of  the  arguments 
from  Scripture,  from  reason,  and  the  early  lathers,  in  favor  of  the 
Catholic  faith.  Passages  that  struck  him  as  particularly  forcible,  he 
Avould  read  aloud  to  his  wife.  At  first  she  tliought  it  a  sin  to  listen, 
but  -as  her  husband  thought  otherwise,  her  scruples  on  that  point 
soon  gave  way,  and  she  became  so  interested  in  the  subject  that  she 
soon  ventured  to  read  the  book  herself.  In  this  way  they  continued 
for  several  months,  until  the  peddler  returned.  They  asked  him  if 
he  had  any  morivbooks  on  the  same  subject,  and  fortunately  he  was 
able  to  supply  them.  Colonel  Dodge  obtained  from  him  a  list  of 
all  the  Catholic  works  on  the  subject  that  could  be  procured  in 
New  York,  and  wi'ote  to  have  them  forwarded.  Hitherto,  he  and 
his  family  were  tfte  most  steady,  and  among  the  most  influential 
members  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  ;  but  tlie  perusal  of  these  books 
produced  a  singular  and  painful  effect  on  his  mind  with  I'egard  to 
the  whole  Protestant  system.  He  had  been  sincere  as  a  Protestant, 
and  now  his  confidence  in  Protestantism  was  shaken.  The  idea 
which  began  to  predominate  in  his  mind  was,  that  Protestantism 
could  not  be  the  Church,  nor  could  its  ministers  be  the  true  ministers 
of  Jesus  Christ.  This  idea  was  at  first  rather  a  doubt  than  a  con- 
viction of  his  mind.  He  thought  it  wavs  his  duty  to  consult  his 
minister,  but  the  effect  was  rather  to  increase  than  remove  his  doubt. 
He  required  some  proof  to  satisfy  him  that  Protestantism  was  the 
Church,  and  that  the  ministers  were  not  mere  laymen,  void  of  all 
ministerial  character.  He  found  that  all  the  answer  he  could  get 
was  only  evasion  of  the  question,  and  mere  sophistry.  The  minister, 
however,  placed  in  his  hands  a  work  of  his  own  on  the  Apocalypse 
of  St.  John,  intending  to  prove  that  the  Pope  is  Antichrist,  and  that 
the  Church  of  Rome  is  apostate  and  idolatrous.  This,  the  minister 
told  him,  would  remove  all  his  doubts. 

It  so  happened  that  the  very  day  on  which  this  took  place,  the 
pj^'ddler  called  again  at  the  house.  Colonel  Dodge  told  him  what  the 
minister  had  said,  and  showed  him  the  book  which  had  been  placed 
in  his  hands,  as  the  key  to  the  Apocalypse.  The  peddler  requested 
him  to  lay  it  aside  until  he  could  present  him  with  another  on  the 
game  subject,  by  a  Catholic  author,  and  then  to  read  ihein  both 
together.  This  was  agi-eed  to.  The  woik  here  i-eferred  to  is  a  work 
"written  about  the  middle  of  the  last  century,  by  an  English  bishop, 


LETTERS.  457 

Dr.  Wamsly,  under  the  title  of  "  Pastorini."  It  is  not  sucli  a  work 
as  an  enlightened  director  would  place  in  the  hands  of  a  Protestant 
Avho  is  seeking  for  Catholic  truth.  Like  all  works  Avritten  on  the 
Apocalypse,  it  necessarily  abounds  with  much  speculation.  But,  in 
the  present  instance,  it  would  seem  as  if  the  zeal  of  the  poor  man 
was  under  the  guidance  of  wisdom  from  above,  for  what  was  Colonel 
Dodge's  astonishment,  when  reading  and  comparing  these  two  books 
on  the  same  subject,  he  discovered  that  whatever  was  remarkable 
for  a  spirit  of  faith  and  piety  in  the  work  of  his  minister  had  been 
copied^  line  for  line  and  ^cordfor  word,  from  Pastorini !  and  what 
was  not  copied  consisted  of  denunciations  and  calumnies  against 
the  Catholics,  and  which  he  knew  to  be  nothing  but  calumnies.  He 
pointed  out  this  circumstance  to  his  wife,  and  though  as  yet  they  had 
not  made  up  their  minds  to  embrace  the  Catholic  faith,  still  all  these 
together  had  utterly  destroyed  their  faith  in  Protestantism, 

In  the  meantime,  the  colonel  ceased  to  attend  their  worship.  He, 
who  had  been  a  deacon,  the  principal  support  of  the  church,  not 
only  absented  himself  from  the  communion  and  public  worship,  but 
lost  no  opportunity  of  proving  to  his  neighbors  that  neither  the  true 
Church  nor  the  true  ministry  of  Christ  is  with  the  Protestants  of 
any  denomination.  The  people  were  confounded  ;  for,  being  a  man 
of  superior  mind  and  education,  they  were  unable  to  reply  to  what 
he  said ;  and  being  also  a  man  of  known  probity,  his  opinions  had 
great  weight.  He  sought  all  opportunities  to  prove  the  same  to  the 
ministers ;  but  they  avoided  him,  apprehending,  no  doubt,  what 
would  be  the  consequence  if  they  did  otherwise. 

In  order  to  allay  the  doubt  which  his  remarks  were  exciting 
among  the  people,  the  ministers  and  elders  deemed  it  wisest  to 
charge  him  with  heresy,  and  have  him  and  his  wife  tried  before  au 
ecclesiastical  court  for  having  denied  the  doctrines  of  the  sect.  They 
ordered  the  process,  however,  in  such  a  way,  that  he  should  not 
have  an  opportunity  of  speaking  in  his  own  defence.  It  must  have 
been  an  affecting  sight  to  behold  these  persons  in  the  same  congre- 
gation in  which  they  worshipped  God  from  their  childhood,  ar- 
raigned by  the  ministers  whom  they  had  been  attached  to  ;  sur- 
rounded by  neighbors  and  friends  wtiom  they  loved  ;  and  on  their 
trial  for  the  testimony  which  they  had  borne  against  the  errors  of 
their  former  religion,  and  in  favor  of  truth.  As  yet  they  had  never 
seen  a  Catholic,  except  the  poor  man  to  whom  they  had  given  hos- 
pitality during  the  night.  The  residence  of  the  nearest  priest  was 
sixty  miles,  or  twenty  leagues  distant.  However,  they  felt,  as  they 
told  me,  an  inward  calm  and  peace  of  mind,  which  they  could  not 
account  for.  The  trial  commenced  with  Mrs.  Dodge ;  she  was 
asked,  spocitically,  her  belief  on  such  and  such  points  of  doctrine,  to 
each  of  which  she  made  reply.  At  length,  to  the  great  astonishment 
of  all  (and  even  of  herself,  when  she  thought  of  it  afterwards),  she 
stood  up  in  the  midst  of  the  congregation,  and  said:  "My  belief, 
my  whole  belief,  is  in  what  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  teaches. 
All,  whatever  that  Church  teaches  I  Ijelieve  firmly;  all,  whatever 


458  ARCHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

that  Church  condemns  I  disbelieve  and  reject.  Now  this  is  my 
failh  ;  and  I  bid  you  fai'ewell."  She  and  her  husband  immediately 
retired  from  the  church,  and  returned  to  their  liome,  leaving  the 
poor  ministers  at  a  loss  what  to  do. 

From  that  time  they  continued  to  instruct  themselves  further  ia 
tlie  pi'inciples  of  the  Christian  doctrine,  by  means  of  the  books 
which  had  been  purchased  and  obtained  from  the  city.  They  lent 
out  these  books  to  such  of  their  neighbors  as  would  read  them ;  and 
one  after  another  they  entered  on  the  same  course  of  examination 
by  which  they  had  been  guided  to  the  knowledge  of  truth.  These 
formed  asso'ciations  of  prayer,  and  especially  the  prayers  for  Mass  on 
Sundays;  and  continued  in  this  way  from  the  period  of  their  quitting 
the  church  at  the  trial  in  September,  1836,  until  the  Christmas  fol- 
lowing; when  Colonel  Dodge  and  his  wife  took  their  private  car- 
riage, and  in  the  coldest  weather,  and  over  roads  that  were  almost 
impassable,  traveled  to  Utica,  where  the  nearest  priest  was  stationed, 
in  order  to  be  at  Mass  on  Christmas  morning,  and  to  receive  their 
new  birth  in  the  waters  of  baptism  on  the  nativity  of  our  Redeemer. 
They  also  engaged  the  clergyman  to  visit  them  for  the  purpose  of 
baptising  the  others,  who  desired  it  with  equal  ardor.  The  sister 
and  brother-in-law  of  Mrs.  Dodge,  their  two  daughters,  and  son,  and 
other  of  their  neighbors  followed  the  example,  and  embraced  the 
faith,  until  nt  the  period  of  my  visit  in  July  last,  there  were  in  all 
sixteen  who  had  abjured  Protestantism,  and  been  received  into  the 
communion  of  the  Church. 

They  have  now  a  church  and  priest  within  eighteen  miles,  where 
they  attend  Mass  on  Sundays  whenever  it  is  possible.  But  besides 
this.  Colonel  Dodge  has  fitted  up  a  private  chapel  in  his  house,  sep- 
arated from  the  parlor  by  folding  doors ;  and  the  priest  visits  them 
to  say  Mass  and  administer  the  sacraments  occasionally  on  a  week- 
day. Tliere  they  have  their  altar  adorned  and  decorated  in  the 
richest  manner  that  the  resources  of  the  country  would  allow.  Sil- 
ver candlesticks,  a  very  neat  ivory  ciucifix,  white  tine  linen,  and 
beautiful  fresh  flowers  at  the  foot  of  a  small  picture  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin  constituted  its  decorations  when  I  had  the  happiness  of  pay- 
ing this  excellent  family  a  short  visit  last  summer.  Evening  and 
morning  the  family,  and  on  Sundays  and  festivals,  when  they  cannot 
go  to  Mass,  the  whole  little  flock  assemble  before  this  altar,  and  unite 
in  the  prayers  and  devotions  of  our  holy  religion  ;  but  when  the 
priest  comes  their  joy  is  complete.  Colonel  Dodge  throws  his  rooms 
open,  and  invites  all  his  Protestant  neighbors  to  attend,  "  and,"  said 
he,  "in  spite  of  their  prejudices  they  are  forced  to  acknowledge 
themselves  struck  with  a  feeling  of  awe,  in  witnessing  even  the  out- 
ward ceremonial  of  the  Holy  Sacrifice^  and  the  pi-ofound  attention 
of  those  who  assist  at  and  believe  in  it." 

I  had  but  a  few  hours  to  spend  with  them,  the  journey,  going  and 
returning  on  the  same  day,  having  been  thirty-six  miles.  I  hardly 
spoke ;  1  listened  in  silence,  and  with  secret  emotions,  wishing  my 
own  heart  to  share  in  all  the  feelings  of  faith  and  joy  which  I  saw 


LErrEES.  459 

abounding  in  theirs.  I  was  reminded  of  the  first  Chi'istians ;  they 
appeared  and  spoke  as  persons  who,  by  a  special  grace  of  God,  had 
been  jnit  unexpectedly  in  possession  of  the  heavenly  treasure,  and 
who  were  still  in  the  freshness  of  their  joy  and  gratitude.  This  was 
particularly  observable  when  they  contrasted  the  emptiness  of  their 
former  worship  with  that  of  the  real  presence  of  Christ  in  the  Holy 
Eucharist,  the  sacrifices  and  communion  of  the  Christian  altar. 

Colonel  Dodge  told  me  that  for  the  first  year  after  he  renounced 
Protestantism,  and  embraced  the  Catholic  faith,  his  neighbors  and 
ibrmei"  li'iends  became  estranged,  and  shunned  him  ;  so  much  so, 
that  he  had  almost  determined  at  one  time  to  sell  his  property, 
and  remove  into  some  neighborhood  where  he  should  not  be  exposed 
to  such  painful  treatment.  "  But,"  he  added,  "  latterly  they  were 
more  reconciled  ;  our  intercourse  is  more  free  and  general.  Instead 
of  being  driven  away  by  their  prejudices  against  the  Catholic  faith, 
I  have  thought  it  rather  my  duty  to  stay,  and  try  to  remove  those 
prejudices,"  "For,"  continued  he,  "they  are  ignorant  not  only  re- 
specting the  Catholic,  but  also  respecting  their  own  religion  ;  and 
such  is  my  opinion  of  the  integrity  of  many  of  them,  that  I  have  no 
doubt  but  if  their  ignorance  could  be  removed,  they  would  themselves 
return  to  the  religion  from  which  our  forefathers  separated  without 
any  just  cause," 


TO  THE   LEOPOLDINE   SOCIETY. 

DIOCESE    OF   NEAV   YORK    IN  1840. 

The  history  of  the  Catholic  Church  in  the  State  of  New  York  may 
take  its  date  from  the  year  1780.  About  that  period  the  Catholics 
were  sufficiently  numerous  to  undertake  the  erection  of  a  small 
chui-ch.  As  yet  there  was  ijo  bishop  in  the  United  States,  and  the 
faithful  were  generally  in  a  state  of  great  exposure  from  the  want  of 
priests.  Nevertheless,  induced  by  temporal  considerations,  many 
Catholics  settled  in  the  city  and  principal  towns  of  New  York ;  and 
in  the  year  1810  the  Holy  See  erected  it  into  an  episcopal  see,  and 
appointed  the  first  bishop.  Dr.  Concanen.  This  prelate  did  not  live 
to  reach  his  diocese.  After  a  lapse  of  five  years  his  successor.  Dr. 
Connolly,  was  appointed,  and  arrived  in  New  York  in  1816.  He 
found  in  the  whole  diocese  three  priests  and  two  Churches,  with  a 
population  of  sixteen  thousand  souls.  This  prelate  died  in  1825,  and 
was  succeeded  by  the  present  bishop.  Dr.  Dubois,  who  was  conse- 
crated in  1826,  and  who,  on  account  of  his  age  and  infirmity,  has 
resigned  the  administration  of  the  diocese  into  the  hands  of  his  co- 
adjutor. 

At  the  present  time  the  Catholic  population  of  the  diocese  of  New 
York  is  supposod  to  exceed  two  hundred  thousand  sovls.  The 
clergy  amount  to  fifty-six,  and  the  Churches  to  forty-nine.     Thus  it 


460  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

appears  that  within  the  last  twenty-four  years  there  have  been  built 
in  the  diocese  forty-seven  churches;  the  clergy  have  increased 
from  three  to  fifty-six,  and  the  Catholic  population  from  sixteen 
thousand  to  upward  of  two  hundred  thousand. 

The  statement  just  made  gives  a  flattering  view  of  the  progress  of 
religion,  and  cannot  but  afford  satisi'action  to  the  pious  Catholics  of 
Europe  Avho  have  taken  so  deep  an  interest  in  extending  the  bless- 
ings of  the  true  faith  to  their  brethren  in  foreign  countries.  But 
their  conception  of  the  subject  would  be  very  imperfect  and  errone- 
ous if  they  were  to  draw  their  conclusions  from  this  naked  and  sim- 
ple statement,  without  taking  into  account  the  remarks  by  which'  it 
it  is  to  be  qualified.  And  if  in  perusing  what  has  been  said  the 
reader  will  reflect  for  a  moment,  he  will  naturally  inquire  : 

1.  How  it  has  happened  that  in  New  York,  one  of  the  first  set- 
tled provinces  of  America,  the  Catholic  religion  should  have  had  so 
recent  an  origin  as  tl\e  year  1780  ? 

2.  How  it  has  happened  that  the  Catholic  population  has  increased 
80  much  since  that  time  ?  and 

3.  Whether  that  numerous  population  which  has  found  means  to 
build  so  many  churches  within  so  short  a  period,  may  not  now  be 
considered  as  sufficiently  wealthy,  and  sufficiently  well  established 
and  provided  for,  not  to  need  any  further  aid  from  their  brethren  in 
Europe  ? 

It  is  presumed  that  the  following  remarks  will  afford  a  satisfactory 
answer  to  each  of  these  inquiries  : 

1.  New  York  was  originally  a  Dutch  colony,  subject  to  Holland. 
This  was  at  a  period  when  the  laws  of  the  mother  country  were 
perfectly  intolerant  towards  Catholics  ;  and  the  same  intolerance  was 
established  in  the  new  colony.  The  province  subsequently  became 
subject  to  the  British  government,  and  the  laws  of  exclusion  against 
the  Catholics  became,  if  anything,  more  rigid  than  they  had  been 
before  the  change.  It  was  not  likely,  therefore,  that  Catholics  in  a 
country  so  extensive  as  the  United  States  would  fix  their  residence 
in  a  colony  where  the  government  was  authorized  by  law  to  deprive 
them  of  their  property,  their  liberty  and  life,  for  the  profession  of 
their  faith,  and  the  exercise  of  their  worship. 

These  cruel  and  iniquitous  laws  were  abolished  in  1789;  and  we 
find  that  in  the  diocese  of  New  York  Catholicity  takes  its  birth  from 
the  very  year  in  which  they  were  repealed.  This  explains  why  it 
was  that  the  commencement  of  our  religion  in  that  portion  of  the 
United  States  is  of  so  recent  a  date. 

2.  The  existence  of  those  laws  of  intolerance  is  one  of  the  reasons 
of  the  great  increase  of  Catholics /ro?7i  the  moment  wlien  they  loere 
repealed.  The  first  Catholic  settlers  were,  and  indeed  the  majority 
still  are,  emigrants  from  Europe,  principally  from  Ireland  and  Gei'- 
many.  There  was  also  a  considerable  accession  from  France  and  her 
colonies  in  the  West  Indies  during  the  Revolution,  Those  Catholics 
who  are  Americans  by  birth  are  composed  of  the  children  and  de- 
scendants of  those  emigrants,  and  of  such  as  have  returned  to  the 


JiETTERS.  461 

Church  from  Protestantism.  New  York  is  one  of  the  wealthiest  and 
most  prosperous  States  of  the  Republic.  There  are  none  which, 
presented  more  advantages  and  inducements  to  emigrants  who  wish 
to  improve  their  temporal  condition.  The  extensive  works  of  in- 
leiuial  improvement  by  canals  and  railroads  which  were  carried  on 
in  this  State;  the  commercial  character  of  the  city  and  thriving 
towns  of  the  interior  presented  as  large  a  premium  for  the  toil  of  the 
laborei",  the  skill  of  the  mechanic,  and  the  enterprise  of  the  merchant, 
as  could  be  found  anywhere  else.  Lands  also  could  be  purchased  ia 
abundance,  and  on  reasonable  terms. 

In  all  these  circumstances  then,  taken  together,  we  have  the  ex- 
planation of  the  great  increase  of  Catholics  in  the  diocese  of  New 
York  within  the  last  twenty-four  years. 

There  are  many  privations,  especially  of  a  moral  charactei',  inci- 
dent to  the  life  of  the  poor  emigrant  in  America,  even  when  he  is 
conscious  of  improving  his  temporal  comforts.  The  wealth,  the 
manners,  sometimes  the  language,  and  generally  the  more  elevated 
condition  in  society  of  the  people  by  whom  he  is  surrounded,  remind 
him  constantly  tliat  he  is  not  in  the  land  of  his  fathers,  nor  among 
the  companions  of  his  youth.  It  is  only  when  he  has  the  consolations 
of  his  religion  within  his  reach  that  he  feels  comparatively  happy  in 
his  new  position.  If,  on  the  Sunday,  he  can  be  present  at  the  holy 
sacrifice  of  the  Mass,  if  he  can  only  see  the  minister  of  his  religion 
on  the  ultai",  and  hear  the  word  of  God  in  the  language  to  which  his 
ear  was  accustomed  from  childhood,  he  forgets  that  he  is  among 
strangei's  and  in  a  strange  country.  He  can  approach  the  sacraments  ; 
he  can  liave  his  children  baptized  by  a  minister  of  his  own  creed  ; 
he  can  indulge  the  hope  that,  under  the  guidance  of  their  pastor, 
they  will  not  tbrsake  that  creed  wheu  they  grow  up;  and  when  sick- 
ness overtakes  him,  and  death  gives  warning  of  its  approach,  he  can 
call  the  same  minister  to  his  bedside,  and  receive  at  his  hands  the 
sanctifying  unction  and  the  bread  of  life. 

Hence,  in  the  diocese  of  New  York  the  cry  for  priests  comes  to 
the  bishop's  ear  from  almost  every  quarter;  often,  alas!  when  he  has 
no  priest  to  send.  And  as  tlie  people  judge  that  one  of  the  greatest 
inducements  for  a  priest  to  come  amongst  them  is  the  existence  of  a 
suitable  place  for  the  celebration  of  the  divine  worship,  their  first 
efibrt  in  every  new  settlement  is  to  erect  a  church,  now  larger,  now 
smaller,  according  to  their  means  and  numbers.  They  do  not  reflect 
that  to  provide  the  minister  of  the  sanctuary  is  often  much  more 
dithcult  than  to  erect  the  temple.  These  remarks  explain  to  us  the 
reason  why  the  Catholics  of  this  diocese  have  built  so  many  churches 
in  so  short  a  time,  notwithstanding  their  poverty. 

3.  Is  religion,  then,  sufliciently  well  established  in  this  diocese  not 
to  need  the  charitable  aid  which  the  zeal  of  Europe  has  labored  to 
extend  to  foreign  missions?  The  following  remarks  will  enable  the 
reader  to  decide,  and  perhaps  give  some  ideas  on  the  state  of  religion 
in  America,  at  least  in  New  York,  which  could  not  be  derived  from 
the  first  outward  appearance  of  things. 


462  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

"We  have  seen  that  the  Catholics  of  this  diocese  have  increased — 
first,  by  emigration  from  Europe  ;  second,  by  occasional  conversions 
from  Protestantism  ;  third,  by  the  natural  increase  of  the  population. 
We  have  seen  that  churches  have  sprung  up  in  the  cities  and  through- 
out the  country  ;  but  if  we  were  to  stop  here  there  would  be  made 
on  the  mind  of  the  reader  an  erroneous  impression  with  regard 
to  the  condition  of  the  Catholic  Church  in  the  diocese  of  New 
York. 

The  zeal  of  the  Catholic  emigrants  springs,  as  has  been  already 
remarked,  from  their  ardent  desire  to  have  a  priest ;  and  the  con- 
sequence, which  is  foreseen  and  unavoidable  in  their  circumstances, 
is,  that  the  churches  generally  are  in  debt.  The  people  contribute 
liberally,  according  to  their  means,  but  it  must  be  remembered  that 
they  are  only  poor  emigrants,  just  commencing  in  a  new  country, 
and  struggling  to  supply  the  first  great  want  of  their  condition,  viz., 
the  want  of  religion.  They  are  able  to  contribute  just  enough  to 
make  the  ground'  and  church,  when  finished,  good  security  for  the 
borrowed  money  necessary  to  complete  it.  If  they  can  accomplish 
this,  they  expect  to  have  a  clergyman  among  them.  This  is  the 
great  point.  Then  the  congregation  will  flourish  by  his  zeal.  Others 
will  join  them.  They  will  be  enabled  to  pay  the  interest  of  their 
debt  from  year  to  year ;  and  alter  a  time,  when  their  numbers  will 
have  increased,  and  their  industry  will  have  enlarged  their  private 
means,  they  will  be  enabled  to  pay  the  principal  also.  This  is  their 
reasoning  ;  and  this  is  an  outline  of  the  history  of  almost  every 
church  in  the  diocese.  For  instance,  nine  additional  churches  have 
been  built  in  the  city  and  suburbs  of  New  York  within  the  last 
fifteen  years.  But  the  debt  on  these  churches  united  exceeds  half  a 
million  of  florins !  and  the  interest  on  this  debt  amounts  annually 
to  thirty  thousand  florins!  The  other  churches  of  the  diocese,  with 
few  exce{)tions,  are  more  or  less  in  the  same  situation.  Still,  time 
will  enable  the  Catholics  to  overcome  all  these  difticulties,  for 
their  means  will  be  enlarged  Jind  their  expenditures  diminished. 
But  it  is  manifest  that  so  long  as  this  state  of  things  continues,  the 
onward  progress  of  religion,  so  far  as  it  depends  on  their  means,  is 
necessarily  retarded.  If  they  could  appropriate  to  the  building  of 
churches  or  other  necessary  institutions,  what  they  are  obliged  to 
pay  for  those  already  erected,  the  case  would  be  very  diflTerent.  But, 
unhappily,  what  shou-ld  belong  to  the  present  and  Xh^futiire  is  already 
mortgaged  in  \\\q  past. 

The  consequence  is  that  not  only  are  the  churches  in  debt,  but 
they  are  almost  destitute  of  those  things  essential  to  the  decency  of 
the  house  of  God  and  His  worship.  And  vestments  and  sacred 
vessels  for  the  altar  would  be  most  worthy  and  seasonable  ofterings 
from  such  as  love  the  beauty  and  comeliness  of  Sion, 

Neither  is  this  all.  There  should  be  one  church  at  least,  and  one 
pastor,  for  every  two  thousand  souls.  And  the  moment  this  is  ad- 
mitted, it  follows  that  fifty  more  churches  and  fifty  more  priests 
would  be  requisite  to  supply  the  spiritual  wants  now  existing !     How 


LETTERS.  463 

are  these  wants  to  be  supplied  ?  The  providence  of  God,  indeed, 
has  many  resources,  and  we  must  trust  in  Him.  But  in  this  state 
of  spiritual  destitution,  think  of  the  souls  who  must  find  themselves 
deprived  of  the  blessings  of  religion.  Think  of  the  children  of  the 
poor  Catholics,  who,  in  their  exposed  state,  must  fall  a  prey  to  the 
false  zeal  of  wealthy  Pi-otestants  ;  of  those  who,  brought  up  in  re- 
mote parts  of  the  country,  without  the  care  and  instruction  of  the 
Catholic  pastor,  without  the  habits  of  their  religion,  will  be  ignorant 
of  the  truth,  or  indifferent  about  it;  and  who,  in  becoming  heads 
of  families,  will  entail  upon  their  offspring  the  same  spiritual  mis- 
fortunes. How  can  a  bishop  be  without  deep  concern,  charged  with 
a  diocese  in  which  such  consequences  threaten  his  people  on  every 
side? 

The  least  reflection  will  convince  you  that  the  progress  of  rehgion 
in  the  diocese  of  New  York  is  left  far  behind  the  progress  of  the 
Catholic  population,  and  that  the  number  of  the  Catholics,  in  their 
present  situation,  is  precisely  the  evidence  of  their  need.  If  they 
were  fewer  their  spiritual  wants  could  be  more  easily  supplied.  And 
if  there  is  any  thing  calculated  to  excite  the  charity  and  zeal  of  pious 
Christians  in  Europe,  it  should  be  that  in  this  diocese  there  are  so 
many  of  their  brethren  as  "  sheep  without  a  shepherd,"  the  bishop 
not  having  means  to  educate  or  send  out  missionaries  to  take  charge 
of  them.  It  would  have  been  perhaps  an  advantage  if  they  had  not 
increased  so  fast.  But  what  is  to  become  of  them  if  so  great  a  dis- 
proportion between  the  number  of  priests  and  the  amount  of  popula- 
tion is  to  continue  ?  It  is  easy  to  foresee  that  ignorance  of  religion, 
especially  among  the  rising  generation,  apostacy  from  the  faith, 
irreligion,  and  immorality  will  prey  upon  that  surplus  portion  of  the 
Catholic  people  for  whose  spiritual  wants  the  bishop  is  unable  to 
provide. 

There  is  as  yet  no  house  of  religious  education  in  the  whole  diocese ; 
and  the  consequence  is  that  the  youth  of  wealthier  families  are  ex- 
posed to  lose  their  faith  by  being  educated  in  dangerous  intercourse 
with  Protestantism.  There  is  no  theological  seminary  for  the  train- 
ing of  the  future  priests  under  the  bishop's  inspection ;  and  hence  he 
has  hitherto  been  obliged  by  the  wants  of  the  people  to  accept  such 
clergymen  from  other  countries  and  other  States  as  offered  them- 
selves. They  are,  happily,  good  and  geneially  zealous  missionaries ; 
but  is  it  not  a  painful  and  dangerous  necessity  which  obliges  him  to 
send  laborers  into  the  vineyard  of  the  Lord  without  kaowiyig  them  f 
It  is  clear,  therefore,  that  until  houses  of  religious  education  and  a 
theological  seminary  are  established,  religion  in  the  diocese  of  New 
York  is  deprived  of  the  very  sources^  the  life-spring^  on  which  its 
real  progress  and  prosperity  must,  under  God,  depend. 

The  undersigned,  a  coadjutor-bishop  and  administrator  of  New 
York,  is  now  engaged  in  an  effort  to  establish  a  theological  seminary 
in  the  diocese,  and  one  of  the  objects  of  his  voyage  to  Europe  is  to 
lay  a  statement  of  his  situation  before  your  association  and  to  soUcit 
its  aid.     The  foregoing  remarks  will  show  how  little  he  can  expect 


464:  ARCHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

from  his  own  people,  in  their  present  situation.  Could  he  have 
accomplished  his  object  without  the  aid  of  his  brethren  in  Europe, 
he  certainly  would  not  have  undergone  the  fatigues  of  so  long,  not 
to  say  dangerous,  a  journey.  He  has  already  contracted  for  the 
ground  and  buildings  suitable  for  the  purpose,  but  he  could  not 
venture  to  occupy  them  until  they  shall  have  been  nearly,  if  not 
quite,  paid  for ;  and  for  the  means  to  do  this  he  looks  entirely  to  the 
charity  of  the  faithful.  Should  he  be  so  happy  as  to  succeed  in  this, 
he  has  already  the  offer  of  worthy  and  zealous  clergymen  to  take 
charge  of  it.  Convinced  of  the  absolute  necessity  of  this  institution, 
he  begs  most  respectfully,  but  at  the  same  time  most  earnestly,  to 
recommend  it  to  the  charitable  consideration  of  the  Leopoldine 
Association,  and  is  persuaded  that  its  members  cannot  appropriate 
their  charities  to  a  holier  object  than  one  which,  through  the  medium 
of  a  theological  seminary,  will  send  forth  ministers  of  religion  in  a 
country  where  "  the  harvest  is  so  great  and  the  laborers  are  so  few." 
When  those  ministers  in  future  time  shall  stand  before  the  altar, 
offering  up  the  Lamb  of  God  in  the  holy  sacrifice,  surely  their  bene- 
factors will  not  be  forgotten  in 'the  oblation. 

•i-  JOHN  HUGHES,  Bishop  of  Basileopolis, 
Coadjutor  and  Administrator  of  New 
York'. 

Veekna,  April  16, 1840. 


ONE  LETTER  TO  THE  HONORABLE  HORACE 
GREELEY. 

Sir — You  have  continued  to  manifest,  for  some  time  past,  a  great 
desire  to  know  my  opinions  on  certain  questions  of  which  I  have 
said  nothing,  whilst  you  manifest  great  dissatisfaction  with  certain 
other  opinions  which  I  have  expressed,  or  which  have  been  imputed 
to  me.  Hence,  I  have  but  little  hope  that  your  opinions  and  mine 
are  likely  to  be  found  coincident.  I  do  not  take  you  to  task  for  the 
opinions  which  you  publish,  nor  am  I  prepared  to  admit  your  right 
to  abridge  the  liberty  or  interfere  with  the  expression  of  mine.  And 
yet,  if  I  understand  you,  you  have  made  the  attempt  to  do  so  in  the 
concluding  sentence  of  your  article  of  Thursday  morning,  in  which 
you  proclaim  that  "it  is  a  sad  day  for  our  country,  when  a  prelate 
so  able  and  powerful  as  Archbishop  Hughes  is  heard  instilling  into 
the  minds  of  iiis  flock  distrust  of,  and  aversion  to,  secular  Common 
Schools,"  In  other  words,  it  is  a  sad  day  for  our  country  when 
Archbishoj)  Hughes  does  not  agree  in  opinion  with  Hon.  Horace 
Greeley. 

Permit  me,  sir,  to  indicate  the  extent  to  which  I  respect  opinion, 


LETTERS.  465 

whether  public  or  private.  If  it  is  composed  of  conchisions  legiti- 
mately deduced  from  facts  which  are  certain,  I  bow  with  reverence 
to  its  authority.  If  it  be  deductions  from  facts  which  are  assumed  on 
grounds  of  probability,  and  which  cannot  be  disproved,  I  take  it  for 
what  it  is  worth  ;  but  it  is  no  authority  for  me.  If  I  knew  it  to  be 
founded,  not  on  facts,  but  on  fallacies  and  falsehoods,  then  I  do  not 
honor  it  with  the  name  of  public  or  private  opinion,  but  I  rank  it 
under  the  head  of  ignorance,  prejudice,  itad  presumption.  All  the 
votes  of  mankind,  all  the  newspapers  on  earth,  cannot  change  false 
into  ti'ue,  nor  true  into  false.  Hence,  therefore,  neither  your  opin- 
ions nor  mine  can  have  any  worth,  except  in  so  far  as  they  are  de- 
duced from  facts. 

Now  the  basis  of  opinion  is  not  the  same  in  your  mind  as  it  is  in 
mine.  I  am  a  Catholic,  and  the  truths  of  my  religion  are  to  me 
facts  from  which  1  draw  my  deductions.  You,  on  the  other  hand, 
have  the  disbelief  of  the  Cailiolic  religion  as  one  great  element  in  the 
groundwork  of  your  opinions.  There  is  no  great  probability,  there- 
fore, that  our  opinions,  respectively,  will  be  found  to  harmonize  with 
each  other.  And  yet,  I  trust  no  great  evil  will  befall  the  country, 
even  if  I  should  have  the  misfortune  to  differ  with  you  m  opinion. 

Still,  you  have  exhibited  great  curiosity  to  know  what  I  think  on 
certain  questions,  touching  civil  and  religious  liberty,  and,  especially, 
in  Rome.  Have  patience  with  me,  then,  while  I  lay  them  before  you, 
as  briefly  as  possible. 

I.  As  regards  myself,  I  claim  to  be  a  friend  of  civil  and  religious 
liberty,  in  a  sense  more  just  and  true — that  is,  in  my  opinion,  of 
course — than  any  which  you  are  in  the  habit  of  attaching  to  those 
words.  God  is  the  author  of  truth.  The  Devil  is  the  father  of  lies. 
I  am  not  sure  that  you  believe  in  the  existence  of  a  devil,  but  cer- 
tainly you  cannot  deny  the  existence  of  falsehood.  Now,  in  my 
opinion,  your  system  of  religious  liberty  goes  to  put  God  and  the 
Devil,  truth  and  falsehood,  on  the  same  level.  You  hold  it  as  a  re- 
ligious right  no  less  sacred  to  deny  God,  if  a  man  thinks  proper, 
than  to  worship  Him ;  and  hence,  you  implicitly  deny  to  God  Him- 
self the  right  to  impose  on  man  the  obligation  of  worship,  for  that 
would  take  away  the  freedom  of  his  right  to  be  an  Atheist. 

II.  I  deny,  with  the  Catholic  Church,  any  right  of  one  man,  by 
physical  coercion,  to  compel  the  conscience  of  another  man.  Hence, 
therefore,  I  am  opposed  to  all  penal  laws  having  the  coercion  of  con- 
science lor  their  object.  In  countries  which  are  already  divided  and 
broken  up  into  religious  sects,  mutual  toleration,  kindness,  and 
good-will,  in  all  the  civil  and  social  relations  of  life,  constitute  at 
once,  in  my  opinion,  the  duties  and  the  rights  of  all.  But,  I  am  not 
aware  that  a  Protestant  State,  such  as  Sweden,  is  bound,  by  way  of 
granting  religious  liberty,  to  place  Atheism  on  the  same  footing  as 
Lutheranism.  Neither  am  I  of  opinion  that  the  Sovereign  Pontiff, 
whose  subjects  are  entirely  Catholic  and  united  in  belieti  is  bound 
to  throw  his  States  open  for  the  preaching  of  every  form  of  Protest- 
antism and  infidelity.     As  spiritual  head  of  the  Catholic  Church  on 

Vol.  II.— 30 


466  ARCHBISHOP  HUGHES.  ' 

earth,  he  is  bound  to  preserve  the  revelation  which  has  Christ  for 
its  author.  To  encourage  opposition  to  that  religion  would  be  to 
take  sides  with  the  father  of  lies,  and  I  am  sure,  sir,  that  you  would 
hardly  expect  the  Pope  to  go  so  far.  Besides,  as  a  temporal  prince, 
jie  knows  the  horrors  of  civil  war  which  have  desolated  other  coun- 
tries, springing  out  of  the  ambitions  of  religious  sects,  each 
struggling  for  political  ascendency  in  the  State.  But,  besides 
all  this,  he  knows  that  it  is  a  fundamental  article  of  the  Pro- 
testant religion  to  believe  that  he  is  Antichrist.  Liberty  of  con- 
science, therefore,  in  your  sense,  would  require  that  the  Pope  should 
become  directly  a  party  to  the  introduction  of  every  species  of  er- 
ror and  impiety,  and  the  overthrow  of  his  own  authority  both  as 
temporal  prince  and  sovereign  pontiff. 

III.  But  you  say  that  inasmuch  as  religious  freedom,  in  your 
s6nse,  is  allowed  to  Catholics  in  Protestant  countries,  the  Pope 
ought  to  reciprocate  by  throwing  the  Pontifical  States  open  to  all  sects 
of  believers  and  unbelievers.  I  will  first  observe  that  there  are  Pro- 
testant States,  in  which  the  Catholic  religion  is  not  tolerated  at  all ; 
that  in  most  of  the  others  it  is  barely  tolerated,  whilst  its  professors, 
so  far  as  depends  on  the  Government,  are  depressed  and  degraded  ; 
that  in  no  country  pretending  to  be  Protestant,  except  the  United 
States,  are  they  placed  on  an  equal  footing  with  their  Protestant  fellow- 
countiymen  ; — whilst  in  several  Catholic  countries,  such  as  P"'rance, 
Belgium,  and  Bavaria,  Protestants  are  placed,  practically  as  well  as 
theoretically,  on  a  perfect  political  equality  with  Catholics.  I  may  fur- 
ther add,  that  the  toleration  of  Catholics  in  Protestant  States  has  not 
been  a  gratuitous  concession  of  Protestant  liberality.  When  Pro- 
testantism began  in  those  countries,  the  Catholics  were  in  possession. 
Strifes  and  civil  wars  followed,  and  at  their  close,  neither  party  had 
succeeded  in  devouring  or  destroying  the  other.  What  could  be 
more  natural  or  more  necessary  than  to  tolerate  by  compromise 
those  whom  it  had  been  found  impossible  to  root  out  ?  I  deny, 
therefore,  that  you  can  present  a  single  Protestant  State  which  could 
be  a  model  for  the  Pope's  imitation  in  the  premises.  In  all  Protest- 
ant States,  Catholics  are  tolerated  by  necessity ;  and  even  under  the 
law  of  necessity  the  toleration  is  grudgingly  and  spitefully  extended. 
Witness  the  recent  enactment  in  England,  which  hypocritically  pro- 
fesses to  maintain  a  religious  as  well  as  civil  liberty.  In  this  coun- 
try, I  deny  that  Catholics  are  tolerated.  They  enjoy  their  rights 
with  their  fellow-citizens,  under  the  Constitution,  the  framers  of 
which  disavowed  all  authority  to  tolerate  or  prohibit  any  form  of 
the  Christian  religion. 

IV.  For  these  reasons,  your  argument  fails  in  the  comparison  be- 
tween the  broken-up  condition  of  Protestant  States  witli  Catholic 
subjects,  and  the  united  condition  of  the  people  in  the  Pontifical 
States  in  which  there  are  no  Protestants,  except  strangers,  who  visit 
Rome  for  their  pleasure,  and  who  have  there  every  facility  of  exer- 
cising their  religious  riglits,  save  the  privilege  of  preaching  insurrec- 
tion.    I  would  deem  it,  therefore,  a  great  impropriety,  and  a  great 


LKTTKRS. 


46t 


impertinence,  to  meddle  with  the  Government  of  the  Pontifical 
States,  just  as  I  would  resent  with  becomins^  indignation  the  inter- 
meddling of  any  subject  of  the  Pontifical  States  with  the  freedom 
and  sovereignty  of  our  own  Government.  In  these  statements  you 
have  my  opinion  in  regard  to  civil  and  religious  liberty  both  at  home 
and  elsewhere. 

V.  You  have  taken  what  I  consider  the  unwarrantable  liberty 
of  throwing  personal  suspicion  on  ray  sincerity  and  loyalty  as 
a  Republican,  and  a  citizen  of  these  United  States.  I  will  not  stoop 
to  argue  that  question  with  you.  It  is  a  question  not  be  settled.  A 
voluntary  exile  in  early  life  from  the  land  of  my  nativity,  the  first 
honor  that  was  conferred  upon  me  was  the  right  of  freedom  and 
citizenship  in  the  United  States.  No  word  or  action  of  my  life  has 
ever  dimmed,  or  shall  ever  tarnish  that  honor.  No  dignity  in  the 
Church  has  ever  diminished  in  value  in  my  estimation  ;  and  no  fur- 
ther honor,  even  if  offered,  could  be  accepted  by  me  on  conditions 
that  would  vitiate  my  obligations  to  my  country,  or  diminish  my 
right  as  one  of  her  citizens.  It  is  true  I  have  not  preached  Red  Re- 
publicanism in  Europe,  for,  so  far  as  it  has  hitherto  made  itself  known, 
I  despise  it  everywhere. 

But  in  circles  in  which  Americans  have  rarely  on  opportunity  of 
making  their  sentiments  known,  I  have  uniformly  vindicated  the 
Government  and  institutions  of  the  United  States ;  and  I  will  say, 
briefly,  that  of  the  twenty-four  millions  which  compose  their  popula- 
tion, there  is  not  a  more  sincere  or  more  loyal  citizen  than  the 
humble  individual  whose  integrity  you  have  seen  fit  to  call  in  ques- 
tion. It  does  not  follow,  however,  that  I  hold  our  Government  and 
institutions  to  be  the  best  for  all  nations  at  all  times ;  and  if  on  this 
subject  I  hold  a  different  opinion  from  you,  I  hope  you  will  tolerate 
my  weakness,  and  not  proclaim  the  event  as  marking  a  sad  day  for 
our  country. 

VI.  You  have  taken  me  to  task  also  in  regard  to  the  distinguished 
Hungarian  leader  who  is  soon  to  visit  our  shores.  It  seems  that  in 
estimating  his  character  I  have  again  the  misfortune  not  to  agree 
with  you  in  opinion.  Whether  the  error  is  on  your  side  or  on  mine 
I  am  willing  to  leave  to  the  decision  of  public  opinion  in  both 
hemispheres,  as  that  decision  shall  stand  five  years  hence.  I  have 
watched  with  moderate  interest  the  movements  that  have  been 
going  on  in  the  name  of  liberty  throughout  Europe  within  the  last 
four  or  five  years.  Their  results  have  disappointed  both  the  friends 
and  the  enemies  of  freedom  throughout  the  world.  The  convulsions 
which  have  taken  place,  contrary  to  almost  all  similar  convulsions  in 
past  times,  have  not  thrown  up  to  the  surface  a  single  great  man. 
There  was  a  time  when  I  thought  that  distinction  was  possibly  re- 
served for  Kossuth.  His  speeches  weie  eloquent  and  beautiful ;  his 
prayers  to  the  God  of  Hungary  seemed  redolent  of  piety  and  patriot- 
ism. Indeed  I  am  not  sure  that  he  did  not  compose  revolutionary 
litanies,  invoking  the  aid  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary  and  all  the 
saints.     And  this  seemed  to  mark  so  great  a  diffei-ence  between  him 


46$  AKCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

and  most  of  the  other  revolutionary  leaders,  that,  at  one  time,  I 
imagined  history  would  write  his  name  as  that  of  a  great  man.  Like 
the  others,  he  was  unsuccessful  and  unfortunate.  And  so  long  as  he 
was  a  captive  in  the  Turkish  dominions,  I  was  willing  to  ibrget  his 
faults  in  consideration  of  his  captivity.  But  when,  on  his  release 
froni  prison,  I  found  him  offering  the  incense  of  adulation  to  the  god 
of  15ritish  pride,  and  chanting  paeans  of  flattery  to  the  very  power 
that  had  crushed  principles  such  as  he  professed  to  have  contended 
for — in  the  persons  of  Smith  O'Brien  and  the  other  Irish  patriots — 
when  I  found  him  unnecessarily  flinging  insult  at  the  religion  of 
most  of  the  people  of  Hungary,  simply  because  such  insult  would 
he  grateful  in  the  ears  of  his  English  auditors,  I  could  not  help 
forming  the  opinion  that  the  stuj/'  was  not  in  him,  and  that  history 
would  write  him  down,  not  among  the  heroes,  but  rather  among  the 
humbugs,  of  which  this  nineteenth  century  has  been  so  prolific.  My 
mind  is  so  constituted  that  I  could  not  come  to  any  other  conclusion, 
and  therefore  I  throw  myself  on  your  indulgence,  seeing  that  in  this 
also!  have  the  misfortune  to  differ  with  you  in  opinion. 

VII.  You  have  also  assumed  the  right  to  hold  me  responsible  for 
certain  newspaper  articles  published  in  Catholic  journals,  not  only  in 
New  York,  but  also  in  France  and  England.  In  reply  to  this,  I 
have  the  privilege  of  giving  you  the  statement  of  a  fact  instead  of 
an  opinion ;  and  that  fact  is,  that  I  do  not  acknowledge  myself  re- 
sponsible, directly  or  indirectly,  for  any  article  in  any  newspaper  of 
which  I  am  not  myself  the  author.  The  JSTew  Yo7'k  Freeman's 
Journal  was  formerly  under  my  direction.  Between  three  and  four 
years  ago,  it  was  transferred  by  me  to  its  present  editor  and  pro- 
prietor ;  and  I  should  consider  him  unqualified  for  his  office  if  he  as- 
sumed to  discharge  its  office  as  the  slave  of  any  man's  thoughts. 
He  is  a  freeman^  and  independent  master  of  a  free  press.  His 
journal  has  sometimes  been  called  "  Archbishop  Hughes's  organ ;" 
and  although  you  are  better  informed  on  that  subject  than 
some  other  editors  pretend  to  be,  and  proclaim  that  I  have  no  official 
connection  with  it,  still,  somewhat  inconsistently,  you  hold  me  ac- 
countable for  its  opinions.  These  I  am  at  liberty  to  approve  or  dis- 
approve, no  less  than  yourself  The  paper  makes  its  way  on  its  own 
merits,  of  which  its  readers  are  the  best  judges.  I  am  one  of  them  ; 
and  although  I  may  see  in  the  Freemaii's  Jourtial,  as  I  do  in  other 
papers,  many  things  which  I  would  not  Avrite,  or  would  not  write 
exactly  in  the  same  way,  still,  I  hold  it  that,  take  it  for  all  in  all, 
the  Keio  York  Freeman''s  Jomiial  is  a  very  good  Catholic  paper. 
But  it  is  my  organ  only  inasmuch  as  I  am  in  the  habit  of  publishing 
in  its  columns  any  official  communication  which  I  have  to  make  to 
the  Catholic  clergy  and  people  of  this  diocese.  In  all  else,  the 
talented  editor  writes  and  publishes  on  his  own  responsibility,  without 
dictation  from  any  source,  whatever  he  thinks  proper. 

VIII.  It  is  again  my  misfortune  to  differ  with  you  in  opinion  re- 
garding common-school  education.  It  is  not  necessary  for  me,  I 
hope,  to  say  that  I  am  an  advocate  for  general,  nay,  universal  educa- 


LE'ITEES.  469 

tion.  'My  efforts  to  establisli  colleges,  seats  of  learning,  and  even 
day-schools,  for  the  education  of  youth  in  this  diocese,  will  be  a 
sufficient  proof  that  I  am  no  advocate  of  ignorance.  Our  disagree- 
ment, therefore,  is  not  in  regard  to  education  itself,  but  in  regard  to 
the  circumstances  under  which  it  is  imparted.  The  divided  condition 
of  the  community  on  the  subject  of  religion  has  led  to  a  system 
which  affects  to  divorce  the  religious  doctrine  of  each  denomination 
from  the  rudiments  of  primary  science  in  schools.  If  we  were  a 
people  of  unbelievers  in  Christianity,  this  system  would  be  in  perfect 
harmony  with  our  condition.  And  yet,  happily,  it  is  urfderstood 
that  the  welfare  of  society  and  the  State  must  rest,  ultimately,  on  a 
religious  basis  of  some  kind.  We  are  still  a  Christian  country,  com- 
posed, indeed,  of  many  sects  in  religion,  and  if  you  exclude  from 
education  the  peculiar  doctrines  of  each  sect,  one  after  another,  you 
necessarily  exclude  Christianity  itself;  for  all  the  Christianity  of  the 
land  is  made  up  of  the  several  "  sectarian"  doctrines  which  are 
severally  excluded.  Hence  if  we  had  one  other  sect  among  us, 
having  for  its  peculiar  doctrine  a  belief  in  the  expediency  of  exclud- 
ing from  the  minds  of  youth  all  knowledge  of  and  fliith  in  Chris- 
tianity, our  present  common  schools  might  be  denominated  "  a  legal 
establishment  for  the  purpose  of  causing  Christianity  to  die  out,  and 
of  promoting  the  interests  and  purposes  of  one  anti-Christian  sect." 
Now,  sir,  your  opinion  may  be  that  such  a  result  is  desirable. 
Mine  is  directly  the  reverse.  I  believe  it  would  be  more  beneficial 
to  the  country  and  to  society  that  the  religious  influences  of  the 
least  desirable  sect  of  professing  Christians  in  the  land  should  be 
felt  in  the  common  school,  than  that  all  Christianity,  under  the  pre- 
tence of  excluding  all  sectarianism,  should  be  eliminated.  Whether 
any  other  system  could  be  adopted  in  the  actual  state  of  the  case, 
it  is  not  for  me  to  decide ;  but  I  am  very  strong  in  the  opinion  that 
the  present  system  is  not  calculated  to  meet  the  requirements  which 
Catholic  parents,  at  least,  are  bound  to  fulfil  towards  their  Catholic 
offspring.  It  may  suit  other  denominations  to  have  their  children 
brought  up  without  any  admixture  of  religious  teaching  in  their 
education,  but  it  does  not  suit  us.  I  was  not  ignorant  that  common 
schools  existed  in  New  England  before  they  did  in  Prussia  ;  but  you 
will  remember  that  the  people  of  New  England  contended  strenu- 
ously for  the  unity  and  exclusiveness  of  religion,  whereas  the  Prus- 
sian system  was  framed,  in  contempt  of  distinctive  dogmas,  for  the 
purpose  of  amalgamating,  in  the  new  generation,  religions  hitherto 
separate. 

IX.  I  have  thus,  sir,  given  you  my  opinions  on  nearly  all  the  topics 
in  regard  to  which  you  have  called  for  them.  I  fear  they  will  be  as 
little  agreeable  to  you  as  the  silence  of  which  you  seem  to  complain. 
I  can  only  say  of  them,  however,  that  they  are  entirely  sincere,  and 
I  am  sure  if  ihey  were  not  you  would  not  think  them  worth  having. 
But  my  position  will  be  rather  singular,  if,  after  having  called  them 
forth,  you  should  be  among  the  first  to  censure  me  for  their  utter- 
ance.    In  conclusion,  whatever  may  be  our  differences  of  of)inion  on 


470  ABCHBISHOP  HUGHES. 

these  or  other  topics,  I  trust  that  we  are  both  actuated  by  a  desire 
of  promoting  the  good  of  our  country,  the  interests  of  society,  and 
the  happiness  of  mankind. 

I  remain,  very  respectfully. 

Your  obedient  servant, 
+  JOHN  HUGHES,  Archbishop  of  New  York. 
Nkw  York,  Nov.  21, 1851. 


THE  CUBAN  PIRATES. 


To  the  JEditors  of  the  Courier  and  Enquirer : 

Messrs.  Editors — Mr.  P.  de  Goicouria  was  introduced  to  rae 
some  weeks  ago  by  a  note  from  a  highly  esteemed  friend.  The  ob- 
ject of  his  call  was  to  ask  that  on  the  first  of  this  month,  the  anniver- 
sary of  their  death,  Masses  of  requiem  might  be  offered  up  in  the 
Cathedral  for  the  souls  of  his  countrymen  and  others,  wlio  were  shot 
in  battle  or  executed  in  the  island  of  Cuba  last  year ;  but  who  died 
in  the  profession  of  the  Catholic  faith,  exhibiting  those  evidences  of 
compunction  for  their  sins,  and  those  signs  of  Christian  hope,  which 
entitled  them  to  be  regarded  as  members  of  the  Catholic  Church  in 
their  last  hours.  To  this  I  assented ;  but  with  the  distinct  condition 
that  the  Mass  or  Masses  of  requiem  should  not  be  turned  into  an 
occasion  for  promoting  the  political  cause  in  which  those  ixniiappy 
men  perished.  Mr.  de  Goicouria  seemed  to  feel  and  acknowledge 
the  justice  and  propriety  of  this  pi'oviso.  He  merely  requested  that 
their  surviving  relatives,  who  are  in  this  city  or  in  Philadelphia,  might 
have  an  opportunity  to  assist  at  the  Mass  of  10  o'clock,  which  was 
to  be  what  Catholics  call  Jjoio  Mass — that  is,  not  chanted  nor  accom- 
panied by  music.  These  friends  and  relatives  he  estimated  at  from 
ninety  to  a  hundred.  To  this  I  assented.  I  would  put  no  barrier 
to  the  exercise  of  Catholic  charity,  or  the  solace  of  human  grief  So 
it  was  understood  between  us,  tl)at  the  friends  and  relatives  of  the 
fallen,  to  the  number  mentioned,  should  be  present  at  the  10  o'clock 
Mass  on  the  1st  inst. 

Having  come  to  this  understanding,  the  interview  terminated. 
With  Mr.  de  Goicouria,  so  far  as  I  then  had  an  opportunity  of  know- 
ing him,  I  was  much  pleased.  He  also  professed  to  be  sjitisfied,  and 
took  leave  with  all  those  polite  professions  of  satisfaction  which  can 
be  so  gracefully  expressed  by  a  Spanish  gentleman.  • 

Soon  after  this  interview  I  had  to  leave  the  city ;  but  I  took  care 
to  direct  that  in  case  I  should  not  be  here  in  time,  the  sacred  offices, 
as  agreed  upon  between  Mr.  de  Goicouria  and  myself,  should  be 
celebrated.  I  returned  in  the  last  days  of  August.  But  before  I 
alighted  from  the  carriage,  I  was  told  of  the  dangerous  illness  of  a 
near  and  dear  relative,  some  miles  from  the  city.  I  had  barely  time 
to  open  the  letters  which  had  accumulated  on  my  table  in  my  ab- 


LETTEKS.  471 

sence.  Among  them  was  one  from  Mr.  de  Goicouria.  I  supposed 
that  it  was  to  remind  me  tliat  the  Istot'  September  would  be  in  a 
few  days ;  and  without  reading  it,  I  laid  it  aside  till  I  sliould  have  a 
moment  to  read  and  answer  it  at  the  same  time.  In  the  mean  while 
Mr.  de  Goicouria,  accompanied  by  a  friend  of  his  who  was  not  in- 
troduced, called.  From  the  former,  I  ascertained  that  the  object  of 
the  letter  was  to  request  that  the  low  Mass  which  had  been  agreed, 
on  should  now  be  a  High  Mass  of  requiem,  that  a  cenotaph  might 
be  erected  in  the  Cathedral,  and  a  sermon  preached  on  the  day  ap- 
pointed, suitable  to  the  occasion.  I  acceded  to  the  request  of  Mr. 
de  Goicouria,  so  far  as  the  High  Mass  was  in  question.  The  ceno- 
taph and  sermon  I  declined  acceding  to. 

Again  Mr.  de  Goicouria  took  leave  with  no  expression  of  dissat- 
isfaction ;  but  with  many  polite  professions,  as  if  he  had  nothing  to 
complain  of. 

This  was  on  the  last  Sunday  of  August. 

Nothing  had  yet  led  me  to  suspect  that  Mr.  de  Goicouria  was  not 
or  had  not  been  acting  in  the  simplicity  of  good  faith  like  myself. 
But  when  after  his  departure  I  took  up  his  letter  and  read  it,  I  was 
shaken  in  ray  opinion.  There  I  saw  him  not  as  the  man  who  cared 
so  much  for  the  souls  of  the  departed,  as  for  the  chances  of  a  politi- 
cal game  which  the  adventurers  had  not  yet  played  to  the  end.  I 
could  not  be  a  party  to  this  new,  and  hitherto  unannounced,  ar- 
rangement. The  Catholic  Church  is  not  a  party  in  the  politics  of 
any  nation,  at  home  or  abroad.  Her  mission  is  to  all  nations,  and 
to  all  parties  in  each,  except  as  either  may  be  divided  from  the  other 
by  the  eternal  princij)l.e8  of  right  and  wrong.  She  can  never  give 
up  her  mission  and  her  message  to  all  for  the  sake  of  only  some. 

Mr.  de  Goicouria  must  have  known  that  every  State  is  bound  to 
respect  the^'jts  gentium  as  a  condition  of  being  admitted  into  a  fam- 
ily of  nations.  Every  State  is  further  bound  by  the  faith  of  treaties. 
He  must  know  that  the  citizen,  each  citizen,  of  a  State  is  bound, 
according  to  his  place  and  calling,  to  maintain,  to  co-operate  with 
his  fellow-citizens  in  maintaining  the  pubhc  faith,  whether  of  the 
right  of  nations,  or  of  the  lawfid  positive  treaties  of  the  sovereignty 
under  which  he  lives,  enjoys  his  rights,  and  is  protected.  He  must 
tnow  that  all  these  rights  are  legally  forfeited  the  moment  any  cit- 
izen, by  an  overt  act,  violates  the  conditions  on  which  they  are 
predicated. 

When  I  read  his  letter,  which  must  have  been  written  with  delib- 
eration (since  he  has  not  hesitated  to  publish  it),  suspicions  were 
awakened  in  my  mind,  not  unaccompanied,  I  confess,  with  indigna- 
tion and  surprise.  In  this  letter  I  found  that  Mr.  de  Goicouria,  be- 
sides the  office  for  the  dead,  wished  that  a  cenotaph  might  be  erected, 
"  ifiscribed  either  with  the  7iain€S  of  our  lost  friends  or  the  j)laces 
where  they  yielded  up  their  lives,  to  be  placed  appropriately  in  the 
Cathedral  during  the  ceremo?iies."  But  more  than  this  ;  in  his  let- 
ter Mr.  de  Goicouria  requested  that  not  only  there  should  be  a 
sermon,  but  he  actually  took  the  superfluous  pains  to  point  out  to 


472  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

me  the  text,  chapter  and  verse,  from  which  the  preacher  on  the  oc- 
casion might  derive  his  ehiquence  or  inspiration  ! 

Still  I  knew  I  had  not  agreed  to  any  thing  which  the  laws  of  the 
Catholic  Church  did  not  authorize,  and  I  could  easily  overlook  the 
personal  indignity  offered  by  Mr.  de  Goicouria  in  what  seenied  to 
me  an  attempt,  under  plea  of  prayers  for  the  dead,  to  procure  an 
ecclesiastical  or  quasi  ecclesiastical  sanction  of  certain  political 
schemes  of  the  living,  to  which  he  knew  I  could  not  be  a  party  ex- 
cept as  a  dupe.  His  letter  satisfied  me  that  this  was  the  role  assigned 
me.  Still  I  determined  to  change  nothing  in  the  religious  oflice — it 
should  take  place.  High  Mass  and  all,  as  agreed  on  between  us. 

But  these  convictions  were  plainly  and  painfully  confirmed  on 
Tuesday  of  last  week,  when  I  found  the  city  papers  filled  with  invi- 
tations not  only  to  all  Cubans,  and  to  the  friends  of  the  cause  in 
which  so  many  perished  one  year  ago,  but  also  to  the  "  public  at 
large,"  instead  of  the  ninety  or  a  hundred  relatives  of  the  deceased, 
for  whose  right  to  be  present  Mr.  de  Goicouiia  had  stipulated.  The 
highest  and  holiest  ministerial  ofiice  known  to  the  Catholic  Church 
was  blazoned  forth  in  those  papers,  as  a  "  High  Mass  in  honor  of 
General  Lopez  ;"  or  a  "  High  Mass  for  the  Martyrs,"  etc., 
and  all  this  predicated  on  the  consent  and  approval  of  the  Catholic 
Archbishop  of  New  York  !  And  all  this  after  Mr.  de  Goicouria  had 
assured  me,  in  words  that  would  always  be  regarded  between  gen- 
tlemen as  a  sufficient  guarantee,  that  nothing  of  the  kind  was  meant 
■  or  should  be  allowed. 

Then  I  saw,  beyond  the  possibility  of  doubt,  that  my  confidence 
had  been  abused.  I  forbade  any  music  or  High  Mass  in  the  Cathe- 
dral ;  but  in  all  other  respects  I  directed  that  the  Masses  should  be 
celebrated  for  the  repose  of  the  souls  of  the  unfortunate  Catholics 
who  met  death  in  Cuba  one  year  ago,  in  the  manner  and  at  the 
hours  which  had  been  agreed  upon.  The  High  Mass  and  music 
were  prohibited  ;  and  this  is  what  a  man  like  Mr.  de  Goicouria  has 
the  power  of  face  to  call  '■'•breaking  my  promise.'*'' 

It  may  be  said  that  Mr.  de  Goicouria  should  not  be  held  account- 
able for  matters  which  possibly  were  arranged  and  carried  out, 
whether  as  regards  the  newspapers  or  otherwise,  without  his  knowl- 
edge or  consent ;  and  that  therefore  he  should  not  be  blamed  for 
what  he  had  no  power  or  opportunity  to  prevent.  This  plea  will 
not  suffice.  1st.  I  have  waited  one  whole  week  to  give  him  an  op- 
portunity to  disavow  any  thing  for  which  he  might  not  have  been 
prepared  to  assume  the  responsibility.  2d.  He  alone  assumed  or 
was  authorized  to  treat  with  me  for  the  religious  offidfe  so  frequently 
referred  to  in  this  communication.  With  no  other  person  have  I 
had  any  intercourse  on  the  subject.  I  have  no  complaint  against 
his  countrjmien  in  regard  to  it,  either  in  their  individual  or  in  their 
aggregate  ca]iacity.  He  was  authorized,  or  took  it  upon  himself,  to 
speak  and  act,  not  for  his  countrymen  generally,  but  for  the  imme- 
diate relatives  of  the  deceased. 

By  all  the  laws  of  justice,  therefore,  of  reason,  and  of  decent  inter- 


LETTERS.  473 

course  between  man  and  man,  he,  and  (so  far  as  I  am  concerned)  he 
alone,  is  responsible  for  whatever  was  culpably  done  or  culpably 
omitted  in  the  transaction  between  hira  and  me.  Indeed,  on  that 
score  he  seems  to  regard  his  achievement  as  a  glory.  For  in  one  of 
the  city  papers,  side  by  side  with  his  letter  to  me,  is  the  following 
statement : 

"  As  soon  as  the  Herald  and  other  papers  announced  the  grand  Mass,  the 
Archbishop  and  two  Bishops,  with  a  great  number  of  Catholic  clergy,  met  at 
the  Archbishop's  house,  and  concluded  that  it  would  create  a  sensation  in  the 
Catholic  world,  and  particularly  in  the  dominion  of  her  Catholic  Majesty ;  and 
they  decided  to  have  only  one  single  Mass,  without  any  function  becoming  to 
that  object  whatsoever." 

Poor  gentleman  !  His  highest  capacity  for  explaining  or  even 
estimating  the  notions  Avhich  should  actuate  a  Catholic  prelate  in 
such  circumstances,  reaches  only  the  standard  which  is  intrinsically 
low  and  base.  But  there  is  not,  in  the  above  extract,  a  sentence,  nor 
a  word,  nor  a  letter,  nor  a  mark  of  punctuation  which  is  not  a  false- 
hood ;  falsehood  in  detail,  falsehood  in  aggregate.  Mr,  de  Goicouria 
m:*'  or  may  not  have  written  it.  It  is  a  falsehood  in  either  case ; 
and  as  such  I  hold  him  accountable  for  it ;  because  he  has  had  seven 
days  to  contradict  it  if  it  was  not  his,  and  he  has  during  seven  days 
indoised  it  by  his  silence. 

Should  Mr.  de  Goicouria  be  disposed  to  promote  political  objects 
under  pretence  of  charity  to  the  souls  of  the  faithful  departed,  I  hope 
he  will  henceforth  make  his  experiments  in  some  other  quarter. 
I  am,  gentlemen, 

Your  obedient  servant, 
»J<  JOHN,  Archbishop  of  New  York. 

New  Yokk  Sept.  8, 1852. 


CATHOLIC  AND  PROTESTANT  CHARITIES. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Evangelist : 

An  interesting  controversy  might  be  expected  when  different  re- 
ligious denominations  are  contending  for  the  distinction  of  pre- 
eminence in  works  of  charity.  Such  a  controversy  has  been  going 
on  for  some  weeks,  brought  about  by  an  article  in  your  paper, 
giving  a  simple  enumeration  and  statement  of  the  various  charitable 
institutions  established  and  sustained  by  the  Roman  Catholics  of 
this  city.  This  was  not  in  the  nature  of  a  boast,  but  merely  as  re- 
butting a  charge  brought  against  the  Catholics  by  a  number  of 
highly  respectable  gentlemen,  who  accused  them  of  being  negligent 
on  the  important  point  of  charity,  even  towards  their  own  people, 
and  of  non-concurrence  with  the  schemes  of  benevolence  that  have 
been,  from  time  to  time,  inaugurated  by  their  fellow-citizens  of 
other  denominations. 


474:  ARCEIBISHOP    HUGHES. 

The  synopsis  published  in  your  paper,  some  time  ago,  in  regard 
to  what  the  Catholics  have  done  and  are  doing  for  works  of  charity, 
was  not  an  exaggeration.  It  seems,  however,  to  have  given  offence 
to  the  editor  of  the  ISFew  York  Observer^  who  has  taken  you  also  to 
task  for  having  published  the  article  in  your  columns.  The  editor 
of  the  Observer,  whilst  advocating  charity,,  should  not  disregard 
truth,  even  though  that  truth  inure  to  the  advantage  of  opponents. 

It  is  not  my  intention  to  follow  him  through  all  the  disguises 
under  which  he  would  enfold  and  cloak  up  the  topic  in  question. 
According  to  the  Observer,  every  public  institution  of  benevolence 
or  humanity  is  to  be  set  down  as  a  monument  of  Protestant  charity. 
This  is  not  fair.  From  the  moment  that  any  public  institution  is 
supported  at  the  common  expense  by  taxation,  such,  for  instance, 
as  our  public  schools,  it  is  a  monument  of  Catholic  as  well  as  Pro- 
testant charity,  if  it  can  be  called  charity  at  all.  The  same 
remark  is  applicable  to  poorhouses  and  other  institutions,  the  neces- 
sary support  for  which  is  required  at  the  hands  of  all  citizens,  without 
distinction  of  creed.  How  the  Observer  can  regard  these  as  works 
of  Protestant  charity  more  than  of  Catholic  charity,  or  of  Jewjish 
charity,  I  am  at  a  loss  to  conceive.  But  it  would  be  in  vain  to^x- 
pect  evidences  of  sound  reasoning  where  truth  is  eliminated  from  its 
basis. 

If  the  editor  of  the  Observer  would  secure  to  Catholics  the  taxes 
which  they  have  to  pay  for  these  public  institutions,  depend  upon  it 
they  would  support  their  own  poor  in  a  much  better  manner  than 
they  are  now  supported. 

There  are,  however,  certain  statements  made  by  the  editor  of  the 
Observer,  in  his  paper  of  the  16th  inst.,  which  I  know  to  be  incor- 
rect and  utterly  false,  although  he  may  have  believed  them  to  have 
been  founded  in  truth.  For  instance,  he  quotes,  on  the  authority  of 
a  gentleman — who  must,  indeed,  have  been  a  gentleman,  since  he  had 
an  Irish  servant,  and  a  Catholic  withal,  in  his  household.  Her  name 
was  Margaret.  She  was  a  Catholic.  Her  sister  was  sick.  The 
gentleman  humanely  urged  her  to  bring  her  sick  sister  to  his  house, 
and  allowed  her  to  occupy  the  spare  i"oom,  with  everything  com- 
fortable around  her.  Now  all  this  is  highly  worthy  of  a  humane 
gentleman,  whether  Catholic  or  Protestant. 

But  in  the  convalescence  of  Margaret's  sick  sister,  a  mysterious 
carriage  drove  up  to  his  door  on  one  Monday,  and  he  tells  us,  or 
rather  the  editor  of  the  Observer  tells  the  public,  that  the  sick  sister 
of  Margaret  was  hustled  off  in  a  hurry  to  the  Sisters  of  Charity, 
where  she  remained  exactly  four  weeks.  She  had  exactly  $12, 
and  at  the  rate  of  $3  per  week,  her  whole  savings  were  exhausted 
at  the  end  of  thirty  days.  Then  these  cruel  sisters  of  Charity,  ac- 
cording to  the  gentleman,  and  the  editor  of  the  Observer,  turned  her, 
sick  and  penniless,  out  of  doors. 

Such  is  the  story  of  the  Observer.  I  assure  you,  sir,  that,  so  far 
as  the  Sisters  of  Charity  are  concerned,  the  accusation  is  as  false  as 
falsehood  can  ever  be.     I  trust  the  editor  of  the  Observer  will  have 


LETTERS.  476 

honor  enough    either   to   prove  hfs  charge   against  the   Sisters   of 
Charity,  or  retract  his  injurious  accusation. 

Again,  the  editor  of  the  Observer  asserts  that  the  sick  sister  of  his 
ser\ant  Margaret,  when  she  liad  been  turned  out  by  the  Sisters  of 
Charity,  was  obliged  to  go  to  Bellevue  Hospital,  where  she  died ; 
that  she  was  buried  in  the  Bishop's  burial-place  at  the  expense  of  lier 
sister,  by  paying  810  for  the  ground.  I  am  not  aware  of  more 
than  two  false  statements  in  this  paragraph.  The  first  is  the  state- 
ment that  the  Bishop  has,  or  has  ever  had,  any  burial-place ;  the 
second  that  the  sum  of  810  was  charged  for  a  grave  in  Calvary 
Cemetery.  On  the  contrary,  all  poor  Catholics  are  interred  in  that 
cemetery  at  the  expense  of  their  co-religionists ;  and  the  Catholics, 
at  their  own  expense  also,  have  in  constant  employment  a  hearse  to 
convey  the  remains  of  the  dead  from  Bellevue  Hospital  or  else- 
where, for  the  purpose  of  securing  to  them  a  resting-place  far  more 
sacred  and  soothing  to  their  feelings  in  life  than  the  prospect  of 
slumbering  in  Potter's  Field. 

Another  mistake  of  the  editor  of  the  New  York  Observer  is  his 
statement  that  a  poor  woman  had  paid  fifty  cents  to  the  priest  for 
three  masses  for  the  repose  of  her  husband's  soul,  when  she  was  de- 
pendent on  cliarity  for  bread.  Sir,  this  poor  woman  may  have 
hoaxed  the  editor  or  the  gentleman  who  had  Margaret  for  his  ser- 
vant, by  the  recital  of  a  story  like  this.  But  there  is  no  truth  in  it, 
and  this  is  rather  a  defect  on  the  part  of  an  editor  who  is  contending 
on  behalf  of  charity. 

Another  case  still  in  which  the  editor  of  the  Observer  has  allowed 
himself  to  be  overcome  by  his  anti-Catholic  credulity.  A  woman, 
he  tells  us,  was  charged  with  paying  five  cents  a  month  to  the  Pur- 
gatorian  Society,  which  she  admitted.  This  took  place  in  the 
presence  of  others  beside  himself  or  the  gentleman  on  whose  au- 
thority he  relied.  There  would  be  no  crime  in  this  if  it  were  true. 
But  the  editor  tells  us  that  the  Purgatorian  is  a  secret  society,  which 
is  not  the  fact,  for  if  it  were  how  could  he  know  so  much  about  it  ? 

Another  instance  still,  I  may  mention,  in  which  the  editor  of  the 
Observer,  in  his  zeal  for  charity,  has  overlooked  or  disregarded 
truth.  A  poor  Irishwoman,  he  tells  us,  a  Romanist,  applied  to  a 
gentleman  for  charity.  He,  not  liking  her  appearance  or  knowing 
anything  about  her,  refused  aid  unless  she  brought  a  certificate  of 
good  character,  and  as  her  priest  lived  in  the  neighborhood,  he  re- 
ferred her  to  him  for  this  purpose.  The  woman  called  on  the  priest, 
but  he  would  not  give  her  a  character  except  she  paid  twenty-five 
cents  for  it,  which  he  said  was  his  price.  She  replied,  "  Do  ye 
think  I'll  be  after  giving  you  twenty-five  cents,  when  I  have  not  a 
penny  to  buy  bread  ?"  Of  course,  continues  the  editor  of  the  Ob- 
server, she  got  no  certificate.  The  editor  of  the  Observer  must  be 
eaten  up  with  anti-Catholic  credulity  when  he  believed,  if  he  really 
did  believe,  such  a  story  as  this. 

Allow  me  to  enumerate  briefly  what  I  have  to  say  in  regard  to 
these  questions  of  fact : 


476  AECHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

'  '  Ist,  He  said  that  the  Sisters  of  Mercy  require  the  payment  of 
board  fiom  the  virtuous  but  destitute  young  women  who  take 
refuge  under  their  roof. 

This  is  not  true. 

2d,  That  the  Sisters  of  Charity  turned  the  sister  of  Margaret, 
the  gentleman's  servant,  sick  and  penniless,  out  of  doors 

This  is  not  true. 

3d,  That  a  poor  woman,  dependent  on  charity  for  bread,  paid  a 
priest  fifty  cents  for  three  masses  for  the  repose  of  her  husband's 
soul. 

This  is  not  true. 

4th,  That  a  priest  required  twenty-five  cents,  that  being  his  price 
for  a  certificate  required  by  a  poor  Irishwoman,  a  Romanist. 

This  is  not  true. 

I  trust  the  editor  of  the  Observer  is  a  gentleman  who  would  not 
knowingly  publish  false  statements  injurious  to  his  neighbors,  even 
for  the  purpose,  strange  as  it  will  sound,  of  promoting  charity.  I 
call  upon  him,  therefore,  to  prove  the  charges  just  enumerated,  or, 
if  he  cannot  prove  them,  to  withdraw  them  as  becomes  an  honor- 
abj^;  man,  whether  he  be  Catholic  or  Protestant,  Jew  or  Gentile.  A 
war  like  that  which  he  wages  against  the  defenceless  Sisters  of 
Mercy  and  of  Charity,  is  revolting  to  the  ordinary  feelings  of  a  humane 
and  enlightened  community.  But  since  he  has  made  these  charges, 
I  have  taken  the  liberty  to  contradict  them,  and  to  pronounce  them 
untrue,  leaving  it  to  the  editor  of  the  Observer  to  sustain  them  by 
positive  proof.  If  he  has  no  proof,  let  it  be  hoped  that,  like  a  good 
Christian  gentleman,  he  will  revoke  them.  If  he  shall  do  either  of 
these,  I  shall  hold  him  not  unworthvof  a  controversy  on  the  general 
subject  of  charity,  whether  of  a  Protestant  or  a  Catholic  character. 
If  he  cannot  prove  and  will  not  retract,  then  I  consider  him  un- 
worthy of  further  notice. 

^  JOHN,  Archbishop  of  New  York. 

Nkw  Yobk,  AprU  20, 1867. 


THE  MADIAI  AFFAIR. 

CONTROVERSY  WITH  GENERAL  CASS. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Neio  York  FreemarCs  Journal : 

The  heading  of  this  communication  suggests  the  matter  which  it 
proposes  to  discuss.  No  preface  or  introduction  is  necessary.  The 
case  of  the  Madiai,  as  reported  in  newspapers,  had  already  attracted 
the  attention  and  active  sympathy  of  distinguished  gentlemen,  espe- 
cially in  England,  previous  to  its  having  been  taken  up  in  this 
country.     It  had  been  the  occasion  of  meetings  in  Exeter  Hall  in 


LETTERS.  477 

London.  It  had  been  especially  adopted  by  Sir  Culling  Eardley 
and  Lord  Roden,  who  are  by  no  means  distinguished  as  promoters 
of  religious  liberty  in  their  own  country.  Lender  such  sanction  in 
England,  it  would  be  strange  if  the  movement  did  not  produce  some 
corresponding  action  in  this  country  ;  for  latterly  it  seems  as  if  the 
philanthropists  of  this  land  deem  it  their  highest  honor  to  be  imita- 
tors of  the  corresponding  class  in  England.  There  is  nothing  done 
by  the  aristocracy  of  England  in  the  name  of  benevolence  and  phil- 
antropy  which  dpes  not  immediately  provoke  the  desire  of  imitation 
among  the  aristocracy  here.  And  the  only  example  we  have  failed 
to  imitate  is  the  establishment  of  Ragged  Schools,  which  have  become 
so  popular  in  London  and  its  vicinity.  This  we  have  not  yet 
ventured  on,  although,  heaven  knows,  so  far  as  the  title  is  concerned, 
the  materials  are  not  wanting.  England,  as  an  accompaniment  of 
the  emigration  of  at  least  her  Catholic  subjects,  has  not  allowed 
them  to  leave  her  shores  unprovided  with  all  the  requisites  fitting 
them  for  admission  into  Ragged  Schools. 

With  this  exception,  whatever  becomes  popular  among  a  certain 
cIjiss  of  English  nobility  and  gentry  is  sure  to  be  imitated  on  this 
side  of  the  ocean.  In  this  way  we  can  account  for  the  convocation 
of  a  Madiai  sympathy  meeting  in  Metropolitan  Hall.  The  call 
of  the  meeting  was  signed  by  some  of  our  most  respectable  citizens. 
It  was  attended  by  a  very  large  assembly  of  persons  who  would 
attend  tlie  meetings  of  Exeter  Hall  against  Catholics  with  as  much 
sympathy  and  pleasure.  Tlie  proceedings  of  the  meeting  were  in 
strict  accordance  with  its  purpose,  which  was  to  shut  off  all  free 
discussion,  and  to  excite  an  unkind,  uncharitable,  and  bitter  Protest- 
ant feeling  against  the  Catholics  of  the  United  States  and  of  the 
world.  I  should  perhaps  observe  in  this  place,  to  the  credit  of  the 
Protestant  clergy  of  this  city,  that  if  they  attended  the  meeting  at 
all,  it  was  only  in  the  capacity  of  silent  spectators,  whilst  the  resolu- 
tions were  brought  forward  and  speeches  delivered  by  reverend 
brethren  imported  apparently  for  the  occasion  from  the  suburban  and 
neighboring  villages  around  Xew  York. 

I  need  not  I'efer  to  the  course  which  was  given  to  the  whole  dis- 
cussion on  that  occasion.  I  may  remark,  however,  that  it  comprised 
scurrilous  denunciationsof  the  Grand  Duke  of  Tuscany,  of  the  Jesuits, 
of  the  Pope,  of  Catholic  governments  in  Europe,  of  the  Catholic 
citizens  of  the  United  States,  and  of  the  Catholic  religion  and  its 
members  at  all  times  and  places.  This  was  the  purpose  to  which 
the  Madiai  meeting  directed  its  powers  of  eloquence  and  denuncia- 
tion. Whether  the  gentlemen  who  signed  the  call  for  that  meeting, 
Hon.  Luther  Bradish,  Collector  Hugh  Maxwell,  Hiram  Ketchura, 
Esq.,  and  other  gentlemen  of  equal  respectability,  intended  to  furnish 
an  occasion  for  denouncing  their  Catholic  fellow-citizens  in  this 
country,  is  more  than  I  can  take  upon  me  to  decide.  From  my 
previous  knowledge  of  some  of  these  gentlemen,  and  my  respect  for 
all,  I  should  be  unwilling  to  believe  that  they  would  loan  their 
honored  names  for  a  purpose  so  unworthy  of  their  social  position, 


478  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

and  so  much  at  variance  with  the  civil  institutions  of  their  country. 
I  cannot,  however,  acquit  them  of  responsibility ; — in  this,  that 
having  accej^ted,  or  assumed  the  trust  of  calling  a  public  meeting, 
they  delegated  that  trust  to  other  trustees,  in  whom  the  public  could 
not  have  the  same  confidence.  Other  meetings  like  that  at  Metro- 
politan Hall  have  already  been  held  in  other  parts  of  the  country, 
and  the  probability  is  that  Messrs.  Bradish,  Maxwell,  and  Ketchum, 
whether  it  was  their  intention  or  not,  will  have  inaugurated  a  Pro- 
testant crusade  against  their  Catholic  fellow-citizens,  hardly  less 
violent,  or  less  dishonorable  than  that  which  resulted  fi'om  the 
"  Awful  Disclosures  of  Maria  Monk." 

The  wisdom  and  expediency  of  giving  any  encouragement  to 
religious  excitements,  in  connection  with  civil  and  social  rights, 
appear  to  me  extremely  doubtful.  The  Catholics  of  this  country 
have  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  trial  and  imprisonment  of  the 
Madiai  in  Florence.  What  good  effect,  therefore,  will  be  produced 
by  an  attempt,  through  the  medium  of  public  meetings,  to  denounce 
them  for  an  act  whicii  they  had  no  power  either  to  accomplish  or 
prevent  ?  Is  it  wise  to  encourage  strifes  among  the  various  denomi- 
nations of  which  the  United  States  are  composed  ?  Would  it  not 
be  wiser  to  recognize  the  rights  of  each  denomination  and  of  each 
individual  fully  and  frankly,  as  they  ate  recognized  by  the  Constitu- 
tion of  the  country  ?  Some  have  the  same  right  to  be  Catholics  as 
others  have  to  be  Protestants.  All  have  the  right  to  profess  what 
religion  they  please.  And  since  this  is  the  condition  of  all  the  people 
of  the  United  States,  is  it  wise  or  just  to  denounce  any  portion  of 
them  for  the  offences,  real  or  imaginary,  committed  by  their  bretliren 
of  the  same  creed  in  foreign  countries  ?  The  time  may  come,  and 
perhaps  sooner  than  is  expected  by  our  wisest  public  men,  when  the 
United  States  will  have  need  of  the  support  of  all  her  citizens.  Who 
can  tell  whether  the  future  of  this  country  may  not  re\*eal  dangers 
either  from  foreign  enemies,  or  from  internal  divisions,  which  will 
test  the  loyalty  and  fidelity  of  every  citizen  of  whatever  religion  ? 
In  such  an  emergency  the  Catholics,  in  spite  of  the  denunciations  to 
which  they  had  been  lately  exposed,  will  be  found  among  the  fastest 
friends  of  the  Union  and  the  bravest  defenders  of  the  soil.  They 
have  ever  been  such — and  during  the  last  few  years  when  even 
statesmen  not  of  their  religion  were  ready  to  follow  the  lead  of  a 
foreign  demagogue,  the  Catholics  have  exhibited  evidences  of  self- 
control,  of  calm  and  wise  loyalty  to  the  United  States,  of  a  well- 
poised  self-possession,  which  have  entitled  them  to  the  respect  of 
their  countrymen.  If  it  be  true  then  that  from  the  earliest  coloniza- 
tion of  these  States,  and  through  all  the  struggles  which  they  had  to 
undergo  in  peace  or  in  war,  the  Catholics  have  ever  sustained  an 
untarnished  reputation,  have  never  furnished  a  coward  on  battle- 
field, or  a  traitor  in  council ;  if  they  Iwive  discharged  honorably 
their  civil  duties  in  timesof  peace,  and  their  obligations  of  patriotism 
in  times  of  wai',  why  should  they  now,  under  the  auspices  of  the 
gentlemen  who  called  the  meeting  at  Metropolitan  Hall,  be  given 


LErrERs.  479 

over  to  the  coarse  and  vulgar  denunciations  of  the  reverend  orators 
who  figured  on  that  occasion  ? 

The  charge  alleged  in  the  preamble  of  the  resolutions  adopted  at 
that  meeting,  and  on  which  the  resolutions  themselves  are  founded, 
is,  that  for  no  other  crime  except  that  of  "  possessing  and  reading 
tlieir  Bible,"  the  Madiai,  husband  and  wife,  were  tried,  convicted, 
and  incarcerated  by  the  government  of  Tuscany.  If  this  charge  be 
the  truth,  the  whole  truth,  and  nothing  but  the  truth,  I  am  quite 
free  and  quite  willing  to  denounce  the  proceedings  of  the  govern- 
ment of  Tuscany  as  oppressive,  unjust,  and  cruel.  Such  an  act 
■would  be  a  disgrace  to  any  government.  Catholic  or  Protestant. 
But  I  must  beg  leave  to  say  that  I  do  not  believe  the  truth  of  the 
charge.  I  regard  it  as  a  falsehood,, and  I  have  no  doubt  that  it  will 
turn  out  to  be  so.  If  this  should  prove  to  be  the  case,  the  proceed- 
ings at  Metropolitan  Hall  w^ill  reflect  but  little  credit  on  those  who 
sanctioned  and  took  part  in  them.  Observe,  I  do  not  doubt  the 
truth  of  the  statement  that  the  Madiai  "possessed  and  read  their 
Bible,"  but  I  do  doubt  and  deny  that  for  this,  and  for  this  alone^ 
they  were  tried  and  condemned  to  prison.  I  must  observe,  at  the 
same  time,  that  I  have  no  knowledge  of  the  circumstances  of  the 
case,  except  what  has  come  under  the  notice  of  every  one  who 
has  read  the  newspapers  of  the  day  concerning  it.  I  have  come  to 
this  conclusion  on  grounds  of  probability,  which  to  my  mind  are 
not  less  strong  in  their  aggregate  than  positive  and  direct  testi- 
mony. 

First.  There  is  no  law  in  Tuscany  against "  possessing  and  reading 
the  Bible."  Second.  Even  if  there  was  such  a  law,  it  is  impossible 
that  the  Madiai  should  have  been  convicted  under  it,  inasmuch  as, 
in  their  very  prison  they  are  allowed  to  "  possess  and  read  their 
Bible."  It  is  not  probable  that  any  country  would  punish  an  offender 
for  a  crime,  and  yet  allow  him  to  continue,  during  the  penalty,  in 
commission  of  the  same.  For  instance,  in  our  own  courts  men  con- 
victed of  forgery  are  not  allowed  to  carry  on  the  trade  in  the  State's 
Prison.  I  think  that  these  reflections  will  satisfy  any  candid  mind, 
that  the  Madiai  are  not  condemned  solely  for  the  crime  of  "  possess- 
ing and  reading  their  Bible."  And  if  they  are  not  condemned  solely 
for  this,  it  follows  that  the  proceedings  at  Metropolitan  Hall  are 
founded  on  obvious  falsehood.  The  circumstances,  however,  were 
not  thought  worthy  of  consideration,  and  the  truth  would  have  been 
rather  a  detriment  than  an  advantage  to  the  purpose  of  the  meeting. 
The  impression  intended  to  be  made  by  the  speakers  on  that  occasion 
was,  that  the  government  of  Tuscany,  the  Jesuits,  the  Pope,  and  the 
members  of  the  Catholic  Church  throughout  the  world  have  a  mortal 
dread  of  the  Bible.  This  would  be  strange  indeed.  To  them  the 
book,  the  New  Testament  at  least,  was  originally  given  in  manu- 
script by  its  inspired  authors.  They  have  been  its  witnesses  and  its 
guardians  from  the  beginning.  It  has  been  recognized  and  used  by 
them  as,  in  so  far  as  it  goes,  a  duplicate  on  parchment  of  the  doctrines 
which  our  Saviour  had  inscribed,  with  a   pencil   of    divine    fii'e, 


480  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

in  characters  of  living  faith  on  the  lieart  of  the  Church.  The  art 
of  printing  facilitated  its  difFusion,  and  the  Church  availed  herself 
with  eagerness  of  that  art  for  the  purpose-  of  multiplying  copies  of 
the  Holy  Scriptures.  Numerous  editions  of  the  Bible  were  pub- 
lished in  the  principal  languages  of  Europe,  under  the  patronage  of 
popes,  cai'dinals,  and  bishops,  long  before  Protestantism  came  into 
being.  The  Italians  were  well  acquainted  with  the  Bible  in  their 
own  beautiful  language  before  Martin  Luther  was  born.  The  first 
Italian  edition  was  published  in  Venice  in  the  year  1471,  and  forty- 
successive  editions  were  published  in  the  different  cities  of  Italy 
anterior  to  the  date  of  the  Protestant  translation,  which  was  published, 
not  in  Italy,  but  in  Geneva,  in  the  year  1562.  In  the  very  year  of 
our  American  independence  the  Archbishop  of  Florence  brought 
out  another  translation,  for  which  he  I'eceived  the  special  thanks  of 
Pope  Pius  VI.  In  our  own  country  the  Catholics  have  published 
not  less  than  twenty  or  twenty-five  editions  of  the  Holy  Scriptures 
of  every  size,  from  the  folio  down  to  the  octavo,  many  of  which  are 
stereotyped.  Is  it  not  surprising,  then,  that  our  Protestant  neighbors 
will  persist  in  supposing  that  we  are  afraid  of  our  own  original 
and  hereditary  documents  that  have  never  been  cut  off  of  our 
possession  ? 

Connected  with  the  case  of  the  Madiai,  a  new  national  policy  has 
been  broached  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  by  no  less  dis- 
tinguished a  Senator  than  General  Cass.  This  policy,  with  Avhiclx 
the  gentlemen  at  Metropolitan  Hall  appeared  to  be  very  familiar, 
purports  to  be  a  vindication  of  the  rights  of  conscience,  to  be  secured 
to  all  American  citizens  in  whatever  countries  they  may  choose  to 
travel  or  sojourn.  The  ground  on  which  this  policy  is  advanced  is, 
that  in  this  country  strangers  of  every  nation  are  allowed  to  exercise 
their  religion  as  their  conscience  may  dictate,  and  therefore  in  all 
other  countries  Americans  have  the  right  to  claim  and  exercise  a 
similar  privilege.  It  is  hardly  necessary  for  me  to  observe  that 
freedom  of  conscience  which  is  here  contended  for  is  inviolable  in  its 
very  nature  and  essence.  To  say  that  any  man  or  any  nation  has 
either  physical  or  moral  power  to  destroy  freedom  of  conscience,  is 
to  give  utterance  to  a  patent  absurdity.  Conscience  without  free- 
dom is  not  conscience,  but  for  this  very  reason  the  freedom  of  con- 
science is  beyond  the  reach  of  man's  power.  God  has  provided  in 
the  human  soul  a  fortress  to  which  it  can  retreat,  and  from  which  it 
can  hurl  defiance  against  all  invaders.  I  presume,  therefore,  that 
there  is  a  confusion  of  ideas  in  the  minds  of  those  who  with  General 
Cass  plead  eloquently  for  that  which  requires  no  pleading,  namely, 
freedom  of  conscience.  That  is  universal, — that  is  indestructible, — 
that  is  inviolable.  They  must  be  understood  to  mean  liberty  of  ex- 
ternal action  according  to  conscience,  which  is  quite  a  different  thing. 
This  external  liberty  of  action  according  to  conscience  in  all  countries 
is  regulated,  to  a  certain  extent,  by  the  enactment  of  positive  laws. 
In  some  countries  the  range  is  wider,  in  others  more  restricted  ;  but 
it  is  limited  in  all,  not  even  excepting  the  United  States.     The  liberty 


LETTEE8.  4S1 

•of  conscience  which  is  recognized  and  applauded  in  Connecticut  will 
not  be  tolerated  (on  certain  suV>jects)  in  South  Carolina  or  in  Ala- 
bama. The  Mormons  [lave  been  obliged  to  seek  retirement  in 
Deseret,  in  order  to  en^oy  what  they  call  liberty  of  conscience,  and 
the  liberty  they  there  enjoy  would  not  be  allowed,  them  under  the 
toleration  of  the  laws  of  New  York.  Is  it  expected,  then,  in  the 
project  of  General  Cass,  that  they  too  shall  have  the  privilege  of 
exercising  liberty  of  conscience  in  their  peregrinations  among  foreign 
States  ? 

Again,  the  assumption  of  General  Cass  is  a  fallacy.  He  assumes 
that  the  freedom  of  religion  in  this  country  is  a  boon  conceded  by 
Protestant  liberality  to  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  land.  This  is  not 
so.  It  is  a  privilege  which  was  won  by  the  good  swords  of  Catholics 
and  Protestants  in  the  battles  for  national  independence.  It  is  a 
common  right,  therefore,  and  is  not  to  be  regarded  as  a  concession 
from  one  denomination  to  the  other.  This  ari'angement,  in  regard 
to  liberty  of  conscience,  suited  the  policy  of  the  country,  and  was 
absolutely  indispensable  after  the  Revolutionary  war.  Does  General 
Cass  mean  to  say,  llhat  because  it  suited  us  all  other  nations  must 
adopt  it,  whether  it  suits  them  or  not  ?  As  well  might  England 
say,  that  because  it  suited  her  finances  to  admit  free  trade,  she  will 
insist  upon  it  that  all  other  nations  shall  do  the  same.  General  Cass 
knows  as  well  as  any  man  living,  that  until  this  country  becomes 
vastly  stronger,  and  foreign  States  much  weaker  than  they  are,  all 
pleadings  on  this  subject  will  be  treated  as  driveling  by  foreign 
States.  Oh,  if  you  have  a  mind  to  arrange  the  constitutions  and 
laws  of  European  States  by  the  power  of  armies  and  navies,  that,  in- 
deed, is  another  matter.  But  the  United  States  M'ill  expose  them- 
selves to  ridicule  if  tjhey  drag  such  a  question  into  their  diplomatic 
intercourse  with  foreign  governments. 

It  is  a  recognized  principle  in  this  country,  that  every  sovereign 
and  independent  nation  has  the  right  to  adopt  its  own  constitution 
and  laws.  The  constitution  and  laws  of  a  country  are  but  the  ag- 
gregate of  general  principles  applicable  to  the  peculiar  situation, 
protection  and  welfare  of  the  citizens  or  subjects  of  which  it  is  com- 
posed. They  may  be  regarded  as  the  public  and  permanent  expres- 
sion of  the  aggregate  conscience  of  that  State.  Thus,  without  going 
out  of  our  own  country,  Massachusetts  has  one  form  of  public  con- 
science, Louisiana  has  another.  Does  Mr.  Cass  mean  to  say  that  aa 
abolitionist  from  Boston,  under  plea  of  liberty  of  conscience,  still 
has  the  right  to  talk  in  New  Orleans,  and  preach,  and  harangue,  and 
write,  and  publish  on  the  subject  of  slavery  as  he  might  choose  to 
do  in  Faneuil  Hall  ?  If  not,  I  would  say  with  all  respect,  that  the 
policy  in  regard  to  this  subject  which  General  Cass  advocates  in  the 
Senate,  is  calculated  to  have  no  practical  effect  either  at  home  or 
abroad,  except  to  stir  up  sectarian  animosities  against  his  Catholic 
fellow  citizens ;  and  this  is  hardly  worthy  of  his  patriotic  services, 
advanced  age  or  accumulated  honors. 

Indeed,  1  am  quite  persuaded  that  the  country  has  lowered  itself 
Vol.  II.— 31 


482  ARCHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

in  dignity  if  it  be  true,  as  the  newspapers  have  stated,  that  the  Pres- 
ident, through  Secretary  Everett,  has  become  a  petitioner  side  by 
side  with  Lord  Roden,  and  taken  his  place  .of  expectation  and  hope 
in  the  ante-chamber  of  tiie  Grand  Duke  of  Tuscany.  The  supreme 
government  of  this  country  ought  not  to  stoop  to  an  investigation, 
however  sacred  may  be  the  occasion,  of  a  poHtical  trial  in  the  petty 
States  of  Italy.  In  doing  so,  it  exposes  itself  to  humiliation  and  re- 
buke without  redress.  The  Grand  Duke  can  easily  ask  Mr.  Secre- 
tary Everett  certain  questions  about  the  liberty  of  conscience  in  this 
country,  which  the  latter  would  find  himself  exceedingly  puzzled  to 
answer.  If  the  Grand  Duke  or  his  Minister  should  ask  Mr.  Everett 
whether  liberty  of  conscience  is  recognized  in  the  United  States  as 
unlimited — the  same  in  one  State  as  in  another — the  Secretary  will 
liave  to  reply,  "  No."  If  the  same  inteirogator  should  ask  Mr.  Ev- 
erett what  became  of  the  helpless  female  inmates  of  a  certain  Con- 
vent in  Charlestown,  near  Boston,  who  were  driven  out  without  ac- 
cusation, or  trial,  or  condemnation  before  any  civil  tribunal,  ex- 
pelled from  their  peaceful  home  in  the  depths  of  night,  their  house 
and  furniture  committed  to  the  flames — can  Mr.  Everett  tell  what 
happened  to  them  afterwards  ?  Again  the  Secretary  would  have  to 
answer,  "  No."  Did  the  State  of  Massachusetts  make  any  compen- 
sation to  those  persons  foi'  the  destruction  of  their  property  or  the 
violation  of  their  rights  ?  Mr,  Everett  would  have  to  answer,  "  No." 
Is  the  State  of  Massachusetts  bound  to  protect  the  individual  rights 
of  its  citizens  ?  Mr.  Everett  would  have  to  answer  "  Yes,"  (in  the- 
ory,)— in  practice  (in  this  case,  at  least),  "  No,"  How  then,  it  might 
further  be  asked,  do  you  pretend  that  liberty  of  conscience  is  ex- 
tended to  all  the  citizens  of  the  United  States  ?  Is  there  any  prac- 
tical difference  between  the  social  intolerance  which  prevails  in  your 
country  where  there  are  so  many  religions,  and  the  legal  intolerance 
of  our  dominions  where  there  is  but  one  ?  It  seems  to  me  that  the 
Secretary  of  the  United  States,  who  has  it  not  in  his  power  to  give 
different  answers  to  questions  such  as  these,  rather  exposes  iiiinseil' 
and  his  native  State,  if  .not  his  country,  by  going  all  the  way  to 
Florence  to  plead  for  liberty  of  consciet)ce,  whilst  such  violations  of 
its  rights  have  been  perpetrated,  and  left  unrecompensed  at  his  own 
door.  Other  violations  of  liberty  of  conscience  in  diflferent  parts  of 
the  country  are  by  no  means  rare  in  our  history.  They  occurred  in 
Philadelphia,  where  churches  and  convents  were  burned  to  ashes  by 
the  intolerance  of  the  mob.  There  is  this,  however,  to  be  said  in  ex- 
tenuation— that,  at  least,  if  the  civil  authorities  of  Pennsylvania  did 
not  protect  its  citizens  from  these  outrages,  it  allowed  compensation 
for  the  damage  done  to  their  property.  I  fear  much  that  social  in- 
tolerance is  not  to  be  ascribed  so  much  to  the  principles  of  any  re- 
ligion, as  to  the  diseased  moral  nature  which  is  the  common  inherit- 
ance of  us  all.  The  evidence  of  this  can  be  discovered  no  less  in 
the  United  States  than  elsewhere.  There  is  among  us  a  super- 
abundance of  social  and  domestic  intolerance,  in  despite  of  those 
laws  of  religious  freedom   of  which  we  are  so  ready  to  boast,  but 


LETTEKS.  483 

which,  unfortunately,  have  no  power  to  protect  the  object  of  that 
intolerance.  Is  it  rare  that  poor  servants  are  driven  out  from  their 
employment  because  they  will  not,  against  their  conscience,  join  the 
domestic  religion  "  of  State"  which  the  family  has  made  exclusive  ? 
Is  it  unusual  to  hear  of  men  disinheriting  their  own  offspring  for  no 
cause  except  that  of  practising  their  acknowledged  rights  of  con- 
science ?  These  are  matters  with  which  we  are  made  too  familial", 
notwithstanding  our  boasted  rights  and  liberty  of  conscience. 

I  have  offered  these  remarks  not  in  any  spirit  of  controversy,  but 
in  the  spirit  of  peace  and  of  truth.  There  are  moments  when  every 
citizen,  who  feels  that  he  can  say  something  promotive  of  the  welfare 
of  his  countrymen,  and  of  advantage  to  his  country,  is  authorized  to 
give  public  utterance  to  his  sentiments,  how  humble  soever  he  may 
be.  With  such  a  feeling  I  offer  the  foregoing  reflections  to  the  con- 
sideration of  my  fellow-citizens  for  what  they  are  worth — no  more. 

•f«  JOHN,  Archbishop  of  New  York. 


A    CARD. 

When  the  unexpected  distinction  was  conferred  on  the  under- 
signed of  having  his  humble  name  and  supposed  principles  intro- 
duced by  General  Cass  into  the  deliberations  of  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States,  and  there  discussed,  and  to  some  extent  denounced, 
in  a  manner  prejudicial  to  the  sentiments  and  character  of  that 
humble  individual,  he  begs  leave  to  claim  it  as  the  privilege  of  a 
citizen  to  appeal  from  any  denunciation  however  eloquent,  or  f!-om 
any  hasty  judgment  even  of  that  distinguished  assembly — which 
ranks  in  his  mind,  and,  as  he  thinks,  ought  to  rank  in  the  mind  of 
the  world,  as  the  most  honorable  and  dignified  deliberative  assembly 
on  the  earth — to  the  common  sense  and  common  justice  of  its  indi- 
vidual members  and  of  his  fellow-citizens,  without  the  slightest  in- 
tention on  his  part  to  bias  their  impartial  judgment  one  way  or  the 
other. 

The  undersigned  beers  leave  to  say  that  it  is  his  intention  to  reply, 
through  the  medium  of  the  public  press,  to  the  great  speech,  so  called, 
of  the  distinguished  senator  from  Michigan,  the  Hon.  Mr.  Cass. 

Mr.  Cass  enumerates  several  cases  which  appeal  directly  to  the 
most  sacred  feelings  of  the  human  heart.  He  is,  as  might  naturally 
be  expected  in  these  particulars,  on  the  side  of  human  feelings.  But 
the  whole  tone  of  his  speech  is  calculated  to  leave  the  impression  in 
the  minds  of  his  hearers  when  he  spoke,  and  of  his  readers  when  he 
published,  that  the  humble  individual  who  has  so  unworthily  been 
the  occasion  of  a  waste  of  precious  public  time,  is  opposed  to  the 
humane  views  of  General  Cass. 

This  w^ould  be  an  inference  unwarranted  by  truth,  and  against 
which  the  undersigned  begs  leave  to  enter  beforehand  an  humble 
but  firm  protest. 


484  AECllBISHOP    HUGHES. 

There  is  only  one  question  connected  with  this  great  speech  of  the 
lionoiable  senator  from  Michigan  which  has  given  the  undersigned 
the  shghtest  pain.  This  is,  that  in  reading  the  senator's  speech  it 
has  occurred  to  the  mind  of  this  writer  that  General  Cass — so  de- 
servedly honoi'ed  by  his  country,  and  so  highly  esteemed,  as  well  for 
his  patriotic  virtues  as  for  reasons  of  private  courtesy  extended  to 
the  undersigned  when  the  general  was  our  distinguished  representa- 
tive at  Paris — may  have  imagined  that  certain  expressions  in  the  letter 
on  which  he  animadverts  may  have  been  intended  for  personal  ap- 
plication to  himself. 

I  would  beg  leave  to  say  now,  that  in  the  sacred  presence  of  that 
conscience  f6r  which  he  so  eloquently  pleaded,  I  must  assure  him 
that  when  the  letter  M'as  written,  or  before  or  since,  it  would  be,  and 
lias  been,  and  I  trust  ever  will  be,  impossible  for  the  undersigned  to 
speak  or  write  one  syllable  disparaging  to  the  high  character,  honor, 
public  or  private  integrity  of  General  Cass. 

At  the  same  time,  as  a  mark  of  the  confidence  of  the  undersigned 
in  Senator  Cass's  impartial  justice,  and,  indeed,  in  imitation  of  the 
general's  own  free  course  in  the  great  speech  to  which  reference  has 
already  been  made,  the  undersigned  begs  leave  to  say  that,  as  far  as 
God,  and  nature,  and  history,  and  philosophy,  and  the  rights  of 
nations,  and  the  experience  of  human  life  may  have  enabled  him  to 
judge,  and  furnished  him  with  means  for  analyzing  the  speech  of  our 
distinguished  senator,  he  shall  claim  the  liberty  of  applying  the  tests 
rigidly,  but  most  respectfully. 

The  undersigned,  in  addition,  begs  leave  to  say  that  he  hopes,  not- 
withstanding his  numerous  official  engagements  and  duties,  to  be 
able  to  publish  his  remarks  on  General  Cass's  speech  within  ten,  or 
at  most  fifteen  days  from  this  date. 

The  undersigned  feels  most  deeply  the  disadvantages  under  which 
he  must  necessarily  appear  in  venturing  to  review  the  dicta  of  so 
eminent  a  statesman  as  General  Cass.  General  Cass  is  regarded,  as 
I  have  no  doubt  deservedly,  by  almost  a  majority  of  the  American 
people,  as  one  of  our  most  tried  and  most  worthy  statesmen.  The 
undersigned,  on  the  contrary,  if  he  is  known  at  all  to  any  consider- 
able portion  of  his  countrymen,  is  known — as  far  as  certain  news- 
papers distribute  knowledge — only  as  a  narrow-minded,  illiberal, 
bigoted  adversary  of  the  progress  of  our  age  and  the  development 
of  our  institutions. 

Under  these  circumstances,  no  one  can  feel  more  deeply  than  the 
subscriber  the  disadvantageous  position,  the  necessity  of  occupying 
which  the  long  meditated  and  deliberately  arranged  speech  of  Gene- 
ral Cass  has  imposed  upon  him,  if  he  would  not  be  forgetfid  of  a 
reasonable  measure  of  respect  for  himself  and  for  his  Catholic  fellow- 
countrymen.  For  nearly  a  year  and  a  half  General  Cass  has  been 
shedding  the  illuminations  of  his  experienced  intellect  and  the  con- 
centrated powers  of  his  brooding  mind  on  the  letter  which  forms 
the  staple  of  his  great  speech ;  and  the  undersigned  hopes  that  he 
may  be  allowed  the  reasonable  period  already  referred  to  for  an  op- 


LETTERS.  485 

portunity  to  reply,  in  answer  to  General  Cass,  to  statements,  insinua- 
tions, inuendoes,  and  inferences,  which  he  fears  may  be  found  in  the 
senator's  speech,  or  deduced  from  it,  calculated  to  lower  the  under- 
signed in  the  good  opinion  of  his  fellow-countrymen,  whether  sena- 
tors or  private  citizens. 

+  JOHN  HUGHES,  Archbishop  of  New  York. 
New  Yoek,  May  17, 1854. 


REPLY  TO  GENERAL  CASS,  IN  SELF-VINDICATION. 

Some  persons  imagine  that  a  high  honor  has  been  conferred  on 
roe  by  the  importance  assigned  to  my  name  in  the  great  speech 
which  General  Cass  has  thought  proper  to  pronounce  in  the  Senate 
of  the  United  States.  The  providence  of  God  has  directed  that 
General  Cass  should  serve  not  only  his  country  but  his  race  in  one 
order  of  life,  and  that  it  should  be  my  humble  privilege  to  serve  both 
in  another.  I  trust  that  my  purity  of  motive  is  not  inferior  to  his. 
But  wliilst  he  has  steered  his  prosperous  bark  on  yielding  tides  and 
with  favoring  winds,  as  one  of  the  approved  and  cherished  great  men 
of  his  country,  it  has  been  my  lot,  though  a  citizen  of  the  same 
country,  to  have  been  occupied  in  propelling  the  little  skiff  intrusted 
to  my  charge  in  a  direction  generally  adverse  to  the  current,  whether 
of  wind  or  tide.  General  Cass  is  a  senatoi* — I  am,  before  the  law, 
only  a  private  citizen.  I  am  also  an  ecclesiastic  of  the  holy  Catholic 
Church,  even  an  unworthy  prelate.  The  duties  and  speculations  of 
our  distinct  departments  appertain  to  such  divergent  relations,  al- 
though intended  to  promote  ultimately  the  same  great  beneficial 
ends  we  have  in  view,  that  any  controversy  in  regard  to  them  must 
necessarily  appear  to  the  American  people  and  to  the  civilized 
world  as  an  extraordinary  event,  especially  under  the  constitutional 
character  of  our  own  beloved  country,  which  has  so  wisely  for  its 
circumstances  eliminated  religious  questions  from  the  deliberations  of 
Congress. 

That  my  name,  or  any  views  of  mine  in  an  incidental  letter,  should 
have  attracted  such  serious  attention  on  the  part  of  General  Cass, 
or  any  other  senator,  is  to  me  rather  a  humiliation  than  a  pride. 
The  circumstance  brings  me,  as  a  citizen,  into  an  apparent  collision 
with  a  senator,  I  am  not  disposed  to  waive  either  my  rights  as  a 
citizen,  or  sacrifice  my  principles  as  a  patriot  and  a  man,  simply  be- 
cause the  tide  of  American  public  opinion  may  be  turned  against  me. 
Neither  am  I  prepared,  on  the  other  hand,  to  say  one  word  in 
maintaining  my  position,  which,  considering  my  age  and  rank  in  the 
Church,  might  give  apparent  sanction  to  that  growing  irreverence 
whicli  is  becoming  so  prevalent  in  this  age,  whether  as  it  relates  to 
pre-eminence,  civil,  ecclesiastical,  social,  domestic,  or  senatorial. 

To  my  utter  astonishment.  General  Cass  thinks  that  his  name  was 
first  brought  into  my  letter  without  any  cause  or  occasion   having 


486  AKCIIBISHOP   HUGHES. 

been  presented  on  his  part.  I  shall  perhaps  best  discharge  my  duty 
in  reference  to  this  by  giving  a  brief  statement  of  the  circumstances 
which  I  thought  warranted  me  in  using  the  name  of  General  Cass. 
The  circumstances  were  these.  A  man  and  his  wife,  named  Madiai, 
had  been  arrested  in  Florence.  They  had  been  tried  according  to 
the  laws  of  their  country,  and  condemned  to  the  penalty  which  the 
said  laws  had  provided  against  persons  offending  as  they  had  done. 
The  report  of  their  crime,  as  it  reached  the  newspapers  of  England 
and  America,  was  that  they  had  been  imprisoned  merely  for  owning 
and  reading  their  Bible.  It  was  natural  and  even  honorable  that  all 
men,  whether  Catholics  or  Protestants,  should  feel  and  manifest 
their  abhorrence  for  the  disproportion  between  the  alleged  crime  and 
the  positive  penalty.  A  meeting  of  sympathy  was  convened  and 
held  in  this  city.  The  undersigned,  with  a  view  to  learn  the  real 
facts  of  the  case,  attended  that  meeting.  The  speakers  on  the  occa- 
sion vituperated  the  pope  of  Rome,  the  monks  of  Italy,  the  friars, 
the  Jesuits,  and  the  Catholics  everywhere.  The  only  person  or  party 
that  was  treated  with  a  decent  share  of  moderation  was  the  Grand 
Duke  of  Tuscany.  Towards  the  middle  of  the  proceedings,  the  fol- 
lowing resolution,  complimentary  to  General  Cass,  as  a  bright  par- 
ticular star  shining  out  from  the  dark  heavens  of  human  nature, 
which  the  orators  had  been  describing,  was  proposed  and  carried  by 
acclamation : 

Resolted,  4,  That  this  meeting  firmly  believes  that  it  ia  the  duty  of  the  Gov 
emment  of  the  United  States  to  protect  all  our  citizens  in  their  religious  rights, 
whilst  residing  or  sojourning  in  foreign  lands  ;  approves  in  the  fullest  manner 
of  the  noble  attempt  of  a  distinguished  senator  from  Michigan  (General  Cass) 
to  call  the  attention  of  the  Government  and  the  public  to  this  important  subject ; 
and  entertains  the  confident  hope  that  this  Government  will  speedily  secure  to 
its  citizens,  by  the  express  stipulations  of  international  treaties,  the  right  to 
worship  God  according  to  the  dictates  of  their  conscience  in  every  foreign  land. 
—N.  Y.  nmes,  Jan.  8,  185-3. 

In  view,  of  the  lampooning  which  all  Catholics,  from  the  Pope 
downwards,  had  received  at  the  lips  of  the  orators,  it  did  strike  me 
as  somewhat  strange  that  the  above  resolution  should  have  been  intro- 
duced. The  question  that  arose  in  my  mind  was,  '•  How  came  it  there  ?" 
The  circumstance,  however,  seemed  to  me  to  be  a  sufficient  reason 
for  referring  to  General  Cass,  by  name,  in  a  letter  which  I  wrote 
some  time  after.  I  have  ascertained  since  that  the  Rev.  Dr.  Baird, 
who  might  be  called  the  chief  conductor  of  the  Madiai  meeting, 
was  found  in  a  short  time  afterwards  perfectly  conversant  with  the 
proceedings  going  on  in  the  Senate  touching  religious  matters  abroad. 
He  is  reported  to  have  proclaimed,  in  the  Hall  of  the  American  In- 
stitute in  Baltimore,  on  the  17th  of  February,  1853,  that  Mr.  Un- 
derwood, a  senator,  had  done  him  the  honor  of  reading  his  (Mr. 
Underwood's)  report  on  the  subject  referred  to,  before  reporting  it 
to  the  Senate,  and  that  he  (Dr.  Jiaird)  approved  of  it.  That  report, 
if  ever  published,  I  have  not  been  able  to  find ;  but  I  think  it  not 
improbable  that  such  report  would  have  been,  in  consequence  of  the 


LETTEKS.  487 

reference  of  a  petition  from  the  Maryland  Baptist  Union  Association, 
wliich  General  Cass  had  so  eloquently  recommended  to  the  appro- 
priate committee  in  a  speech  delivered  January  3,  1853,  just  four 
days  pi-evious  to  the  Madiai  meeting. 

The  petition  alluded  to  had  reference  especially  to  the  condition 
of  the  Baptists  under  the  Protestant  government  of  Prussia.  A 
reference  to  this  subject  is  found  in  a  senatorial  document,  published 
from  the  files  of  the  Department  of  State,  and  designated  S.  Doc. 
60.  A  letter  from  our  minister  at  Berlin,  Mr.  Barnard,  dated 
January  31,  1853,  addressed  to  Mr.  Everett,  Secretary  of  State, 
gives  an  account  of  liis  poor  success  in  attempting  to  obtain  tolera- 
tion for  Protestant  subjects  of  the  Protestant  government  to  which 
he  was  accredited.  Taking  this  document  in  connection  with  what 
has  gone  before,  there  would  appear  to  be  a  perfect  harmony  of 
benevolent  feelings  among  the  distinguished  persons  connected 
with  the  subject,  namely:  Mr.  Barnard,  Mr.  Cass,  Rev.  Dr.  Baird, 
and  Mr.  Underwood.  The  truth  of  facts,  and  the  accuracy  of 
memory  among  the  parties,  are  not  by  any  means  so  perfect.  Mr. 
Barnard  pleads  for  subjects  of  Prussia,  who  are  Baptists ;  Mr.  Cass 
for  the  religious  rights  of  Americans  who  go  abroad  ;*Dr.  Baird  for 
international  treaties  to  secure  such  rights  ; — Mr.  Cass,  not  for 
treaties,  but  for  an  amiable,  diplomatic,  officious,  and  unofficial  inter- 
ference everywhere  in  favor  of  American  religious  rights ;  and  Mr. 
Underwood,  as  having  covered  the  whole  ground  by  previously  read- 
ing his  report  to  Dr.  Baird,  who  approved  of  it  even  before  it  was 
submitted  to  the  Senate. 

I  trust  it  will  be,  as  it  ever  has  been,  the  pleasing  duty  as  well  as  right 
of  the  Executive  Department  of  this  Government  to  interpose  its 
kind  and  courteous  offices  with  other  state  sovereignties  in  dissuad- 
ing from  acts  of  oppression  likely  to  shock  the  feelings  of  humanity 
at  large.  But  for  this  purpose  I  think  legislation  is  unnecessary,  and 
under  the  circumstances  I  vastly  prefer  the  form  of  policy  presented 
at  the  Madiai  meeting  to  that  which  General  Cass  has  bi'oached  in 
his  senatorial  place.  The  former  goes  foi"  treaties,  and  I  go  for 
treaties,  if  any  thing  is  to  be  done  in  the  matter  ;  the  latter  goes  for 
charging  our  representatives  abroad  with  half-defined  duties,  semi- 
national,  semi-religious,  semi-benevolent,  semi-humanitarian,  and,  if 
I  may  be  allowed  the  expression,  semi-everything, — and  yet  nothing 
definite.  This,  I  trust,  will  be  received  by  General  Cass  as  a 
sufficient  apology  for  my  having  introduced  his  name  into  my 
letter. 

In  my  letter,  to  which  General  Cass  takes  such  exceptions,  I 
stated  that,  if  our  American  Congress  implicated  itself  in  such 
questions,  to  be  seen  to  by  our  representatives  abroad,  I  feared  that 
such  interference  would  be  regarded  by  foreign  Governments  as 
drivelling.  I  was  not  then  aware  that  what  I  anticipated  as  a  prob- 
able contingency  had  already  become  an  historical  fact.  It  appears 
from  Mr.  Barnard's  communication,  that  a  letter  addressed  by  him 
to  the  king  of  Prussia,  confided  to  a  distinguished  hand,  had  been 


48S  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

returned  to  him — the  party  declining  the  responsibility  of  presenting 
it.  Interviews  between  our  minister  and  the  king,  and  the  king's 
private  secretary,  subsequently  took  place;  and  it  is  amusing  to  per- 
ceive with  what  amiability  of  language  the  king  and  his  secretary 
lowered  down  the  American  minister.  Diplomacy  never  employed 
more  courteous  language  for  the  purpose  of  bowing  out  an  in- 
truder. 

All  this  has  been  substantially  recorded  by  our  minister  himself; 
and  I  can  translate  the  correspondence  in  no  other  sense,  under  the 
circumstances,  than  as  if  the  king  and  his  private  secretary  in 
courteous  language,  well  known  to  diplomacy,  and  with  refined 
manners,  becoming  perfect  gentlemen  on  both  sides,  had  said  to 
Mr,  Barnard,  "Mr.  American  Minister,  will  you  have  the  kindness 
to  mind  your  own  business."  Now,  as  a  citizen  of  the  United 
States,  I  should  be  sorry  that  our  foreign  representatives  by  any 
legislative  rules  should  ever  be  obliged  to  leave  it  in  the  power  of 
majesty  or  royalty  to  lower  them  down  in  a  manner  like  this. 

If,  under  the  sincere  profession  of  respect  for  the  character,  ser- 
vices, and  position  of  General  Cass,  which  has  already  been  tendered, 
it  should  happen  that  any  thing  may  be  said  by  me  in  this  writing 
apparently  at  variance  with  that  profession,  I  trust  that  he  knows 
me  too  well  to  believe  for  a  moment  that  I  am  capable  of  saying 
one  thing  and  intending  another,  directly  the  reverse.  Yet  his 
speech  has  imposed  upon  me  the  obligation  of  speaking  frankly, 
within  the  limits  that  courtesy  prescribes.  I  complain  of  General 
Cass,  He  has  done  me  injustice,  not  intentionally,  of  course,  but 
yet  he  has  done  me  injustice.  He  has  presented  as  the  caption  of 
my  letter  to  the  Freeman's  Journal,  a  caption  wjiich  is  not  mine  at 
all.  And  this  circumstance  leads  me  to  fear  that  time  did  not  per- 
mit him  to  read  attentively  the  document,  insignificant  as  it  was, 
which  his  speech  professes  to  review.  Again,  whenever  he  does  not 
quote  my  own  identical  words,  but  professes  to  represent  the  mean- 
ing of  my  statements,  he  misrepresents  me — again,  no  doubt,  unin- 
tentionally. His  commentaries  upon  these  misrepresented  state- 
ments of  mine,  must  necessarily  correspond  with  the  misrepresenta- 
tions themselves;  and  thus  I  Jim  placed,  by  implication,  before  the 
American  people  as  niaintaining  sentiments  and  advocating  prin- 
ciples which  I  abhor  and  despise.  Again,  General  Cass  must  permit 
me  to  complain  of  him,  in  that  he  suggests  an  immediate  judgment 
against  me  at  the  tribunal  of  what  he  calls  the  "  nineteenth  century," 
"  the  spirit  of  the  age,"  "  public  sentiment,"  and,  above  all,  the 
opinion  of  the  great  American  public.  This  is  not  fair,  I  have 
great  respect  for  the  American  people ;  but  even  a  Senator  of  the 
United  States  ought  not  to  attempt  the  extinguishment  of  honorable 
manhood  in  any  citizen,  by  waving  in  his  face  the  threat  and  danger 
of  his  incurring  the  frown  of  even  the  great  American  people.  For 
the  i)urposes  of  this  argument,  it  is  not  necessary  that  I  should  incur 
the  frown  of  either.  13ut  if  circumstances  required  it,  I  am  quite 
prepared  to  meet  the  issue  with  which  the  senator  would  indirectly 


LETTERS.  489 

intimidate  me,  and  to  incur  without  a  murmur,  in  regard  to  any 
question  now  discussed  between  us,  the  frown  of  any  people,  rather 
tlian  incur  the  frown  and  reproach  of  my  own  conscience. 

The  honorable  senator  has  represented  me  as  attempting  to  balance 
acpounts  between  this  country  and  the  Grand  Little  Duchy  of  Tus- 
cany. This  was  not  fair.  I  made  no  accusations  against  this  country. 
I  merely  suggested  that  civil  governments,  our  own  included,  are 
sometimes  unable  to  escape  difficulties  such  as  have  sent  the  Madiai 
from  Florence,  according  to  law,  and  driven  unprotected  ladies  from 
their  dove-cot  in  Charlestown,  in  Massachusetts,  against  law,  into 
common  banishment.  General  Cass  thinks  that  inasmuch  as  the 
banishment  of  the  Madiai  was  according  to  law,  in  Tuscany,  and 
that  of  the  Ursulines  against  law  and  by  violence,  the  comparison 
is  wonderfully  against  Tuscany  and  in  our  favor.  I  believe  directly 
the  reverse.  The  laws  of  Tuscany  had  made  known  to  all  parties 
beforehand,  that  the  establishment  of  domestic  conventicles  for  the 
purpose  of  proselytizing  the  subjects  of  the  Grand  Duchy  from  the 
established  religion,  would  be  visited  with  the  judicial  decisions  of 
the  established  courts,  and  would  be  followed  on  conviction  of  parties 
with  the  penalties  which  the  law  had  in  such  case  provided.  Here 
there  was  at  least  fair  notice  given  beforehand.  The  commonwealth 
of  Massachusetts,  on  the  other  side,  had  proclaimed  to  all  the  in- 
habitants of  the  land,  that  property,  reputation,  and  life  would  be 
safe  under  the  shield  of  her  sovereign  protection,  unless  in  the  case 
that  all  or  either  should  be  forfeited  according  to  law  and  justice 
applicable  to  the  case.  The  Madiai  of  Florence  had  not  been 
deceived  by  the  laws  of  the  country  under  which  they  lived.  The 
nuns  of  Charlestown,  in  regard  to  the  laws  of  the  country  in  which 
thiiy  had  contided,  were  deceived.  The  latter,  without  having  in- 
curred even  a  reproach,  much  less  an  impeachment,  or  trial  by  jury, 
or  judicial  sentence  consequent  on  such  trial,  were  driven  from  their 
own  home  in  violation  of  law,  their  property  destroyed,  the  very 
graves  of  their  departed  sisters  desecrated.  What  then  ?  "  Oh," 
says  General  Cass,  "  that  was  a  mob."  My  answer  is,  "  So  much 
the  worse  for  his  side  of  the  comparison."  The  State  of  Massachu- 
setts ought  not  to  have  allowed  those  ladies  to  spend  their  money 
in  building  a  house,  and  confiding  their  safety  and  property  to  the 
high  promise  of  its  sovereign  protection,  if  the  State  of  Massachu- 
setts felt  itself  incapable  of  protecting  them.  But  although  in  any 
country  in  the  world  it  may  happen,  as  it  has  happened  n.  neai'ly  all, 
that  a  mob  may  have  violated  the  laws,  still,  when  order  is  restored, 
such  sovereign  State  having  pledged  itself  to  protect  personal  rights, 
ought  to  be  prepared  to  make  such  puny  reparations  as  would  be 
possible  with  a  view  to  vindicate  its  own  character  of  sovereignty. 
Massachusetts  has  neither  protected,  nor  has  she  compensated. 
General  Cass  thinks  that  reparation  should  have  been  made.  This 
shows  the  benevolence  of  his  heart.  But  the  outrage  has  been  ou 
record  in  the  public  annals  of  the  country  and  of  the  world  for 
the  last  twenty  years,  and  even  General  Cass  had  never  before  be- 


490  AECHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

trayed,  so  far  as  I  am  aware,  the  secret  of  his  kind  sympathies  to 
the  poor  ladies  of  Charlestown.  Neither  has  any  of  the  great  men 
of  Massachusetts,  so  far  as  has  come  to  my  knowledge,  expressed 
publicly  such  sympathy  for  them.  Mr.  Everett,  or  his  great  prede- 
cessor, Mr.  Webster,  since  the  burning  of  the  Convent  at  Charles- 
town,  has  hardly  been  able  to  find  himself  in  a  locality  from  which 
it  would  be  possible  to  look  on  the  Bunker  Hill  monument,  without 
having  at  the  same  time  within  the  range  of  his  vision  the  black 
walls  and  the  ruins  of  Mount  Benedict.  I  have  a  vague  recollection 
that  Ml".  Everett  did,  on  one  occasion,  many  years  ago,  refer  to  the 
subject  in  language  of  regret;  but  if  I  am  not  mistaken  in  my  mem- 
ory, he  alleged  on  that  occasion  that  by  false  zeal  the  convent  had 
been  raised,  and  by  false  zeal  it  had  been  destroyed, — thereby  ig- 
rwring  all  distinction  between  acts  loyally  and  honestly  done  in 
faith  of  protection  from  the  sovereignty  of  the  State,  and  acts  done 
in  violation  of  the  State's  laws  and  contempt  of  its  authority. 

It  may  be  easily  imagined  with  what  greater  pleasure  I  shall  be 
able  to  find  points  of  agreement  with  my  own  principles  of  convic- 
tion, in  the  apparently  hostile  views  of  General  Cass,  than  points  of 
divergency  or  antagonism.  And  strange  as  it  may  appear  to  some, 
I  am  persuaded  that  there  is  no  difference  between  the  distinguished 
Senator  and  myself  in  regard  to  nine  tenths  of  his  great  speech.  A 
large  portion  of  it  is  an  assertion,  or  rather  reiteration  of  patriotic 
and  liberal  feelings,  with  which  every  true  American  is,  as  a  matter 
of  course,  supposed  to  be  imbued.  Among  his  countrymen  the  Senator 
from  Michigan  has  acquired  an  honorable  eminence  by  his  well-known 
patriotism,  benevolence  of  heart,  zeal  for  the  advancement  of  his 
country's  interests,  and  profound  respect  for  religion,  all  of  vvliich 
liave  been  generally  acknowledged,  if  not  universally  appreciated. 
His  speech  will  be  very  much  abridged  if  we  put  aside  all  that  he 
has  said  developing  by  implication  these  noble  attributes  of  his  own 
personal  feelinsrs  and  character.  Neither  shall  I  offer  one  word  of 
apology  for  the  real  or  supposed  crimes  insinuated  in  his  speech 
against  foreign  States,  whether  Catholic  or  Protestant,  for  their 
want  of  decent  humanity  regarding  the  burial  of  the  dead  within 
their  limits.  In  all  those  States,  I  take  it  for  granted,  there  are 
many  things  as  well  as  this,  which  might  be  advantageously  re- 
formed. I  would  only  observe,  that  Protestants  sojourning  in  Catho- 
lic countries  can  hardly  claim  privileges  which,  if  offered  in  their 
own,  they  would  not  choose  to  accept.  They  do  not  believe  in 
prayers  for  the  dead ;  and  the  attendance  of  Catholic  clergymen  at 
the  obsequies  of  the  departed  has  invariable  reference  to  that  belief. 
Neither  do  they  believe  in  what  Catholics  call  the  consecration,  by 
religious  rites,  of  Catholic  cemeteries.  Hence,  in  their  own  country 
they  prefer  to  be  interred  in  common  ground,  not  consecrated.  I 
do  not  see,  therefore,  any  solid  reason  for  its  being  insisted  on  that  they 
should  be  buried  in  consecrated  ground  when  they  are  abroad,  in 
Catholic  countries,  since  the  very  idea  of  such  a  thing  never  enters 
into   their  mind    in   their  native   land.     If  the   following   exhibit 


LETTEES.  491 

a  correct  estimate  of  what  American  Protestants  believe  regard- 
ing Catholics,  one  might  infer  that  the  former  would  have  no 
desire  to  be  interred  among  such  pagans,  either  at  home  or 
abroad. 

THE    PKESBYTEKIAXS    VS.   THE    KOMAN   CATHOLICS. 

The  Presbyterian  General  Assembly  (New  School)  sitting  at  Philadelphia,  on 
Thursday,  had  under  consideration  a  report  from  a  special  Committee  on 
"  Popish  Baptism."  The  report  was  read  by  Dr.  Hatfield.  The  question  sub- 
mitted for  the  consideration  of  the  Committee  was  as  follows : 

"  Is  the  administration  of  what  is  denominated  Baptism  in  the  Roman  Catho- 
lic Church  to  be  recognized  as  Christian  baptism  ?" 

The  Committee  said  the  dispensation  by  other  than  regular  ordained  minis- 
ters had  been  departed  from  by  the  Romish  Church.  The  Committee  concludes 
that  the  Romish  Church  is  no  longer  a  Church  of  Christ,  but  a  synagogue  of 
Satan.  The  Pope  is  considered  the  Antichrist.  The  tendency  of  the  Popish 
Church  is  to  establish  the  power  of  the  Pope  in  all  parts  of  the  world,  in  oppo- 
sition to  the  Church  and  religion  of  Christ.  The  forms  of  the  Church  of  Rome 
were  considered  mummeries  by  the  Committee.  The  latter,  in  conclusion,  says : 
"  The  ministers  of  the  Church  of  Rome  are  not  authorized  to  administer  the 
sacraments  ordained  by  Christ,  our  I^ord,  in  the  Gospel,  and  that  the  admin- 
istration of  what  is  denominated  Baptism  in  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  is  not 
to  be  recognized  as  Christian  baptism." 

The  report  was  signed  by  Edwin  F.  Hatfield,  D.  D.,  and  Samuel  H.  Cox,  the 
majority  of  the  Committee. 

Prof.  Smith,  the  third  member  of  the  Committee,  submitted  a  minority  re- 
port, differing  from  the  views  of  the  majority,  and  taking  the  ground  that  Pa- 
pal baptism  is  valid.  The  arguments  of  the  majority  were  replied  to  in  detail 
in  the  minority  report.  The  minority  deems  it  impolitic  to  urge  to  extremity 
differences  which  will  further  alienate  the  Catholic  people  from  Protestantism. 

The  reports  were  accepted,  and  a  debate  ensued,  upon  a  motion  made 
by  Dr.  Waterbury,  to  adopt  the  report  of  the  majority.  At  12  o'clock,  a  mo- 
tion to  indefinitely  postpone  was  negatived. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Riley  submitted  the  following  resolution  as  an  amendment  to 
the  motion  to  postpone  the  subject : 

Resohed,  That  in  view  of  the  great  diversity  of  opinion  and  of  practice  in  the 
Presbyterian  Church  on  the  subject  of  Popish  baptism,  and  in  view  of  previous 
action  of  the  Assembly,  it  will  be  inexpedient  for  the  present  Assembly  to  take 
action  in  the  case. 

Rev.  Dr.  Brainabd  opposed  the  adoption  of  the  majority  report,  and  hoped 
the  matter  would  be  left  to  the  consciences  of  those  who  were  to  benefited 
by  it. 

Mr.  Taylob,  of  Cleveland,  during  a  speech  upon  baptism,  stated  that  if  he 
was  a  minister  he  would  tell  his  flock  the  whole  truth  ;  and  that  is,  if  they  be- 
lieved not  upon  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  they  would  be  damned.  He  did  believe 
that  baptism  was  essential  to  salvation. 

The  debate  was  continued  up  to  the  hour  of  adjournment.  -N.  T.  Express. 

Leaving  the  above  specimen  of  liberality  to  speak  for  itself,  I  must 
be  permitted  to  say  that  Senator  Cass  has  been  exceedingly  infelici- 
tous in  one  of  the  examples  by  which  he  would  ilhustrate  liie  hard- 
ships of  American  Protestants  in  Catholic  countries  in  regard  to  this 
matter  of  Christian  burial.  He  tells  us  of  a  Protestant  who  was  at 
the  point  of  death  at  San  Diego,  and  who  was  so  anxious  to  be  buried 
in  a  consecrated  place  of  sepulture,  that  he  consulted  tlie  American 
minister  as  to  whether  he  should  not  make  a  profession  of  Catholi- 


492  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

cism  with  the  view  to  secure  the  right  to  such  interment.  The  min- 
ister, like  an  honest  man,  dissuaded  him  from  such  a  course,  founded 
on  such  a  motive.  But  still  tlie  Senator  tells  us  that  the  ceremony  of 
recantation  was  performed  in  extremis,  and  that  the  dying  man,  by 
this  nominal  change  of  faith,  secured  for  his  body  after  death  a 
resting-place  in  a  consecrated  cemetery.  From  all  which  statement 
by  General  Cass,  the  obvious  inference  is,  that  the  poor  man  either 
became  sincerely  a  Catholic,  which  he  had  a  right  to  do,  or  died  a 
hypocrite,  a  traitor  to  his  conscience  and  his  God,  thereby  sacrificing 
his  soul  for  sake  of  a  grave. 

I  think  the  Senator  from  Michigan  has  been  still  more  unfortu- 
nate in  his  allusion  to  some  distinguished  personage  in  S|)ain,  sup- 
posed to  be  a  woman,  if  not  a  lady.  I  hope  the  public  will  excuse 
me  for  not  referring  to  his  language,  since  he  himself  avows,  in  the 
exordium  of  his  reference,  that  it  is  "painfully  disgusting."  In  this 
Gen.  Cass  was  not  mistaken.  If  he  had  spoken  of  his  own  knowl- 
edge, even  on  this  "painfully  disgusting"  subject,  no  man  would  dis- 
pute his  testimony.  But  he  speaks  on  the  authority  of  the  London 
Times.  The  editor  of  that  paper,  however,  instead  of  giving  utterance 
from  human  tongue  to  this  assault  upon  woman,  allowed  it  to  pass  into 
universal  circulation  from  the  leaden  lips  of  his  iron-hearted  journal. 
Nor  could  he  have  imagined  that  any  man,  especially  an  American 
Senator,  would  repeat  what  he  had  published,  except  under  the 
pressure  of  some  grave  necessity,  requiring  that  for  ends  of  public 
justice  the  depravity  of  woman  as  well  as  of  m^n  should  be  made 
as  public  as  possible.  Such  weighty  reasons  Gen.  Cass  must  no 
doubt  have  had,  but  he  has  made  no  allusion  to  them. 

The  first  person  whose  acquaintance  I  made  on  this  earth  was  a 
woman.  Her  pretensions  were  humble ;  but  to  me  she  was  a  great 
lady — nay,  a  very  queen  and  empress.  She  was  more  ;  she  was  ray 
earliest  friend,  ray  visible,  palpable  guardian  angel.  If  she  srailed 
approval  on  me,  it  was  as  a  ray  from  Paradise  shed  on  my  heart. 
If  she  frowned  disapproval,  it  seemed  likt;  a  partial  or  total  eclipse 
of  the  sun.  Gratitude  for  all  her  kindness  to  me  compels  me  to  enter 
ray  humble  plea  and  protest  against  any  rash  judgment  degrading 
to  one  of  her  sex,  who  has  not  had  the  benefit  of  trial  or  self-defence. 
For  this  reason,  as  well  as  for  others  which  it  is  not  necessary  that  I 
should  adduce,  I  take  the  liberty  of  saying  that  I,  for  one,  do  not  believe 
the  accusations  of  the  London  Times.  That  paper  is  the  most  powerful 
organ  in  the  world  of  its  own  kind,  either  to  destroy  or  build  up  any 
character  or  any  cause,  whether  public  or  private.  If  God  should 
ever  permit  the  noble,  but  oftentimes  perverted  capacities  of  the  hu- 
man intellect  to  elevate  a  wrong  cause  to  a  perfect  equality  with  a 
i"ight  cause — an  unjust  cause  to  a  perfect  level  with  a  just  one — a 
false  cause  to  an  equality  with  a  true  one ;  such  are  the  immense  re- 
sources within  its  reach  for  procuring,  in  regard  to  all  causes,  the 
very  kind  of  information  from  abroad  which  it  desires;  and  such  its 
gigantic  powers  in  manipulating,  if  I  can  use  the  term,  this  terrible 
Anglo-Saxon  tongue  of  ours,  that  the  feat  of  destroying  in  the  minds 


LETTERS.  493 

of  its  readers,  all  distinction  between  right  and  wrong  would  be  ac- 
complished by  the  London  Times.  I  do  not  say  that  it  is  more 
disposed  to  embrace  a  wrong  cause  instead  of  a  right  than  any  of  its 
contemporaries ;  I  only  suggest  that  its  powers  of  maintaining  a 
wrong  cause  are  greater  than  theirs ;  and  the  temptations  to  do  so 
•will  be  graduated  according  to  the  scale  of  its  powers. 

It  has  been  my  pleasant  duty  when  in  Europe  at  diiFerent  times 
within  the  last  fourteen  or  fifteen  years,  to  defend,  according  to  my 
feeble  ability,  not  only  our  American  institutions,  but  also  our  indi- 
viduul  statesmen,  against  the  testimony  of  the  London  Times.  In 
its  issue  of  February  7,  1842,  it  charges  one  of  the  latter  with  "au- 
dacious unfairness  of  argument" — it  charges  that  "  to  attempt  to 
fight  under  false  colors,  to  pervert  and  misrepresent  with  a  kind  of 
bowing  and  scraping  appearance  of  candor,  is  a  characteristic  of  his 
composition,"  It  sneers  at  his  designating  itself  as  a  "high  author- 
ity"— it  does  "  not  know  whether  most  to  admii'e  at  the  audacity  of 
his  misrepresentation  or  at  the  admirable  coolness,  the  innocent,  gen- 
tlemanly superiority  with  which  he'  carries  it  off."  In  its  issue  of 
January  9,  1846,  it  describes  the  same  American  statesman  and  his 
supportei's  as  "  the  noisy  demagogues  of  a  faction" — it  hopes  that 
"  the  Republic  of  America  is  not  sunk  so  low  as  to  be  driven  into 
hostilities  by  such  men  as  he."  In  its  issue  of  February  18,  1846, 
allusion  is  made  to  the  same  American  statesman,  though  his 
name  is  not  mentioned,  as  "  one  who  panders  to  a  sanguinary 
passion." 

Now  this  American  statesman  is  no  other  than  General  Cass. 
And  this  is  the  testimony  of  his  chosen  witness  against  some  unpro- 
tectcl  female  residing  beyond  the  Pyrenees.  If  the  authority  is  good 
against  her,  who  can  reject  it  as  against  the  senator  from  Michigan  ? 
I  beg  leave  to  reject  it  indignantly  as  against  both  or  either ;  but 
as  it  affects  General  Cass,  he  has  cut  himself  off  from  the  privilege 
of  rejecting,  by  having  indorsed  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States 
the  testimony  of  a  chosen  witness  who  has  described  his  character 
in  terms  so  little  flattering. 

The  portions  of  General  Cass's  speech  with  which  I  am  most  pleased 
are  his  quotations  from  jurists,  whether  their  names  be  Puffendorf 
or  Vattel.  In  them  there  is  no  confusion  of  ideas  ;  although  Vattel 
complains  of  such  confusion  as  being  one  of  the  difficulties  against 
which  jurists  and  publicists  have  to  contend.  Besides  this,  I  could 
l)ardly  desire  better  arguments  to  refute  General  Cass  than  he  him- 
self has  had  the  patience  and  industry  to  produce.  If  time  permit- 
ted, I  should  enjoy  as  a  pleasant  recreation  the  privilege  of  analyz- 
ing the  speech  of  the  distinguished  Senator.  I  think  it  would  be 
no  difficult  task,  by  means  of  a  critical  distribution  or  rather 
classification  of  his  arguments  ^>ro  and  C07i.^  to  prove  that  the  ill- 
digested  parts  of  the  complex  subject  which  he  had  taken  in  hand 
are  on  the  wliole  so  equally  balanced,  that  if  each  could  be  logically 
arranged  under  its  own  appropriate  head,  and  either  set  off  accord- 
ing to  its  weight  and  measure  against  its  opposite,  the  several  posi- 


494  AECHBI8H0P  HUGHES. 

tionsofthis  great  production  would  be  found  so  mutually  effective 
in  their  destruction  of  each  other,  that  no  positive  result  would  re- 
main, except  that  General  Cass  is,  what  everybody  knows,  a  states- 
man of  great  benevolence,  having  a  great  respect  for  the  American 
people,  especially  the  majority. 

The  Senator  from  Michigan  maintains  the  supremacy  of  individual 
conscience  ;  but  he  nullifies  that  supremacy  according  to  his  defini- 
tion of  conscience,  by  limiting  the  right  to  follow  its  dictates,  and 
subjecting  that  right  to  the  prohibition  of  law,  human  or  divine. 
Now  if  the  conscience  of  the  individual  is  supreme,  and  the  law  of 
the  land  of  any  country  is  supreme  also,  which  supremacy  shall  give 
way  to  the  other  ?  These  are  the  premises'  laid  down  by  General 
Cass ;  but,  unfortunately,  he  has  left  the  conclusions  to  be  drawn 
from  them,  respectively  to  destroy  or  annihilate  each  other.  His 
idea  of  conscience  is  not  that  it  is  a  superior  and  indestructible,  in- 
dependent, moral  faculty  in  the  human  soul,  enabling  every  man  to 
distinguish  and  choose  between  what  seems  to  him  good  and  evil ; 
but  that  conscience  gives  right  to  the  individual  to  act  out  or  mani- 
fest in  words  or  deeds  its  interior  dictates.  On  the  other  hand,  he 
arms  the  civil  authorities  of  all  countries  with  the  acknowledged 
right  to  control  outward  actions ;  so  that,  by  confounding  outward 
actions  with  conscience  itself,  he  betrays  and  hands  over  that  sacred 
principle  to  be  judged  of  and  controlled  by  magistrates  and  civil 
governments.  His  first  ebullition  in  favor  of  conscience  is  the  proc- 
lamation that  his  purpose  is  "  not  merely  to  protect  a  Catholic  in  a 
Protestant  country,  a  Protestant  in  a  Catholic  country,  a  Jew  in  a 
Christian  country,  but  an  American  in  all  countries."  General  Cass 
professes  to  speak  and  act  in  regard  to  this  subject  on  the  ground  of 
principle.  Principle  is  neither  Catholic,  nor  Protestant,  nor  Jewish, 
nor  Christian — at  least  in  the  sense  in  which  it  has  been  employed 
by  him.  Principle,  if  any  thing,  is  universal.  And  since  General 
Cass  has  attributed  to  what  he  calls  an  American,  something  like  a 
special  prerogative,  he  ought  to  show  some  grounds  why  an  Ameri- 
can, here  classified  under  the  head  of  religious  denominations,  should 
have  any  special  or  exceptional  preference.  Four  religious  denomi- 
nations are  mentioned,  namely :  Catholic,  Protestant,  Jew,  and 
Christian.  This  nomenclature  General  Cass  may  explain.  Its  terms, 
theologically  considered,  are,  at  least,  intelligible.  But  when  he 
comes  to  rank  an  American  as  a  repi"esentative  of  a  fifth  sect,  I 
really  do  not  understand  what  he  means. 

If  an  American,  as  such,  has  a  right  to  protection  in  all  countries, 
why  not  also  a  European,  an  Asiatic,  or  an  African  ?  It  seems, 
according  to  him,  that  religious  denominations,  in  general,  should 
be  treated,  by  condescension,  with  kindness  in  all  countiies ;  but 
when  a  man  professes  the  American  religion,  which  General  Cass 
has  not  explained,  such  a  man  has  a  pre-eminent  right  to  special 
protection  everywhere;  that  wherever  he  appears  in  foreign  lands, 
the  sovereignty  of  the  State,  in  regard  to  all  questions  appertaining 
to  religion,  must   fall  back  the  moment  he   proclaims   himself  an 


LETTERS.  495 

American.  And  it  shall  be  understood  that  when  he  arrives  on  the 
shore  of  such  country,  with  a  full  measure  of  American  atmosphere, 
American  sunbeams,  and  American  religion  according  to  Mr,  Cass, 
sufficient  for  his  consumjilion  during  the  period  of  his  passage 
througli  or  sojourning  within  that  country,  he  shall  have  the  right  to 
say  and  do  wliat  he  thinks  proper,  provided  always  it  be  according 
to  the  dictates  of  his  conscience. 

If  this  doctrine  can  obtain,  several  consequences  which  Mr.  Cass 
had  tried  to  guard  against  in  other  parts  of  his  speech  must  neces- 
sarily follow.  Every  nation  has  the  real  or  supposed  element  of 
sovereignty  within  itself.  But  if  the  rights  of  conscience  are  su- 
preme, and  an  American  is  to  be  protected  everywhere  in  acting 
out  its  dictates,  then  the  sovereignty  of  such  nation  must  give  way 
to  the  sovereignty  of  his  conscience.  What  then  ?  Two  sovereign- 
ties are  immediately  in  conflict.  Which  shall  yield  to  the  other? 
If  the  sovereignty  of  the  State  must  give  way  to  the  sovereignty  of 
the  individual,  provided  that  individual  be  an  American,  then  let 
foreign  sovereign  States  hide  their  diminished  heads,  for  it  is  ob- 
vious that  two  rival  sovereignties  cannot  both  prevail  in  the  same 
State.  Then,  if  that  be  the  case,  as  the  Senator  seems  to  anticipate, 
then  let  us  proclaim  at  once  that  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  are 
already  prospectively  annexed  to  the  United  States ;  and  that  the 
evidence  of  the  occasion  which  will  make  it  decent  and  proper,  and 
for  their  own  interests,  that  they  should  strike  tiieir  flags,  will  be  the 
appearance  of  an  American  on  their  shores.  The  only  trouble  in 
connection  with  this  patriotic  purpose  is,  that  when  we  define  our 
rights  hastily,  whether  as  regards  a  principle  or  an  international 
boundary  line,  it  may  happen  that,  after  having  asked  more,  we  may 
finally  be  compelled  to  take  less.  Whether  as  regards  private  con- 
tracts or  public  treaties,  it  is  a  well-known  law  that  it  requires  two 
or  more  parties  to  make  a  bargain.  It  must  be  within  the  recollec- 
tion of  General  Cass  that  a  few  years  ago  we  had  fixed  a  north- 
western boundary  line,  on  which  we  had  determined  to  stand  or  fall. 
But  this  was  before  the  consent  of  the  other  party  had  been  ob- 
tained ;  and  when  the  matter  came  to  a  bargain,  we  allowed  the 
other  party  to  undefine  our  position,  and  to  slide  us  off  from  our 
chosen  line  to  another  two  or  three  hundred  miles  south  of  it. 

I  have  been  quite  amused  at  the  eloquent  denunciations  by  Gene- 
ral Cass  of  absurd  maxims  and  wicked  pretensions  on  the  part  of 
civil  governments  to  control  conscience,  to  dictate  or  prescribe  to 
their  subjects  what  they  shall  believe.  In  that  part  of  his  great 
speech  I  have  the  pleasure  to  agree  witii  him.  It  is  probable,  however, 
that  he  thought,  as  many  of  his  readers  will  have  thought,  that  he 
was  denouncmg  Catholic  principles.  The  fact,  however,  is  distinctly 
the  reverse.  The  jurists  and  the  governments  that  fell  under  the 
real  weight  of  his  censure  were  of  his  own  school.  A  brief  retro- 
spect of  tl>e  condition  of  Europe,  both  previous  to  and  since  the  Ref- 
ormation, will  make  this  point  clear.  All  the  States  of  Europe  had 
been  Catholic.     The  people  of  these  States  had  but  one  religion. 


496  ARCHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

That  religion  was  older  than  their  civil  governments.  Consequently 
their  civil  governments  never  dictated  to  them  what  they  should 
believe.  And  when  General  Cass  speaks  of  the  arrogance  and  im- 
piety of  civil  governments  dictating  to  their  people  what  they  shall 
believe  or  what  they  shall  not  believe,  he  makes,  without  perhaps 
being  aware  of  it,  an  exception  in  favor  of  Catholic  governments, 
down,  at  least,  to  the  peiiod  of  the  Reformation.  The  civil  laws  of 
those  countries  were  in  many  respects  exclusive  and  intolerant.  But 
then,  since  all  (for  I  must  use  the  word  all,  though  occasional  excep- 
tions arose)  were  of  the  same  faith,  and  had  no  desire  to  change,  the 
laws  were  substantially  innocuous  in  the  absence  of  objects  on  whom 
they  might  be  executed.  Then  came  the  Reformation.  The  Refor- 
mation resulted  in  the  formation  of  States  on  the  anti-Catholic  or 
Protestant  basis.  In  these  the  form  of  the  new  religion  was  deter- 
mined on  by  the  civil  governments.  I  am  not  aware  of  a  single 
Catholic  State,  except,  perhaps,  it  be  Spain,  which  has  since  passed 
any  laws  especially  directed  against  Protestants.  On  the  other 
hand,  I  do  not  know  a  single  Protestant  State  in  which  the  govern- 
ment did  not  attempt  and  carry  out  by  special  laws  those  very  acts 
which  General  Cass  so  eloquently  denounces.  When  General  Cass 
finds  jurists  sustaining  such  pretended  rights  of  the  civil  government, 
he  may  be  sure  they  do  not  belong  to  the  school  of  St.  Thomas 
Aquinas,  or  Suarez,  or  the  other  great  publicists  that  have  been  so 
numerous  in  the  Catholic  Church.  These  were  men  who  never  put 
on  the  philosopher's  cloak  with  the  view  of  playing  the  tribune 
either  towards  their  countrymen  or  their  race.  These  were  men  who 
derived  their  principles  of  human  law,  of  government,  whether  civil 
or  ecclesiastical,  from  the  same  supreme  and  eternal  source.  They 
flattered  neither  kings  nor  people.  They  feared  God,  and  feared 
few  besides.  They  were  not  the  men  who  wrote  of  the  divine  right 
of  kings.  They  held  that  government  is  by  divine  right,  but  that 
the  individual  sovereign  or  ruler  in  such  government  is  of  human 
right.  And  if  it  had  been  possible  for  General  Cass  to  have  con- 
sulted their  pages,  he  would  have  discovered  that  they  maintained 
the  rights  and  dignity  of  human  nature  from  the  highest  to  the 
lowest  members  of  society. 

There  is  no  difference  between  General  Cass's  conception  of  con- 
science as  a  moral  faculty  and  mine.  He,  however,  betrays  the 
rights  and  liberty  of  conscience,  as  I  understand  it,  by  identifying 
this  moral  faculty  with  the  outward  actions  which  are  supposed  to 
manifest  its  dictates  from  within.  No  civil  government  that  ever 
existed  has,  or  ever  had,  either  the  right  or  the  power,  physical  or 
moral,  to  coerce  or  extinguish  man's  conscience.  It  is  beyond  the 
reach  of  government.  They  might  as  well  attempt  to  pass  laws 
regulating  the  exercise  of  memory  as  regulating  the  decisions  of 
man's  conscience.  This  freedom  of  conscience,  however.  General 
Cass  has  identitied  with  outward  action  ;  and  on  the  other  hand,  by 
recognizing  the  rights  of  civil  government  to  control  the  outward 
actions  of  men,  he  has  betrayed  conscience  into  the  hands  of  the 


LETTEE8.  497 

magistr.ote.  All  human  law  has  for  objects  either  persons,  or  things, 
or  acts,  and  beyond  tl)ese  human  legislation  cannot  go.  Con- 
science, according  to  my  distinction,  does  not  come  within  the  reach 
of  law,  but  as  understood  and  represented  by  General  Cass,  he 
hands  it  over  into  the  domain  of  civil  government,  and  confounds  it 
with  things  over  which  that  government  has  acknowledged  rights 
and  legitimate  power  of  interference.  I  am  bound,  therefore,  to 
vindicate  the  liberty  of  conscience  in  reply  to  the  dangerous  doc- 
trines of  General  Cass. 

When  the  early  Christians  appealed  to  the  Roman  emperors 
through  the  apologies  of  their  Justins  and  Tertullians,  pleading  for 
liberty  of  conscience,  they  did  not  thereby  claim  the  right  to  do  all 
the  good  in  outward  actions  which  their  consciences  would  have 
approved.  They  pleaded  that  they  might  not  be  compelled  to  do 
any  act  which  the  law  of  God  and  the  law  of  their  consciences  had 
forbidden.  At  one  time,  for  instance,  some  glorious  confessor  of  the 
Christian  name  was  called  upon  by  the  civil  magistrate  to  ofter 
sacrifice  to  the  pagan  gods.  He  refused,  because  he  had  a  higher 
law  in  his  conscience.  What  then  ?  He  was  put  to  death — he 
became  a  martyr.  At  another  time,  some  tender  Christian  virgin 
was  required  to  sacrifice  her  chastity — she  refused,  and  was  sent  to 
the  wild  beasts.  In  some  instances,  indeed,  torture  caused  the 
Christian  to  fail  and  to  obey  men  rather  than  God.  But  in  all  this, 
which  is  an  extreme  case,  had  the  whole  strength  of  the  Roman 
empire  power  to  destroy  the  "  rights  of  conscience,"  the  "  liberty 
of  conscience,"  the  "freedom  of  conscience"  in  the  heart  of  eitlier  of 
these  glorious  martyrs  or  this  supposed  apostate  ?  Assuredly  not. 
General  Cass  thinks  that  if  the  "  sentient  being"  is  exposed  to  physical 
sufferings,  the  freedom  of  conscience  is  in  great  danger,  if  not  abso- 
lutely lost.  Every  one  knows  that  this  is  an  erroneous  position.  It 
is  only  when  human  weakness  yields  to  suffering  in  such  circum- 
stances, that  conscience  asserts  her  highest  power.  The  individual 
feels  himself  degraded  in  his  own  estimation.  Conscience  told  him 
at  the  moment  of  his  yielding  to  a  sinful  compliance,  making  his. 
declaration  contrary  to  hers,  that  he  was  a  base  hypocrite  ;  and  that 
same  conscience  did  not  fail  to  vindicate  the  sovereignty  by  hei*- 
continued  frowns  and  reproaches. 

General  Cass  has  not  taken  the  pains  to  distinguish  the  whole 
office  of  conscience.  It  may  be  expressed  in  brief  words.  The 
whole  duty  of  man  is  to  "  avoid  evil  and  to  do  good."  Now,, 
although  evil  and  good  are  relative  terms,  and  not  judged  of  at  all 
times  and  in  all  places  by  the  same  standard,  nevertheless,  conscience 
is  the  faculty  whereby  the  distinction  is  made.  A  thing  may  seem 
morally  evil  to  a  man.  He  cannot  do  it,  without  sinning,  offending 
God  and  offending  his  own  conscience.  Another  thing  may  appear 
good,  and  there  is  no  obligation  on  him  to  do  it,  even  though  his- 
conscience  approve,  unless  the  circumstances  warrant  its  performance. 
The  decalogue  says,  "  Honor  thy  father  and  thy  mother."  This 
is  an  affirmative  precept,  which  requires  that  at  proper  times,  and  in 
Vol.  II.— 33 


498  AECHBISHOP   nUGHES. 

proper  circumstances,  we  shall  honor  our  parents ;  but  does  not  re- 
quire that  we  should  be  always  thus  occupied.  "Thoushalt  not 
steal."  This  is  a  negative  precept,  and  there  is  no  time,  or  place, 
or  circumstance  in  which  it  is  lawful  for  us  to  steal.  So  in  the 
order  of  negative  precepts  a  man  may  not  do,  without  sin,  any  act 
whicli  the  voice  of  his  conscience  tells  him  is  wrong.  He  may, 
indeed,  have  an  erroneous  conscience  and  be  mistaken  as  to  the 
intrinsic  morality  of  the  act,  but  still,  until  his  conscience  shall  have 
been  enlightened,  or,  as  General  Cass  expresses  it,  "  improved,"  he 
must  abide  by  its  dictates,  and  avoid  doing  what  it  has  ruled  to  be 
unlawful.  Hence,  if  any  Protestant,  American  or  not,  who,  travel- 
ling or  sojourning  in  a  Catholic  State,  should  be  called  upon  by  the 
civil  power  to  make  a  declaration  or  to  do  an  act  which  his  con- 
science condemns,  he  cannot  comply.  Let  us  suppose  him  to  be  re- 
quired to  swear  that  he  believes  in  the  Pope's  supremacy.  Being  a 
Protestant,  his  conscience  will  oblige  him  to  refiise.  And  if,  in  con- 
sequence of  this  refusal,  physical  torture  be  applied,  one  of  two 
things  will  happen, — he  will  suffer  the  torture  and  be  loyal  to  con- 
science, or  he  will  betray  conscience  by  swearing  to  a  lie.  If  any 
thing  of  this  kind  should  be  attempted  in  a  Catholic  country,  or  any 
act  required  which  any  American's  conscience  condemns.  General 
Cass  will  find  me  ready  to  vote  for  the  employment  of  the  American 
army  and  navy  to  punish  that  nation  which  would  impiously  dare 
to  commit  so  unlawful  an  outrage.  Not  because  the  nian's  con- 
science had  been  violated,  for  that  is  impossible,  but  because  the 
law  of  such  country  would  have  gone  beyond  the  boundaries  of  all 
human  law,  since  these  relate  not  to  the  faculties  of  the  human  soul, 
but  to  outward  persons,  things,  and  acts.  And  as  the  person  here 
supposed  would  have  done  no  act  bringing  him  under  th-e  law,  his 
right  of  person  would  have  been  violated,  and  it  would  become 
lawful  for  his  country  to  inflict  condign  punishment  on  the  nation 
or  parties  so  violating  it. 

But  whilst  no  civil  government  or  power  on  earth  has  a  right  to 
require  that  a  man  shall  do  a  sinful  or  immoral  act,  it  does  not  by 
any  means  follow  that  governments  are  bound  to  permit  a  man  to 
act  outwardly  what  his  conscience  tells  him  is  good.  In  the  one 
case  his  conscience  decides  for  himself  alone.  In  the  other  case  its 
dictates  would  prompt  him  to  decide  for  others,  by  doing  what  he 
supposes  good,  whether  it  be  suitable  for  others  or  not.  Here  civil 
governments  have  a  right  to  come  in  and  say,  "  Let  us  see  about 
that."  They  have  a  right  also  to  refer  to  their  laws  as  a  rule  for 
personal  conduct.  If  the  individual  still  imagines  that  his  conscience 
requires  him  to  do  some  act  forbidden  by  tlie  law,  but  yet  highly 
praiseworthy  in  his  estimation,  he  can  make  the  experiment,  but  he 
must  abide  the  consequences. 

But  in  General  Cass's  view  of  cons(iience  there  is  no  distinction, 
or  but  a  fallacious  one,  between  conscience  acting  for  the  individual, 
forbidding  him  to  do  an  evil  act,  and  conscience  dictating  to  him  to 
do  good,  or  what  he  may  think  good,  without  regard  to  others. 


LETTERS.  499 

■wherever  he  may  find  himself.  If  this  principle  were  carried  out,  I 
fear  tliat  strange  exhibitions  of  individual  zeal  would  become  very- 
frequent.  If  the  supposed  American  should  happen  to  be  a  Mormon, 
he  will  have  a  right  to  carry  out  the  dictates  of  his  conscience  in  all 
countries.  If  he  should  happen  to  be  a  Millerite,  visiting  Rome,  it 
sliall  be  his  privilege  to  pitch  his  tent  in  front  of  St.  Peter's  church, 
then  and  there,  under  the  protection  of  General  Cass's  doctrine,  to 
speak  and  act  according  to  the  dictates  of  his  conscience.  He  will 
undertake  to  prove  that  the  end  of  the  world  is  at  hand.  And  by 
applying  "figures,  which  never  lie,"  to  the  Book  of  Daniel  and  of 
Revelations,  and  elucidating  the  subject  still  more  by  exhibiting 
appropriate  drawings  of  the  big  horn  and  the  little  horns,  with 
various  references  to  the  number  of  the  beast,  descriptive  of  Anti- 
christ,— prove  clearly  that  his  doctrine  is  right.  In  the  mean  time 
it  might  happen  that  this  supposed  Antichrist,  tlie  Pope,  would  be 
looking  down  from  some  window  of  the  Vatican,  unable  to  interfere, 
lest  his  Government  should  be  understood  as  violating  the  rights  of 
American  conscience  as  shadowed  forth  by  General  Cass. 

I  am  not  unmindful  that  General  Cass  has  ascribed  very  high 
powers,  and,  in  my  judgment,  extravagant  powers  to  human  govern- 
ments, in  a  supposed  right  of  theirs  to  judge  what  is  conscience  and 
what  is  not.  And  in  this  he  betrays  again  the  laculty  of  conscience 
as  understood  by  me.  "  It  is  not,"  he  says,  "  efery  vagary  of  the 
imagination,  nor  every  ebullition  of  feeling,  nor  every  impulse  of  the 
passions,  however  honest  the  motive  may  be,  which  can  lay  claim  to 
the  rights  of  conscience."  Again,  "  Tlie  human  legislator  has  the 
right  to  separate  i)resumptions  or  unfounded  pretensions,  at  war 
with  the  just  constitution  of  society,  from  conscientious  dictates 
properly  regulated  and  operating  within  their  just  sphere."  Here 
General  Cass  takes  away  from  individual  conscience  the  very  rights 
which  he  had  claimed  for  it  elsewhere ;  and  he  refers  to  the  legisla- 
tor, because  he  is  a  legislator,  to  determine  whether  a  doctrine  held 
by  the  conscience  of  a  man  is  to  be  regarded  as  a  vagary  of  the  im- 
agination, or  is  consistent  with  the  just  constitution  of  society.  In 
other  parts,  liis  position  is  that  there  is  no  lord  or  judge  of  a  man's 
conscience,  but  God  and  the  man  himself  However,  I  find  such 
mutual  contradiction  in  the  phrases  of  General  Cass,  as  he  touches 
now  on  one  topic  and  now  another,  that  it  may  become  necessary 
lor  me  hereafter  to  examine  his  speech  more  in  specific  detail.  As 
it  is  now  spread  out  before  me  in  thirteen  or  fourteen  columns  of  the 
Washi7igton  Globe,  its  dimensions  horizontally  considered  in  the 
order  of  length  and  breadth,  become  absolutely  appalling.  Its  depth 
is  by  no  means  frightful;  a  child  could  wade  through  it.  Its  other 
dimensions  would  be  its  height ;  and  in  that  sense  it  may  be  ray 
duty  to  analyze  this  immense  mountain  of  words;  and  if  in  doing  so 
I  shall  discover  the  smallest  mouse  of  sound  logic,  practical  common 
sense,  or  philosophical  statesmanship.  General  Cass  shall  have  the 
benefit  of  the  discovery. 

I  cannot,  however,  close  this  communication,  already  too  long, 


600  ABCHIIISHOP  HCGHE8. 

without  referring,  as  in  proof  of  my  position,  to  one  of  the  historical 
illustrations  adduced  by  General  Cass  in  support  of  his.  He  refers 
to  epochs  in  tlie  civil  wars  that  resulted  from  the  reformation  in 
Germany  and  in  France.  And  because  tlie  word  liberty  of  con- 
science is  said  to  have  been  granted  to  the  Protestants  of  both  coun- 
tries by  their  i-espective  sovereigns,  General  Cass  seems  to  think  that 
my  idea  of  liberty  of  conscience  is  refuted  by  its  having  been  granted 
in  treaties,  according  to  General  Cass's  quotations  from  "  Universal 
History,  Vol.  26,  p.  302."  I  am  quite  surprised  that  this  very  ref- 
erence did  not  tend  to  clear  up  the  confusion  of  ideas  which 
prevails  on  the  subject.  The  Protestants  in  Germany  and  the  Hu- 
guenots in  France  had  freedom  of  conscience  from  the  very  begin- 
ning of  their  history.  It  was  in  the  exercise  of  that  freedom  that 
they  lelt  the  Catholic  Church  and  became  Protestants.  General 
Cass  will  not  deny  this ;  that  freedom  of  conscience  they  had  pre- 
served through  all  the  civil  wars  which  ended,  for  the  time  being,  in 
the  truce  referred  to  by  him.  It  was  in  the  exercise  of  that  freedom 
of  conscience  which  was  theirs,  that  they  had  taken  up  arms  ;  and  if 
it  had  been  theirs  during  all  tliis  tune,  how  can  General  Cass  say 
that  it  was  only  given  to  them  by  the  sovereign  in  1532  and  in  1561  ? 
He  knows  the  profound,  but  apparently  simple,  maxim  in  law,  Quod 
meum  est,  amplius  meum  esse,  non  potest — what  is  mine,  cannot 
become  more  mine.  For  many  years  freedom  of  conscience  was  theirs 
already,  and  according  to  this  maxim  could  not  become  more  theirs. 
Now,  if  it  was  theirs  already,  I  would  ask,  with  great  respect  for 
General  Cass  and  "  Universal  History,"  how  could  it  become  more 
theirs  by  the  grant  of  others?  Consequently,  General  Cass  and 
"  Universal  History"  must  mean  something  else  than  freedom  of  con- 
science. It  must  mean  that  they  should  be  allowed  to  retain  what- 
ever advantages,  whether  of  property  and  power,  civil  and  religious, 
which  they  had  secured  during  the  progress  of  the  dispute.  Between 
the  outward  exercise  of  their  freedom  of  conscience  against  the  laws 
of  the  State,  and  the  pretensions  of  the  State  sovereignty  to  preserve 
order,  the  freedom  of  conscience  was  the  pretext  on  one  side,  the 
sovereignty  of  the  State  was  the  plea  on  the  other.  And  this  granting 
of  liberty  of  conscience  referred  to  by  General  Cass,  reminds  me  of 
the  alms  given  by  the  traveller,  as  mentioned  in  Gil  Bias,  to  a  poor 
man  who  had  asked  him  for  charity  in  a  very 'piteous  tone,  but  who 
had  hi.s  musket  levelled  at  the  same  time.  General  Cass  will  no 
doubt  criticise  this  comparison  as  he  has  done  other  figurative  lan- 
guage in  my  poor  letter.  So  experienced  an  orator  must  certainly 
know  that  the  value  of  a  comparison  is  its  suggestive  property,  which 
always  depends  upon  its  substantial  agreement,  but  circumstantial 
difference,  as  regards  the  thing  to  be  illustrated.  Oomis  comparatio 
claudicat.  General  Cass  must  surely  be  aware  that  the  figure  of  an 
li^g  is  not  a  comparison  suited  to  the  description  of  another  egg, 
they  are  both  so  much  alike  ;  thai  to  suggest  the  idea  of  a  piece  of 
chalk  by  comparing  it  with  another  piece  of  chalk,  would  be  entirely 
out  of  the  rules  of  rhetoric.     General  Cass  has  taken  advantage  of 


LETTERS.  501 

this  even  for  the  purposes  of  argument,  when  he  assumes  that  be- 
cause I  spoke  of  the  destruction  of  property,  whether  in  Boston  or 
in  Philadelpliia,  as  a  violation  of  the  rights  of  conscience  in  regard  to 
tliose  jiersons  to  whom  such  property  belonged,  I  am  to  be  under- 
stood literally,  and,  therefore,  as  recognizing  that  conscience  can  be 
violated  through  the  medium  of  outward  violence.  I  did  not  mean 
any  such  thing.  No  outward  violence  can  reach  that  fortress  in  the 
human  soul  to  which  conscience  can  always  retreat,  and  from  which 
she  can  laugh  to  scorn  the  attempts  of  men  to  invade  her  stronghold. 
I  do  not  admit  that  from  the  beginning  of  the  world  up  to  this  day 
there  ever  has  been  a  violation  of  the  rights,  freedom,  liberty,  or 
divine  sovereignty  of  the  human  conscience.  That  is  the  portion  of 
man's  nature  which  God  placed  beyond  the  reach  of  human  power. 
His  civil  rights  might  be  taken  away,  his  property  confiscated,  his 
reputation  rendered  infamous,  the  life  of  his  body  sacrificed  at  the 
stake,  or  given  to  wild  beasts  at  the  Coliseum  ;  but  the  sovereignty 
of  his  conscience,  above  all  earthly  powers,  has  never  in  a  singfe  in- 
stance been  vanquished  by  the  cruelty  or  injustice  of  his  fellow- 
beings.  Wjien,  therefore.  General  Cass  takes  advantage  of  my 
using  language  in  reference  to  tliis  subject,  such  as  that  the  rights  of 
conscience  had  been  violated  in  Charlestown,  or  in  Philadelphia,  he 
forgets  that  there  is  among  men  an  order  of  language  appropriate  to 
the  science  of  any  subject,  and  another  which  accommodates  itself  to 
the  confusion  of  ideas  in  the  popular  mind.  Persons  who  perfectly 
understand  our  solar  system  do  not  hesitate  to  speak  of  the  rising 
and  the  setting  of  the  sun,  at  the  same  time  that  they,  in  a  scientific 
point  of  view,  would  maintain  that  neither  phenomenon  ever  occurs; 
that  in  reality  the  sun  is  the  centre  of  our  system,  and  that  all  the 
planets,  the  earth  included,  are  rising,  and  setting,  and  revolving 
around  the  centre. 

I  slated  at  the  commencement  of  this  reply,  that  the  necessity  of 
finding  myself  in  an  apparent  collision  witli  so  distinguished  a  man 
as  General  Cass,  was  less  of  a  pride  than  of  a  humiliation.  The 
circumstances  under  which  my  letter  was  written  have  been  referred 
to  in  the  foregoing  part  of  this  communication.  I  never  dreamed 
that  that  letter  would  attract  the  special  attention  of  any  one.  It 
has  turned  out  otherwise,  however.  If  General  Cass  had  intimated 
to  me,  in  any  private  manner,  that  there  was  one  word  in  it  dis- 
respectful to  himself,  I  should  have  immediately,  in  the  same  manner, 
replied  in  vindication  or  in  apology.  Itj  on  the  other  hand,  he  had 
signified  to  me  twelve  or  fourteen  months  ago,  that  he  intended  to 
make  my  letter  the  groundwork  or  occasion  of  his  great  speech,  I 
should  have  been  prepared  with  ample  materials  to  reply  to  it  far 
more  efiectively  than  it  has  been  possible  for  me  to  do,  amidst 
incessant  interruptions,  and  within  tiie  limited  period  that  has  been 
allowed  me  since  his  oration  in  the  Senate.  As  it  is,  however,  I 
stand  by  my  letter,  and  shrink  not  from  the  explosion  of  the  great 
mortar,  which  it  has  taken  this  experienced  gunner  so  long  a  period 
to  charge,  as  if  he  intended  that  it  should  not  only  kill  my  little 


602  AKCHBI8H0P   HUGHES. 

sparrow  of  a  letter,  but  also  that  it  should  frij^hten  away  all  the 
birds  of  the  neighborhood.  I  find  my  little  nycticorax  in  domicilio 
not  only  chirping,  but  without  a  single  featheret  of  its  wing  ruffled. 
This  letter  is  already  too  long,  and  I  hope  I  may  be  pardoned  if 
I  make  a  few  general  reijiarks  bearing  more  or  less  directly  on  the 
circumstances  which  directed  it.  The  first  remark  is,  that  in  this 
country  at  least,  no  man  is  oppressed,  in  consequence  of  his  religious 
belief,  so  long  as  he  submits  legally  to  the  constitution  and  laws  by 
which  it  is  governed.  And  yet,  I  regret  to  say,  that  many  of  our 
citizens  are  hardly  satisfied  with  this  equal  and  common  privilege, 
unless  there  be  furnished  them,  from  time  to  time,  occasions  on  which 
they  may  give  vent  to  that  lamentable  intolerance  which  lurks  in 
human  nature  every  where,  no  less  than  in  human  governments  in 
Europe,  Asia,  Africa,  and  America.  How  tame  would  be  the  pro- 
ceedings of  such  meetings  as  that,  for  purposes  of  sympathy  with 
the  Madiai,  or  those  of  our  anniversary  week,  were  it  not  for  the 
vent  which  they  furnish  for  the  denunciation  of  Pope  and  Popery. 
There  is  not,  and  there  ought  not  to  be,  opposition  to  or  complaint 
of  these  proceedings.  The  Catholics  of  the  United  States  are  accus- 
tomed to  such.  Many  respectable  Protestants  are  rather  offended 
by  them.  But  on  the  whole,  this  is  a  country  of  free  speech  and 
free  writing,  and  it  is  better  to  bear  with  the  abuse  of  either  than 
that  any  legislation  be  employed  to  prevent  it.  In  the  mean  time, 
we  of  the  clergy  are  obliged  occasionally  to  travel  abroad — some- 
times because  we  have  not  received  a  suitable  call  at  home ;  and 
sometimes  because  feeble  liealth,  by  bronchitis  especially,  compels 
us  to  seek  the  benefit  of  foreign  climates.  Still  wherever  we  go  we 
must  never  forget  the  object  of  our  vocation,  which  is  to  do  good. 
And  thus,  forgetting  the  difference  between  restraints  on  the  out- 
ward development  of  individual  conscience  in  other  countries,  and 
the  unbounded  freedom  in  this  respect  which  we  enjoy  at  home,  we 
are  liable  in  a  mistaken  zeal,  but  always  with  the  best  intentions,  to 
get  into  little  difficulties  with  the  police  of  foreign  cities  or  states. 
What  will  be  the  consequence,  if,  according  to  General  Cass's  pro- 
ject, M^e  shall  have  a  quasi  vight,  under  the  high  sanction  of  the 
Congress  of  the  United  States,  to  hang  on  to  the  buttons  of  our  For- 
eign Ministers,  and  pull  them  right  and  left  into  the  little  dogmatical 
squabbles  in  which  we  may  have  contrived  to  get  ourselves  involved  ? 
Sliould  I  go  to  Stockholm,  I  might  be  disposed  to  rent  a  room, 
announce  that  I  intended  to  celebrate  Mass  therein  on  such  or  such 
a  day,  inviting  all  who  thought  proper  to  be  present.  The  room 
should  be  honestly,  loyally  paid  for,  of  course.  But  if  the  municipal 
authorities  of  Stockholm  should  interfere  with  me,  or  take  me  before 
the  magistrates  for  this,  I  should  proclaim  myself  an  American  citizen 
and  look  to  our  Resident  Minister  for  protection.  Some  clergymen 
of  our  many  Protestant  denominations  might  be  just  as  imprudent 
in  the  capital  of  any  Catholic  country  in  Europe.  General  Casa 
thinks  it  would  be  all  right,  provided  the  local  laws  were  not  violated 
— but  there  is  the  rub. 


LETTERS.  603 

For  my  own  part,  I  think  that  as  we  have  no  established  religion 
at  home — which  in  our  circumstances  I  regard  as  a  great  benefit — 
so  it  might  be  as  well  for  us  to  deal  with  other  nations  prudently 
and  modestly,  just  as  we  find  them,  until,  little  by  little,  influenced 
by  our  beautiful  example,  they  shall  be  induced  to  imitate  it.  The 
Congiess  of  the  United  States  are  too  well  qualified  to  discharge 
the  duties  for  which  they  Avere  elected,  to  require  the  slightest  sug- 
gestion from  any  private  citizen  as  to  the  com"se  they  should  pursue 
in  regard  to  the  matter  which  General  Cass  has  brought  before  them. 
He  has  suggested  to  his  fellow-senators  that  I  pronounced  their  course 
all  wrong.  This  was  a  mistake.  I  spoke  of  him  alone,  and  of  no 
other  member  of  Congress. 

If  I  may  be  allowed  to  express  an  opinion,  as  an  humble  citizen, 
conscious  of  loyalty  to  the  Constitution,  obedience  to  the  laws,  re- 
spect for  and  benevolence  towards  all  my  fellow-citizens,  without 
distinction  of  creed,  to  give  expression  to  my  own  sentiments,  I 
should  sum  them  up,  not  as  regards  this  special  topic,  but  as  regards 
the  general  policy  of  the  country,  in  a  very  few  words.  I  would 
say  that  whilst  the  power,  almost  pre-potency,  of  the  United  States 
is  admitted  and  acknowledged  wherever  I  have  traveled  in  Europe, 
there  is  still  a  prevalent  idea  abroad  that  this  greatness  is  rather 
detracted  from  by  a  certain  tone  of  self-complacency  and  of  con- 
temptuous reference  towards  other  States.  They  say  that  we  are 
too  great  to  stand  in  need  of  boasting ;  that  we  are  too  powerfij 
and  too  rich  to  be  under  the  necessity  of  acquiring  a  right  to  property 
by  fraudulent  means.  I  do  not  pretend  to  judge  how  far  these  im- 
putations are  correct,  but  for  my  own  part  I  would  say,  that  the 
honor  and  dignity  of  this  great  free  nation  are  likely  to  be  best  and 
most  permanently  sustained  by  adhering  to  a  principle  which  is 
ascribed  to  as  true  an  American  as  ever  lived,  namely — We  ask  for 
nothing  that  is  not  strictly  right,  and  will  submit  to  nothing  that  is 
•wrong. 

+  JOHN  HUGHES,  Archbishop  of  New  York. 

New  York,  June  5, 1854 


REFUTATION  OF  A  MALICIOUS  ARTICLE   PUB- 
LISHED IN  THE  N.  Y.  DAILY  TIMES. 

To  the  ^Editor  of  the  New  York  Tribune : 

Sir — On  the  9th  of  January,  1857,  H.  J.  Raymond,  Esq.,  editor 
of  the  New  York  Daily  Times^  published  in  his  paper  a  mendacious 
and  scurrilous  article  against  Archbishop  Hughes.  It  professed  to 
be  a  communication,  and  was  signed  "  Equitas."     In  the  course  of  a 


504  AECHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

week  or  ten  days,  Mr.  Raymond  was  called  on  by  a  gentleman  to 
meet  tlie  legal  consequences  of  that  libelous  article,  or  to  make 
known  the  writer's  name.  Mr.  Raymond  professed  his  regret  that 
on  the  same  afternoon  he  was  compelled  to  go  to  Washington  as 
a  witness  in  some  matter  of  Congressional  dispute  about  the  hon- 
esty of  certain  members  in  certain  monetary  transactions.  He 
promised,  however,  that  he  should  be  absent  only  one  day,  and  that 
as  soon  as  he  returned  he  would  make  known  the  author  of  "Equitas." 
Mr.  Raymond  went  to  Washington,  and  was  there  catechized  by  a 
Committee  of  the  House,  but  nothing  very  clear  was  elicited  from 
his  answers.  He  returned  about  the  time  he  himself  had  specified, 
but  was  unable  still,  as  he  pretended,  to  give  the  name  of  his  cor- 
respondent. Neither  should  he  have  promised  to  give  it  in  so  brief 
a  period,  since,  according  to  his  subsequent  statement,  the  author 
resided  in  Boston.  Still,  from  time  to  time,  Mr,  Raymond  was 
dunned  for  the  name  of  the  author  of  the  libel  which  he  had  pub- 
lished. He  became  somewhat  alarmed  atid  somewhat  nervous  in 
regard  to  the  subject,  but  he  kept  on  shuffling  and  procrastinating 
as  long  as  he  could.  Finally,  on  the  17th  of  February  of  this  year, 
he  addressed  a  note  to  the  Archbishop,  couched  in  the  following 
terms : 

"  Dailt  Times  Office,  New  York,  Feb.  17, 1857. 

"  Deak  Sm — I  was  greatly  surprised  to  learn  last  evening  that  you  had  never 
received  from  me  any  note  in  explanation  of  the  publication  of  an  article  signed 
'  Equitas'  in  tlie  Times  of  Jan.  9.  I  regret  this,  especially  as  it  has  left  me  un- 
der the  suspicion  of  treating  you  with  a  disrespect  which  most  assuredly  I  do 
not  feel. 

"  The  article  reached  me,  accompanied  by  a  private  note  in  the  same  hand- 
writing, signed  by  Dr.  McElroy  of  St.  Mary's  Church,  Boston,  who  avowed  him- 
self the  author.  Relying  entirely  upon  the  respectability  and  the  responsibility 
of  the  name — the  genuineness  of  which  I  did  not  for  an  instant  suspect — I  gave 
the  article  into  the  printer's  hands  without  even  a  perusal.  On  being  applied 
to  for  the  name  of  the  author,  I  wrote  to  Dr.  McElroy  for  permission  to  give  it — 
or  rather  to  afford  him  an  opportunity  of  assenting  to  its  surrender — and  was 
astonished  to  hear  in  reply  that  the  whole  thing  was  a  forgery  ;  and  that  he 
knew  nothing  whatever  of  the  article  in  question.  I  wrote  to  him  at  once  ex- 
pressing my  deep  mortification  at  so  shamefvl  an.  imposition.  I  also  immedi- 
ately wrote  you  a  note,  embracing  these  explanations  and  enclosing  the  origi- 
nal of  the  private  note  accompanying  the  article,  together  with  Dr.  McElroy's 
reply  to  my  letters.  I  sent  them  by  a  lad — the  same  who  brings  this — to  No. 
263  Mulberry  street,  and  he  told  me  afterwards  that  he  put  it  under  the  door. 
The  next  day  I  was  informed  that  it  had  not  then  reached  you,  and  sup]5osed 
that  this  was  in  conse^iuence  of  j'our  absence  or  of  some  accident.  As  I  heard  no 
more  of  it,  I  took  it  for  granted  that  it  had  subsequently  been  received,  and  had 
no  suspicion  to  the  contrary  until  last  night. 

"  I  enclose  the  manuscript  of  the  article,  which  may  possibly  afR)rd  some  clue 
for  the  detection  of  the  author. 

"  I  am,  with  great  respect, 

"  Your  obedient  servant, 

"  H.  J.  RAYMOND. 
"  Archbishop  Hughes." 

A  note  of  this  kind  would  be  calculated  to  win  the  confidence  of 
the  Archbishop,  and  it  really  had   that  efflict  for  the  time  being. 


LETTERS.  605 

But  there  are  circumstances  connected  with  other  proceedings  of 
Mr.  Raymond  which  are  inexplicable.  For  instance,  lie  speaks  of  a 
note  accompanying  the  manuscript  of  "  Equitas,"  and  alleges  that 
he  had  sent  that  note,  together  with  a  private  one  of  his  own,  to  No. 
263  Mulberry  street.  Now,  any  note  left  at  263  Mulberry  street 
would  reach  the  Archbishop.  When  Mr.  Raymond  was  questioned 
on  this  discrepancy,  he  pleaded  that"  the  boy  by  whom  he  had  sent 
it  would  be  still  forthcoming;  but  that  as  a  great  snow'storm  pre- 
vailed at  the  time,  the  boy  may  not  have  found  the  house ;  but  to 
use  the  words  of  his  own  explanation  of  this  affair,  the  boy  must 
have  slipped  it  under  the  door  of  another.  The  Archbishop  accepted 
for  the  time  being  this  explanation,  although  other  circumstances  would 
throw  doubt  upon  it.  For  instance,  the  first  page  of  the  communi- 
cation of  "Equitas"  had  been  trimmed  off  at  the  top  by  the  scissors 
of  Mr.  Raymond,  as  any  one  can  see  by  the  manuscript  which  the 
editor  of  the  Times  subsequently  furnished  to  the  Archbishop.  The 
boy,  even  in  a  snow-storm,  could  have  slipped  under  the  Arch- 
bishop's door,  or  that  of  any  of  his  neighbors,  the  whole  communi- 
cation, just  as  easily  as  the  trimmed  portion  which  Mr.  Raymond 
pretended  to  have  sent  by  the  diligent  lad  who,  because  there  was 
a  snow-storm,  could  not  distinguish  263  Mulberry  street  from  any 
other  house  in  the  neighborhood,  and  who,  therefore,  discharged 
his  message  by  slipping  the  communication  under  the  most  conve- 
nient door. 

The  Ex-Honorable  Henry  J.  Raymond,  once  viceroy  of  the  State 
of  New  York,  had  shown  himself  towards  the  Archbishop  in  former 
times'  as  a  courteous  gentleman.  Courtesy,  at  the  hands  of  others, 
the  Archbishop  hardly  ever  forgets.  And  it  so  happened  that, 
even  before  these  events,  that  he  had  been  in  conversation  with  a 
third  party  who  knew  hiin  and  knew  Mr.  Raymond  well.  He 
alluded  to  Mr.  Raymond's  kindness  in  terms  which  were  as  sincere 
as  complimentary.  But  the  mutual  friend  interruj^ted  him  by 
stating : 

"  Sir,  you  do  not  know  Mr.  Raymond.  He  is  plausible  in  friendship,  he  is 
plausible  in  treachery ;  he  has  much  animal  cunning ;  but  he  was  born  without 
the  instincts  of  a  gentleman,  and  neither  his  education  nor  his  opportunities  of 
associafing  with  gentlemen  have  been  able  to  supply  the  innate  and  original 
deficiency." 

The  Archbishop  thought  this  a  harsh  and  perhaps  unjust  analysis 
of  Mr.  Raymond's  character,  and,  in  his  own  intercourse  with  that 
gentleman,  making  allowances,  he  thought  there  was  much  that 
would  relieve  Mr.  Raymond  from  so  undesirable  a  reputa- 
tion. 

Accordingly,  the  note  which  we  have  already  quoted,  and  one  or 
two  others,  were  looked  upon  as  proof  that  if  he  even  had  the 
misfortune  to  be  born  without  the  "  instincts  of  a  gentleman,"  still 
lie  was  doing  his  best  to  acquire  them.  His  second  note  is  as 
follows : 


606  ARCHBISHOP  HUGHES. 

"  Daily  Times  Office,  New  York,  Feb.  21, 1857. 
"  Peak  Sir — I  enclose  a  paragraph  from  this  morning's  Times.  I  owe  it  to 
myself  to  say  that  I  should  Jiave  published  such  a  one  long  ago,  had  I  not 
Buppost-d  from  a  conversation  with  the  gentleman  who  called  at  my  house  on 
your  belialf,  that  you  would  desire  some  steps  to  detect  the  authorship  of  the 
article  signed '  Equitas.'  " 

"  I  am,  very  truly, 

"  Your  obedient  servant. 


HENRY  J.  RAYMOND. 


'  Archbishop  Hughes." 


The  following  is  the  article  to  which  Ex'Vice-Governoi'  Raymond, 
editor  of"  the  Tirnes^  alludes  in  the  foregoing  note.  It  was  published 
in  the  Times  of  Saturday,  February  21,  1857,  as  a  kind  of  amende 
honorable  to  the  Archbishop  : 

"  A  Double  and  Doubly  Contemptible  Imposition.— The  editor  of  a 
daily  newspaper  is,  from  the  necessity  of  his  position  and  the  nature  of  his 
duties,  exposed  to  impositions  of  various  kinds,  from  which  it  is  not  always 
easy  to  protect  himself.  Falsehood  and  forgery,  if  shrewdly  employed,  are 
very  likely  to  deceive  editors,  as  they  constantly  deceive  merchants,  lawyers, 
and  business  men  of  every  kind.  We  have  endeavored  to  protect  the  columns 
of  the  Times  against  such  frauds,  and  on  the  whole  have  no  special  reason  to 
complain  of  failure.  Yet,  in  at  least  one  instance,  the  very  impudence  of  the 
imposition  secured  its  success. 

"  We  received,  some  time  since,  a  communication  commenting  on  Archbishop 
Hughes'  article  on  the  Catholic  Press.  It  came  accompanied  by  a  private  note 
to  the  editor  of  the  Times,  signed  with  the  name  of  one  of  the  most  venerable 
and  respectable  of  the  Catholic  clergy  in  Boston,  who  avowed  himself  the  author, 
and  expressed  a  desire  not  to  be  known  as  such,  unless  it  should  become  neces- 
sary. Recognizing  the  alleged  authorship  as  eminently  responsible,  the  article 
was  published,  mthout  any  thing  more  than  a  cursory  perusal,  in  the  Times  of 
January  9,  under  the  signature  of  '  Equitas.'  Upon  subsequently  applying  to 
the  supposed  author  for  permission  to  give  his  name  to  parties  interested,  we 
were  surprised  by  the  reply  that  he  had  never  Avritten  any  such  article,  and 
knew  nothing  whatever  of  the  matter.  It  was  clear  that  his  name  had  been 
deliberately  forged  by  the  writer,  who  availed  himself  of  this  criminal  mode  of 
striking  a  cowardly  blow  at  the  character  of  the  Archbishop,  and  at  the  same 
time  of  belying  a  Catholic  clergj'man,  and  imposing  upon  the  editor  of  the 
THmes  so  far  as  to  make  it  the  means  of  giving  effect  to  his  double  malignity. 
The  character  of  the  article  corresponds  with  the  means  employed  to  secure  its 
publication.  It  was  palpably  and  purely  malicious— designed  not  to  promote 
any  good  public  end,  but  simply  to  gratify  personal  malice.  It  was  a  compound 
of  abuse,  mingled  with  facts  distorted,  perverted,  and  misrepresented,  well- 
calculated  to  imix)se  upon  hasty  readers. 

"  We  need  not  add  the  expression  of  our  regret  at  having  been  thus  betrayed 
into  the  publication  of  such  an  assault  upon  the  personal  character  of  Arch- 
bishop Hughes.  This  distinguished  Prelate  has  never  shrunk  from  a  full  and 
complete  resixjnsibility  to  the  public  for  whatever  action  he  had  deemed  it  his 
duty  to  take  in  connection  with  public  affairs.  Whatever  he  does  is  done 
openly  in  his  own  namej  and  we  have  more  than  once  had  occasion  to  express 
our  dissent  from  his  sentiments  and  his  policy.  But  of  the  purity  of  his 
character,  and  the  integrity  of  his  motives,  and  his  fidelity  to  the  interests 
intrusted  to  his  charge,  there  is  no  room  to  doubt.  We  should  be  sorry  to 
suppose  that  the  cowardly  calumniator  who  by  fraud  and  forgery  has  made 
this  journal  the  vehicle  of  his  malice,  had  been  able  to  injure  him  in  the  slightest 
degree." 


LETTERS. 


607 


Now,  this  public  statement  of  Mr.  Raymond's  would  seem  to  in- 
dicate that  he  has,  after  all,  the  instincts  of  a  gentleman.  But  the 
shady  and  shuffling  proceedings  wh.ich  marked  his  trimmings  of  the 
communication  of  "  Equitas,"  and  his  pretensions  that  he  bad  re- 
ceived a  private  note,  which  hia  poor,  innocent,  blundering  boy 
slipped  under  the  door  of  some  house  in  New  York  during  a  snow- 
storm, throw  not  a  little  suspicion  over  his  public  statement  and  his 
private  note.  And  it  remains  still  an  open  question  whether  he 
came  into  life  destitute  of  the  essential  qualities  of  what  is  commonly 
called  a  gentleman,  as  his  friend  asserted. 

Since  commencing  this  article,  tlie  Archbishop  has  learned  that 
Mr.  Raymond  is  now  in  Europe,  and  some  have  assumed  that  be- 
cause he  is  absent  he  is  not  responsible  for  what  appears  from  day 
to  day  in  his  paper.  This,  to  a  certain  extent,  may  be  admitted. 
But  his  absence  is  no  excuse  for  the  publishing  in  his  journal  of 
calumnious  and  libelous  articles  by  his  representatives.  If  an  editor 
goes  to  Europe,  and  wishes  to  save  his  own  reputation,  he  should 
either  announce  the  name  of  his  locum  tenetis^  and  throw  the  respon- 
sibility of  such  publication  on  him,  or  he  should  give  such  wise  in- 
structions to  his  representatives  as  would  save  himself  from  the  dis- 
honor of  their  publication. 

The  Archbishop  denies  the  claim  of  irresponsibility  to  any  editor 
who,  going  abroad,  allows  his  sanctum  and  tripod  to  be  occupied 
by  an  unprincipled  substitute. 

One  would  suppose,  in  view  of  the  whining  apologies  put  forth  by 
Mr.  Raymond,  either  in  private  notes  or  through  the  columns  of 
the  N.  Y,  Daily  Times^  that  no  such  article  could  ever  appear  iu 
that  journal  as  that  published  editorially  in  the  issue  of  Saturday 
morning,  l8th  inst.  Mr,  Raymond  affected  to  denounce  his  corre- 
spondent as  a  "forger,"  but  now  the  forger  is  elevated  to  t^e  edi- 
torial rank  of  the  N.  Y.  Hmes,  as  may  be  seen  by  the  following 
article,  headed  "  Rome  and  New  York"  : 


"  Rome  and  New  York. — It  is  now  twenty  years  since  the  aged  Bishop 
Du  Bois  lay  on  his  death-bed,  and,  in  reply  to  the  daily  and  dutiful  call  of  John, 
Bishop  of  Basileopohs,  his  coadjutor,  with  the  right  of  succession,  responded: 
'  I  am  better — much  better.'  Neither  mitred  nor  crowned  heads  love  to  see  the 
forms  of  their  successors  darkening  the  sick-chamber :  and  the  shadow  which 
the  stalwart  presence  of  Bishop  Hughes  cast  upon  the  bedside  of  the  old  French 
prelate  seemed  like  the  first  admonition  of  that  Valley  of  Death  into  which,  in 
spite  of  his  assurances  that  he  was  better,  he  was  fast  hastening,  and  soon 
Bimk." 

Now,  Mr.  Editorial  Forger  of  the  Times,  Bishop  Dubois  died  in 
1842,  and  it  is  only  in  your  office  that  twenty  years  could  be  made 
out  of  fifteen.  The  other  portions  of  this  first  paragraph  are  merely 
trite  enough  to  be  copied  by  those  who  have  not  brains  enough  to 
be  original. 


508  ARCHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

SECOND. 
"  Twenty  years  have  passed,  and  the  same  shadow  falls  athwart  the  path  ot 
his  successor  -  not  upon  lus  death-bed,  but  prematurely  upon  his  unconscious 
daily  walk.  How  well  or  how  ill  the  Roman  Catholic  Prelate  has  adminietered 
his  great  trust  it  is  not  for  us  to  say.  He  has  not  escaped  accusation.  For 
years  he  has  not  only  set  aside  all  rivalry  and  repressed  all  recusancy,  but  sub- 
stantially nullified  the  position  of  every  ecclesiastic  whose  talents  or  influence 
could  be  brought  into  comparison  with  his  own.  To  one  of  urbane  manners 
and  social  taste  he  would  give  the  charge  of  a  rude  and  unformed  congregation. 
To  another,  a  bankrupt  church ;  to  another,  an  insubordinate  congregation. 
On  the  other  hand,  he  lifted  up  the  lowly,  the  ignorant,  and  the  uncouth,  and 
he  soon  gathered  about  him  a  body-guard  of  ecclesiastics  of  whom  he  was  facile 
princeps ;  and  in  the  diocese  of  New  York,  more  liberally,  perhaps,  than  any- 
where else  in  the  Roman  Church,  was  the  divine  word  realized— ^e«^i  sunt 
pauperes  animi." 

Foi-ger,  you  state  that  it  is  not  for  you  to  say  how  well  or  how  ill 
the  Archbishop  has  administered  his  great  trust.  Then,  Forger, 
why  do  you  say  it  ?  You  say  he  has  not  escaped  accusation.  But 
why  should  he  have  expected  to  escape  accusation  ?  To  be  accused 
is  a  part  of  a  bishop's  office.  You  say  that  for  years  he  has  not 
only  set  aside  all  rivalry  and  repressed  all  recusancy,  but  substan- 
tially nullified  the  position  of  every  ecclesiastic  whose  talents  or  in- 
fluence could  be  brought  into  comparison  with  his  own.  Now,  Edi- 
torial Forger  of  the  Times,  it  so  happens  that  the  Archbishop  has 
conferred  his  actual  position  on  every  clei'gyman  of  the  diocese  ;  it 
80  happens  that  no  ecclesiastic,  worthy  of  the  name,  has  ever  pre- 
tended to  rival  the  Archbishop,  either  in  talents  or  influence,  and 
this  for  an  obvious  reason — that  the  whole  authority  of  a  diocese  is 
confined  solely  and  exclusively  to  the  Bishop  or  Archbishop  who  is 
charged  with  its  government ;  that  the  priests  of  his  diocese  are  his 
auxiliaries,  to  aid  him  in  his  efforts  by  their  own  zeal  and  talents, 
and  to  share  with  him,  through  filial  sympathy,  the  burthen  of  op- 
pressioft  or  of  calumny,  such  as  you  have  published  in  the  Times. 

You  say  that  to  a  priest  of  urbane  maimers  and  social  tastes  the 
Archbishop  would  give  the  charge  of  a  rude  and  unformed  congre- 
gation. But  why  not  ?  Such  a  congregation  might  be  elevated  and 
refined  by  a  pastor  of  "  urbane  manners  and  social  tastes."  And 
why  should  his  urbanity  and  social  tastes  be  thrown  away  among 
people  as  refined  as  himself? 

You  say  that  to  another  the  Archbishop  would  give  a  bankrupt 
church.  This  can  apply  only  to  one  clergyman,  and  whether  he  will 
understand  it  as  a  compliment  remains  to  be  seen.  You  say  that  to 
another  ho  would  give  an  insubordinate  congregation.  But  in  such 
a  case  you  might  have  known  that  he  himself  had  in  his  own  hands 
the  power  to  subordinate  the  congregation,  and  the  pasfors,  too,  if 
circumstances  rendered  such  a  proceeding  necessary. 

You  say  that,  on  the  other  hand,  he  lifted  up  the  lowly,  the  ig- 
norant, and  the  uncouth.  But,  Forger,  is  it  a  crime  in  an  Arch- 
bishop to  do  what  his  Divine  Master  had  done  ? — for  certainly  the 
Apostles  were  not  selected  on  account  of  their  "  urbane  manners 
and  social  tastes." 


LETTEKS.  609 

TIIIUD. 

"  But  is  this  the  accusation  upon  which  it  is  said  the  Pope  is  now  called  upon 
to  terminate  the  Episcopal  functions  of  John  Hughes  ?  By  no  means !  Rome 
would  not  heed  such  a  charge ;  nor  would  it  give  ear  to  the  representations 
which,  it  is  said,  have  been  made  long  since  to  the  Holy  See,  that  the  Catholic 
cause  in  America  has  suffered  alike  from  the  inordinate  pretensions  and  the 
inexplicable  ineflSciency  of  His  Grace.  In  a  city  through  which  three  millions 
of  Catholics  have  entered  since  he  has  had  charge  of  the  diocese  of  New  York 
—in  a  city  which  numbers  more  professors  of  the  faith  than  Rome  itself -his 
accusers  say  that  there  is  not  a  monument  of  Catholic  power  or  influence,  not 
an  institution  perfected;  and  that  he  alone  has  seemed  unconscious  of  the  move- 
ments of  that  living  host,  whose  presence  and  influence  has  invited  the  atten- 
tion and  alarmed  the  jealousy  of  the  Protestant  people  of  these  States.  Every- 
where else,  they  say,  the  Church  is  an  organization,  with  a  policy,  with  a  great 
framework  of  institutions,  to  be  filled  up  as  time  shall  afford  the  means.  Here, 
it  is  said  by  members  of  the  Church,  it  is  a  chaos,  without  form  and  void.  Not 
even  an  architectural  structure  worthy  of  a  powerful  and  wealthy  community 
— not  a  well-organized  charity — not  an  institution  of  learning  that  commands 
respect,  and  that  can  point  to  His  Grace  as  its  founder  or  sustainer.  His,  they 
say,  has  been  the  ambition  and  the  politics  of  our  aldermen,  and  not  the  states- 
manship of  a  prelate  of  the  Church." 

Forger  of  the  Times,  you  are  quite  mistaken  in  regard  to  the  facts 
alleged  iu  the  foregoing  paragraph.  The  Archbishop  is  in  constant 
communication  with  the  high  dignitaries  in  the  Church  in  Rome. 
He  enjoys  their  confidence ;  and  one  great  proof  of  this  is,  that  after 
having  given  a  general  letter  to  our  Minister  Plenipotentiary  to 
Ciiina,  he  requested  of  his  Etninence,  Cardinal  Barnabo,  Prefect  of 
the  College  of  the  Propaganda,  another  general  letter  of  introduction 
and  recommendation  for  the  same  distinguished  personage;  and 
that  this  document,  so  unusual  from  such  a  source  under  such  cir- 
cumstances, was  most  kindly  and  promptly  made  out,  and  will  be  in 
China  awaiting  Mr.  Reed's  arrival.  You  intimate  that  the  Arch- 
bishop has  done  nothing,  or  but  little,  for  the  three  millions  of  Cath- 
olics who  have  arrived  and  passed  through  New  York  within  the 
last  twenty  years.  Forger  of  the  Times,  what  do  you  care  for  such 
people  ?  You  might  as  well  hold  the  Archbishop  responsible  for  the 
disputes  and  riots  that  are  now  going  on  in  the  city  of  New  York, 
as  for  those  Catholics  who  have  passed  through  the  city;  and  as  to 
those  Catholics  who  remain,  notwithstanding  all  that  is  said  against 
them,  they  may  be  considered,  when  compared  with  those  from 
whom  tliey  should  receive  example,  as  law-abiding  and  peaceful  cit- 
izens. Everywhere  else,  you  say,  the  Church  is  an  organization  and 
a  great  framework  of  institutions,  to  be  filled  up  as  time  shall  afibrd 
the  means.  Now  in  New  York  the  Church  is  an  organization  ;  and 
time  has  already  furnished,  to  a  great  extent,  the  means  of  filling  up 
its  framework.  You  say  that  it  is  a  chaos  ;  and  perhaps  it  will  be- 
come such  if  forgei-s  like  yourself  had  influence  enough  to  arrest  for 
a  moment  its  onward  progress.  You  say  that  there  is  not  even  an 
architectural  structure  worthy  of  a  powerful  and  wealthy  community. 
But  wait  till  we  build  the  new  St.  Patrick's  Cathedral.  And,  forger 
though  you  be,  you  must  have  common  sense  enough  to  understand 
that  the  settler  in  the  West  commences  by  erecting  a  log-cabin,  and 


510  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

then,  afterward,  the  stately  mansion  rises  by  its  side.  You  say  that 
there  is  not  a  well  organized  charity,  not  an  institution  of  learning 
that  commands  respect,  that  can  point  to  His  Grace  as  its  founder  or 
sustainer.  Well,  it  is  certain  that  there  are  several  well  organized 
charities  in  this  city ;  that  there  are  some  institutions  of  learning ; 
and  that,  if  they  cannot  point  to  His  Grace  as  their  founder  and  sus- 
tainer, his  Grace  must  be  the  happiest  prelate  in  Christendom,  seeing 
that,  according  to  you,  the  priesthood  and  people  of  his  diocese  have 
founded  and  sustained  them  without  his  co-operation.  Still,  forger, 
he  had  a  veto  on  them  all ;  and  if  he  had  said  "  No"  in  regard  to 
any  one  of  them,  it  would  have  no  existence  to-day.  Try  to  be  just, 
therefore,  forger  of  the  Times^  and  give  His  Grace  some  credit  for 
not  having  prevented  the  foundation  and  sustainraeut  of  these  various 
institutions. 

FOURTH. 

"  And  yet  even  these  accusations  have  passed  unheeded  by  Rome.  The  more 
serious  inculpation  for  which  clergy  of  the  Archdiocese,  now  present  in  the 
Eternal  City,  invoke  the  thunders  of  the  Vatican,  is  that  the  Primate  of  New 
York  has  omitted  to  notice,  with  due  solemnities,  the  declaration  of  the  dogma 
of  the  Immaculate  Conception  ;  and  that  he  turned  his  back  and  fled  to  Cuba 
when  the  Nuncio  of  Pius  IX.,  assailed  by  the  press,  hooted  and  stoned  by  the 
mob,  and  burned  in  eflBgy  in  a  hundred  cities  and  villages,  most  needed  his 
support  These  are  serious  offences  at  Rome.  Maladministration,  nepotism, 
indolence,  arrogance,  a  meddling  and  petty  spirit,  are  nothing  compared  •with 
offences  which  imply  indifference  to  the  Virgin  Mary,  and  disrespect  to  the 
representative  of  the  Vicar  of  Christ  on  earth," 

Foi-ger,  you  do  not  fabi-icate  as  adroitly  as  an  unprincipled  editor 
of  the  Times  might  be  expected  to  do.  The  first  sermon  preached 
by  the  Archbishop  on  his  return  from  Rome  was  in  honor  of  the 
solemn  definition,  by  our  Holy  Father,  the  Pope,  of  the  Immaculate 
Conception,  It  was  not  a  written,  nor  even  a  well-prepared  sermon  ; 
but  it  was  taken  down  by  a  reporter  of  the  New  York  Herald^  and 
through  the  circulation  of  that  paper  found  its  way,  uncorrected  as 
it  was,  into  the  Eternal  City.  Imperfect  as  it  was,  it  was  deemed 
worthy  of  translation,  and  of  being  deposited  among  other  similar 
documents  in  the  archived  of  Rome.  The  Archbishop  at  the  same 
time  announced  the  purpose  of  constructing  a  new  church  in  honor 
of  the  Immaculate  Conception.  And  then,  forger,  you  are  equally 
unfortunate  in  your  allusion  to  Archbishop  Bedini,  You  say  that 
Archbishop  Hughes  turned  his  back  on  the  Nuncio  of  Pius  IX., 
wliile  the  said  Nuncio  was  being  assailed  by  the  press,  hooted  and 
stoned  by  the  mob,  and  burned  in  effigy  in  a  hundred  cities  and  vil- 
lages, during  a  period  in  which  he  most  needed  "  his"  (the  Arch- 
bishop's) support. 

Now,  it  so  happens  that  as  long  as  the  Nuncio  honored  the 
Archbishop  with  his  presence  and  society,  he  was  treated,  both  in 
New  York  and  elsewiiere,  with  all  the  courtesy  and  not  a  few  of 
the  honors  to  which  a  distinguished  foreigner  visiting  the  United 
States  on  lawful  business  would  be  entitled.  But  the  Archbishop  of 
New  York,  during  his  tour  with  the  Nuncio,  contracted  a  violent 


LETTERS.  511 

cold,  Avhich  threatened  the  most  serious  consequences,  as  it  was 
thought  by  his  physicians  that  his  hings  were,  or  would  be  soon, 
deeply  affected.  They  advised  his  going  to  Cuba.  But  previous  to 
his  departure  no  personal  insult  had  been  offered  to  the  amiable  and 
learned  Nuncio,  Bedini. 

Rome,  therefore,  has  no  complaint  against  the  Ai*chbishop  for 
having  neglected  to  honor  the  definition  of  the  Immaculate  Concep- 
tion, nor  for  having  turned  his  back  on  the  Nuncio  of  Pius  IX, 

The  paper  proceeds  in  the  next  paragraph  as  follows: 

FIFTH. 

"  It  is  difficult  for  the  American  mind  to  realize  this  indiflference  on  one  side^ 
this  sensitiveness  on  the  other  ;  but  the  fact,  we  believe,  is  not  less  true,  and 
our  readers  need  not  be  surprised  if  they  hear  that  the  Pope  and  his  Holy  Col- 
lege of  Cardinal  have  designated  a  coadjutor  to  the  Archbishop,  with  the  right 
of  succession,  or,  with  still  more  painful  severity,  have  designated  administra- 
tors of  the  diocese,  into  whose  hands  its  affairs  shall  pass,  thus  virtually  deposing 
the  present  incumbent." 

Mr,  Forger,  you  need  not  be  in  the  least  uneasy  with  regard  to 
the  matter  referred  to  in  the  paragi-aph  just  quoted.  The  writer  of 
this  can  state,  on  the  highest  authority,  that  the  Archbishop  of 
New  York  has  not  the  slightest  idea  of  asking  for  a  coadjutor,  and 
that  there  is  not  the  slightest  probability  of  one  being  appointed 
during  his  life,  except  at  his  own  request.  Then,  as  to  resignation, 
he  will  take  that  into  serious  reflection  about  the  year  1879,  if  his 
life  should  be  prolonged  to  that  remote  period.  It  may  not  be 
amiss,  however,  to  state  that  if  St.  Peter,  in  the  person  of  Pius  IX. 
or  his  successor,  should  wish  his  resignation  at  any  time,  he  will  de- 
scend the  steps  of  his  archiepiscopal  throne  with  a  more  willing  and 
a  lighter  heart  than  he  had  when  he  mounted  them  for  the  first 
time.  As  to  administrators,  and  all  that,  if  the  forger  were  not  as 
ignorant  as  he  is  malicious,  he  should  know  that  they  can  have  no 
place  in  the  Catholic  Church.  It  does  not  recognize  "  standing 
committees"  to  play  bishops  in  the  vacancy  of  a  Catholic  See. 

SIXTH. 

"But  the  harshness  of  the  measure  will,  doubtless,  be  concealed  under  the 
honeyed  phrases  and  deferential  forms  in  which  churchmen  disguise  every 
movement  of  what,  among  worldlings,  would  be  called  ambition  or  rivalry.  The 
organ  of  the  Archbishop  will  announce  that  His  Grace  has  petitioned  to  his 
holiness  to  be  relieved  of  the  cares  which  press  too  heavily  upon  him  ;  that  he 
desires  to  devote  the  remainder  of  his  life  to  seclusion,  and  the  devotional  exer- 
cises which  befit  his  calling  and  his  age.  The  bishops  who  are  to  take  posses- 
sion of  the  diocese,  and  whom  his  charity  and  humility  will  forbid  him  to  hate, 
will  bow  before  him,  will  burn  incense  before  him,  will  kiss  his  signet  ring, 
and  uphold  his  train  as  he  ascends  the  altar  to  celebrate  the  mysteries  of  his 
religion." 

Oh,  Forger  !  ambitious  as  you  suppose  the  Archbishop  to  be,  he 
would  not  have  the  courage  to  see  the  bishops  who  are  to  take 
charge  of  his  diocese  bowing  and  burning  incense  before  him,  and 


512  AKCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

especially  upholding  his  train  or  kissing  his  ring.     This  would  be  too 
much. 

SEVENTH. 

"  Already  conjectures  are  wliispered  as  to  the  successorship,  and  the  priests 
of  Maynooth,  and  the  Celtic  clergy  generally,  speak  of  Archbishop  O'Connor,  of 
Pittsburg,  while  the  ecclesiastics  of  American  birth  look  to  Bishop  McClosky, 
of  Albany,  formeriy  coadjutor  of  New  York,  to  whom,  indeed,  the  suflrages  of 
his  colleagufes  of  the  Church  would  be  gladly  awarded,  had  he  not  refused,  or 
at  least  omitted,  to  be  an  accuser  of  the  Archbishop  when  the  necessities  of  the 
Church  called  for  his  intervention." 

On  this  point,  too,  Mr.  Forger,  you  may  be  perfectly  at  ease. 
The  priests  of  Maynooth  have  enough  to  do  in  preserving  the  roof 
which  protects  tliem — for  there  are  forgers  in  London  as  well  as  in 
New  York.  Drunimond  and  Spooner,  though  they  may  not  have 
less  malice,  yet  have  more  ability  in  their  sad  vocation  than  yourself. 
You  ought  to  know  that  in  the  Catholic  Church  national  distinctions 
are  not  encouraged,  but  rather  repudiated.  There  is  no  doubt  that 
if  the  Sec  of  New  York  were  vacant,  the  amiable  Bishop  of  Albany 
or  the  Bishop  of  Pittsburg  would  be  a  most  excellent  choice.  But 
these  distinguished  prelates  are  wedded  each  to  his  own  diocese; 
and  it  is  almost  certain  that,  except  under  an  obligation  of  obedience 
to  the  Holy  See,  neither  of  them  would  give  up  his  present  post  for 
any  other  appointment.  Under  all  these  circumstances,  therefore, 
you  must  accept  the  epithet  which  Mr.  Raymond  fastened  on  the 
correspondent  by  Avhom  he  pretended  to  have  been  deceived,  and 
for  wliich  deception  he  made  a  public  apology  that  would  be  honor- 
able to  himself  if  it  could  be  considered  sincere.  He  called  his  cor- 
respondent a  forger,  without,  perhaps,  foreseeing  that  the  future 
occupant  of  his  editorial  chair  would  prove  by  a  tenfold  stronger 
title  his  claim  to  the  epithet. 

In  the  meantime,  let  the  Catholic  people  of  the  diocese  of  New 
York  and  their  clergy  be  united  as  they  have  been  for  many  years, 
meeting  day  by  day  as  they  have  met,  with  prudence  and  foi'ti- 
tude,  the  trials  from  without  or  from  within  which  may  happen  to 
arise.  The  younger  clergy  will  acquire  more  experience,  and  when 
the  proper  time  comes  it  will  not  be  difficult  to  select  a  suitable 
prelate  to  be  the  coadjutor  or  successor  of  the  present  Archiepiscopal 
incumbent. 

Another  remark  we  shall  make  before  concluding.  Forger  as- 
serts that  there  are  clergy  of  the  archdiocese  now  present  in  the 
Eternal  City  invoking  the  thunders  of  the  Vatican  on  what  he  calls 
the  Primate  of  New  York.  This  again  is  a  mistake.  There  are 
only  two  priests  of  the  diocese  in  the  Eternal  City,  neither  of  them 
invoking  any  thunder  of  any  kind  on  any  one.  The  one  is  in  perfect 
health  both  of  body  and  mind — the  other  was  not  so  well  when  last 
heard  from.  But  he  was  about  to  take  the  benefit  of  the  baths  at  Tivoli, 
and  great  hopes  were  entertained  of  his  perfect  restoration  to  health. 
But  bis  physicians  were  not  sanguine  that  the  rugged  climate  of 


LETTEES.  513 

New  York  would  be  suitable  to  his  constitution  after  his  return. 
Fortunately,  however,  there  is  every  variety  of  climate  on  our 
shores. 

►>  JOHN,  Archbishop  of  New  York. 
New  Yobk,  July  30, 1857. 


liETTER  TO  BISHOP   LYNCH,   OF   CHARLESTON, 
SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

New  York,  Aug.  23, 1861. 

Right  Ret.  Dear  Sir — I  have  received  your  letter  of  the  4th 
instant.  How  it  reached  me  I  can  hardly  conjecture.  But  it  came  to 
hand  within  about  the  usual  period  required  for  the  transmission  of 
mail  matter  between  Charleston  and  New  York  during  happier 
years,  when  all  the  States,  North  and  South,  found  their  meaning  in 
the  words  '■■JE  pluribus  Unum.'''' 

It  must  have  run  the  blockade,  or  dodged  the  pickets  on  hostile 
borders.  I  have  read  it  with  very  deep  interest,  increased,  if  any- 
thing, by  the  perils  oi  flood  and  field  through  which  it  must  have 
passed. 

If  even  the  innocent  lightning  of  the  North  were  permitted  to 
carry  a  message  into  Southern  latitudes,  I  would  telegraph  you  for 
permission  to  publish  your  calm  and  judicious  communication.  As 
it  is,  however,  ray  only  chance  of  acknowledging  it  is  through  the 
Metropolitan  Record,  and  without  special  permission  publish  your 
letter  at  the  same  time.  In  this  way  it  may  happen  that  during  the 
war,  or  afterwards,  my  answer  will  come  under  your  inspection. 
Yours  is,  in  my  judgment,  one  of  the  most  temperate  views  of  the 
present  unhappy  contest  that  has  ever  come  under  my  notice  from, 
any  son  of  South  Carolina.  It  is  not  to  be  inferred,  however,  thai 
because  I  admire  so  much  the  calmness  of  its  tone  and  temper  \ 
therefore  agree  with  all  its  arguments  and  speculations. 

You  say  I  am  "  reported  to  have  spoken  strongly  against  the  war 
])olicy  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  as  fraught  with 
much  present  suffering,  and  not  calculated  to  obtain  any  real  ad-, 
vantage."  Be  assured  that  pi-evious  to  the  outbreak  of  military 
violence,  I  was  most  ardently  desirous  of  preserving  peace  and  union ; 
but,  since  violence,  battle,  and  bloodshed  have  occurred,  I  dare  not 
hope  for  peace  unless  you  can  show  me  a  foundation  of  rock  or  solid 
ground  (but  no  quicksand  basis)  on  which  peace  caa  be  re-estab- 
lished. The  nature  of  your  ministry  and  mine  necessarily  implies 
that  we  should  be  the  friends  of  peace.  It  was  the  special  legacy 
of  our  Divine  Master  to  His  flock.  And  it  would  be  strange  if  we,, 
Vol.  U.— 33 


514  AKCHBI8H0P   HUGHES. 

His  appointed  ministers,  should  be  found  in  the  ranks  of  its  fenemies. 
His  words  were,  as  we  iind  in  St.  John,  "  Peace  I  leave  to  you,  my 
peace  I  give  to  you ;  not  as  the  world  giveth  do  I  give  to  yon." 
And  yet  St.  Paul,  in  writing  to  the  Christian  converts  of  Rome, 
says :  "  If  it  be  possible,  as  much  as  it  is  in  you,  have  peace  with  all 
men."  I  think  this  latter  inspired  quotation  has  at  least  a  remote 
bearing  on  our  present  sad  difficulties. 

Your  explanations  of  the  causes  which  have  led  to  this  war  are 
entirely  Southern  in  their  premises  and  conclusions.  But  they  are  so 
mildly,  and  even  plausibly  stated,  that  I  leave  them  uncontroverted. 
Your  description  of  the  evils  resulting  from  the  war  is  too  correct  to 
be  gainsayed  by  me.  Still,  here  we  are  in  the  midst  of  a  sanguinary 
contest,  which,  so  far  as  I  can  see,  like  a  hurricane  on  the  ocean, 
must  exhaust  its  violence  before  we  can  expect  the  return  of  national 
calm.  There  is  no  one  who  desires  more  ardently  than  I  do  the 
advent  of  that  bright  day  on  which  we  sliall  all  be  re-united  in  one 
great  prosperous  and  happy  country. 

Instead  of  controverting  the  correctness  of  your  views  in  regard 
to  the  causes  of  our  actual  troubles,  or  determining  where  or  on 
whom  the  responsibility  of  their  existence  rests,  I  shall  beg  leave  to 
make  my  own  statement  from  a  point  of  view  which  is  found  in 
the  general  sentiment  of  the  people  north  of  Mason  and  Dixon's 
line. 

They  say  that  whatever  may  have  been  the  anterior  origin  of  this 
"war,  its  immediate  cause  was  the  overt  act  of  turning  guns,  put  in 
place  by  the  State  of  South  Carolina,  against  a  public  military  defence 
of  the  country  at  large,  which  of  right  belonged  to  all  the  States  in 
common.  Then  it  is  thought,  or  at  least  stated,  in  these  quarters 
that  the  South,  for  many  years  past,  would  not  be  satisfied  with  less 
than  a  paramount  control  of  the  Federal  Government.  The  South, 
it  is  well  known,  has  been  in  a  fretful  mood  for  many  years  under 
Northern  assaults,  made  upon  her  civil  and  domestic  institutions. 
It  would  be,  on  my  part,  very  uncandid  to  disguise  the  conviction 
that  in  this  respect  the  South  has  had  mucli  reason  to  complain. 
Leaving,  however,  opinions  to  fluctuate  as  they  may,  I  will  simply 
give  you  my  own  as  to  the  primary  causes  of  our  present  strife. 

You  know  that  free  speech  and  a  free  press  are  essential  con- 
stituents of  the  first  notions  of  Anglo-Saxon  liberty.  These  were 
the  shibboleth  of  its  existence,  prosperity,  and  prospects.  In  the 
exercise  of  tlicse  peculiar  privileges,  the  North  of  this  country  has 
used  its  type  and  its  tongue  offensively  against  the  South.  Neither 
was  the  South  backward  in  the  work  of  retaliation  on  the  same 
principle.  But  the  Anglo-Saxon,  whether  of  tlie  South  or  of  the 
North,  would  see  the  whole  world  set  in  a  blaze  rather  than  put 
limits  to  the  freedom  of  tlie  press  or  the  unbritlled  license  of  the 
tongue,  except  when  the  laws  interpose  for  the  protection  of  public 
authority  or  individual  rights  of  character  and  pi-operty. 

At  the  commencement  of  our  national  institution  as  an  indepen- 
dent State,  slavery  for  instance,  was  found  to  exist,  almost  univer- 


LETfERS.  515 

Bally,  in  the  North  as  well  as  in  the  South.  The  word  itself  was 
not  used  in  any  of  the  paragraphs  found  in  the  Magna  Charta  of  our 
Government,  The  slave-trade  from  the  western  coast  of  Africa  had 
been  encouraged  by  the  subjects  and  the  Government  of  Great 
Britain.  The  Government  of  England  did  not  hesitate  to  affix  its 
veto  on  some  of  the  enactments  made  by  the  recognized  local  autho- 
rities of  the  Colonies  for  the  diminution  of  the  slave-trade.  It  would 
appear  that  from  this  trade,  so  abominable  in  its  primary  origin, 
there  were  certain  emoluments  accruing  to  the  treasury  of  the 
mother  country.  And  these  emoluments  were  looked  to  as  a  source 
of  revenue,  just  as  some  countries  in  Europe,  in  their  sovereign 
capacity,  monopolize  the  largest  portion  of  profits  resulting  from 
commerce  in  salt  and  tobacco. 

After  the  Revolution  slavery  was  gradually  dispensed  with  in  all 
the  Northern  States.  Whether  this  was  done  fi-om  what  would  now 
appear  a  sense  of  humanity,  or  from  motives  of  domestic  or  political 
lucre,  it  will  be  for  you,  as  for  me,  a  private  right  to  determine,  each 
according  to  his  own  opinion.  But  slavery  was  a  social  element 
recognized  in  all  the  States  at  the  period  of  the  Revolution.  So  far 
the  changes  that  have  supervened  in  reference  to  slavery  have  been 
all  in  the  North,  and  the  South  is  to-day  as  to  this  matter  in  statu 
quo  just  as  she  was  at  the  period  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 
The  Northern  States,  in  the  exercise  of  their  acknowledged  right, 
repudiated  slavery  within  their  own  borders.  The  Southern  States, 
in  the  equal  exercise  of  theirs,  have  done  just  the  reverse.  The 
North,  unrepenting  of  many  sins  of  its  own,  has  exhibited  great  re- 
morse for  the  sins  of  its  neighbors.  A  portion  of  its  inhabitants 
talk  in  a  certain  style,  not  only  of  this  subject,  but  of  a  great  many 
others,  about  national  sins  which,  according  to  its  solution  of  Pagan 
ethics  or  of  Christian  duty,  every  human  being  is  bound  to  correct. 
Yet,  the  biggest  sin  in  our  day  known  to  the  North  is  not  what 
occurs  in  its  own  immediate  neighborhood  or  State,  but  the  monster 
iniquity  of  the  South,  which,  between  you  and  me,  and  as  the  world 
goes,  might  have  been  permitted  to  manage  its  own  affairs  in  its 
own  way,  so  that  its  acts  should  be  found  either  in  harmony  with,  or 
not  in  violation  of,  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States. 

I  am  an  advocate  for  the  sovereignty  of  every  State  in  the  Union 
within  the  limits  recognized  and  approved  of  by  its  own  representa- 
tive authority,  when  the  Constitution  was  agreed  upon.  As  a  con- 
sequence, I  hold  that  South  Carolina  has  no  State  right  to  interfere 
with  the  internal  affairs  of  Massachusetts.  And,  as  a  further  con- 
sequence, that  Massachusetts  has  no  right  to  interfere  with  South 
Carolina,  or  its  domestic  and  civil  affairs,  as  one  of  the  sovereign 
States  of  this  now  threatened  Union.  But  the  Constitution  having 
been  formed  by  common  consent  of  all  the  sovereign  parties  engaged 
in  the  framework  and  approval  thereof,  I  maintain  that  no  State  has 
aright  to  secede,  except  in  the  manner  provided  for  in  the  document 
itself. 

The  revolt  of  the  Colonies  against  the  authority  of  Great  Britain 


516  AECHBISHOP  HUGHES. 

18  quite  another  thing.  If  England  had  extended  to  these  Colonies 
the  common  rights  and  privileges  nominally  secured  by  the  British 
Constitution,  we  have  high  authority  for  believing  that  the  Colonies 
would  not  have  gone,  at  least  when  they  did,  into  rebellion.  Indeed, 
it  might  be  asserted  and  maintained  that  it  was  not  the  Americans, 
but  the  British  Ministry  and  Government,  that  supplied  legitimate 
reasons  for  the  American  Revolution. 

In  the  present  case  it  would  be  difficult,  by  parity  of  reasoning,  to 
justify  the  grounds  on  which  the  South  have  acted. 

I  think  a  few  remarks  will  satisfy  you  of  the  correctness  of  this 
statement.  You  say  that  for  many  years  the  South  has  proclaimed 
its  dissatisfaction,  and  announced  its  determined  purpose  of  secession, 
if  certain  complaints  should  not  be  attended  to,  and  their  causes 
redressed  ;  that  the  South  was  all  the  time  in  earnest,  and  the  North 
would  never  believe  in  their  sincerity  or  their  predictions.  This  may 
be  so ;  but  it  gives  me  an  occasion  to  remark  that  the  Federal  Go- 
vernment as  such  had  given  no  special  reason  for  the  secession  of 
the  South  at  this  time  more  than  there  was  ten,  or  even  tifteen  years 
ago.  The  Personal  Liberty  Bill  was  unconstitutional  in  the  few 
States  which  adopted  it.  New  York  was  too  wise  and  too  patriotic 
to  be  caught  in  that  trap.  The  so-called  Personal  Liberty  Bill  was 
never  adopted,  so  far  as  documents  are  evidence,  either  directly  or 
indirectly,  by  the  Government  at  Washington.  Indeed  I  am  not 
aware  of  any  I  statute  passed  by  the  Federal  authority  which  could 
give  the  South  additional  reasons  for  discontent  or  complaint  within 
the  last  ten  or  fifteen  years. 

I  have  thus  alluded  to  the  unofficial  causes  for  Southern  resent- 
ment. Even  in  your  own  letter  the  cause  alleged  is  the  election  of 
the  present  Chief  Magistrate.  This  does  not  seem  at  all  sufficient 
to  warrant  the  course  which  the  South  has  adopted. 

The  Government  originally  agreed  upon  by  all  the  States  has 
lasted  during  a  period  of  between  seventy  and  eighty  years.  Du- 
ring this  time  its  executive  administration  was  enjoyed  by  the  South 
for  fifty-two  years.  No  Northern  President  has  ever  been  re- 
elected. Washington,  Jefferson,  Madison,  Monroe,  and  Jackson, 
have  each  discharged  that  office  for  a  term  of  eight  years.  The  con- 
clusion is,  then,  that  out  of  seventy  or  eighty  years  of  the  adminis- 
tration of  our  Government,  fifty-two  years  have  enured  to  our  patri- 
otic men  of  the  South.  This  fact  involves  the  potentialities  and 
powers  of  the  Government  as  having  been  exercised  by  supremacy 
on  the  part  of  the  South.  The  navy,  the  army,  the  incumbents  of 
the  Supreme  Court  were  not  ignorant  of  or  insensible  to  this  iact. 
Now,  I  put  it  to  your  candor  to  say  whether,  after  such  a  history  of 
the  administration  of  our  country,  the  South  might  not  have  tol- 
erated the  occupancy  of  the  presidential  chair  by  the  present  incum- 
bent, who,  with  his  Northern  predecessors  in  that  office,  could 
hardly  expect  to  survive  officially  the  ordinary  four  years  of  a 
Northern  Supreme  Magistrate  ? 

You  say  that  President  Lincoln  was  elected  by  Black  Republicans 


LKTTKR8.  617 

in  the  Xorth.  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  he  was  indirectly  or 
negatively  elected  by  Democrats,  North  and  South.  The  Black  Re- 
publicans presented  one  candidate ;  and,  in  order  to  defeat  his  elec- 
tion, the  Democrats,  North  and  South,  presented  three.  If"  the  lat- 
ter had  only  selected  one  candidate,  it  is  probable  that  the  Black 
Republicans,  as  you  call  them,  would  have  been  found  as  minus 
habentes.  But  when  the  Democrats  distributed  their  votes,  appa- 
rently with  a  view  of  rendering  them  inefficient,  then,  of  course,  the 
one  man  of  choice  was  elected  over  the  three  candidates  and  com- 
petitors that  had  been  placed  in  rivalship  with  each  other,  and,  in 
the  aggregate,  all  against  him  alone.  That  he  was  constitutionally 
elected  under  these  circumstances  is  not  denied  either  in  the  South 
or  in  the  North.  Then,  if  so  elected,  he  is  the  Chief  Magistrate  of 
all  the  United  States  of  America,  and  by  his  very  oath  of  office  is 
bound  by  their  own  common  consent  to  see  that  neither  Maine,  on 
the  northeast,  nor  Texas,  on  the  southwest,  be  permitted  to  over- 
throw the  original  Federal  compact  agreed  upon  in  the  Constitution 
of  this  Government.  If  States  shall  be  allowed,  in  face  of  that  Fed- 
eral Constitution,  to  kick  over  the  traces  of  a  common  Union,  as 
agreed  upon  in  the  primitive  days  of  our  Government,  then  it  is  dif- 
ficult to  see  why  counties,  and  townships,  and  villages  may  not  be  at 
liberty  to  do  the  same  thing  just  as  often  as  a  freak  or  fancy  to  do 
so  may  or  shall  come  upon  them. 

There  appears  to  be  an  idea  in  the  South  that  the  Federal  Gov- 
ernment and  the  people  of  the  North  are  determined  to  conquer 
and  subjugate  them.  This,  I  think,  is  a  great  mistake.  First,  in 
the  sterner  sense  of  the  word  "conquer,"  it  seems  to  me  utterly  im- 
possible ;  and,  if  possible,  I  think  it  would  be  undesirable  and  inju- 
rious both  to  the  North  and  to  the  South.  Unless  I  have  been  de- 
ceived by  statements  considered  reliable,  I  would  say  that  the  mind 
of  the  North  looks  only  to  the  purpose  of  bringing  b:ick  the  seceded 
States  to  their  organic  condition — ante  helium. 

There  remains  now  scarcely  a  hope  of  peace,  and  the  issue  is  ap- 
pai-ently  that  the  North  must  triumph  on  the  field  of  Mars,  or  that 
the  South  shall  prove  itself  victorious  on  the  same  bloody  arena. 
But,  after  all,  we  must  not  despair  in  reference  to  a  coming  peace. 
The  idea  of  an  armistice,  even  for  six  months,  is  now  utterly  hope- 
less ;  but  I  think  that  the  North,  if  the  chance  were  presented, 
would  be  as  willing  to  enter  on  terms  of  peace  as  the  Soutti  itself. 
Still,  I  am  bound  to  say,  under  deep  conviction  of  the  truth,  that,  of 
both  sections  unhappily  launched  on  the  swelling  current  of  our  do- 
mestic troubles,  the  North  will  be  the  latter  to  sink  or  swim  in  the 
sanguinary  tide  on  which  both  are  now  afloat. 

You  make  mention  of  the  Commissioners  sent  to  Washington  at 
an  early  period  of  the  struggle  with  kind,  fair,  and  liberal  proposi- 
tions, as  you  consider  them,  for  the  arrangement  of  the  whole  diffi- 
culty. Before  reaching  the  point  of  settlement  there  would  be 
found  a  vast  amount  of  principle  involved.  Commissioners  should 
have  some  recognized  authority  to  warrant  them  in  attempting  to 


518  AKCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

discharge  the  duties  of  their  official  office.  Those  of  the  South,  in 
the  circumstances,  so  far  as  I  can  see,  had  no  authority  what- 
ever. 

The  people  of  your  region  (when  I  say  people,  of  course  I  mean 
the  votei"s,  as  commonly  understood  in  this  country)  had  scarcely 
been  consulted  on  this  vital  question.  Their  Government,  so-called, 
was  unrecognized  by  any  civil  principality  on  the  face  of  the  earth. 
Commissioners  presented  themselves  before  the  public  servants  of  a 
Government  universally  recognized  by  all  nations.  The  terms  of 
these  Southern  Commissioners  were  more  of  dictation  tlian  of  peti- 
tion. The  Government  at  Washington  had  to  choose  one  or  another 
of  two  alternatives.  The  President  and  his  Cabinet  might  have 
chosen  the  alternative  of  perjury,  and  acceded  to  the  demands  of 
those  Commissioners ;  or  they  might,  as  they  surely  did,  decline  ev- 
ery official  intercourse  with  them. 

They  chose  the  latter  course.  And  now  it  only  remains  to  see 
whether  the  Government  is  what  it  calls  itself — the  Government  of 
the  United  States,  or  merely  the  Government  of  a  fraction  thereof, 
and  that  fraction  measured  out  to  them  by  the  Southern  Commis- 
sioners, who  could  not  show  a  legitimate  title  for  the  commission 
which  they  professed  to  execute. 

You  think  it  hard  that  foreigners  and  Catholics  should  be  deluded 
into  the  service  of  the  recognized  Federal  Government,  in  order  to 
be  immolated  in  the  front  of  battles,  and  made  food  for  Southern 
powder.  If  this  end  were  a  deliberate  policy  in  the  North,  I  should 
scout  and  despise  it.  I  admit  and  maintain,  that  foreigners  no^v 
naturalized,  whether  Catholics  or  not,  ouglit  to  bear  their  relative 
burden  in  defence  of  the  only  country  on  these  shores  which  they 
have  recognized,  and  which  has  recognized  them  as  citizens  of  the 
United  States. 

Mr.  Russell,  the  correspondent  of  the  London  Times,  i-eports  a 
conversation  which  he  had  with  "a  very  intelligent  Southein  gen- 
tlemen, formerly  editor  of  a  newspaper,"  who  stated,  on  behalf  of 
the  Confederacy — "  Well,  sir,  when  things  are  settled  we'll  just  take 
the  law  into  our  own  hands.  Not  a  man  shall  have-a  vote  unless 
he's  American  born,  and  by  degrees  we'll  get  rid  of  these  men  who 
disgrace  us."  Mr.  Russell  inquired  :  "Are  not  many  of  your  regi- 
ments composed  of  Germans  and  Irish — of  foreigners,  in  fact?" 
"  Yes,  sir." 

This  vei'y  "  intelligent  Southern  gentleman,  formerly  editor  of  a 
newspaper,"  is  certainly  no  true  representative  of  the  gentlemen 
whom  it  was  my  good  fortune  and  pleasure  to  meet  whenever  I 
travelled  in  the  South.  But  no  matter.  If  the  statement  be  true, 
it  only  shows  that  tor  Irish  and  foreigners  in  general  tlie  Soutl)  is 
nearly  as  unfriendly  as  the  North  can  be.  It  proves,  further,  that, 
so  tar  as  the  Irish  are  concerned,  the  hereditary  calamities  of  their 
native  land  follow  them  up  wherever  they  go,  in  one  form  or  another. 
Here,  and  now,  they  are  called  upon  by  both  sides  to  tight  in  the 
battles  of  the  country  ;  and  no  matter  who  triumphs,  they  need 


LETTEE3.  519 

not  look  for  large  expressions  of  thanks  or  gratitude  from  either 
Bide.  Still,  whether  in  peace  or  war,  take  them  for  all  in  all,  they 
are  as  true  to  the  country  as  if  they  had  been  born  on  its  once  free 
and  happy  soil. 

Pardon  me  this  digression,  and  let  me  return  to  the  other  senti- 
ment touching  the  hope  of  a  prospective  peace. 

That  word  "  peace"  is  becoming,  more  or  less  familiar  here  in  the 
North.  In  a  crisis  like  this  it  is  not,  in  my  opinion,  expressive  of  a 
sound  principle  or  a  safe  policy.  Its  meaning  changes  the  basis  and 
the  issue  of  this  melancholy  war.  If  changed,  it  will  be  a  war,  not 
between  the  South  and  the  North,  geographically  considered,  but  a 
Avar  between  the  two  great  political  parties  that  divide  the  country. 
Instead  of  this  partisan  hostility,  wise  patriots  should  rival  each 
other  in  restoring  or  preserving  the  Union  as  one  nation,  its  pros- 
perity, and  the  protection  and  happiness  of  its  entire  people  in  all 
their  legitimate  rights.  But  all  this  is  to  be  judged  of  by  others, 
and  the  opinion  of  any  individual  is  of  the  smallest  account.  If  a 
word  of  mine  could  have  the  slightest  influence,  I  would  suggest 
that,  even  whilst  the  war  is  going  on,  there  might  be  a  convention 
of  the  seceded  States  held  within  their  own  borders.  There  might 
be  one  representative  appointed  from  each  of  those  States  by  the 
governor,  to  meet  and  examine  the  whole  case  as  it  now  stands ; 
arrange  and  draw  up  a  report  of  their  grievances,  or  what  they  con- 
sider such  ;  and  report  to  their  respective  governors  the  result  of 
their  deliberations,  and  the  conclusions  at  which  they  shall  have  ar- 
rived. 

The  same  process  might  be  adopted  in  the  States  that  have  not 
seceded,  and  similar  reports  be  made  to  their  respective  governors. 
This  would  be  only  a  preparatory  measure  for  something  more  im- 
portant. If  a  better  feeling  or  understanding  could  be  even  par- 
tially arrived  at,  a  future  convention  of  all  the  States  by  their  rep- 
resentatives would  have  something  to  act  upon.  The  difficulties 
might  be  investigated  and  provided  for ;  the  Constitution  might  be 
revised  by  general  consent,  and  if  the  platform — sufliciently  ample 
for  3,000,000  at  the  period  when  the  Constitution  was  formed — is 
found  to  be  neither  of  breadth  nor  strength  to  support  a  population 
of  33,000,000,  wise  and  patriotic  men  might  suggest,  according  to 
the  rules  prescribed  in  the  original  document,  the  improvements 
which  the  actual  condition  of  the  country  would  seem  to  require. 
The  Constitution  itself,  in  its  letter  and  spirit,  is  no  doubt  the  same 
as  it  was  when  first  framed  ;  but  every  thing  around  has  been  under- 
going a  change  for  nearly  eighty  years.  For  a  peace  of  that  kind 
1  would  be  a  very  sincere,  it  not  an  influential,  advocate.  But  to 
expect  that  a  peace  will  spring  up  by  the  advocacy  of  individuals,  in 
the  midst  of  the  din  and  clash  of  arms,  amidst  the  mutually  alienated 
feelings  of  the  people,  and  the  widening  of  the  breach  which  has 
now  separated  them,  would  be,  in  my  opinion,  hoping  against  hope. 
Still,  we  must  trust  that  the  Almighty  will  overrule  and  direct  the 
final  issues  of  this  lamentable  contest. 


520  AECHBISHOP   HTJGHKS. 

I  had  no  intention  to  write  so  long  a  i-esponse  to  your  kind  letter. 
Enough,  and  perhaps  more  than  enough,  has  been  said  ;  and  it  only 
remains  for  me  to  add,  that  the  Catholic  faith  and  Catholic  charity 
which  unites  us  in  the  spiritual  order,  shall  remain  unbroken  by  the 
booming  of  cannon  along  the  lines  that  unfortunately  separate  a 
great  and  once  prosperous  community  into  two  hostile  portions, 
each  arrayed  in  military  strife  against  the  other. 
I  have  the  honor  to  I'emain,  as  ever, 

Your  obedient  servant  and  brother  in  Christ, 

•f  JOHN,  Archbishop  of  New  York. 
Right  Rev.  P.  N.  Lynch,  Bishop  of  Charleston. 


CORRESPONDENCE  WITH  THE  CITY  INSPECTOR. 

City  Inspector's  Department,) 
New  York.  April  1,  1860.       ) 


To  THE  Most  Rev.  Archbishop  Hughes  : 

Sir — Tour  attention  is  earnestly  directed  to  the  following  extract  of  a  law  of 
this  State,  entitled  "  An  act  to  amend  an  act  providing  for  the  registry  of  births, 
marriages,  and  deaths,"  passed  April  2,  1853  : 

Extract  from  the  Statutes. 

"  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  clergymen,  magistrates,  and  other  i>ersons  who  per- 
form the  marriage  ceremony  in  the  city  of  New  York,  to  keep  a  registry  of  the 
marriages  celebrated  by  them,  which  shall  contain,  as  near  as  the  same  can  be  as- 
certained, the  names  and  surnames  of  the  parties  married,  the  residence,  age, 
and  condition  of  each,  whether  single  or  widowed,  and  to  report  the  same  on  or 
before  the  first  Monday  of  each  and  every  month  to  the  City  Inspector. 

"  Sec.  7.  Every  person  who  shall  neglect  to  comply  with,  or  violate  the  pro- 
visions of  this  act,  shall  forfeit  and  pay  for  each  offence  the  sum  of  $50." 

As  the  chief  officer  of  this  department,  it  is  my  duty  to  sej  that  the  provis- 
ions of  this  law  are  complied  with,  and  any  omission  or  neglec:  to  comply  with 
the  same  will  compel  the  enforcement  of  its  requirements. 
Very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

DANIEL  E.  DELAVAN,  City  Inspector. 


ABCHBISHOP  HOGHES'  REPLY. 

New  York,  May  26, 1860. 

Sir — It  is  within  a  few  days  that  I  received  your  communication 
dated  April  1st,  of  this  year.  I  would  beg  leave  to  say  that  notiiing 
is  left  undone  in  the  Cliurch  to  which  I  belong  which  is  not  in  har- 
mony with  the  best  interests  of  society.    Persons  proposing  to  be 


LETTERS.  521 

married  are  published  in  their  respective  churches,  on  different  pub- 
lic occasions,  previous  to  their  matrimonial  contract.  Every  precau- 
tion is  taken  to  guard  against  the  domestic  iniquities  which  are  too 
often  sanctioned  by  other  official  officers  of  civil  matrimony.  I  have, 
therefore,  to  say,  with  the  utmost  respect,  that  many  cases  have  oc- 
curred, and  are  still  hable  to  occur,  in  which  it  is  for  the  Catholic 
priest  to  remedy  privately  the  evils  which  the  corruption  of  morals 
may  have  entailed,  so  far  as  any  remnant  of  private  conscience  is 
concerned  on  the  part  of  the  delinquents.  But  I  beg  to  say,  once 
for  all,  that  unless  under  coercion,  I  shall  never  betray  these  or  sim- 
ilar weaknesses  of  fallen  human  nature,  when  it  turns  up  in  the  form 
of  penitence.  If  the  State  appointed  a  salary  for  clergymen  to  per- 
form marriage,  or  any  other  religious  act,  as  its  official  agent,  I  can 
understand  that  the  State  might  have  a  right  to  inquire  into  the 
manner,  time,  circumstances,  etc.,  of  such  act,  and  to  hold  its  agent 
responsible  to  its  laws.  There  may  be  those  who  will  admit  the 
obligation,  in  the  absence  of  these  conditions,  to  render  the  State  an 
account  of  their  stewardship.  But  I  beg  leave  to  say,  with  the  ut- 
most respect  for  all  human  legal  authority,  that  I  am  not  of  the  num- 
ber. I  am  prepared  for  a  prison,  or  for  a  scaffold ;  but  I  am  not 
prepared  to  obey  a  requisition  which  would  violate  the  obligations 
of  my  conscience  in  a  country  like  this,  in  which  it  is  said  that  civil 
and  religious  liberty  is  the  right  of  every  citizen. 
Very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 
•!«  JOHN,  Archbishop  of  New  York. 

Daioel  E.  DKTiAYAJr,  Esq.,  City  Inspector. 


ME.  DELAVAN  TO  THE  ARCHBISHOP 

■Y  Inspectok's  ] 
New  York,  May  31,  1860. 


City  Inspectok's  Department,) 


His  Grace,  Archbishop  Hughes  : 

Sir — Upon  the  receipt  of  your  letter  of  the  26th  inst.,  I  submitted  the  same 
to  the  Corporation  Counsel,  with  the  accompanying  note : 
(See  copy,  hereto  annexed,  dated  May  28,  1860.) 
To  which  1  haVe  received  the  follo\ving  reply  : 
(See  copj-,  hereto  annexed,   dated  May  28,  1860.) 

You  therefore  see  that  a  compliance  with  the  statute  becomes  imperatively 
necessary  ;  and  should  such  compliance  not  be  made,  I  shall  have  discharged 
my  duty  in  placing  the  matter  in  the  hands  of  the  recognized  authorities  to  act 
in  the  premises  as  they  may  deem  proper. 
Very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

DANIEL  K  DELAVAN,  City  Inspector. 


522  AECHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

THE  VICAB-GENERAL  TO  MR.  DELAVAX. 

New  York,  June  1, 1860. 
To  Daniel  E.  Delavax,  City  Inspector : 

Sir — Youi-  letter  of  the  3lst  ult.,  to  the  Most  Rev.  Archbishop 
Hughes,  in  reference  to  marriages,  has  been  duly  received.  The 
Most  Rev.  Archbishop  is  absent  fi-om  home  for  a  few  days ;  but  I 
have  no  doubt  that  he  will  reply  as  soon  as  he  returns.  I  deem  it 
my  duty  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  letter  iu  his  absence. 
Very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

WM.  STARRS,  V.  G. 


THE  ARCHBISHOP  TO  MR.  DELAVAN. 

New  York,  June  9, 1860. 
Sib — On  my  return  from  the  South  I  find  your  communication 
dated  May  31,  1860.  What  I  stated  in  a  former  communication 
was  not  by  any  means  intended  to  be  construed  except  as  an  expla- 
nation. I  have  no  wish  to  claim,  either  in  my  own  name  or  in  that 
of  the  religious  community  to  which  I  belong,  any  exception  from 
the  laws  of  the  State  or  of  the  Union.  It  remains,  therefore,  for  the 
Corporation  Counsel  and  yourself  to  proceed  in  the  matter  as  it  is 
enjoined  upon  you  to  do  by  your  oath  of  ofiice. 
Very  respectfully. 

Your  obedient  servant, 

4.  JOHN,  Archbishop  of  New  York. 

Daitiel  E.  DEiiAVAN,  Esq.,  City  Inspector. 


To  the  JEditor  of  the  Herald  : 

Mr.  Daniel  E.  Delavan,  City  Inspector,  having  inaugurated  a 
private  correspondence  with  the  Archbishop  of  New  York,  has 
betrayed  the  implied  privacy  by  publishing  the  correspondence  with- 
out the  knowledge  or  consent  of  the  other  party.  How  far  the 
decency  of  official  position  could  have  warranted  such  a  course  on 
the  part  of  the  City  Inspector  it  is  for  others  to  say.  His  principle 
of  guidance  was  to  be  inferred  from  the  laws  of  the  land  and  his 
oath  of  office.  But,  turning  aside  from  these,  he  has  made  his 
appeal  to  the  public  press.  What  his  object  may  be  in  selecting  the 
archbishop  as  the  target  for  odium  it  is  difficult,  or  rather  it  is  not 
difficult,  to  say.     Others  have  kept  afloat  when  they  were  likely  to 


LETTEES.  523 

sink,  or  for  tlie  morpent,  risen  higher  by  such  a  course  as  that  which 
Mr.  Delavan  has  adopted.  There  is  a  hiw  respecting  marriage  in 
the  city  of  New  York,  odious,  unpopular,  and,  as  the  writer  thinks, 
unconstitutional.  Mr.  Delavan  has  taken  an  oath  to  execute  that 
law.  The  State  has  given  him  power — his  oath  of  office  binds  him 
to  do  so.  And  yet  he  only  writes  in  the  newspapers.  In  his  state- 
ment, as  published  in  the  Herald  of  this  day,  he  does  not  quote  the 
entire  statute  of  1853.  And,  in  the  portion  which  he  does  quote, 
he  substitutes  words  of  his  own  for  others  which  the  Legislature 
employed.  The  second  letter  of  the  Archbishop  was  mainly  in 
answer  to  the  contents  of  an  official  communication — drawn  up  with 
great  solemnity,  bound  together  with  fresh  green  ribbon.  This 
second  letter  was  in  reply  to  the  contents  of  this  document,  which 
the  City  Inspector,  in  his  appeal  to  the  newspapers,  has  thought 
proper  to  suppress. 

The  law  itself  was  passed  April  2, 1853,  and  has  not  been  enforced, 
in  a  single  instance,  up  to  the  present  time. 

In  the  tirst  paragraph  it  is  required  that  clergymen,  magistrates, 
and  other  persons  who  perform  the  marriage  ceremony  in  the  city 
of  New  York,  shall  keep  a  register  of  the  marriages  celebrated  by 
them,  which  shall  contain,  as  near  as  the  same  can  be  ascertained, 
the  name  and  surname  of  the  parties  married,  the  residence,  age, 
and  condition  of  each,  and  whether  single  or  widowed.  In  paragraph 
four  of  the  same  act  it  is  provided  that  the  City  Inspector  of  the 
city  of  New  York  shall  be  entitled  to  receive  such  fees  for  recording 
each  birth,  marriage,  or  death  as  the  Board  of  Supervisors  of  the 
city  of  New  York  shall  establish,  the  fees  for  recording  the  births 
being  payable  by  the  Board  of  Supervisors,  and  the  recording  of 
marriages  by  the  person  reporting  the  same,  it  being  provided  that 
the  fee  for  recording  ^ach  birth  or  marriage  shall  not  exceed  the 
sum  of  one  dime.  Paragraph  five  says,  every  clergyman,  magis- 
trate, or  other  person  solemnizing  marriage,  and  i-eporting  the  same 
in  accordance  with  this  act,  shall  be  entitled  to  demand  and  receive 
for  the  same,  from  the  parties,  the  sum  of  at  least  one  dollar,  out  of 
which  he  shall  pay  the  fee  for  recording  such  marriage. 

The  seventh  paragraph  says :  Every  person  who  shall  neglect,  or 
refuse  to  comply  with,  or  violate  the  provisions  of  this  act,  shall 
forfeit  and  pay  for  each  offence  the  sum  of  fifty  dollars,  to  be  sued 
for  and  recovered  in  the  name  of  the  Mayor,  Aldermen,  and  Com- 
monalty of  the  city  of  New  York,  and  the  penalty,  when  recovered, 
shall  be  paid  over,  one-half  thereof  to  the  Corporation  of  the  city  of 
New  York,  and  one-half  to  the  party  making  complaint  thereof 

The  parties  who  contrived  this  law  were  understood,  at  the  time, 
to  have  intended  merely  the  creation  of  a  new  clerkship,  or  the 
increase  of  emoluments  to  the  City  Inspector's  office,  at  the  rate  of 
ten  cents  for  every  marriage  to  be  performed  in  the  city  of  New 
York.  Magistrates  are  officers  of  the  law  ;  clergymen  are  merely 
•what  they  profess  to  be,  and  receive  no  emolument  from  the  State. 
The  act  provides  for  the  registering,  by  physicians  and  professional 


524  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

midwives,  of  the  several  births  in  wliich  they  have  assisted  pro- 
fessionally. They  are  taxed  also  for  every  such  birth  the  sum  often 
cents.  But  the  fees  for  recording  such  births  are  payable  by  the 
Board  of  Supervisors — whilst  the  clergyman  who  performs  the  mar- 
riage is  obliged  to  travel  to  the  Inspector's  office  with  a  record  ot 
the  same,  and  to  pay  a  penalty  often  cents  out  of  his  own  pocket  for 
the  privilege  of  the  journey.  It  is  true  that  the  law  authorizes  him 
to  demand  from  the  parties  married  the  sum  of  at  least  one  dollar, 
out  of  which  he  shall  pay  the  fee.  So  that,  after  committing  simony 
under  the  statute,  by  selling  or  charging  for  a  sacred  rite,  he  has 
ninety  cents  left  out  of  one  dollar  to  compensate  him  for  his  trudging 
visit  to  the  Inspector's  office. 

But  it  may  not  have  occurred  either  to  the  Legislature  or  Mr. 
Delavan  that  parties  may  wish  and  have  a  right  to  get  married  wlio 
have  not  even  a  dollar  to  give.  What  is  the  clergyman  to  do  in 
that  case  ? 

Independent  of  all  this,  the  true  compliance  with  the  law  would 
involve  all  clergymen,  on  occasions  of  marriage,  in  a  position  of 
odium  and  insolence  degrading  to  themselves,  offensive  and  intoler- 
able to  the  free  people  of  the  city  of  New  York.-  They  are  required 
to  ascertain  the  name  and  surname  of  the  parties  married.  This 
was  a  matter  of  course  before  the  act  was  passed.  But,  in  addition, 
they  are  required  to  ascertain  the  residence,  age,  and  condition  of 
each  of  the  parties.  Let  us  take  these  three  requirements  in  suc- 
cession. First,  the  clergyman  is  really  bound  to  know  that  the 
parties  about  to  contract  matrimony  are  free  to  do  so. 

Their  residence  does  not  belong  to  the  rite  of  matrimony.  And 
if  any  clergyman  should  ask  the  street  and  number  of  their  abode, 
they  would  have  a  right  to  say,  "  It  is  none  of  your  business ;  we 
come  to  be  married,  and  not  to  give  details  which  belong  to  the 
department  of  the  census."  Next  question  to  be  asked,  under  this 
precious  law,  is  the  age  of  the  parties  respectively — "  Pi'ay,  sir, 
what  is  your  age  ?"  "  I  came  to  be  married,  not  to  tell  my  age." 
"  And  now,  young  lady,  pray,  how  old  may  you  be  ?"  The  clergy- 
man who  would  address  such  a  question,  at  such  a  moment,  to  a  lady 
about  to  be  married,  would  incur,  and  justly,  the  indignation  of 
every  relative  and  every  friend  of  hers  who  would  come  to  witness 
the  ceremonial.  He  might  blush  and  bow  his  head,  and  say  that  he 
acted  under  the  requirements  of  an  act  of  the  Legislature,  and  of 
Mr.  Delavan,  City  Inspector.  But  if  the  whole  company  hurled 
their  bouquets,  or  something  harder,  at  the  head  of  the  clergyman 
who  should  have  the  indelicacy,  whether  in  obedience  or  disobedi- 
ence to  the  law,  to  ask  such  a  question,  at  such  a  moment,  no  one 
could  blame  them.  It  would  be  an  insult,  aggravated  by  time,  place, 
and  circumstance ;  and  the  people  of  New  York,  whether  high  or 
low,  rich  or  poor,  would  not  stand  it.  The  next  interrogatory  pre- 
scribed in  the  law  would  be  as  to  the  condition  of  each.  The  parties 
could  answer,  with  great  propriety,  "  Our  condition  is  our  own ;  we 
are  not  bound  to  say  whether  our  parents  were  oystermen  or  baro- 


LETTERS.  525 

nets  ;  we  are  what  we  are ;  we  came  here  to  be  married,  and  not  to 
be  inquisitionized." 

Tlie  clergyman,  if  such  a  clergyman  could,  by  any  possibility,  be 
found  in  New  York,  who  should  have  gone  through  these  require- 
ments of  the  law  of  Mr.  Delavan,  might  allege  the  authority  whifch 
comjielled  him  to  be  rude  and  insolent.  But  the  whole  thing  is 
stupid,  absurd,  and,  as  to  its  execution,  utterly  impossible.  The 
people  would  not,  and  certainly  should  not,  submit  to  any  such 
insolence.  Nor  should  any  clei-gyman  who  has  a  decent  respect  for 
his  office  degrade  that  office  by  voluntary  obedience  to  so  stupid  a 
requirement  in  regard  to  the  most  sacred  institution  that  is  known 
to  Christian  civilization.  Marriage  is  the  basis  of  all  that  is  pure 
and  dignified  in  the. Christian  family.  If  ignorant  legislators  tamper 
with  marriage,  they  will  inflict  a  deep  wound  upon  the  social  con- 
dition. 

It  is  said  that  in  Catholic  countries  the  civil  law  takes  cognizance  of 
marriage,  and  France  has  been  referred  to.  But  ask  any  respectable 
Frenchman,  who  is  imbued  with  Christian  ideas,  why  it  is  that  in  the 
principal  towns,  especially  Paris,  there  are  so  many  illegitimate 
births,  and  he  will  answer  immediately  that,  making  large  allowance 
for  human  depravity,  those  births  are  to  be  accounted  for  by  the 
fact  that  the  State  has  multiplied  civil  impediments  to  marriage,  and 
that  large  classes  of  the  poor,  especially,  falling  into  sin,  are  willing 
to  persevere  in  it  rather  than  go  through  the  ordeal  of  marriage 
which  the  State  has  prescribed. 

Now,  it  is  not  to  be  denied  that  marriage  is,  to  some  extent,  a 
subject  for  State  solicitude.  Local  registries  in  every  church  and  by 
every  magistrate  ought  to  be  preserved  ;  in  the  Catholic  Church 
they  are  preserved.  For  statistics  the  State  should  have  a  right  to 
claim  the  knowledge  of  the  number  of  marriages  performed  during 
any  given  time.  But  they  should  not  require  of  the  clergyman  to 
pay  ten  cents  for  every  marriage  performed  by  him,  as  a  perquisite, 
to  the  City  Inspector's  office.  They  should  not  require  of  him  to 
find  out  the  age  of  a  3'oung  gentleman  and  lady  who  are  about  to  bo 
married,  or  their  condition  in  life,  or  any  other  knowledge  that 
might  be  intrusive  on  the  domestic  privileges  of  American  families. 

It  has  been  said  that  the  Archbishop  opposes  the  law.  He  does 
so  emphatically  in  the  sense  of  moral  opposition,  because  he  regards 
the  law  as  contemptuous  and  oppressive  towards  the  clergy,  insolent 
and  offensive  to  the  laity  ;  and,  therefore,  it  is  very  well  understood 
that,  except  under  physical  coercion,  administered  by  the  City 
Inspector,  he  at  least  shall  have  nothing  to  do  with  it. 

*  • 


A  CARD  TO  THE  PUBLIC. 


In  a  recent  correspondence  with  the  City  Inspector  of  New  Yoi  k, 
the  Archbishop  sanctioned  the  publication  of  a  statement  prejudical 


526  AECHBISHOP   HrGHES. 

to  Mr,  Delavan,  and  which  statement  he  now  finds  to  have  originated 
in  a  mistake.  The  statement  was  that  Mr.  Delavan,  in  sending 
documents  to  the  newspapers,  had  suppressed  one  portion  of  the 
correspondence.  Mr.  Delavan  has  denied  this,  and,  on  stricter 
examination,  the  Archbishop  acknowledges  that  Mr.  Delavan,  so 
far,  was  entirely  correct,  and  the  Archbishop  entirely  in  erior.  The 
Archbishop  for  this  apologizes  to  Mr.  Delavan,  for  he  would  rather 
forfeit  a  triumph  than  be  unfair  or  ungenerous  to  any  human 
being. 

The  correspondence,  though  brief,  when  printed  in  the  newspapers, 
was,  on  the  other  hand,  protracted  from  the  1st  of  April  until  the 
13th  of  June.  During  this  interval  the  Archbishop  was  often  absent 
fi'om  home,  and  especially  towards  the  end,  during  his  visit  to  North 
Carolina.  The  communications  of  Mr.  Delavan,  unfortunately, 
arrived,  for  the  most  part,  during  his  absence ;  and  it  was  probably 
owing  to  this  that  the  mistake  referred  to  before  seemed  to  have 
its  foundation  in  truth.  But  the  Archbishop  does  not  pretend  that 
this  is  a  legitimate  excuse.  He  should  have  made  himself  certain  of 
the  truth  of  the  whole  matter  *  for  it  is  not  of  much  importance 
whether  an  individual  be  injured  by  design  or  by  accident.  When 
he  is  injured  unintentionally  he  is  entitled  to  that  reparation  which 
the  Archbishop,  in  this  case,  now  offers. 

It  must  not  be  understood,  however,  that  the  Archbishop  hereby 
relinquishes  one  iota  of  the  principle  involved  in  the  veiy  unneces- 
sary controversy  which  Mr.  Delavan  has  fixed  upon  him. 

*  JOHN  HUGHES,  Archbishop  of  New  York. 
New  Yobk,  July  5, 1860. 


VISIT  TO  IRELAND. 

INTERVIEW  WITH  THE  COMMTTEE  OF  THE  NATIONAL 
BROTHERHOOD. 

[Although  the  following  document  does  not  come  under  the  head  of  "  Let- 
ters," still  it  was  deemed  necessary  to  insert  it  here,  in  order  to  properly  imder- 
stand  the  two  letters  that  follow.] 

From  the  Dublin  FreemarCs  Journal. 

On  Tuesday  evening,  July  22d,  1862,  a  meeting  of  Nationalists  was  held 
in  the  hall  of  the  National  Brotherhood  of  St.  Patrick,  Dublin,  to  take  into  con- 
sideration the  propriety  of  presenting  an  address,  expressive  of  their  affection  and 
reverential  admiration  for  the  Archbishop  of  New  York.  An  address  was  read, 
which  it  was  agreed  should  be  presented  to  His  Grace.  It  was  then  agreed  that 
His  Grace  should  be  forthwith  communicated  with,  to  learn  at  what  time  he 


LETTEKS.  527 

would  be  prepared  to  receive  the  address.  His  Grace  fixed  the  hour  of  lialf  past 
eleven  on  Thursday  morning.  On  Thursday  morning  the  deputation,  headed  by 
The  O'Donoghoe,  proceeded  to  the  Qresham  Hotel,  where  they  were  received  with 
kindly  and  a!ffectionate  cordiality  by  His  Grace.  Mr.  M'DonneU  was  directed  to 
read  and  present  the  address.  It  expressed  much  reverence  and  affectionate 
admiration  for  His  Grace,  as  a  great  prelate  of  the  Church,  and  a  man  wlio,  by 
his  genius  and  his  virtues,  had  done  so  mucli  to  raise  the  character  of  the  Irish 
race  in  America  ;  it  mentioned  how  great  a  benefactor  and  a  blessing  he  had 
been  to  the  poor  Irish  exiles  thrown  upon  the  quays  of  New  York. 

His  Grace,  after  the  address  had  been  presented,  addressed  the  deputation  in 
the  most  kindly  and  affectionate  manner.  He  said — I  assure  you,  gentlemen,  it 
would  be  ditficult — it  would  he  impossible — to  express  the  feelings  with  which 
I  receive  this  most  complimentary  expression  of  your  regard.  I  have  received 
more  than  one  address  already  since  I  came  to  Ireland  ;  and  yours  shares  this 
one  defect  with  all  the  others,  that  in  it  any  thing  I  have  done  has  been  greatly 
exaggerated.  In  this  address  you  touch  on  topics  on  which,  indeed,  I  have 
very  much  to  say ;  but  having  been  taken  somewhat  by  surprise,  I  have  not 
had  an  opportunity  to  prepare  a  written  reply — there  have  been  so  many  de- 
mands upon  my  time  ;  but  I  promise  you  tliat,  before  I  leave  Ireland,  I  will 
send  you  such  written  expression  of  the  feelings  inspired  by  your  kind  address. 
The  O'Djnoghoe  is,  I  suppose,  your  leader 

Mr.  Holland — The  0  Donoghoe,  my  Lord,  is  the  leader  of  the  Nationalists  of 
Ireland.    (Applause.) 

His  Grace — I  hope  he  will  be  leader  of  all  Ireland  yet ;  for  I  think  his  talents, 
hie  character,  Ms  position,  and  his  old  liistoric  name  qualify  him  for  such  a  post 
of  leadership.  (Hear,  hear.)  He  is  still  a  young  man  ;  but  when  he  is  as  old 
as  I  am,  I  trust  he  will  have  many  years  of  good  and  faithful  service  done  to 
his  country  to  look  back  upon  with  satisfaction,  i  Applause.)  But  your  ref- 
erence to  the  funeral  of  M'Manus  brings  many  strange  old  recollections  to  my 
mmd.  1  left  Ireland  when  I  was  young ;  though,  indeed,  not  very  young,  for  I 
was  eighteen  years  old.  Many  things  were  far  different  in  Ireland  then  from 
what  they  are  now.  There  have  been  great  changes  since.  It  was  a  surprise 
to  me  to  find  that  M'Manus  was  not  only  a  brother  Irishman,  but,  as  it  were,  a 
neighbor  of  my  own,  for  he  was  a  Monaghan  man ;  so  also  was  Devin  Keilly. 
When  I  was  called  upon  to  perform  those  religious  rites  over  the  remains  of 
M'Manus  I  received  a  letter  from  the  Archbishop  of  San  Francisco,  informing 
me  how  he  had  died,  how  true  a  Catholic  he  had  been,  how  he  had  received 
the  last  solemn  rites  and  the  sacraments  of  the  Church,  and  how  editying  a 
death  was  his.  You  know  how  much  gratification  I  therefore  had  in  celebra- 
ting those  religious  offices  over  his  remains.  (Applause.)  You  have  spoken  of 
M'Manus  as  a  good  patriot ;  but  there  is  something  more.  We  may  all  have 
our  faults  ;  and  I  can  respect  those  who  struggle  for  a  righteous  cause,  though 
they  may  act  rashly  and  imprudently.  No  human  being  can  live  without  some 
faults ;  but  we  have  all  of  us  the  one  guide  to  turn  to — religion — revelation. 
To  all  true  men,  whatever  their  condition  or  struggle  may  be,  religion  must  be 
every  thing  ;  holding  by  that  we  cannot  go  wrong.  (Hear,  hear.)  Now  (con- 
tinued His  Grace,  with  a  smile),  I  will  confess  to  you,  gentlemen,  that  when  I 
left  this  country  for  America  (then  so  young  a  man)  I  had  a  kind  of  spite  against 
priests  and  bishops.  (Much  laughter.)  Kemember  how  long  ago  that  was — 
well,  my  spite  against  the  priests  and  bishops  was  based  on  the  false  im- 
pression that  they  stood  between  our  people  and  their  liberties — that  but  for 
them  Ireland  would  be  free.    (Laughter  and  applause.) 

His  Grace — But,  you  know,  I  was  mistaken.  There  was  one  bishop,  of  whom 
I  never  heard  any  thing  but  what  was  bad  (Laughter.)  In  fact,  he  was  re- 
ported to  be  a  regular  Government  man.  (Renewed  laughter.)  You  may  be 
sure  I  did  not  like  him ;  but,  let  me  confess  it,  I  found  afterwards  that  he  was 
one  of  the  best  friends  of  Ireland.  You  know  his  was  the  time  of  what  is  called 
the  revolution  of  '98 ;  a  movement,  in  which,  after  all,  the  means  were  not 
equal  to  the  object  proposed  ;  and  that  is  every  thing.  (Hear,  hear.)  Now, 
gentlemen,  there  are  three  grounds  on  which  alone,  according  to  the  teaching 


528  AECHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

of  our  Church,  rebellion  is  justifiable.  St.  Thomas,  of  Aquinas,  you  know,  lays 
them  down  very  clearly.  One  condition  is — if  the  country  is  borne  down  by  a 
grievous  weight  of  tyranny — that  is  the  extreme  condition.  But,  then,  in  the 
government  of  men  some  allowance  must  be  made  ;  for  government  and  laws 
are  only  the  embodiment  of  great  general  principles ;  and,  human  nature  not 
being  perfect,  the  operation  of  the  law  may  sometimes  be  opposed  to  the  very 
principles  of  equity  they  are  supposed  to  inculcate.  Take,  for  example,  the 
case  of  that  Catholic  lady  who  married  that  Protestant — what  shall  I  call  liim  ? 
(Laughter.)     What  was  her  name  ? 

The  O'Donoghoe — Mrs.  Yelverton. 

Archbishop  Hughes  -Just  so.  Well,  hers  was  a  case  in  which  an  Irish 
judge  and  an  Irish  jury  decided  by  equity  and  justice  (hear,  hear),  and  yet  her 
case  may  be  set  aside  on  technicalities  of  law.  These  contradictions  between 
law  and  equity  are  things  we  must  make  allowances  for ;  but,  if  the  people  are 
so  treated  that  there  is  a  general  feeling  amongst  them  that  they  are  subject  to 
intolerable  oppression,  then  that  is  one  ground  and  justification  of  rebelling. 
Another  condition  is  the  justice  of  your  cause  and  object ;  but,  then,  here  is  the 
third  and  great  condition  :  "  Have  you  measured  your  strength,  and  made  sure 
of  success?"  (Hear,  hear.)  If  you  undertake  a  revolution,  and  have  not  so 
measured  your  strength,  you  commit  a  great  crime.  (Hear,  hear.)  It  will  not 
do,  however  just  the  cause,  to  undertake  to  fight  a  great  empire  with  a  few 
rusty  muskets,  and  a  commissariat  contained  in  your  carpet-bag.  (Ap- 
plause and  laughter.)  Such  rash  proceedings  only  insure  ignominious  failure, 
and  settle  the  tyrant  more  firmly  in  his  saddle.  (Hear,  hear.)  No,  the  way 
for  an  oppressed  people  to  achieve  their  rights  is  not  by  rashness  and  intemper- 
ate haste,  but  by  patience,  steadiness,  and  resolute  purpose.  (Applause.)  Gen- 
tlemen, there  are  events  occurring  calculated  to  bring  the  wrongs,  the  miseries, 
the  sufferings  of  the  Irish  people  under  consideration  elsewhere.  (Hear,  hear  ) 
But  if  the  time  comes,  it  will  not  be  to  redress  your  wrongs  merely — for  the 
world  is  selfish,  and  nations  takes  care  of  themselves — it  will  originate  in  an " 
an  effort  to  settle  other  and  more  genera!  grievances  ;  through  them,  no  doubt, 
Ireland  may  have  her  opportunity.  (Murmurs  of  applause.)  I  think  I  have 
said  enough  ;  and  now,  in  conclusion,  gentlemen,  let  me  thank  you  heartily 
for  the  compliment  you  have  paid  me. 

Mr.  Gill — We  thank  your  Grace  for  the  kindly  and  paternal  reception  you 
have  given  us ;  and  we  have  nothing  more  to  say.  except  to  assure  you  that, 
with  the  attack  of  the  English  newspapers  upon  the  great  American  Republic, 
which  are  echoed  by  one  or  two  pseudo-liberal  papers  here  in  Dublin,  the  Irish 
people  have  no  sympathy.    (Hear,  hear.) 

Archbishop  Hughes — I  believe  that ;  but  there  is  an  element  here  called 
"  gentility"— (laughter) — which  follows  that  English  teaching.  But  I  can  as- 
sure you,  gentlemen,  that  those  English  papers  are  filled  with  constant  false- 
hoods respecting  this  American  war.  I  know,  for  example — and  this  is  a  proof 
how  cunningly  they  do  their  work — an  instance  recently,  in  wMch  the  corres- 
pondent of  one  London  journal  stated  a  number  of  facts,  each  individual  fact  of 
which  was  true  ;  but  yet  the  man  had  so  manipulated  and  combined  the  facts 
that  the  entire  statement  became  one  great  falsehood.     (Laughter.) 

Mr.  Harnett — Well,  my  Lord,  whatever  individual  opinions  may  be,  we 
shall  all  be  rejoiced  to  see  the  great  quarrel  ended,  and  peace  and  unity 
restored. 

His  Grace — If  we  do  not  finish  it  soon  enough,  we  will  send  over  for  twenty 
thousand  more  of  you  to  fight  under  our  flag,  and,  please  God,  we  may  end  the 
quarrel  soon.    (Laughter  and  cheers.) 

Mr.  Holland — We  have  plenty  of  good  men  in  our  constabulary,  my  Lord, 
who  would  officer  your  army  readily  enough. 

His  Grace,  after  a  few  words  more,  gave  the  deputation  his  benediction,  and 
the  gentlemen  then  retired  greatly  pleased  by  his  urbanity,  high  gentlemanly 
bearing,  and  cordial  kindliness. 


LETTEE8.  529 


THE  ADDRESS  OF  THE  "  NATIONALISTS." 

Cork,  August  2, 1862. 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Cork  Examiner : 

My  Dear  Sir — On  the  eve  of  my  departure  for  New  York,  I 
beg  permission  to  make  grateful  acknowledgment  of  the  kindness 
and  attention  which  have  been  extended  to  me  since  my  arrival  in 
this  country.  The  occasion  of  my  visit  was  to  deliver  a  discourse 
on  Catholic  educatipn  in  connection  with  the  new  University.  Im- 
mediately on  my  arrival  in  Liverpool,  last  November,  I  promised 
the  Very  Rev.  Dr.  Woodlock  that  before  I  returned  to  America  I 
should  comply  with  his  request,  not  having  at  that  time  any  idea  of 
the  extent  to  which  the  question  of  Catholic  education  had  seized  on 
the  popular  and  national  mind  of  this  kingdom.  The  demonstration 
of  the  20th  ult.,  on  the  occasion  of  laying  the  corner-stone  of  this 
new  university,  is  a  proof  that  the  cause  has  been  taken  to  heart  by 
the  venerable  prelates,  clergy,  and  people  of  Ireland.  During  my 
stay  in  Dublin  I  was  called  upon  to  address  several  assemblies,  prin- 
cipally of  young  men  and  students.  Among  them  was  the  Catholic 
Young  Men's  Society  and  the  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul.  On 
these  and  other  occasions  I  had  to  speak  without  any  special  prepa- 
ration. The  reports  of  my  observations  published  in  the  news- 
papers, though  as  well  taken  down  as  could  be  expected,  were 
oftentimes  inaccurate  as  found  in  the  papei-s.  Not  one  of  them  was 
seen  by  myself,  either  in  manuscript  or  in  proof"  previous  to  their 
publication  ;  and  if,  under  these  circumstances,  there  may  be  found 
thoughts  or  expressions  to  which  exception  may  have  been  taken, 
I  believe  that  in  such  case  the  speaker  is  not  held  to  be  strictly  re- 
sponsible for  what  is  put  in  print. 

During  the  seven  days  of  my  stay  in  Dublin,  there  is  only  one 
circumstance  which  I  cannot  look  back  to  with  entire  satisfaction — 
that  is,  the  publication  of  a  private  conversation  between  several 
gentlemen  and  myself  on  the  occasion  of  presenting  me  with  a  com- 
plimentary address.  That  address  was  read  in  ray  presence,  and  at 
its  close  I  intimated  that  I  should  respond  to  it  in  writing  before- 
taking  my  departure  from  the  country.  The  conversation  that  took 
place,  as  reported  in  the  public  press,  is  partly  true,  and  partly  the 
reverse  of  truth.  The  meaning  which  it  is  intended  to  convey  in 
print  is  not  the  true  meaning  of  my  words  as  uttered  in  conversation. 
But  even  if  this  were  not  so,  I  cannot  but  look  upon  it  as  a  violation 
of  ordinary  courtesy  that  a  private  conversation  with  me  should  be 
given  to  the  public  without  my  previous  knowledge  or  consent  It 
exonerates  me  from  any  written  or  formal  reply  to  the  address  pre- 
sented me,  to  which,  however,  I  feel  bound  to  allude  in  this. parting 
letter. 

P'iist,  The  address  purported  that  it  should  be  presented  by  a 
deputation  from  Nenagh ;  whereas,  in  point  of  fact,  it  is  not  an  ad- 
VoL  II.— 34. 


530  ARCHBISHOP  HUGHES. 

dress  from  the  people  of  any  particular  place  in  Ireland.  It  ap- 
pears to  have  been  written  in  Dublin,  by  authority  of  the  gentlemen 
who  have  seen  fit  to  publish  their  names  in  connection  witli  it.  It 
emanated,  as  we  read,  from  the  meeting  of  Nationalists  held  in  the 
Hall  of  the  National  Brotherhood  of  St.  Patrick  in  Dublin.  And 
yet  no  intimation  was  given  me,  previous  to  its  presentation,  that 
Nationalists  or  Brotherhoods  of  St.  Patrick  had  anything  to  do  with 
it.  I  had  not  heard,  nor  do  I  know  now,  what  is  the  meaning  of  the 
"  Nationalists  of  Ireland,"  I  have  been  told  since  that  the  Brother- 
hood of  St.  Patrick  is  a  secret  society — that  is,  a  society  having  regu- 
lations and  duties  to  which  the  individual  member,  at  the  period  of 
initiation,  binds  himself  by  an  oath,  or  solemn  appeal  to  God,  which 
is  equivalent  to  an  oath.  Every  such  society,  no  matter  by  Avhat 
name  it  calls  itself,  is  condemned  by  the  laws  of  God  and  the  de- 
cisions of  the  Catholic  Church.  Every  such  society  is  unlawful  even 
before  men.  It  is  a  snare  for  those  who  enter  into  it.  It  leads  to 
no  good  either  for  Church  or  State.  It  is  well  known,  both  in 
America  and  Dublin  itself,  that  I  have  ever  opposed  secret  societies, 
as  the  proper  discharge  of  my  duties  as  a  prelate  required  me 
to  do. 

Second.  The  case  of  the  late  Terence  Bellew  McManus  was  intro- 
duced in  the  address,  and  in  reference  to  that  case,  the  gentleman 
presenting  the  document  appeared  not  to  have  been  acquainted  with 
the  facts.  I  was  waited  upon  by  a  committee  of  gentlemen  in  New 
York,  requesting  that  the  holy  sacrifice  of  the  Mass  might  be  offered 
up  for  the  repose  of  the  soul  of  Mc^Ianus ;  that  his  remains,  which 
had  just  then  arrived  from  San  Francisco,  should  be  borne  in  grand 
funeral  procession  through  the  streets  of  New  York  to  the  Cathedral. 
The  first  part  of  the  request  was  granted ;  the  second  was  peremp- 
torily refused.  A  testimonal  from  the  Archbishop  of  San  Francisco, 
to  the  effect  that  McManus  had  received  the  last  rites  of  the  Church 
while  living,  was  a  sufficient  warrant  to  entitle  his  departed  soul  to 
the  prayers  of  the  faithful.  His  remains  were  decently  deposited  in 
the  receiving  vault  of  the  cemetery  until  they  should  be  removed. 
This  is  all  that  can  be  ascribed  to  me,  as  the  Archbishop  of  New 
York.  And  even  this  I  could  not  accept  as  a  compliment,  if,  inten- 
tionally or  accidentally,  it  implied  any  censure  upon  the  conduct  of 
others. 

Third.  It  was  obvious  that  the  liistory  of  McManus  and  his  asso- 
ciates tinged,  if  I  can  so  express  it,  the  whole  conversation.  I  re- 
ferred to  the  bad  impressions  which  calumnies  uttered  against  the 
prelates  and  clergy  of  Ireland  had  upon  ray  own  mind  when  I  was 
yet  young  and  uninformed  of  the  full  state  of  the  case. 

Fourth.  What  I  said  of  the  right  of  revolution  in  general,  ac- 
cording to  Catholic  doctrine,  I  am  represented  as  having  said  in 
)"efei*eiice  to  Ireland  in  particular.  It  had  no  more  reference  to  Ire- 
land than  any  other  country.  It  was  based  on  principles  of  law, 
wiiich,  if  sound,  are  universal.  Belgium  had  recourse  to  revolution, 
and  succeeded,  because  she  had  observed  the  conditions  laid  down 


LETTERS.  531 

by  St.  Thomas.  But  because  Poland  and  Ireland  attempted  a  revo- 
lution when  some,  if  not  all,  the  conditions  to  justify  such  a  course 
were  wanting,  neither  Poland  nor  Ireland  have  been  successful  in 
their  attempt.  In  this  view  of  the  subject,  I  charged  with  rashness 
any  attempt  which  did  not  hold  out  a  reasonable  prospect  of  success 
as  calculated  to  confirm  the  governing  power  more  and  more  in  its 
authority.  But,  altogether,  what  I  said  on  the  occasion  has  been 
apparently  misconceived  or  misrepresented,  so  that  the  true  idea 
does  not  appear  in  the  printed  report. 

I  turn  from  this  rather  unpleasant  topic  to  the  more  agreeable 
duty  of  making  my  grateful  acknowledgments  of  the  kindness  with 
which  I  have  been  received  by  the  clergy  and  people  of  the  Irish 
capital,  and  by  their  brethren  during  a-  brief  visit  to  Killarney  ;  but 
still  more  I  owe  the  expression  of  my  grateful  feelings  to  the  inhabi- 
tants of  this  beautiful  old  Cork,  from  which  I  take  my  departure  for 
my  home  in  the  West.  The  people  of  your  city  have  enabled  me 
to  be  present  at  a  public  banquet  in  which  I  had  the  pleasure  of 
meeting  a  very  large  number  of  your  most  respectable  citizens.  I 
take  it  as  a  personal  honor  that  the  mayor  of  Cork  did  not  hesitate 
to  preside  on  the  occasion.  To  him,  and  to  the  gentlemen  who  sur- 
rounded him  at  the  festive  board,  I  make  my  concluding  and  very 
sincere  acknowledgments. 

Respectfully  your  obedient  servant, 

•J«  JOHN,  Archbishop  of  New  York. 


THE  DEPUTATION  FROM  NENAGH  AND  OTHER  TOPICS 
THAT  HAVE  BEEN  DISCUSSED  IN  IRELAND  AS  ITS 
SEQUEL. 

New  York,  November  29,  1862. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Cork  Examiner : 

Dear  Sir — The  letter  of  leave-taking  which  I  drew  up  in 
the  library  of  his  Honor  the  Mayor,  on  the  morning  before  my  de- 
parture from  Cork,  has  given  rise  to  much  discussion  in  the  Irish 
newspapers  since  my  departure  from  Queenstown. 

I  regret  the  necessity  that  I  felt  incumbent  upon  me  to  make 
known  my  sentiments ;  and  if  the  results  have  been  unpleasant  to 
others,  they  are  almost  painful  to  me.  I  have  been  placed  in 
an  ambiguous  position  before  my  friends  and  before  your  country. 
My  veracity  which,  as  far  as  I  am  aware,  has  never  been  doubted 
in  any  other  land,  has  been  called  into  question  in  Ireland  for  the  first, 
and  probably  for  the  last,  time  in  my  life.     And  thcugh,  when  I 


532  ARCHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

read  the  report  of  my  reply  to  tliat  deputation  in  a  public  journal, 
and  though  I  felt  I  was  wounded,  and  that  unworthy  advantage 
had  been  taken  of  me,  still,  after  ten  minutes'  reflection,  I  made  up 
my  mind  rather  to  submit  to  it  in  silence,  for  the  sake  of  my  native 
land,  than  to  expose  its  parts  or  its  aggregate  in  detail.  This  pur- 
pose I  retained,  shunning,  as  much  as  possible,  all  allusion  to  the 
subject  until  the  Friday  evening  previous  to  my  embarkation.  On 
that  evening  I  was  the  honored  guest  of  Mr.  Maguire.  He  was  kind, 
enough  to  invite  a  number  of  respectable  gentlemen  to  meet  me  at 
dinner.  There  was  no  topic  of  politics  introduced  at  table ;  but, 
during  the  desert,  a  gentlemen  who  sat  directly  opposite  to  me  took 
occasion  to  allude  to  my  reply  to  the  deputation  in  Dublin,  and  M'ith 
a  frankness  for  which  I  thank  him  now,  lie  mentioned  that  it  had 
been  the  theme  of  discussion  in  the  railway  train  among  highly  res- 
pectable gentlemen  whom  he  named ;  that  they  regretted  it ;  that, 
in  their  opinion,  it  was  calculated  to  do  mischief  in  the  interior  of 
Ireland  ;  and  that  they  thought  I  was  bound  to  give  some  explanation 
before  leaving  the  country.  The  gentleman  .himself  seemed  to  be 
of  the  same  opinion  ;  and  the  others  around  tlie  table,  if  silence 
could  be  construed  into  an  approval  of  what  he  said,  seemed  to  be  of 
the  same  opinion.  I  felt  this  not  a  little.  But  I  gave  no  verbal  ex- 
planation either  of  my  feelings  at  the  moment,  or  of  the  facts  of 
the  case. 

Still,  I  made  up  my  mind  to  give  an  explanation  ;  and  the  next 
day  the  good  Mayor  provided  me  in  his  library  with  pen,  ink,  and 
paper.  Ilis  books  were  at  my  service;  but  the  case  did  not  require 
that  I  should  consult  them.  The  letter  was  written  between  ten 
and  eleven  o'clock,  with  scarcely  time  left  for  its  appearance  in  the 
Cork  Mcaminer  that  afternoon. 

Perhaps,  however,  I  will  accomplish  my  object  best  by  giving, 
with  as  much  simplicity  and  brevity  of  language  as  possible,  the  his- 
tory of  the  whole  proceeding. 

On  the  night  of  Wednesday,  23d  of  July,  about  eleven  o'clock, 
when  I  had  already  retired  to  rest,  a  message  was  brought  to  my 
room  from  a  gentlemen  in  the  hall  of  the  hotel,  who  gave  his  name 
as  P.  Gill,  editor  of  the  Tipperary  Advocate,  who  wished  to  know 
when  it  would  be  convenient  for  me  to  receive  a  deputation  from 
Nenagh,  or,  it  may  be,  that  he  was  from  Nenagh  at  the  head  of  a 
deputation.  It  was  too  late  to  give  an  answer,  but  he  was  to  call  in 
the  morning  to  receive  a  response.  Together  with  the  message,  I 
received  what  I  considered  a  rough  draft  of  an  intended  address 
which  was  to  be  presented  to  me.  This  rough  draft,  as  I  i-egarded 
it,  was  written  partly  on  two  sides  of  a  single  leaf  of  ruled  paper, 
such  as  might  have  been  picked  up  from  the  desk,  or  even  the  floor 
of  a  scrivener's  office.  It  bore  no  date  of  either  time  or  place — it  had 
no  signature — it  was  not  written  on  the  responsibility,  so  far  as  the 
document  itself  is  evidence,  of  any  man,  or  any  number  of  men  in 
Ireland.  All  this  you  will  see  in  the  original  before  the  close  of  this 
communicatioQ. 


LETTERS.  533 

I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  the  value  of  an  address  is  not  to  be 
sought  for  in  the  sentiments  which  it  expresses — for  tliose  indeed 
constitute  its  true  worth.  But,  in  presenting  any  thing  wortliy  to 
be  called  an  address,  it  is  usual  to  incorporate  something  of  its  his- 
tory and  derivation.  It  is  also  customary  to  furnish,  iu  connection 
with  it,  something  that  may  be  called  its  "mountings."  Thus,  the 
Catholic  young  men  of  Dublin,  with  exquisite  taste,  surprised  me  at 
their  meeting  with  a  complimentary  address,  imprinted  with  letters 
of  gold  on  green  silk,  and  beautifully  mounted.  Thus,  also,  the  mu- 
nicipal authorities  of  the  city  of  New  York,  in  their  own  name,  and 
in  that  of  their  constituents,  presented  me  with  an  official  address 
of  congratulation  on  the  occasion  of  my  safe  return  to  ray  home  and 
to  my  flock. 

This,  as  may  be  supposed,  was  gotten  up  in  style  superior  to  any 
thing  that  I  had  previously  received. 

Addresses  from  one  thousand  orphan  children — from  the  boys  and 
girls  of  our  parochial  schools — were  all,  both  before  my  departure 
and  since  my  return,  engrossed  and  presented  with  sentiments  and 
the  formality  of  mountings,  which  rendered  them  very  dear  to  me, 
and  worthy  to  be  preserved  as  long  as  I  live.  How,  then,  could  I 
imagine  that  the  leaf  of  ruled  paper  to  which  I  have  referred  could 
have  been  intended  as  the  address  to  which  the  deputation  referred? 
At  the  close  of  the  interview,  seeing  that  they  had  no  copy  of  their  own, 
and  that  they  borrowed  mine  for  recital,  I  offered  it  to  them,  think- 
ing that  it  might  be  of  use  to  them  in  engrossing  what  they  had  in- 
tended to  be  the  real  address.  This  they  declined,  stating  they  did 
not  need  it. 

But  to  return.  It  was  appointed,  however,  the  next  morning 
that  I  should  be  happy  to  receive  the  deputation,  or  whatever  it 
might  be  called,  between  eleven  and  twelve  o'clock  that  day.  They 
were  punctual  to  the  hour.  They  were  introduced  one  after  the 
other  by  The  O'Donoghoe.  It  appears  they  had  no  address  of  their 
own,  but  they  borrowed  mine,  which  I  had  read  in  the  morning, 
and  caused  it  to  be  read  again  by  a  young  man  accompanying  them. 
After  the  reading  had  been  concluded,  there  were  but  two  courses 
to  be  adopted  by  me.  One  was  to  thank  them  briefly  for  their  kind 
intentions.  But  this,  especially  if  they  had  come  from  Nenagh  to  pay 
me  a  compliment,  would  seem  to  be  discourteous,  if  not  harsh,  on 
my  part.  I  determined,  instead,  to  make  a  few  impromptu  remarks 
in  reference  to  what  had  just  taken  place,  and  bearing  on  the  substance 
of  their  address.  These  remarks,  though  not  without  a  purpose  to 
render  them  perhaps  instructive,  if  not  agreeable,  were  uttered  in  a 
playful  manner  and  colloquial  tone  of  voice.  I  did  not  know  any  of 
the  gentlemen  present,  not  having  seen  any  of  them  either  previous 
to  or  since  the  interview,  except  the  gentleman  who  introduced 
them. 

My  language  was  familiar  and  confiding.  The  O'Donoghoe's 
presence  made  me  feel  that  I  was  half  surrounded  by  friends.  Judge 
of  my  astonishment,  then,  when  I  discovered  in  a  public  newspaper 


534  ARCHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

a  report  of  my  reply,  without  any  preceding  report  of  the  so-called 
address,  of  which  it  would  be  an  acknowledgment. 

It  never  occurred  to  me  that  there  was  among  the  gentlemen 
comprising  the  deputation,  or  whatever  they  may  call  it,  one  who 
had  been  professionally  unknown  to  me,  purloining  the  sounds  of 
my  voice,  acting  as  a  "skilled  short-hand  writer  of  many  years  prac- 
tice," and  preparing  for  the  public  press  a  report  of  my  observa- 
tions, which  I  never  was  to  have  an  opportunity  of  seeing,  revising, 
or  correcting,  until  it  appeared  in  the  papers.  If  he  had  come  and 
been  introduced  as  a  reporter  for  the  press,  he  need  not  have  been 
one  iota  the  less  a  gentleman.  I  should  have  received  him  just  the 
same  as  the  others,  and  should  either  have  declined  making  any  remarks, 
or  I  should  have  furnished  him  with  the  appropriate  accommodation 
for  the  exercise  of  his  mysterious,  but,  sometimes  useful  art,  with  a 
view  to  correct  his  report  before  it  should  be  handed  over  to  merci- 
less type.  Nothing  of  this,  however,  took  place.  But  after  the  ap- 
pearance of  my  letter  in  Cork,  and  my  departure  from  the  Irish 
shores,  new  issues  have  been  raised.  The  reporter  insists  upon  the 
the  entire  accuracy  of  his  production.  Now,  that,  in  reality,  was 
not  the  grievance  of  which  I  complained.  But  my  complaint  was, 
that  any  one  of  these  gentlemen,  so  respectably  introduced,  should 
have  turned  stenographer  or  reporter,  I  may  say,  so  far  as  I  am 
concerned,  in  a  clandestine  manner,  and  surreptitiously  procure  for 
his  own  use  a  report  of  my  remarks,  which  I  was  never  allowed  to 
have  seen  until  it  was  too  late  for  me  to  suppress,  amend,  or  correct 
any  thing  therein  contained.  In  my  letter  I  said  that  the  report  was 
partly  true  and  partly  the  reverse  of  truth.  To  be  a  true  report  it 
should  have  omitted  nothing — it  should  have  added  or  altered  nothing. 
The  reporter  admits  that  he,  writing,  as  he  tells  us,  '■'■against  timey*^ 
"omitted  in  transcription  of  his  notes  those  unimportant  and  irrele- 
vant observations  which  were  spoken  in  a  colloquial  tone,  and,  as  it 
were,  in  parenthesis,  by  the  Archbishop,  and  which  had  no  reference 
to  the  subject  matter  before  us."  And  he  adds  immediately,  "  the 
faithful  accuracy  of  my  report  is  then  unquestionable.''''  This  is  a 
most  illogical  conclusion  from  his  foregoing  acknowledgment  that 
he  left  out  what  he  took  upon  himself  to  think  irrelevant.  When 
you  reflect  on  the  circumstances  under  which  I  spoke,  and  when  the 
short-hand  reporter  had  his  own  version  of  my  remaiks  already  in 
type,  I  am  sure,  you  will  come  to  the  conclusion  that  it  was  a  hard  and 
ungenerous  test  that  I  should  correct  from  memory  the  inaccuracies 
of  his  report.  I  remember,  however,  one  case  in  which  I  know  he 
has  substituted  a  word  of  his  own  in  place  of  the  word  expressed 
by  me. 

To  undei'stand  this  mistake,  permit  me  to  observe  that  a  member 
of  Parliament  in  the  British  dominions  is,  I  believe,  called  the  mem- 
ber for  such  a  town  or  city.  In  ray  reference  to  The  O'Donoghoe, 
for  whose  agreeable  presence  I  did  not  know  to  what  circumstance 
either  I  or  the  deputation  was  indebted,  and  somewhat  curious,  I 
obsei'ved  :  "  The  O'Donoghoe  is,  I  suppose,  your  representative." 


LETFERS.  585 

But  so  long  unaccustomed  to  the  ordinary  language  used  in  Ireland 
and  England  to  express  my  idea,  I  said :  "  The  O'Donoghoe  is,  I 
suppose,  your  representative,"  or  some  Avord  equivalent  to  that, 
meaning  thereby  that  I  supposed  the  audience  were  his  constituents, 
and  he  was  their  member  in  Parliament.  Of  this  sentiment  and  pur- 
pose I  am  entirely  conscious,  as  the  idea  which  I  wished  to  express. 
In  this  country  members  of  Congress  are  called  in  their  aggregate 
by  that  term.  But  the  country  is  divided  into  Congressional  dis- 
tricts, allowing  a  member  for  each  district,  according  to  the  required 
number  of  its  population.  Towards  the  district,  the  individual  mem- 
ber is  called  representative  of  district  so-and-so,  and  the  people  of 
that  district  are  called  his  constituents'.  This  was  my  idea,  and  from 
this  idea,  clearly  in  my  mind  at  the  time  as  well  as  now,  I  think  my 
observation  was :  "  The  O'Donoghoe  is,  I  suppose,  your  representa- 
tive." The  report  makes  me  say,  "  The  O'Donoghoe  is,  I  suppose, 
your  leader."  The  word  "  leader,"  at  such  a  moment,  it  would  bo 
impossible  for  me  to  use,  nor  did  1  employ  the  term.  But  some  one 
replied  :  "  The  O'Donoghoe,  my  Lord,  is  a  leader  of  the  Nationalists 
of  all  Ireland."  The  Freemmi's  Journal  says  that  this  remark  Avas 
made  by  Mr.  Holland.  In  that  case  Mr.  Holland  Avas  rather  in  front 
of  me,  slightly  on  my  left  hand,  at  probably  a  distance  of  six  or  seven 
feet.  Mr.  Holland  says  "  that  he  carried  on  his  operations  by  my 
side."  The  O'Donoghoe  says  "that  Mr.  Holland  stood  Avithin  two 
or  three  yards  of  the  Archbishop,  and  not  behind  him,  or  behind 
some  one  else,  as  might  be  ingeniously  suggested."  "  The  report,^'' 
continues  The  O'Donoghoe,  "  though  neither  quite  full  nor  free 
from  error,  seems  to  me  to  be  truthful  so  far  as  it  went."  Mr.  Hol- 
land says :  "  I  Avas  standing  at  his  (the  Archbishop's)  side  all  the 
time."  Mr.  Hartnelt  says  ''  that  Mr.  Holland  stood  only  one  pace 
from  him,  {the  Archbishop)  to  the  right.''''  Mr.  Hartnett  also  says  of 
the  report  :  "  It  is,  of  course,  an  abbreviated  account.'''' 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  Avhilst  I  Avas  engaged  in  speaking,  and 
thinking  of  nothing  that  might  be  going  on,  these  gentlemen,  listen- 
ing, and  looking  with  their  eyes  towards  the  point  on  which  I 
stood,  are  yet  unable  to  describe,  or  at  least  to  agree,  upon  the  ex- 
act locality  occupied  by  Mr.  Holland,  He  says  '*  that  he  stood  by 
my  side  all  tJie  time.''''  I  say  that  if  he  was  the  person  who  described 
The  O'Donoghoe  as  "  leader  of  the  Nationalists  of  Ireland,"  then, 
at  that  period  of  the  interview,  Mr.  Holland  stood  slightly  on  my 
left,  and  about  six  feet  in  front  of  me. 

If  he  changed  quarters,  and  found  himself,  as  Mr.  Hartnett  says, 
"  standing  only  one  pace  from  me  to  my  right,"  I  am  at  a  loss  to 
know  how  the  locomotion  Avas  effected — the  more  so,  because  Mr. 
Holland  himself  says  that  he  "  xoas  standing  by  my  side  all  the  time.^^ 
Now,  supposing  that  Mr.  Holland  was  on  my  right  at  a  distance  of 
one  pace,  or  supposing  he  was  by  my  side,  all  those  in  front  of  me 
would  have  an  opportunity  of  seeing  him  at  his  Avork,  because  he 
would  be  fiicing  them,  and  not  me.  Besides,  as  a  kind  of  guest,  for 
the  time  being,  of  a  number  of  Irish  gentlemen,  it  Avould  never  occur 


536  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

to  me  to  look  sideways  or  backwards,  as  if  I  suspected  tliat 
something  might  be  going  on  unworthy  of  them  or  unworthy 
of  me.  I  might  add  another  circumstance,  with  which  every 
gentleman  accustomed  to  public  speaking  must  be  familiar,  in 
his  own  experience,  and  that  is,  if  his  mind  is  thoroughly 
impressed  with  the  ideas  which  he  wishes  to  express,  his  eye 
will  accompany  the  direction  of  his  voice.  But  the  look  is  not 
fixed  on  any  one  in  particular.  Things  of  a  slighter  nature  may 
occur  whicli  he  might  have  seen,  if  his  mind  were  not  preoccupied 
and  absorbed  in  the  topics  he  was  discussing.  At  all  events,  if  gen- 
tlemen who  are  simply  listening  and  looking  on  are  not  agreed  as  to 
where  the  note-taker  stood,  there  may  be  some  allowance  made  for 
the  speaker's  not  having  detected  the  work  of  the  operator  as  it  was 
going  on.     At  all  events,  such  is  the  fact  in  the  present  case. 

Permit  me,  sir,  to  acknowledge  with  thanks,  the  kind  offices  of 
several  of  the  Irish  journals  that  came  to  my  defence  on  this  ques- 
tion. I  have  before  me  your  own  excellent  Exarainer^  as,  perhaps, 
the  very  first — also,  the  Dublin  Nation^  which,  by  its  deej),  search- 
ing analysis  of  the  case,  merely  on  circumstantial  evidence,  rendered 
any  remarks  of  mine  at  that  time  almost  unnecessary.  There  were 
some  other  papers  that  took  up  the  same  view  of  the  case  ;  but  I 
regret  that  they  have  disappeared  from  my  table. 

In  both  these  papers  I  am  sorry  that  the  learned  writers  did  not 
fathom,  with  deeper  attention,  the  points  on  which  it  is  said  that 
the  question  between  the  reporter  and  myself  amounts  to  one  of 
credibility  or  veracity.  I  am  happy  to  say  that  there  is  not  any 
question  of  veracity  between  Mr.  Holland  and  myself  That  gentle- 
man says  that  I  saw  him  engaged  in  his  professional  labor.  I  say  I 
did  not ;  and  on  that  point  1  am  a  witness,  and  Mr.  Holland  is  not  a 
witness.  He  inay  be  of  opinion  that  I  might  have  seen  him,  which, 
probably,  is  the  fact,  if  my  attention  had  been  called  to  the  subject. 
But  to  say  that  I  did  see  him,  as  he  describes,  is  going  too  far.  The 
object  of  the  testimony  is  not  the  same  as  regards  the  two  witnesses, 
and,  therefore,  there  cannot  be  a  question  of  veracity  involved.  It 
is  on  one  side  a  positive  fact  of  which  I  am  con.scious  ;  it  is  on  the 
other  side  an  opinion  in  reference  to  a  point  on  which  the  reporter 
is  utterly  disqualified  to  furnish  any  credible  testimony.  But  it  is 
in  keeping  with  tliat  professional  arrogance  by  which  some  of  his 
class  pietend  to  know  better  what  a  speaker  has  to  say  than  the 
speaker  himscUl 

Thus  Mr.  Holland  tells  the  Irish  public  that  in  his  report  '■^  there 
is  nothmg  which  distorts  my  remarks  by  a  halr^s  breadth  from  the 
meaning  intended  by  His  Graced  This  is  a  bold  plunge  for  a  re- 
porter to  make  into  the  mind  and  cons<-.iousne.>s  of  a  speaker.  He 
knows,  as  he  alleges,  v\  hat  you  have  said ;  but  he  knows  still  more, 
the  very  meaning  which  you  had  intended  to  convey. 

1  must  apologize  for  trespassing  on  your  valuable  space  at  such 
length;  but  as  I  am  determined  never  to  return  to  this  unpleasant 
topic,  I  must  throw  myself  on  your  indulgence  for  even  additional 


LETTEES.  537 

space  in  order  to  bring  it  to  a  close,  which  I  hope  will  be  satisfactory 
to  my  friends  in  Ireland  as  well  as  to  myself. 

You  have  seen,  in  the  foregoing  remarks,  how  the  affair  of  the 
Nenagh  deputation  passed  off  in  Dublin.  The  interview  lasted,  I 
should  think,  less  than  an  hour.  And  here,  I  pray  you  to  notice  two 
things — one  is,  that  I  had  no  intimation  at  any  time,  except  as  above 
described,  of  who  the  gentlemen  were,  or,  as  it  turned  out,  whence 
they  severally  came,  or  of  their  place  of  meeting,  or  of  their  pro- 
ceedings as  a  society  in  framing  and  adopting  an  address,  or  of  their 
chairman  at  any  meeting,  or  of  any  thing  connected  with  them,  ex- 
cept what  turned  up  from  their  own  statement  afterwards  in  con- 
nection with  their  unauthorized  publication  of  my  remarks.  They 
did  not  communicate  with  me,  by  note  or  otherwise,  either  before 
or  after  the  interview.  The  other  remark  is,  that  in  their  subsequent 
explanation  there  are  contradictions  from  the  pen  of  the  same  writer, 
and  mutual  discrepancies  in  their  general  testimony.  Whereas,  I 
beg  you  to  hold  me  acquitted  of  every  thing  connected  with  the 
affair,  except  what  occurred  in  the  Gresham  Hotel.  I  had  nothing 
to  do  with  their  proceedings  before  or  after  ;  and  for  these  they  may 
account  to  themselves  and  to  each  other  as  they  think  proper,  leav- 
ing me  out  of  the  question. 

I  have  said  already  that  nothing  could  be  more  manly,  direct,  and 
creditable  to  its  author  than  the  letter  which  The  O'Donoghoe  pub- 
lished on  his  connection  with  the  deputation,  or  whatever  it  may  be 
called.  I  had  divined  already  that  he  was,  perhaps,  like  myselt^ 
availed  of  for  the  occasion  without  any  previous  knowledge  or  con- 
sent. His  letter  proves  this ;  and  I  hold  that  amiable  and  honorable 
gentleman  as  blameless  in  the  matter  as  if  he  had  not  been  present. 
I  would  apologize  to  him  if  I  said  anything  improper  when  I 
asked  of  the  person  who  had  described  him  as  the  leader  of  the  Na- 
tionalists of  Ireland,  "  why  he  should  not  be  the  leader  of  all  Ire- 
land ?" 

My  idea  was  that  public  men  like  him,  whilst  attending  to  the 
local  duties  of  their  high  office,  should  embrace  in  their  grasp  of 
statesmanship  the  whole  nation  united,  and  not  allow  themselves  to 
be  self-appropriated  by  any  one  fi'agment  of  a  socially  or  politically 
divided  people. 

The  deputation,  or  whatever  it  was,  appears  to  be  much  offended 
at  my  having  stated  in  ray  letter  that  I  had  been  told  they  were  a 
secret  society.  This  they  deny,  and  I  am  very  glad  that  they  are 
able  to  do  so  with,  I  trust,  a  good  conscience.  But  I  did  not  say  in 
my  letter  that  they  were  a  secret  society,  but  that  I  had  been  told 
so.  I  confess  that  their  denial,  in  the  manner  in  which  it  is  made, 
has  not  altogether  removed  my  doubts  on  that  subject. 

On  the  day  of  the  procession  in  Dublin  there  was  a  multitude 
which  no  man  could  number;  and  yet  they  can  tell  you,  in  a  tone  of 
boasting,  that  their  members  counted  exactly  2,000 — not  to  speak  of 
the  uncounted  thousands  of  their  brethren  in  England  or  Scotland. 
If  they  wish  to  stand  acquitted  of  the  suspicion,  at  least,  which  was 


638  AECHBI8H0P  HUGHES. 

entertained,  I  might  say  generally,  in  Ireland,  by  those  who  spoke 
on  the  subject,  that  the  Brotherhood  of  St.  Patrick  was  a  secret 
society,  let  them  give  proof  of  the  contrary,  and  let  any  respectable 
clergyman  of  Dublin,  but  especially  the  venerable  prelate  who 
adorns  whilst  he  governs  that  Church,  give  a  public  statement  to 
the  effect  that  they  are  not  a  secret  society,  and  then  they  will  be 
regarded  both  at  home  and  abroad  as  worthy  members  of  that  one 
great  universal  society,  the  Catholic  Church.  But  this  privilege  of 
genuine  and  free  Catholics  they  cannot  expect  to  enjoy  if  they  band 
and  bind  themselves  together  by  ligaments  of  an  unholy,  forbidden, 
and  secret  bondage. 

They  have  written  to  me  requesting  that  I  should  give  the  names  of 
my  informants  as  to  their  true  character.  This  is  asking  too  much,  and 
I  beg  leave  once  for  all  to  decline  respectfully  a  compliance  with  their 
request.  I  may  say  in  general,  however,  that  when  Mr.  McManus 
was  interred  for  the  third  and  last  time,  in  Dublin,  some  misunder- 
standing grew  up  between  the  clergy  there  and  those  who  had  taken 
so  deep  an  interest  in  his  remains  and  in  his  obsequies.  The  noise 
of  that  occurrence  reached  New  York  at  the  time,  and  was  heard 
•with  deep  regret. 

Again,  in  Kome,  during  the  latter  months  of  last  winter,  I  heard 
of  the  annoyance  and  almost  opposition  to  the  Archbishop  of  Dublin, 
growing  out  of  resentment  at  the  course  which  His  Grace  thought  it 
proper  to  pursue  on  the  occasion  referred  to.  All  this  left  an  im- 
pression on  my  mind.  But  neither  in  Rome  nor  in  Ireland  had  I 
any  conversation  on  the  subject  with  the  Archbishop  of  Dublin. 

If  any  one  can  imagine  the  calamities  that  have  been  entailed 
upon  Irishmen  in  the  United  States,  to  my  knowledge,  during  a 
period  of  thirty-six  years  of  ministry,  he  will  not  be  surprised  that, 
independent  of  their  being  forbidden  by  the  Church,  I  should  have 
a  dread  of  secret  societies.  I  have  seen  more  than  one  young  Irish- 
man brought  to  an  ignominious  scaffold  in  consequence  of  having 
previously  placed  their  necks  in  the  yoke  of  secret  associations.  Aye, 
young  men  who  would  never  have  disgraced  their  country  or  their 
name  if  they  had  stood  by  themselves  as  free  and  untrarameled  indi- 
viduals, acting  for  themselves  instead  of  being  called  upon  to  render 
a  service  to  some  fellow-member  of  the  same  unhappy  fraternity  to 
which  they  belonged.  No  one  will  rejoice  to  learn  that  there  are  no 
secret  societies  in  Ireland  more  ardently  than  I  shall ;  for  if  there 
should  be  none  in  Ireland  there  will  be  none  here.  And  whereas  all 
such  societies  in  the  diocese  of  New  York,  at  a  period  when  its  ex- 
tent was  by  11,000  square  miles  greater  than  that  of  all  Ireland^ 
were  suppressed  by  a  statute  enacted  at  my  first  Diocesan 
Synod,  in  1842,  depriving  their  members  of  access  to  the  holy  sacra- 
ments of  the  Church  during  life,  and  of  Christian  burial  after  death, 
unless  they  should  have  severally  renounced  their  bad  associations — 
they  submitted,  and  became,  as  opportunity  was  afforded  them  in 
their  wanderings,  good  practical  Catholics.  And  whereas  rehgion, 
peace,  and  increasing  respect  for  Irishmen  have  continued  to  increase 


LETTERS.  539 

since  that  time,  it  would  be  very  sad  for  me  and  for  ray  clergy  to 
find  that  new  affiliations  were  about  to  be  propagated  to  bring  back 
to  this  country  the  old  state  of  things. 

I  take  the  liberty  of  enclosing  to  you  the  original  address  pre- 
sented to  me  in  Gresham's  Hotel.  My  apology  for  this  will  be  found 
in  the  fact  that  it  is  an  anonymous  document,  and  that  I  would  not 
know  to  whom  it  belongs  or  to  whom  I  should  address  it.  I  have 
taken  an  American  copy  of  it,  but  I  should  not  wish  .the  Irish  original 
to  be  found  among  my  papers  either  during  life  or  after  my  death. 

Perhaps  from  this  notice  the  author  or  authors  may  claim  it,  and 
in  that  case  you  will  oblige  me  much  by  transferring  it  to  their 
custody. 

In  the  meantime  I  shall  forget,  if  possible,  all  that  has  occurred, 
and  think  of  old  Ireland  and  her  people  as  I  used  to  do  before  I  had 
the  honor  of  being  waited  upon  by  the  deputation  from  Nenagh. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be,  very  respectfully. 

Your  obedient  servant, 
•f  JOHN,  Archbishop  of  New  York. 


LETTER  TO  THE  HON.  WILLIAM  H.  SEWARD, 
SECRETARY  OF  STATE,  IN  REFERENCE  TO 
HIS  MISSION  TO  EUROPE. 

New  Tobk,  Nov.  1, 1862. 

My  Dear  Governor — It  is  now  more  than  twenty-three  years 
since  I  had  the  pleasure  of  being  introduced  to  you  on  the  railroad 
train  between  Albany  and  Utica.  Opportunities  for  cultivating 
more  intimately  that  first  acquaintance  have  been  few  and  far  be- 
tween. Still,  as  a  personal  friend,  apart  from  what  they  commonly 
call  politics,  I  have  always  recognized  you,  in  my  own  mind,  as  a 
true,  unfiinching  man  of  upright  principle. 

As  for  myself,  I  cannot  say  that  I  ever  belonged  to  any  political 
party,  and  yet,  since  my  return  from  Europe,  certain  nominally 
Catholic  papers  have  written  me  down  as  a  politician.  Much  allow- 
ance must  be  made  for  such  writers.  They  assume  that  my  going 
to  Europe  was  for  a  political,  not  a  national  purpose  ;  in  fact,  they 
seem,  or  choose  to  appear,  as  incompetent  to  distinguish  between 
what  is  vulgarly  called  a  politician  and  a  patriot.  Of  the  two,  I 
would  prefer  to  be  considered  a  patriot  rather  than  a  politician. 
Before  the  outbreak  of  this  melancholy  civil  war,  it  is  known  to 
you,  my  dear  Governor,  that  I  foresaw  the  coming  calamity.  I 
wrote  to  distinguished  persons  in  the  South,  praying  and  beseeching 


540  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

that  they  should  exercise  their  influence  for  the  perpetuation  of 
peace,  or  rather  against  the  disi'uption  of  the  Union.  In  my  own 
sphere,  in  New  York,  I  left  nothing  undone  to  soothe  bitter  pre- 
judices, especially  on  the  part  of  abolitionists,  with  a  view,  and  even 
in  hope,  that  the  domestic  strife  which  has  since  overtaken  us  might 
be  arrested  and  turned  aside. 

It  is  just  one  year  and  eight  days  since  it  was  desired,  by  a  tele- 
graphic communication,  that  I  should  visit  the  city  of  Washington 
ou  public  business.  I  obeyed  the  summons.  I  spoke  my  mind 
freely.  It  was  thought  that,  in  the  perils  of  the  nation,  at  that  time, 
I  could  be  useful  in  promoting  the  interests  of  the  commonwealth 
and  of  humanity  if  I  would  go  to  Europe  and  exercise  whatever 
little  influence  I  might  possess  in  preventing  France  and  England 
from  intermeddling  in  our  sad  quarrel. 

It  has,  no  doubt,  escaped  your  memory  that,  during  the  fourteen 
or  fifteen  hours  which  I  spent  in  Washington,  I  declined  the  accep- 
tance of  what  would  be  to  persons,  not  of  my  rank,  a  great  honor. 
I  did  not  absolutely  refuse  before  deciding,  but  I  wished  to  consult 
one  or  two  persons  very  near  and  dear  to  me  in  New  York.  Finally, 
and  at  the  very  last  hour,  there  was  a  word  uttered  to  me,  not  by 
any  special  member  of  the  Cabinet  to  which  you  belong,  but  by  the 
authority  which  it  possesses,  to  the  effect  that  my  acting  as  had 
been  suggested  was  a  personal  request,  and  would  be  considered  as 
a  personal  favor.  In  three  minutes  I  decided  that,  without  consult- 
ing any  body,  I  should  embai'k  as  a  volunteer  to  accomplish  what 
might  be  possible  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic  in  favor  of  the 
country  to  which  I  belong. 

What  occurred  on  the  other  side,  I  think  it  would  be,  at  present, 
improper  for  me  to  make  public.  I  am  not  certain  that  any  word, 
or  act,  or  influence  of  mine  has  had  the  slightest  effect  in  preventing 
either  England  or  France  from  plunging  into  the  unhappy  divisions 
that  have  threatened  the  Union  of  these  once  prosperous  States. 
On  the  other  hand,  I  may  say  that  no  day — no  hour  even — was 
spent  in  Europe  in  which  I  did  not,  according  to  opportunity,  labor 
for  peace  between  Europe  and  America.  So  far  that  peace  has  not 
been  disturbed.  But  let  America  be  prepared.  There  is  no  love 
for  the  United  States  on  the  other  side  of  the  water.  Generally 
speaking,  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic  the  United  States  are 
ignored,  if  not  despised  j  treated  in  conversation  in  the  same  con- 
temptuous language  as  we  might  employ  towards  the  inhabitants  of 
the  Sandwich  Islands,  or  Washington  Territory,  or  Vancouver's 
Island,  or  the  settlement  of  the  Red  River,  or  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Territory.  * 

This  may  be  considered  very  unpolished,  almost  unchristian  lan- 
guage proceeding  from  the  pen  of  a  Catholic  Archbishop.  But,  my 
dear  governor,  it  is  unquestionably  true,  and  I  am  sorry  that  it  is 
so.  If  you,  in  Washington,  are  not  able  to  defend  yourselves  in 
case  of  need,  I  do  not  see  where,  or  from  what  source,  you  can  ex- 
pect friendship  or  protection.     Since  ray  return  I  made  a  kind  of 


LETTEES.  541 

familiar  address  to  my  people,  but  not  for  them  exclusively,  in  St. 
Patrick's  Cathedral.  Some  have  called  it  not  a  sermon,  but  a  dis- 
course, and  even  a  war  blast,  in  favor  of  blood  spilling.  Nothing  of 
that  kind  could  be  warranted  by  a  knowledge  of  my  natural  tem- 
perament or  of  my  ecclesiastical  training.  From  the  slight  corres- 
pondence between  us,  you  can  bear  me  witness  that  I  pleaded  in 
every  direction  for  the  preservation  of  peace,  so  long  as  the  slightest 
hope  of  its  preservation  remained.  When  all  hope  of  this  kind  had 
passed  away  I  teas  for  a  vigorous  prosecution  of  our  inelancholy 
war,  so  that  07ie  side  or  the  other  shoicld  find  itself  in  the  ascen- 
dency. 

On  my  return  from  Europe,  I  knew  it  was  expected  that  I  should 
make,  in  writing  or  otherwise,  some  obseryations  of  my  experience 
abroad  that  would  reach  the  public  generally.  These  observations 
were  made  in  the  Cathedral  of  St.  Patrick,  on  the  l8th  of  August. 
They  consisted  of  a  very  simple  narrative  of  my  experience  in 
different  countries  of  Eui'ope  during  my  absence  from  New  York. 
Towards  the  close  of  my  remarks,  two  ideas  I  ventured  to  express 
with  perhaps  more  energy  than  had  been  employed  in  the  simple 
narrative. 

One  was  the  advocacy  of  conscription,  in  preference  to  the  drag- 
ging business  of  enlistment  and  volunteering.  Perhaps  some  may 
have  thought  that  it  was  unbecoming  for  me  in  a  Catholic  pulpit  to 
have  expressed  my  opinion  on  this  topic.  But  I  know  that  the 
country,  which  I  had  no  reason  not  to  love,  was  being  agonized  by 
civil  war.  And  besides,  on  reflection,  I  consider  that  conscrijjtion, 
sometimes  called  drafting,  is  the  only  fair,  open,  honest  mode  by 
which  a  nation  can  support  its  rights,  and,  in  case  of  danger,  its  own 
independence. 

Many  of  my  hearers  on  that  occasion  confounded  the  principle  of 
conscription  with  the  abominable  practice  of  the  "  press  gang," 
during  the  war  between  England  and  Fiance.  This,  of  course,  was 
their  mistake,  not  mine.  France  is  a  military  nation,  and  a  great 
nation  ;  and  its  system  of  conscription,  although  at  periods  of  great 
national  necessity,  verging  in  its  operation  to  almost  cruelty,  in  taking 
from  the  family  one  after  another  of  the  sons  who  might  be  other- 
wise the  hope,  and  the  stay,  and  consolation  of  their  aged  parents, 
is,  notwithstanding,  still  the  impartial  mode  of  providing  for  national 
defence  and  honor.  Yet,  on  the  whole,  there  is  no  system  in  civilized 
countries  so  just,  so  equitable,  and  so  eflicient  in  raising  an  army  of 
defence,  as  the  system  of  conscrijition  rightly  administered.  If  it 
can  be  dispensed  with  by  the  multitude  of  volunteers,  of  course  there 
would  be  no  objection  to  that  result.  But  a  government  must  ex- 
ecute the  office  for  which  it  was  appointed,  and  for  the  execution  of 
the  functions  of  which  it  is  supposed  to  have  ample  means,  or  else  it 
should  abdicate. 

The  other  idea  Avas,  that  either  by  volunteers  or  by  conscription, 
if  we  have  a  government  which  we  recognize  as  legitimate,  it  should 
multiply  its  powers  by  thousands,  and  hundreds  of  thousands,  even 


642  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

millions,  to  the  extent  of  existing  necessity  for  the  putting  down  of 
civil  war.  This  was  not  expressed  as  the  gratuitous  advice  of  a 
speaker  in  the  pulpit ;  but  suggested  as  an  intimation  that  if  he  had 
any  advice  to  offer  the  councils  of  the  nation,  that  advice  would  be 
what  he  has  now  expressed. 

On  this  question  there  may  be  different  opinions,  in  regard  to 
which  I  have  not  an  additional  word  to  say.  It  may  be  humanity  to 
allow  conflicting  brethren  of  the  same  nation  to  protract  and  drag 
onwards,  for  a  period  even  of  ten  years  to  come,  the  bloodshed  with 
which  they  are  reciprocally  now  so  familiar. 

Another  view  of  humanity  and  mercy  is  that  which  I  suggested, 
namely — that  the  melancholy  contest  should  be  brought  to  a  close 
with  as  little  delay  as  possible.  The  reason  that  operated  and  still 
operates  on  my  mind  in  favor  of  this  view  of  humanity,  as  compared 
or  in  contrast  with  the  other,  is,  that  so  far  as  my  knowledge  of  his- 
tory warrants  a  conclusion,  the  most  humane  battle  in  any  military 
strife,  whether  of  a  foreign  or  a  domestic  character,  has  been  invari- 
ably the  battle  which  put  an  end  to  the  war. 

If  thei*e  were  any  possible  means  of  settling  our  domestic  strife  in 
a  peaceful  and  bloodless  manner,  I  hope  you  will  believe  that  no  one 
in  this  country  is  or  can  be  more  prepared  to  aid  in  bringing  about 
such  a  result.  As  it  is,  however,  I  consider  myself  as  perfectly  use- 
less in  such  an  enterprise,  though  by  no  means  unsolicitous  in  refer- 
ence to  the  momentous  consequences  that  are  impending  upon  us 
like  a  dark  cloud,  which  furnishes  no  ray  of  light  either  on  its  under 
or  upper  margin. 

Believe  me,  my  dear  Governor,  as  ever,  your  devoted  friend  and 
servant. 

•i»  JOHN,  Archbishop  of  New  York. 


A  NEW  ECOIiESIASTICAL  SEMINARY  FOR  THE 
PROVINCE  OP  NEW  YORK. 

New  York,  Dec.  7, 1862. 

The  building  and  grounds  heretofore  known  as  the  Troy  Univer- 
sity, in  the  city  of  Troy,  hitherto  belonging,  it  is  said,  to  the  Meth- 
odist denomination,  have  been  sold,  and  the  undersigned,  through 
the  agency  of  the  Rev.  Father  Havermans,  has  become  the  purchaser. 
The  undersigned  has  not  himself  surveyed  either  the  premises  or  the 
edifice  ;  but  his  confidence  in  the  venerable  pastor  of  St.  Mary's  is 
such,  that  whatever  the  latter  says  on  the  subject  he  assumes  as  en- 
tirely correct. 

This  is  the  turning  of  a  leaf  in  my  human  life  and  in  my  declining 


LETTERS.  54: 3 

years.  But  no  matter;  the  world  must  go  on,  and  the  Church 
of  God  still  more.  When  the  undersigned  shall  have  disappeared 
from  the  scene,  there  will  be  others  to  take  up  the  unfinished  task. 

Our  intention  is  that  the  new  place  shall  be  the  central,  if  not  the 
only,  theological  seminary  in  the  ecclesiastical  province  of  New 
York.  The  only  drawback  is,  that  the  property  is  not  in  our  diocese 
of  New  York.  But  after  all,  this  is  a  trilling  consideration  for  one 
who,  through  hfe,  has  ignored  civil  or  ecclesiastical  boundaries  in  the 
sense  of  impediments  to  any  good  work  that  could  promote  the  glory 
of  God,  and  the  diffusion  of  His  grace  and  mercy,  through  the  me- 
dium of  the  One,  Holy,  Catholic,  Apostolic,  and  Roman  Church. 

Our  intention  is  to  invite  the  venerable  priests  of  St.  Sulpice,  in 
Palis,  to  take  clmrge  of  it,  when  it  shall  be  fitted  up  suitably  for 
their  reception.  This  society  of  Sulpicians  is  known,  especially  in 
France,  but,  in  point  of  fact,  over  the  whole  globe,  as  the  best  edu- 
cators and  trainers,  if  we  can  so  employ  the  term,  of  aspirants  to  the 
holy  ministry  during  their  preparation  for  the  priesthood.  For  many 
generations  they  have  educated  not  merely  the  priests,  but  even  the 
bishops  of  that  noble  country  to  which  they  belong.  Their  pupils 
have  been  such  men  as  the  Cheverus  and  Matignon,  of  Boston  ;  the 
Marechal,  of  Baltimore  ;  the  DuBourg,  of  St.  Louis  ;  and  last,  though 
not  least,  the  venerable  Dubois,  of  New  York. 

I  do  not  say  that  these  distinguished  prelates,  whose  memory  is 
cherished  by  us  all,  were  their  pupils  in  youth  ;  but  they,  through 
life,  corresponded  with  the  educational  type  of  the  venerable  Sulpi- 
cians. Under  their  training  there  is  no  reason  why  American  youth 
should  not  aspire  to  the  same  ecclesiastical  dignity  of  deportment,  if 
not  of  distinction  in  the  Church.  The  Sulpicians  are,  we  may  say, 
men  of  God.  They  are  disinterested.  They  are  learned.  They  are 
humble.  They  are  self-denying.  They  are  devoted  to  the  education 
of  candidates  for  the  priesthood.  But  whatever  may  be  the  extent 
of  their  self-denial  for  Chi-ist's  sake,  one  thing  is  certain,  that  even 
before  the  world,  and  in  spite  of  themselves,  they  are  and  must  be 
looked  upon  as  high-bred  and  educated  gentlemen.  But  if,  after  all, 
the  Sulpicians  may  not  be  induced  to  take  charge  of  this  new  prop-' 
erty,  we  must  look  in  other  directions  for  those  who  will  be  able  to 
carry  out  our  intention. 

It  is  not  necessary  at  present  to  ask  any  aid  from  the  faithful  peo- 
ple of  our  diocese  to  sustain  this  undertaking.  The  providence  of 
Almighty  God  has  permitted  that  enough  should  have  been  placed 
in  our  hands,  although  of  right  belonging  to  our  diocese  of  New 
York,  to  carry  this  work  through.  We  are  confident  that  no  privi- 
lege hitherto  granted  by  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  New  York 
in  favor  of  those  Avho  have  heretofore  conducted  what  is  called  the 
Troy  University,  will  be  denied  to,  withdrawn  from,  or  refused  to 
us.  We  shall  not  be  beggars  at  their  doors  for  pecuniary  aid.  But 
in  all  other  respects  we  shall  look  to  the  Legislature  for  protection 
and  encouragement. 

We  are  told  that  the  buildina  will  accommodate  two  hundred  and 


644  ARCHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

fifty  Students,  allowing  one  student  for  each  room.  In  that  case  our 
intention  would  be,  that  in  its  internal  arrangements  there  should  be 
two  seminaries  entirely  distinct  from  each  other,  except  in  the  chapel 
and  at  meals.  One  should  be  for  the  theological  department ;  the 
other  for  the  preparatory,  which  the  French  call  the  Petit  Semi- 
naire. 

If  the  Sulpicians  should,  in  the  charity  habitual  to  them,  be  willing 
to  take  charge  of  this  new  establishment,  it  is  evidently  proper  that 
they  should  not  be  burdened  with  the  whole  cost  of  its  purchase ; 
and  when  that  day  shall  have  arrived,  it  is  certain  that  I  shall  in  my 
own  diocese,  and  very  likely  some  of  the  other  bishops  of  the  prov- 
ince in  theirs,  make  a  dash  at  a  collection,  and,  in  a  single  day, 
extinguish  the  heavy  load  of  debt  which  the  place  necessarily  owes 
at  the  present  moment, 

•f  JOHN,  Archbishop  of  New  York. 


THE  CONSCRIPTION— THE  RIOTS. 

"  The  first  man  we  ever  heard  advocate  a  general  conscription  for  the  prosecu- 
tion of  the  war  for  the  Union  was  Archbishop  Hughes,  in  his  sermon  directly 
after  liis  hist  return  from  Europe  last  year.  He  condemned  the  reliance  on 
volunteering  as  hazardous,  and  as  placing  too  large  a  share  of  the  burden  on  the 
generous  and  public-spirited,  urging  that,  since  the  obligation  to  serve  rested 
equally  on  all,  the  liability  or  risk  should  be  apportioned  accordingly." 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Herald : 

The  foregoing  paragraph  is  taken  from  the  Tribune  of  this  morning. 
It  is  the  latest  malignant  article  against  the  undersigned  with  which 
the  Honorable  Horace  Greeley  has  been  in  the  habit  of  favoring  him 
for  some  time  past. 

Permit  me  to  request  of  you  the  insertion  of  a  few  remarks  in  the 
Herald,  which  may  throw  light  upon  the  subject  which  Mr. 
Greeley  misrepresents  and  affects  to  misunderstand.  He  says  "  that 
I  condemned  the  reliance  upon  volunteering  as  hazardous,  and  as 
placing  too  large  a  share  of  the  burdens  on  the  generous  and  public- 
spirited  ;  urging  that,  since  the  obligation  to  serve  rested  equally  on 
all,  the  liability  or  risk  should  be  apportioned  accordingly." 

1.  I  did  not  condemn  volunteering. 

2.  I  did  not  recommend  a  coercive  conscription,  but  that  the 
people  of  the  North,  who  stand  by  the  Federal  Government,  should 
demand  conscription  by  their  own  voluntary  choice  and  act.  This 
would  be  their  own  system  of  volunteering.  The  main  object  of  my 
remarks  on  the  occasion  referred  to  by  Mr.  Greeley  was  to  bring  the 
war  to  a  speedy  conclusion.     The  last  and  decisive  battle  in  every 


LETTERS.  5i5 

war  is  necessarily  the  most  merciful  in  its  results,  since  it  puts  an 
end  to  the  further  shedding  of  human  blood. 

This  was  the  main  object  as  regards  the  interests  of  the  country 
at  large.  My  remarks  were  not  intended  for  the  congregation  wlioni 
I  was  addressing,  but  for  the  whole  people.  Since  tliat  time  many 
most  sanguinary  battles  have  been  fought,  in  which  blood  sufficient 
to  float  a  ship  of  war  has  been  shed  ;  and  yet  it  seems  that  many 
other  similar  battles  are  still  to  be  fought  before  we  come  to  the 
final  struggle  which  shall  decide  the  question. 

I  have  been  attacked  by  three  Catholic  laymen,  editors  of  the 
Baltimore  Mirror^  and  by  a  priest  of  Bedford,  Pennsylvania,  as  if  I 
were  a  man  of  war,  aiid  as  if  the  idea  of  bringing  the  war  to  a  speedy 
termination  was  a  cruelty,  instead  of  allowing  it  to  fertilize  the 
fields  of  Tennessee,  of  Virginia,  Maryland,  and  even  Pennsylvania, 
Avith  periodical  supplies  of  human  gore. 

This  is  the  idea  of  mercy  and  humanity  entertained  by  the  pro- 
prietors of  the  Baltimore  Mirror  anii  the  gentle  shepherd  of  Bedford 
as  to  what  constitutes  humanity  and  mercy. 

3.  Another  reason  that  influenced  me  on  the  day  on  which  I 
preached  the  sermon  referred'  to  by  Mr.  Greeley,  was  the  fact  that 
on  my  return  from  Europe  I  found  the  number  of  ablebodied  men 
— fathers,  brothers,  husbands — in  my  congregations  vastly  thinned, 
and  the  widows  and  orphans  multiplied  all  around  me.  How  could 
this  have  happened  ?  Was  it  all  voluntary  on  the  part  of  those  who 
abandoned  their  homes  to  defend  their  country  ?  I  knew  that  to  a 
great  extent  it  was  voluntary  and  patriotic,  especially  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  war.  There  were  militia  regiments  in  Xew  York 
who  felt  that,  whether  they  were  Catholics  or  not,  whether  they 
were  natives  or  foreigners,  deemed,  with  honorable  chivalry  that, 
having  donned  the  national  uniform,  they  were  bound  to  rush  and 
rally  for  the  defence  of  the  country — which  they  did.  This  would  be 
one  class  ;  and  they  were  numerous  enough  to  leave  not  a  few  desti- 
tute widows  and  orphans  far  from  the  field  on  which  they  were 
slaughtered  or  taken  prisoners.  But  there  was  another  class  ;  it  was 
composed  of  those  Irish  and  Catholic  citizens  or  laborers  employed 
by  men  of  wealth  in  factories  or  in  other  establishments  of  lionorable 
industry. 

What  I  am  now  about  to  say  is  more  than  I  can  vouch  for  of  my  own 
personal  knowledge.  It  was  stated  to  me  on  my  return  that  the 
employers  of  those  men,  immediately  after  the  war  broke  out,  sus- 
pended their  factories  and  other  departments  in  which  human  labor 
had  been  employed,  to  compel  these  Irish  and  Catholic  operatives  to 
enlist,  in  order  that  their  families  might  not  starve  ;  and  that  all  this 
was  adroitly  accomplished  under  the  plea  that  war  had  i-endered  it  ne- 
cessary to  suspend  all  manutacturing  establishments;  that  this  pretend- 
ed necessity  was  only  for  the  purpose  of  sending  fighting  men  to  the 
field,  by  which  the  neighborhood  would  be  relieved  from  the  presence- 
of  workmen  of  foreign  birth  ;  that,  in  point  of  fact,  as  soon  as  neces- 
sity drove  that  class  awav,  their  places  were  promptly  supplied  by 
Vol.  II.— 35 


546  ARCHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

Other  operatives  ;  whilst,  in  the  mean  time,  such  manufacturers  and 
traffickers  upon  the  public  calamities  of  civil  war  have  been  vastly 
more  prospei'ous  than  ever  before.  Sooner  than  witness  such  mean 
and  base  tricks  upon  unfortunate  laborers,  1  was  then,  and  am  now, 
prepared  to  approve  of  a  thousand  conscriptions  openly  appointed  by 
the  government;  provided,  however,  that  the  same  shuffling  and  low 
trickery  shall  not  be  employed  to  expose  the  poor  to  the  dangers  of 
battle,  and  leave  the  wealthy  to  become  wealthier  in  their  quiet 
homes. 

4.  No  language  of  mine  could  ever  be  interpreted  as  recorttinend- 
ing  the  CTOvernment  to  enact  a  coercive  conscription,  but,  judging 
from  my  own  feelings,  I  supposed  that  the  people  of  the  North*  if 
they  had  a  government  such  as  their  fathers  instituted — a  govern- 
ment of  which  they  would  be  worthy,  and  which  would  be  worthy 
of  them — they  would  have  patriotism  enough  to  stand  up  as  one 
man  and  say,  "  This  thing  cannot  be  allowed  to  go  on  ;  either  those 
who  have  rebelled  against  the  Government  must  have  their  rebellion 
thoroughly  put  down,  or  they  must  put  us,  who  make  no  rebellion, 
under  their  triumphant  dominion.  But  at  all  events  this  thing  ought 
not  to  go  on.  All  wars  must  come  to  an  end,  especially  when  only 
one  side  is  disposed  to  offer  peace,  which  the  other  scornfully  rejects." 
The  substance  of  what  has  just  been  expressed  will  be  found  in  the 
following  extract  from  my  sermon,  which  I  offer  for  the  reconsider- 
ation of  the  Hon.  Horace  Greeley,  the  three  publishers  and  pro- 
prietors of  the  Baltimore  Mirror,  and  the  Rev.  Thomas  Heyden, 
Bedford,  Pennsylvania.  After  having  spoken  of  my  observations  in 
Europe,  among  the  highest  authorities  and  guides  of  public  opinion 
on  that  continent,  I  made  known  that,  according  to  my  observation, 
there  was  no  good  feeling  towards  the  United  States  even  in  this 
struggle  for  self-preservation,  and  at  the  close  of  this  narrative  it 
seems,  by  the  reporter's  account  of  my  sermon,  that  I  used  the 
following  words : 

"  I  do  not  know  what  may  happen  in  case  this  war  should  continue,  as  it  has 
been  continuing  since  I  left  this  country.  The  news  renders  all  attempts  at 
judging  fairly  impossible,  because  it  is  contradictory  and  confused.  It  is  diffi- 
cult for  one  even  acquainted  with  the  country  to  comprehend  how  the  land 
lies ;  much  more  is  it  so  with  those  who  are  not  acquainted  with  it !  Nor  is  it  in 
any  one's  power  to  say  with  absolute  certainty  wliat  may  happen  if  this  war 
continue.  And,  in  the  mean  time,  what  is  the  prospect  of  its  coming  to  an  end  ? 
I  do  not  see  any  prosi^ect.  There  does  not  apf)ear  to  be  an  issue  ;  and  it  may 
be  that  God,  for  some  design  of  His  own,  which  future  generations  can  appreci- 
ate, has  allowed  this  war  to  scourge  us  in  order  to  bring  future  benefits  to  the 
liumau  race.  There  are  things  that  no  man  can  pretend  to  fathom — questions 
that  depend  on  so  many  additional  circumstances  for  their  solution  ;  but  there 
is  one  thing  and  one  question  that  should  be  clear  to  every  mind.  It  is  this, 
that  if  a  war  of  this  kind  should  be  continued  for  many  years,  it  is  recognized 
as  being  allowable  for  other  nations  to  combine  in  their  strength  and  put  an 
end  to  it.  Better  for  the  people  themselves  to  put  an  end  to  it  with  as  little 
delay  as  possible.  It  is  not  a  scourge  that  has  visited  us  alone.  From  the 
beginning  of  the  world  wars  have  been — nation  against  nation — and  oftentime;? 
the  most  terrible  of  all  wars,  which  is  not  a  war  of  nation  against  nation,  but 
of  brother  against  brother.    How  long  is  this  to  go  on  ?    If  it  goes  on,  what  ij 


LETTERS.  547 

to  be  the  result  of  it  ?  As  affording  a  pretext  for  all  tlie  Powers  of  Europe  to 
combine  to  put  an  end  to  it  ?  And,  although  I  would  not  say  that  even  then 
they  should  not  be  permitted  to  interfere — when  they  interfered  through  bene- 
volence, and  above  all  when  the  sword  might  be  put  at  rest — but  I  do  say  to 
every  man  that  if  they  do  interfere,  and  if  they  interfere  successfully,  if  the 
country  and  the  Government  are  not  maintained  by  every  sacrifice  that  is 
necessary  to  maintain  them,  then  your  United  States  will  become  a  Poland — 
then  it  will  become  divided — then  strife  will  multiply  across  every  border ; 
every  State,  or  every  section,  will  claim  to  be  independent  and  make  itself  an 
easy  prey  for  those  who  will  turn  and  appropriate  the  divisions  of  the  people  of 
this  country  for  their  own  advantage.  Oh!  let  it  not  be  so.  I  know  little  of 
what  has  transpired  here  during  my  absence.  I  have  scarcely  had  time  to  look  at 
the  papers  since  I  returned.  But  at  all  events  much  has  been  done,  though  not 
much  has  been  realized,  towards  terminating  this  unfortunate  war.  Volunteers 
have  been  appealed  to  in  advance  of  the  draft,  as  I  understand  ;  but  for  my  own 
part,  if  I  had  a  voice  in  the  councils  of  the  country,  I  would  say,  let  volunteer- 
ing continue.  If  the  300,000  on  your  list  be  not  enough  this  week,  next  week 
make  a  draft  of  300,000  more.  It  is  not  cruel—  this  is  mercy,  this  is  humanity. 
Any  thing  that  will  put  an  end  to  this  drenching  with  blood  the  whole  surface 
of  the  country,  that  will  be  humanity.  Then  every  man  on  the  continent,  rich 
or  poor,  will  have  to  take  his  share  in  the  contest.  Then  it  will  not  be  left  to 
the  Government,  whatever  government  it  will  be,  to  plead  with  the  people  and 
call  on  them  to  come  forward,  and  ask  them  if  they  would  be  drafted.  No,  it 
is  for  them,  the  people,  to  rise  and  ask  the  Government  to  draft  them  ;  and 
those  who  are  wealthy  and  cannot  go  themselves,  can  provide  substitutes,  and 
bring  the  thing  to  a  close,  if  it  can  be  done.  No  doubt  the  same  efforts  will  be 
made  on  the  other  side — and  who  can  blame  them  ?  For  the  sake  of  humanity 
we  must  resort  to  some  course  of  this  kind.  In  the  mean  while,  beloved 
brethren,  it  is  enough  for  us  to  weep  for  this  calamity,  to  pray  God  that  it  be 
put  to  an  end,  to  make  sacrifice  of  every  thing  that  we  have  to  sustain  the 
independence,  the  unity,  the  perpetuity,  the  prosperity  of  the  only  Government 
we  acknowledge  in  the  world.  But  it  is  not  necessary  to  hate  our  enemies.  It 
is  not  necessary  to  be  cruel  in  battle,  nor  to  be  cruel  after  its  termination.  It 
is  necessary  to  be  true,  to  be  patriotic,  to  do  for  the  country  what  the  country 
needs ;  and  the  blessing  of  God  will  recompense  those  who  discharge  their 
duty  without  faltering  and  withQut  violating  any  of  the  laws  of  God  or  mj^." 

I  may  have  >been  mistaken  in  my  estimate  of  humanity  and  mercy 
and  patriotism,  as  expressed  in  the  foregoing  remarks,  and  it  may 
be  that  my  critics — Greeley,  of  the  New  York  Tribune  ;  Kelly, 
Hedian  &  Piet,  proprietors  of  the  Baltimore  Mirror^  and  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Heyden,  of  Bedford,  Pennsylvania — are  correct  in  their  views 
of  humanity  in  desiring  that  the  war  should  be  interminable.  But 
not  all  the  Tribunes  or  Mirrors  or  country  parsons  in  the  United 
States  can  change  my  convictions  of  humanity  or  patriotism  on  that 
score.  For  all  these  gentlemen,  and  for  their  objections,  there  is  a 
document  ah-eady  in  manuscript  to  refute  then^,  individually  and 
collectively.  But  I  could  not  expect  that  any  daily  paper  would 
have  space,  however  well  disposed  its  editor  might  be,  for  the  pub- 
lication of  such  a  document.  When  printed,  it  shall  stand  by  itself 
in  the  form  of  a  small  volume.  Two  remarks,  and  I  shall  have  done. 
One  is,  that  some  years  ago  I  was  the  means  of  preventing  a  riot 
in  the  city  of  New  York,  and  Mr.  Greeley,  on  that  occasion,  pro- 
nounced in  his  paper  that  better  the  streets  of  New  York  should 
flow  with  blood  than  allow  the  supposition  that  the  civil  authority 
was  insufficient  or  indisposed  to  preserve  order  and  to  protect  life 


648  AKCHBISHOP  HUGHES. 

and  property,  than  that  these  results  should  be  due  directly  or  in- 
directly to  ecclesiastical  influence.  Even  now,  Mr,  Greeley,  either 
by  himself  or  by  his  reporters,  charges  our  present  troubles  upon 
the  Irish.  He  says  that  all  who  have  been  arrested  are  Irish.  No 
doubt,  the  Irish  are  fit  to  take  their  share  on  the  battle-field  in 
defending  the  country.  Then  they  are  veiy  fit  to  be  arrested 
and  taken  up  as  innocuous  victims  of  our  municipal  laws. 

I  was  in  New  York  when  the  first  number  of  Mr.  Greeley's  paper 
was  published.  Its  first  theory  was  that  all  international  quarrels 
might  be  settled  with  peaceful  arbitration.  This  lasted  for  a  time. 
But  Mr,  Greeley  was  an  advocate  for  revolution  in  every  other 
country  ;  and,  having  passed  once  through  Italy,  he  saw  the  country, 
and  of  course,  more  or  less,  even  the  people,  through  the  windows 
of  the  vetterino  ;  and  when  he  returned  he  published  a  little  book 
of  his  travels,  the  amount  of  which  was  that  the  Italians  were  un- 
likely, if  not  unfit,  to  enjoy  liberty,  unless  they  could  look  down  a 
cannon's  thi-oat,  in  which  statement  he  imposed  upon  them  a  feat,  the 
accomplishment  or  imitation  of  which  no  humane  man  would  suspect 
Mr.  Greeley  to  be  capable. 

TJiere  are  many  things  bearing  upon  Mr.  Greeley's  homily  to  me, 
in  this  paper  of  the  9th  instant,  which  in  another  way  and  at  the 
proper  time  shall  be  taken  notice  of. 

•f.  JOHN  HUGHES,  Archbishop  of  New  York. 
New  York,  July  14, 1863. 

POSTSCRIPT. 

In  spite  of  Mr.  Greeley's  assault  upon  the  Irish,  in  the  present 
disturbed  condition  of  the  city,  I  will  appeal  not  only  to  them,  but 
to  all  persons  who  love  God  and  revere  the  holy  Catholic  religion 
which  they  profess,  to  respect  also  the  laws  of  man  and  the  peace  of 
society,  to  retire  to  their  homes  with  as  little  delay  as  possible,  and 
disconnect  themselves  from  the  seemingly  deliberate  intention  to 
disturb  the  peace  and  social  rights  of  the  citizens  of  New  York.  If 
they  are  Catholics,  or  of  such  of  them  as  are  Catholics,  I  ask,  for 
God's  sake — for  the  sake  of  their  holy  religion — for  ray  own  sake, 
if  they  have  any  respect  for  the  Episcopal  authority — to  dissolve 
their  bad  associations  with  reckless  men,  who  have  little  regard  either 
for  Divine  or  human  laws. 

+  JOHN,  &c.,  &c. 


THE  CHURCH  PROPERTY  CONTROVERSY. 


INTRODUCTION, 

Few  questions  of  a  comparatively  local  character  have  arisen  ia 
modern  times,  to  which  circumstances  have  so  much  attracted  public 
attention,  as  the  question  of  the  late  Church  Property  Bill,  passed 
in  the  Legislature  of  'New  York,  and  the  incidents  antecedent  to  or 
growing  out  of  its  enactments.  The  writer  would  not  hail^  the 
slightest  doubt  as  to  the  accuracy  of  public  sentiment,  if  the  question 
were  thoroughly  understood.  He  has  unbounded  confidence  in  the 
justice  and  fairness  which  characterize  the  judgment  of  the  American 
people  in  regard  to  any  matter,  the  true  merits  of  which  have  been 
brought  under  their  notice.  No  doubt  that  under  the  impulse  of 
generous  feelings,  they  are  sometimes  liable  to  be  led  away  by  ap- 
pearances. We  have  seen  that  in  more  than  one  instance,  political 
adventurers  from  other  countries  have  succeeded  in  imposing  upon 
them,  and  betraying  them  into  proceedings  far  from  creditable  to 
their  calmer  judgments.  But  such  delusions  have  been  of  a  very 
brief  and  transitory  duration.  The  sober  second  thought  soon  re- 
places the  sentiment  of  impulse,  and  rectifies  its  errors.  It  will  be 
so  in  regard  to  the  question  now  under  consideration,  Tlie  Ameri- 
can people,  the  living  embodiment  and  practical  administrator  of  the 
great  and  noble  principles  which  are  inscribed  in  our  free  constitu- 
tions, will  never  allow  those  sacred  principles  to  be  perverted  or 
trampled  under  foot  to  gratify  the  spurious  patriotism  of  a  clique, 
who  are  attempting  to  infuse  religious  strife  into  the  very  arteries  of 
civil  freedom,  of  social  happiness,  and  national  strength. 

This  being  now  as  it  has  ever  been  the  deliberate  judgment  of  the 
writer  in  regard  to  the  character  of  the  American  people,  he  has 
deemed  it  but  a  respectful  duty  to  them  to  furnish,  in  this  introduc- 
tion, such  explanation  of  the  true  grounds  of  the  question  involved 
in  the  late  act  of  the  Legislature  of  New  York,  as  will  enable  tiiem 
to  form  their  own  just  conclusions,  according  to  the  merit  and  evi- 
dence of  the  case  submitted. 

L 

It  has  been  the  supreme  and  sovereign  will  of  the  American  peo- 
ple from  the  period  of  their  independence,  that  all  religious  denomi- 
nations residing  within  their  bordei's  should  enjoy  the  same  equality 


550  ABCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

of  rights  and  privileges  under  the  constitution  and  laws  .of  the  coun- 
try. And  although  several  of  the  States  continued  f()r  many  years 
to  retain  enactments  preventing  Catholics  from  the  full  enjoyment 
of  these  equal  privileges,  still  the  great  predominant  sentiment  of  the 
country  induced  those  States,  one  after  another,  to  abolish  such 
enactments,  so  that  at  the  present  day  they  disgrace  the  statute 
book  of  no  commonwealth  in  the  whole  Union,  except  that  of  Xew 
Hampshire.  In  this  great  principle  of  religious  equality  among  the 
various  denominations  composing  the  powerful  free  empire  of  the 
American  people,  it  was  never  intended  that  the  State  should  pre- 
scribe for  any  denomination  a  code  of  discipline  which  should  em- 
barrass its  members  in  carrying  out  the  principles  of  their  faith.  It 
never  was  intended  that  the  rules  which  might  harmonize  with  the 
faith  of  one  denomination,  should  be  imposed,  unsolicited,  upon 
another  whose  religious  belief  was  of  an  entirely  different  character. 
On  the  contrary,  the  principle  hitherto  adopted  and  universally 
acted  upon,  if  we  except  the  Church  Property  Bill  as  it  is  commonly 
called,  has  been  that  each  denomination  should  either  use  a  general 
enactment,  such  as  the  law  of  1784  in  this  State,  or  solicit,  at  the 
hands  of  the  Legislature,  such  special  enactment  as  might  enable 
them,  consistently  with  the  requirements  of  the  Constitution,  to 
manage  the  external  affairs  of  their  communion  as  a  religious  body 
according  to  their  respective  symbols  of  faith. 

n. 

The  venerable  Archbishop  Carroll,  who  himself  took  part  in  the 
revolution  by  which  American  independence  was  won,  wished  to  as- 
similate, as  far  as  possible,  the  outward  administration  of  Catholic 
Church  property  in  a  way  that  would  harmonize  with  the  democratic 
principles  on  which  the  new  government  was  founded.  With  this 
view  he  authorized  and  instituted  the  system  of  lay  trustees  in 
Catholic  congregations.  Regarded  a  priori,  no  system  could  appear 
to  be  less  objectionable,  or  more  likely  both  to  secure  advantages 
to  those  congregations,  and  at  the  same  time  to  lecommend  the 
Catholic  religion  to  the  liberal  consideration  of  the  Protestant  senti- 
ment of  the  country.  It  would,  he  thought,  relieve  the  priest  from 
the  necessity  and  painfulness  of  having  to  appeal  from  the  altar  on 
questions  connected  with  money,  touching  either  the  means  of  his 
own  support,  repairs  of  the  church,  or  other  measures  essential  to 
the  welfare  of  his  congregation.  It  would  at  the  same  time  secure 
the  property,  by  the  protection  of  law,  for  the  perpetual  uses  to  which 
it  had  been  set  apart  and  consecrated.  It  would  be  a  bond  of  union 
between  the  priest  and  the  people.  It  would  be  a  shield  to  protect 
the  minister  of  the  altar  from  the  very  suspicion  of  being  a  money- 
seeker,  and  at  the  same  time  a  means  to  provide  for  his  decent 
maintenance.  All  these  were  no  doubt  the  considerations  which 
moved  the  venerable  and  patriotic  Arclibishop  to  adopt  and  recom- 
mend the  system  of  lay  trustees.    On  paper  and  in  theory  that  sys- 


CHURCH  PROPEKTY  CONTROVERSY.  551 

tera  was  entirely  unobjectionable.  It  was  well  calculated  to  gain  the 
confidence  of  a  mind  so  generous  and  so  liberal  as  that  of  the  first 
Archbishop  of  Baltimore.  But  in  practice  it  became  the  bitter 
chalice  of  his  old  age.  It  led  to  violent  strifes  in  Charleston  and  in 
Norfolk.  It  led  to  riots  and  bloodshed  in  Baltimore  and  Philadel- 
phia. Archbishop  Carroll,  when  there  were  but  two  churches  in  the 
city  of  Baltimore,  was  doomed  to  witness  the  congregation  of  one  of 
them  assembling  at  the  house  of  divine  woiship  on  Sunday  with 
loaded  muskets  in  their  hands.  He  was  doomed  even  during  his 
own  administration  to  see  an  excommunicated  priest  inaugurated  by 
lay  trustees  in  another  church  in  Philadelphia ;  and  to  undergo  a 
legal  prosecution  at  the  hands  of  lay  trustees,  in  the  civil  court,  for 
a  simple  act  of  episcopal  jurisdiction.  It  is  impossible  to  tell  what 
would  have  been  the  consequence  of  that  prosecution  had  it  not  been 
for  the  high  character  which  the  good  prelate  had  sustained,  and  for 
the  high  estimation  in  w'hich  he  was  held  by  the  whole  community 
of  Philadelphia,  Protestant  as  well  as  Catholic.  After  his  death, 
similar  results  of  lay-trusteeship  followed  in  the  church  of  St.  Mary 
in  Philadelphia.  Whoever  will  turn  to  the  press  of  that  city  in  the 
years  1821,  1822,  1823,  1824,  and  1825,  will  see  melancholy  evidence 
of  its  workings  in  social  strifes,  religious  enmities,  schism,  lawsuits, 
fearful  riots,  and  bloodshed. 

The  evils  which  manifested  themselves  in  these  churches  on  a 
grand  scale,  were  witnessed  in  a  minor  degree  in  almost  every  con- 
gregation throughout  the  country,  under  the  government  of  lay- 
trustees.  The  churches  of  this  city  were  by  no  means  exempt  from 
them ;  and  some  of  our  older  Catholic  inhabitants  have  witnessed, 
both  in  St.  Peter's  and  in  St.  Patrick's,  scenes  of  strife  which  they 
deplored,  and  which  they  would  be  ashamed  to  read  in  recorded 
detail. 

Ill 

Such  was  the  general  condition  of  the  Catholic  people  of  the 
United  States  in  the  year  1829,  when  their  bishops  were  numerous 
enough  to  hold  counsel  together  for  the  purpose  of  securing  peace, 
promoting  piety,  and  improving  the  moral  and  social  condition  of 
their  respective  flocks.  In  the  fifth  decree  of  this  first  council,  the 
following  statute  was  agreed  upon,  and  rendered  applicable  to  each 
diocese  except  that  of  Charleston  : 

"  Whereas  lay  trustees  have  frequently  abused  the  right  conceded  to  them  by 
the  State,  to  the  great  detriment  of  religion  and  scandal  of  the  faithful,  we  de- 
sire earnestly  that  henceforth  no  church  be  erected  or  consecrated  unless  the 
title  thereof,  whenever  it  can  be  done,  shall  be  assigned  by  a  written  document 
to  the  bishop  of  the  diocese  in  which  it  is  to  be  erected,  for  the  purpose  of  divine 
worship  and  the  benefit  of  the  faithful." 

In  the  fourth  decree  of  the  third  council  of  Baltimore,  held  in 
1837,  both  the  clergy  and  laity  are  reminded  of  the  heavy  spiritual 
penalties  decreed  by  the  Council  of  Trent  against  all  persons, 
whether  lay  or  clerical,  perverting  from  the  sacred  purpose  for  which 


552  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

it  is  appropriated  any  tiling  given  by  the  fixithful  for  religious  or 
charitable  uses.  The  fourth  statute  of  the  seventh  Provincial  Coun- 
cil of  Baltimore,  held  in  1849,  lays  down  the  rule  as  follows : 

"  The  fathers  have  ordained  that  all  churches  and  other  ecclesiastical  goods 
which  liave  accrued  from  the  gifts  or  offerings  of  the  faithful,  and  which  are  to 
be  employed  for  purposes  of  charity  or  religion,  shall  belong  to  the  ordinary, 
unless  it  appear  and  is  proven  in  writing  that  they  have  been  conceded  to  some 
religious  order  or  congregation  of  priests  for  their  own  use." 

These  are  the  only  laws  of  discipline  regarding  Church  property 
which  I  find  enacted  in  the  provincial  councils  of  Baltimore.  This 
latter  statute  had  reference  more  particularly  to  that  kind  of  property 
which  might  have  been  given  in  a  vague  and  indefinite  way,  and 
which  it  might  happen  that  the  priest,  either  in  good  faith  or  other- 
wise, might  construe  as  having  been  given  to  himself  for  his  personal 
nse.  But  in  no  case  has  the  idea  ever  been  entertained  of  acquiring 
wealth  or  making  the  Church  rich,  or  creating  revenues  which  even 
a  bishop  or  archbishop  might  be  at  liberty  to  use  or  abuse  at  his 
discretion. 

IV. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  remind  the  Protestant  reader  that  Catho- 
lics have  their  own  mode  of  Church  government,  and  that  when  they 
were  admitted  to  equality  of  privileges,  the  same  as  other  religious 
denominations,  their  mode  of  regulating  questions  of  Churcli  disci- 
pline, according  to  the  principles  of  their  creed,  was  substantially 
recognized  and  guaranteed.  This,  of  course,  should  be  in  harmony 
Avith  those  principles  of  the  constitution  and  geiieral  laws  of  the 
State  by  which  its  own  supreme  sovereignty  should  be  maintained, 
and  its  right  of  protection  to  all  its  inhabitants  in  the  domain  of  civil 
legislation  secured.  Still,  it  was  never  intended  that  the  Catholic 
idea  regarding  Church  property  should,  through  the  o])eration  of 
civil  laws,  be  made  conformable  to  those  of  any  other  denomination 
of  Christians.  This  would  be  a  contradiction.  It  would  be  taking 
from  them  by  legislation  a  portion  of  what  had  been  secured  to  them 
by  the  constitution  and  the  bill  of  rights. 

It  was  under  these  convictions  that  the  present  Archbishop  of 
New  York  enjoined  upon  the  Catholics  under  his  charge  the  obliga- 
tion of  regarding  Church  property  in  the  light  of  their  faith.  Hence, 
in  his  ))astoral  letter,  published  after  the  first  diocesan  synod  in  1 842, 
we  find  the  following  as  the  true  Catholic  idea  according  to  which 
Church  pi'operty  is  to  be  regarded.  The  document  was  published 
at  a  time  when  the  evil  consequences  of  lay  trusteeship  in  the  city 
of  New  York  were  beginning  to  manifest  themselves : 

"  Now  ecclesiastical  property  is  thtft,  and  all  that,  which  the  faithful  contribute 
from  religious  motives  and  for  religious  purposes.  It  is  the  church,  the  ceme- 
tery, and  all  estate  thereto  belonging.  It  is  the  ])ew  rents,  the  collections,  and 
all  moneys  derived  from  or  for  the  benefit  of  religion.  It  is  the  sacred  furniture 
of  the  house  of  (jrod.  In  a  word,  it  is  all  that  exists  for  ecclesiastical  purposes. 
According  to  the  laws  of  the  Church  and  the  usage  of  all  nations,  such  property. 


CHUECH  PEOPERXr  CONTROVEESY.  553 

though  it  must  be  protected  by  human  laws,  as  other  material  ]iroperty,  yet, 
beinjs:  once  brought  into  existence  in  the  form  and  for  the  uses  of  religion,  is 
considered  as  if  it  were  the  property  of  God,  which  cannot  be  violated,  alienated, 
or  wastefuUy  squandered,  without  (besides  ordinary  injustice,  as  if  it  were  com- 
mon property)  the  additional  guilt  of  a  kind  of  sacrilege.  It  is  not  considered, 
in  the  canon  law,  either  the  property  of  the  bishop,  or  the  property  of  his 
clergy,  or  the  property  of  the  people,  but  as  the  property  of  God,  for  the  reli- 
gious uses  of  them  all.  Hence  it  is  the  duty  of  all  to  preserve  it,  but  to  preserve 
it  not  with  the  care  which  would  be  sufficient  in  matters  of  a  secular  character, 
but  under  a  sense  of  the  awful  responsibility  involved  in  such  administration. 
In  the  enactments  of  the  canon  law,  the  highest  functionaries  of  the  hierarchy 
itself  were  not  allowed  to  undertake  their  administration  ^^ithout  having  first 
taken  an  oath  that  they  would  administer,  preserve,  and  transmit  it  as  above 
described." 

This  is  the  same  pastoral  letter  which  became  a  stumbling-block 
to  the  trustees  of  St.  Louis's  Church,  Buffalo.  In  their  petition  to 
the  Legislature  they  substituted  an  entire  falsehood  of  their  own  in- 
vention as  the  ground  of  their  opposition  to  episcopal  authority. 
They  say  that  Bishop  Hughes  attempted  to  compel  them  (the  trus- 
tees) to  make  over  the  title  of  their  church  to  him.  The  spirit  of 
this  false  statement  was  the  foundation  for  the  bill  enacted  in  the 
last  session  of  the  Legislature.  And  when  Senator  Brooks  asserted 
.that  among  the  property  conveyed  to  the  Archbishop  of  New  York 
there  were  numerous  transfers  from  trustees,  there  was  special  malice 
blended  with  the  falsehood  of  his  assertions.  It  was  intended  by 
him  to  be  understood,  and  it  was  so  understood  by  those  who  heard 
or  read  his  speech,  that  the  Archbishop  had  abused  his  episcopal 
authority  for  the  purpose  of  wresting  from  the  hands  of  lay  trustees 
the  property  which  tlie  law  of  the  State  had  authorized  them  to  hold 
and  administer.  But,  thanks  to  Almighty  God,  the  writer  of  this 
has  been  providentially  forearmed,  if  not  forewarned,  against  such 
unfounded  calumnies  as  Mr.  Brooks  has  seen  fit  to  invent  and  publish 
in  the,Senate  chamber  of  the  State  of  New  York.  On  pages  H 
and  12  of  thai  same  pastoral  letter,  published  in  1842,  we  find  the 
following  statement,  showing  how  grossly  Mr.  Senator  Brooks  has 
at  once  misrepresented  the  state  of  facts  and  the  purity  of  motives. 
Referring  to  the  discipline  of  the  Catholic  Church,  as  laid  down  in 
the  provincial  councils  at  Baltimore,  the  Ai'chbishop  says : 

"  One  of  the  first  and  most  explicit  decrees  of  the  Provincial  Council  in  Balti- 
more, directed  and  enjoined  on  the  bishojie  of  this  province,  that  they  sliould 
not  thenceforward  consecrate  any  church  therein,  unless  the  deed  had  been  pre- 
viously made,  in  trust,  to  the  bishop  thereof  Tliis  rule  has  hitherto  been  fol- 
lowed strictly  by  the  great  majority  of  the  episcopal  body  ;  and  wherever  it  has 
been  followed,  the  faitliful  are  exempted  from  many  of  the  evils  to  whicli  we 
have  already  referred.  Religion  progresses,  the  clergy  are  freed  from  aimoy- 
ances,  their  ministry  is  respected,  their  influence  with  the  people  obtains  large 
and  numerous  contributions  for  the  erection  or  improvement  of  churches,  and 
the  danger  of  seeing  those  sold  for  debt,  and  given  over  to  profanation,  is  alike 
removed  from  the  apprehensions  of  pastor  and  people.  In  pro])ortion  to  their 
numbers,  the  multiplication  of  churches  has  been  as  great  among  them  as  in 
this  diocese,  and  yet  their  churches  are  almost,  if  not  entirely,  out  of  debt. 

"Notwithstanding  the  feelings  that  must  arise  from  the  contrastof  their  situa- 
tion with  ours,  we  have,  for  what  appeared  weir/hty  reasons,  hitherto  declined  exe- 


554  AKCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

euting  the  statutes  of  the  decrees  of  tlie  Baltimore  councils  on  this  subject.  In  the 
first  place,  the  system  existed  here  more,  perhaps,  than  in  any  other  diocese. 
Secondly,  it  was  intimated  that  the  laws  rendered  the  tenure  in  trust  of  Church 
property  by  the  ordinary  uncertain,  if  not  insecure.  Besides,  if  it  could  be 
avoided,  without  injury  to  religion  and  the  ecclesiastical  property,  we  should  be  . 
glad  to  see  the  bishop  freed  from  the  solicitude  inseparable  from  its  guardian- 
sliip.  These  considerations,  which  might  be  much  enlarged,  have  induced  us 
to  hope  that  the  present  system  of  lay  trustees  might  be  so  modified  as  to  secure 
some  benefit  and  exclude  many  of  the  evils  which  have  resulted  from  the  irre- 
sponsible exercise  of  its  powers." 

V. 

About  this  period  the  bankruptcy  of  our  lay  trustees  commenced. 
Churches,  also,  began  to  rise,  in  which  the  people  did  not  desire 
their  services.  And  so  earnest  was  the  bishop  in  taking  precau- 
tions against  maladministration  in  the  new  system,  and  against 
the  dangers  of  reproach  or  even  suspicion  in  regard  to  their  admin- 
istration by  the  pastors,  that  he  published  the  following  rules. 

RULES 

FOB  THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  CHURCHES  WHICH  HAVE  NO  TRUSTEES. 

"  Inasmuch  as  the  temporal  aflFairs  of  any  church  may  fall  into  disorder  from 
the  absence  of  a  regular  system  for  the  management  of  the  same ;  and  inas- 
much as  the  responsibility,  and  perhaps  the  reproach  of  maladministration 
would  rest  upon  the  clergyman,  it  is  deemed  essential,  both  for  the  regulation 
of  the  temporal  concerns  of  each  congregation,  and  for  the  protection  of  the  pas- 
toral character,  that  certain  general  rules,  as  nearly  uniform  as  possible,  should 
be  adopted.  It  is  hoped  that  the  following  simple  rules  will  be  found  sufficient 
for  the  purpose. 

"  1st.  The  incomes  of  our  churches  arise  from  two  sources,  viz. :  Pew-rents 
and  Simday  collections.  The  pastor  is  required  to  keep  in  a  book  of  his  own  a 
regular  account  of  the  collections  taken  up  on  Sundays  and  festivals  :  he  is 
also  required  to  keep  a  similar  regular  account  of  the  pew-rents  as  paid  in  by 
the  collector  ;  he  is  required  to  appoint  at  least  two  confidential  and  pious  mem- 
bers of  his  congregation,  competent  for  such  a  task,  by  their  own  good  sense 
and  experience — the  one  to  be  treasurer  of  church  revenues,  the  other  secre- 
tary, for  keeping  regular  records  of  such  transactions,  appertaining  to  the  affairs 
of  the  church,  as  are  to  be  recorded — both  to  be  his  assistants  in  managing  his 
temporal  concerns,  and  in  aiding  him  with  their  knowledge  of  affairs  and  ad- 
vice in  every  matter  which  requires  reflection,  and  is  of  any  importance. 

"2d.  All  moneys  arising  from  the  sources  of  income  already  mentioned 
shall  be  deposited  in  the  hands  of  the  treasurer.  The  collector  shall  make 
a  double  report  of  the  sums,  receiving  credit  in  his  book,  as  he  deposits  them 
with  the  treasurer,  and  entering  each  transaction  on  the  book  kept  by  the 
pastor ;  so  that  one  book  shall  be  exactly  correspondent  with  the  other. 
Neither  the  secretary  nor  treasurer  shall  appropriate  or  expend  any  of  this 
money,  except  by  virtue  of  a  written  order  from  the  pastor  in  each  case,  which 
order  shall  be  the  treasurer's  voucher.  The  pastor  is  required,  in  the  expendi- 
ture of  this  income,  for  which  he  shall  be  responsible,  to  conform  strictly  to  the 
rules  of  the  diocese,  with  regard  to  the  manner,  and  the  amoimt  and  limitation 
of  such  expenditure. 

"Under  the  head  of  expenditure  is  included  the  necessary  expense  of  support- 
ing public  worship — the  salaries  given  to  persons  employed  in  the  church,  or 
for  the  congregation — as  organist,  sexton,  or  collector.  These,  the  pastor  will 
regulate  with  due  regard  to  the  propriety  of  the  selection,  and  the  circumstances 
of  his  church.     Under  the  same  head  will  come  the  amount  necessary  for  the 


CHURCH  PROPERTY  CONTROVERSY.  555 

maintenance  of  the  pastor,  and  of  his  assistant,  when  there  is  more  than  one 
clergyman.  It  is  the  Bishop's  wish,  that  so  far  as  the  fixed  sum  necessary  for  the 
support  of  the  pastor  is  concerned,  it  should  be  the  same  in  all  churches 
throughout  the  diocese,  viz. :  Six  hundred  dollars  for  the  pastor,  and  four 
hundred  dollars  for  the  assistant,  with  the  understanding  that  the  assistant 
shall  bear  half  the  expenses  of  the  house,  receiving  half  the  perquisites ;  and,  if 
he  should  prefer  paying  a  weekly  sum  for  board,  he  shall  receive  one-third  of 
the  perquisites. 

"  In  case  it  happen,  that  either  for  the  convenience  of  the  congregation,  or  as 
a  means  of  living,  some  clergyman,  incapable  of  rendering  other  missionary 
service  than  that  of  celebrating  Mass,  should  be  engaged,  the  sum  to  be  allowed 
shall,  in  no  case,  exceed  three  hundred  dollars.  If  such  clergj'man  shall,  in 
process  of  time,  become  capable  of  performing  certain  other  duties  of  the  mis- 
sion, this  svmi  will  be  increased  at  the  discretion  of  the  pastor,  with  the  knowl- 
edge and  approbation  of  the  Bishop. 

"  3d.  Wherever  there  is  a  parsonage  attached  to  the  church,  and  belonging 
to  the  congregation,  it  shall  be  for  the  use  of  the  pastor  and  such  other  clergy- 
men as  may  officiate  in  such  church  ;  in  such  case,  too,  at  least  for  the  time  to 
come,  the  congregation  should  provide  the  residence  of  the  clergy  with  a  suffi- 
cient and  decent  supply  of  furniture  ;  and  having  once  furnished  such  supply, 
it  is  to  be  kept  up  ever  afterwards  as  church  property,  at  the  expense  of  the 
pastor  for  the  time  being. 

"  No  article  of  church  service,  such  as  sacred  vessels,  vestments,  paintings,  or 
other  things  of  this  kind,  for  which  the  congregation  shaU  have  contributed, 
either  by  direct  contribution  or  through  the  medium  of  the  church  income, 
shall  belong  to  the  pastor ;  but  every  such  article  shall  belong  to  the  church 
and  congregation,  for  its  use  and  benefit. 

"  In  cases  where  there  is  no  parsonage  owned  by  the  congregation,  for  the 
pastor's  residence,  it  will  be  lawful  for  him  to  receive  one  hundred  dollars  per 
annum  additional,  for  the  purpose  of  defraying  house-rent ;  but  it  is  earnestly 
recommended  that  wherever  there  is  a  permanent  congregation,  they  and 
their  pastor  together  take  measures  to  erect  a  suitable  dwelling  for  his  resi- 
dence 

"  4th.  It  is  further  required,  that  every  six  months  a  strict  report  of  the  condi- 
tion, the  income,  and  the  expenditure,  regularly  audited,  shall  be  forwarded  to 
the  Bishop,  for  the  purpose  of  being  recorded  in  a  registry,  to  be  kept  at  his 
house  for  that  purpose.  A  copy  also  of  such  report  shall  be  published  and  dis- 
tributed among  the  congregation. 

"  The  circumstances  in  which  some  of  the  churches  in  this  extended  diocese 
vary  from  others,  will  probably  prevent  these  rules  from  being  equally  applied 
to  them  all ;  but  it  is  considered  that  they  are  entirely  applicable  to  all  the  larger 
congregations,  in  which  the  divine  service  is  regularly  kept  on  all  Sundays  and 
festivals.  It  is  hoped  also  that  many  congregations  of  recent  origin,  and  lim- 
ited resources,  vdll  grow  up  in  a  short  time,  by  their  prudence  in  managing  their 
affairs,  and  the  increase  of  their  numbers,  to  the  measure  of  being  able  to  com- 
ply with  these  requirements. 

"  -i.  JOHN  HUGHES,  Archbishop  op  New  Yokk. 

"  New  York,  July,  1853." 

First  published  in  1843,  and  republished  July,  1853. 

VI. 

It  was  by  no  act  of  the  Bishop  that  the  trustee  system  of  New 
York  broke  down  within  a  year  or  two  after  the  publication  of  this 
document.  All  the  Catholic  churches  of  this  city  had  been  under 
the  management  of  lay  trustees.     They  were  at  that  period  eight  in 


556  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

number.  Of  these,  five  boards  of  as  many  churches,  namely,  St. 
James's,  Transfiguration,  St.  Paul's  at  Harlem,  St,  Peter's  in  Barclay- 
street,  and  St.  John's  at  the  corner  of  Fiftieth-street  and  Fifth  ave- 
nue, all  became  bankrupt, — their  last  ofticial  act  having  been  to  pass 
the  churches  severally  either  to  assignees  or  to  be  sold  by  the 
sheriff  for  the  benefit  of  creditors.  Two  other  churches,  namely, 
St.  Joseph's  and  St.  Mary's,  permitted  their  trustees  to  retire  from 
ofiice,  and  thus  saved  their  property  from  the  late  of  the  other 
churches.  The  church  of  St.  Nicholas,  in  Second-street,  was  then 
under  trustees,  and  has  still  continued  to  be  administered  by  them 
without  the  slightest  hindrance  on  the  part  of  the  Bishop.  St.  Pat- 
rick's chui-ch  has  also  continued  under  similar  administration.  They, 
proposed  more  than  once  to  resign,  but  the  Bishop  would  not  con- 
sent to  it,  inasmuch  as  their  trusts  were  more  important,  and  as  they 
were  disposed  at  all  times  to  discharge  them  in  a  manner  conformable  to 
the  principles  of  the  Catholic  faith,  and  at  the  same  time  in  accord- 
ance with  the  law  of  their  charter  derived  from  the  State. 

Here,  then,  we  have  five  churches  thrown  into  market  to  be 
alienated  from  Catholic  worship,  through  the  unfortunate  adminis- 
tration of  lay  trustees.  Were  they  to  be  sold  as  so  many  insolvent 
theatres  ?  Their  trustees  had  contracted  debts  in  the  name  of  the 
Catholic  community — were  their  creditors  to  be  cheated  out  of 
money  which  they  had  loaned  in  good  faith  ?  Were  the  Catholics 
to  be  not  only  deprived  of  their  altars,  but  also  to  incur  the  disgrace 
of  non-payment  of  debts  which  their  trustees  had  lawfully  contracted 
in  their  name  ?  These  were  the  questions  which  the  Bishop,  and  the 
clergy,  and  the  people  of  New  York  had  to  decide.  It  was  agreed 
that  the  Bishop  should  purchase  these  churches,  and,  if  possible,  pre- 
serve them  for  the  sacred  purposes  to  which  they  had  been  dedicated. 
But  they  were  indebted  for  more  than  double  the  amount  for  which 
they  were  sold.  And  these  melancholy  legacies  of  debt  thrown 
upon  the  Bishop  and  Catholic  people  constitute  the  greater  part  of 
the  pretended  wealth  which  Senator  Brooks  ascribed  to  the  Bishop. 
They  were  indeed  entered  on  the  records  as  the  Bisliop's  property  ; 
but  the  acquisition,  burdened  as  it  was  to  an  amount  moie  than 
double  its  value,  instead  of  making  a  poor  man  rich,  would  be  cal- 
culated to  make  a  rich  man  poor. 

It  would  be  tiresome  to  go  into  a  detail  of  the  embarrassments  in 
which  the  mismanagement  of  lay  trustees  had  contrived  to  involve 
these  churches.  Let  it  suflice  to  state  in  general  that  by  a  determi- 
nation which  does  immortal  honor  to  the  Catholic  community  of 
New  York,  every  claim  against  them  in  law  and  in  equity  has  been 
honorably  met  and  discharged  or  provided  for.  No  man,  Catholic 
or  Protestant,  Jew  or  Gentile,  is  able  to  say  that  he  was  defrauded 
or  that  he  lost  so  much  as  one  penny  by  the  insolvency  of  these 
churches,  at  the  period  of  the  bankruptcy  of  their  trustees.  But  it 
may  be  instructive,  as  regards  both  the  past  and  the  future,  to  give 
a  brief  history  of  the  workings  of  the  trustee  system,  as  contrasted 
with  the  present  mode  of  administration  in  one  of  these  churches. 


CHTJECH   PKOPEKTY   CONTEOVEEST.  557 

That  of  St.  Peter's,  in  Barclay-street,  shall  be  taken  as  a  sample  of 
the  condition  of  the  others. 

St.  Peter's  is  the  oldest  Catholic  church  in  the  city.  It  was  for 
twenty-five  years  the  only  one.  Its  congregation  was  the  wealthiest 
until  within  a  recent  period.  It  had  always  been  under  the  manage- 
ment of  lay  trustees.  When  the  former  St.  Peter's  was  found  too 
small  and  it  was  determined  to  replace  it  by  a  new  church,  the  board 
then  existing  had  the  ground  free  of  debt,  the  materials  of  the  old 
edifice,  ten  tliousand  dollars,  it  is  said,  in  their  treasury,  as  well  as 
whatever  may  have  been  realized  from  voluntary  contributions  for 
the  construction  of  the  present  church.  This,  one  would  suppose  to 
indicate  an  auspicious  commencement  of  the  work.  When  the 
church  was  completed  as  it  now  stands,  and  a  pastoral  residence 
built  on  ground  which  they  had  leased  from  the  corporation  of 
Trinity  Church,  the  trustees,  besides  whatever  money  was  in  hand 
at  the  commencement  of  the  work,  found  themselves  indebted  to  the 
amount  of  $116,444.23.  They  continued  their  administration  of  the 
church  from  April,  1837,  to  May,  1844,  and  in  this  interval,  instead 
of  diminishing  the  debt  they  increased  it  by  the  sum  of  $18,500.77, 
making  the  whole  debt  when  they  became  bankrupt  and  made  an 
assignment  of  the  church  for  the  benefit  of  creditors,  $134,945. 
When  this  property  was  sold  at  the  Exchange  it  was  knocked  down 
at  the  highest  bid,  which  was  $46,000.  It  was  purchased  by  one  of 
the  congregation  to  be  transferred  to  the  bishop.  Here,  then,  is 
one  of  those  entries  of  a  property  valued  at  $46,000,  but  with  a 
moral  obligation  incumbent  on  the  purchaser  to  provide  for  its  debt 
to  the  amount  of  $134,945.  And  this  is  quoted  by  Senator  Brooks 
as  evidence  of  the  immense  wealth  of  the  Archbishop.  Another 
entry  wliich  he  quotes  as  evidence  of  property  acquired  is  the  unex- 
pired term  of  the  lease  from  Trinity  Church  of  the  ground  on  which 
the  pastoral  residence  of  St.  Peter's  Church  is  built.  The  Arch- 
bishop had  to  assume  the  payment  of  arrears  of  ground-rent,  with 
interest  on  the  same,  to  the  amount  of  $2,200.  There  were  but 
three  years  of  the  term  of  that  lease  unexpired,  and  yet  Senator 
Brooks,  concealing  all  this,  cites  the  transfer  from  the  assignees  as 
an  evidence  of  the  immense  wealth  which  the  Archbishop  was  gather- 
ing into  his  possession. 

It  may  be  matter  of  surprise  that  the  trustees  should  have  been 
able  to  accumulate  such  an  amount  of  borrowed  money  on  a  property 
which  sold  in  the  Exchange  for  less  than  one-third  of  its  indebted- 
ness. This  is  to  be  explained  as  follows :  Soon  after  the  erection 
of  the  church  was  commenced,  the  trustees  induced  the  pastor  of  the 
church  to  proclaim  from  the  pulpit,  that  the  poor  who  had  money, 
even  in  small  sums,  might  with  perfect  safety  give  the  use  of  it  to 
the  Board  of  Trustees — that  they  should  allow  the  same  interest 
that  was  allowed  on  deposits  in  the  savings  banks, — that  it  would 
be  perfectly  safe ;  and  that,  without  loss  to  themselves,  the  deposit- 
ors would  be  aiding  the  church  and  promoting  religion.  When 
these  announcements  were  made  I  am  quite  persuaded  that  all  parties 


558  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

acted  in  good  faith,  and  had  entire  confidence  m  their  future  ability 
to  return  these  sums,  Avhenever  they  should  be  called  tor.  Accord- 
ingly, an  indefinite  number  of  certificates,  handsomely  engraved, 
and  fortified  by  the  corporate  seal  of  the  Board,  were'given  in  due 
form  to  the  depositors  who  came  to  offer  their  money.  In  this  way 
they  found  their  treasury  replenislied  and  ovei-flowing.  Time  went  on 
— they  struggled  during  a  period  of  seven  years  to  pay  their  interest, 
but  the  capital  of  their  debt  increased  during  the  same  time  from 
1116,000  to  8135,000.  Their  charter  required  that  the  Bishop  of 
the  diocese  should  be  invited  to  attend  their  meetings,  but  no  such 
invitation  was  ever  sent  to  the  present  Archbishop.  On  the  con- 
trary, they  regarded  him  as  one  having  no  confidence  in  their  system, 
— in  short,  as  one  opposed  to  trustees.  Neither  shall  I  conceal  a 
fact  which  it  is  no  pleasure  to  me  to  have  to  record.  And  it  is  this : 
that  finding  themselves  and  their  church  sinking  irretrievably,  they 
waited  on  the  Bishop  a  short  time  before  the  assignment,  intimated 
to  him  their  financial  condition,  but  with  a  gilding  of  confidence  in 
which  he  could  not  participate,  desired  he  would  authoi-ize  them  to 
increase  their  mortgage  to  a  sum  of  $40,000  instead  of  $19,000,  out 
of  which  they  should  pay  off  the  old  mortgage,  and  from  the  balance 
discharge  certain  other  pressing  debts.  They  acknowledged  at  the 
same  time  that  the  trustee  system  was  by  no  means  the  best,  and 
proposed  with  the  greatest  simplicity  to  transfer  the  whole  property 
to  the  Bishop,  which  he  respectfully  but  absolutely  declined.  The 
Bishop  also  admonished  them,  that  as  honest  men  thvy  could  not 
allow  the  claims  of  a  new  and  enlarged  mortgage  on  their  property 
to  come  in  against  the  rights  of  the  note-holders.  That  the  church, 
according  to  their  own  acknowledgment,  was  bankrupt,  and  con- 
sequently belonged  in  right  and  in  justice  equally  ^?;*o  rata  to  all 
their  creditors.  They  seemed  to  acquiesce  in  this  just  view  of  the 
case.  But  it  came  to  the  knowledge  of  the  Bishop  within  a  few  days 
afterwards,  that  they  were  actually  negotiating  for  a  loan  of  $40,000 
at  an  insurance  office  in  Wall-street.  The  Bishop  then  wrote  a  note, 
addressed  to  their  Board,  warning  them  against  proceeding  in  the 
matter  of  that  loan,  and  stating  that  if  they  did  proceed  he  should 
publish  a  copy  of  that  note,  both  for  his  own  vindication,  and  to 
their  discredit.  They  proceeded  notwithstanding.  They  paid  off 
their  old  mortgage,  and  applied  the  balance  of  the  n^^^  one  to  the 
payment  of  such  debts  as  they  thought  proper  to  discharge  before 
making  their  assignment.  When  reproached  afterwards  for  having 
disregarded  the  advice  of  the  Bishop,  it  was  alleged  that  his  com- 
munication had  been  mislaid  among  their  papers,  and  had  escaped 
notice  until  the  whole  transaction  was  completed. 

Finally,  the  assignment  was  made  September  14th,  1844,  in  which 
the  trustee  system  bequeathed  to  any  purchaser  the  ecclesiastical 
property  of  St.  Peter's  Church,  which  was  sold  according  to  law  in 
the  Exchange  of  New  York  for  $46,000.  By  this  transaction  the 
Catholic  community  were  pledged  for  a  surplus  debt  over  and  above 
the  amount  which  the  church  brought,  of  $88,945.     This  was  the 


CHUECH  PROPERTY  CONTROVERSY.  569 

legacy  which  lay  trusteeism  bequeathed  to  a  betrayed  community. 
This  was  its  last  will  and  testament,  if  we  except  a  codicil  resulting 
from  the  assignment,  and  the  sale  of  the  property. 

VII. 

Previous  to  the  assignment  by  the  bankrupt  trustees,  some  of  the 
note-holders  had  taken  legal  measures  for  the  recovery  of  their 
claim.  These  persons,  under  legal  advice,  disputed  the  validity  of 
the  sale,  and  hence  the  whole  question  was  referred  to  the  courts  of 
law,  and  remained  undecided  until  the  1st  of  November,  1849, — 
that  is,  five  years,  one  month,  and  sixteen  days.  During  this  period 
the  ofiicers  of  the  law, — namely,  the  assignees,  and  those  employed 
by  them,  were,  for  the  time  being,  not  only  administrators,  but. pro- 
prietors, of  the  Church  of  St.  Peter.  At  the  commencement  of  their 
administration,  the  Bishop  was  assured  that  inasmuch  as  the  law, 
whilst  the  case  was  in  chancery,  would  not  allow  any  interest  to  be 
paid  except  that  of  the  bond  and  mortgage,  there  would  be  an  accu- 
mulation from  the  income  of  the  church  of  three  or  four  thousand 
dollars  per  annum.  This  would  have  made  some  eighteen  thousand 
dollars  of  a  fund  for  the  payment  of  note-holders  at  the  expiration 
of  the  suit.  Instead  of  this,  however,  the  surplus  income,  if  there 
was  any,  has  never  been  accounted  for.  Even  the  annual  interest 
on  the  bond  and  mortgage  was  not  fully  paid.  The  church  vvent  in 
arrears  on  the  item  of  interest  alone,  during  these  five  years,  four 
thousand  and  sixty-four  dollars  and  eighty-one  cents.  It  went  in 
arrears  on  the  ground-rent  of  the  priests'  residence,  due  to  the 
corporation  of  Trinity  Church,  two  thousand  two  hundred  dollars ; 
thus  making  an  arrearage  during  these  five  years  of  six  thousand  two 
hundred  and  sixty-four  dollars  and  eighty-one  cents.  From  this  is 
to  be  taken  one  thousand  two  hundred  and  thirty-three  dollars  and 
eighty-seven  cents,  paid  to  note-holders  from  the  revenues  of  the 
church,  and  leaving  the  arrearage  of  interest  on  its  debt  five  thousand 
and  thirty  dollars  and  ninety -four  cents.  From  all  which  we  present 
the  following  results.  When  the  trustees  of  St.  Peter's  commenced 
the  building  of  their  present  church,  the  ground  on  which  it  stands 
was  free  of  debt.  They  had,  it  is  commonly  said,  in  their  possession, 
besides  contributions,  which  are  not  counted,  and  besides  the  ma- 
terials of  the  old  edifice,  which  are  not  counted,  the  sum  of  $10,000.00 

When  the  churcli  was  completed  in  1837, they  were  indebted. . . .    116,444.23 
During  their  administration  from  1837  to  1844,  they  increased 

this  debt  by  the  amount  of 18,500.77 

After  the  assignment,  when  they  got  the  State  of  New  York  to 
play  the  part  of  sexton  and  administrator,  they  increased  this 
debt  stiU  further  to  the  amount  of. 5,030.94 

Making  in  all $149,975.94 

The  Catholics  of  the  State  of  New  York  ought  to  be  grateful  to 
the  excommunicated  trustees  of  St.  Louib's  Church,  the  Hon.  Mr. 


560  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

Putnam,  and  the  Hon.  Mr.  Brooks,  for  the  success  of  their  joint  la- 
bors in  fastenini;  upon  them  a  system  of  lay  trusteeship,  of  the 
workings  of  which  the  history  of  St.  Peter's  Church,  in  Barclay 
street,  furnishes  a  specimen.  Neither  has  it  been  simply  in  tlie  un- 
accountable increase  of  debt  that  the  administration  of  that  church 
has  entailed  evil  upon  the  Catholic  community.  During  a  great 
portion  of  the  time,  but  especially  during  the  period  of  the  assign- 
ment, nothing  was  left  undone  to  bring  disgrace  and  infamy  on  the 
Catholic  name  in  New  York.  The  assignees  were  the  pastors  of  the 
church.  The  senior  j^astor  was,  through  ill  health,  for  the  most  part 
confined  to  his  room,  and  unable  to  attend  with  proper  diligence  to 
the  duties  which  the  law  had  imposed  on  him.  The  junior  assignee 
took  but  little  interest  in  the  subject,  partly  because  he  Avas  the 
junior,  and  partly  because  his  natural  force  of  character,  especially 
when  a  stern  duty  was  to  be  performed,  would  range  somewhere 
between  the  positive  and  the  negative  of  whatever  question  would 
come  up.  The  consequence  was  that,  under  legal  advice,  a  third 
party  was  introduced,  and  constituted  a  plenipotentiary  in  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  affairs  of  St.  Peter's.  He  was  supposed  at  the 
time  to  be  a  Catholic.  When  he  entered  on  the  duties  of  his  oflice 
his  pecuniary  condition  was  but  a  few  degrees  above  that  of  a  pauper. 
He  was  said  to  be  a  good  bookkeeper,  and  the  writer  would  not 
indorse  that  sentiment,  while  he  is  willing  to  acknowledge  that  he 
kept  his  books  well — although  even  in  this  respect  there  are  items 
on  his  books  which  appear  to  have  never  been  accounted  for.  This 
man  was  treasurer,  secretary,  trustee — in  fact,  every  thing  in  St. 
Peter's  Church.  He  employed  subordinates  at  his  will — dismissed 
them  when  he  chose ;  received  all  moneys  for  pew-rents ;  counted 
Sunday  collections;  made  his  entries  of  income  and  expenditure  just 
as  he  thought  proper.  After  some  time  the  Archbishop  learned  with 
regret  that  the  promised  accumulation  of  surplus  income  was  not  to 
be  expected.  He  urged  that  every  practical  economy  should  be  re- 
sorted to ;  inquired  into  the  items  of  expenditure  which  might  be 
reduced,  and  found,  as  the  only  result,  that  this  administrator  of  the 
law  had  but  one  item  of  economy,  Avhich  was  indignantly  spurned 
by  the  Archbishop  ;  and  this  was  a  suggestion  to  withhold  from  the 
senior  pastor  the  sum  allowed  to  him,  but  which  his  broken  health 
did  not  permit  him  to  earn  by  actual  labor.  This  may  show  the 
delicate  scrupulosity  of  an  agent  of  the  law  in  administering  the 
temporal  affairs  of  a  Catholic  church.  In  the  mean  time,  the  unfor- 
tunate note-holders,  whose  money  had  been  received  by  the  trustees 
of  St.  Peter's,  rendered  the  Bishop's  life  a  daily  martyrdom  by  their 
wailings  and  lamentations  at  the  loss  of  the  little  earnings  which 
their  mdustry  had  accumulated,  and  which,  now  that  age,  and 
poverty,  and  ill-health  had  overtaken  them,  were  no  longer  within 
their  reach.  He  could  not  come  to  their  aid  ;  but  he  could  not,  on 
the  other  hand,  drive  them  from  his  door  harshly.  He  was  doomed 
to  listen  to  their  tales  of  distres?.  If  he  told  them  that  they 
must  address  themselves  to  the  assignees,  their  answer  was  that  they 


CHUECH  PKOPEUXr  CONTEOVKESY.  561 

had  applied  ;  that  the  assignees  referred  them  to  the  agent  of  the  law, 
who  received  all  the  moneys  of  St.  Peter's  church ;  tliat  when  they 
applied  to  him  he  swore  at  them,  and  threatened  to  kick  them  out  of 
his  office. 

This  species  of  daily  torture  continued  during  the  whole  period  of 
the  assignment.  And  as  time  went  on,  one  could  read  in  such 
newspapers  as  were  liable  to  be  imposed  upon,  a  series  of  scurrilous 
articles  against  the  Archbishop,  and  against  St.  Patrick's  Cathedral, 
for  not  coming  to  the  relief  of  the  poor  note-holders  of  St.  Peter's. 
Whence  those  articles  proceeded  was  by  no  means  a  secret.  The 
last  edition  of  them  has  appeared  in  the  New  York  Express.  And  if 
any  editor  thinks  that  he  can  annoy  Archbishop  Hughes  with  a  repub- 
lication of  the  scurrilities  which  emanated  from  under  the  assign- 
ment of  St.  Peter's  church,  he  will  easily  iind  the  man  to  furnish  them. 

The  Catholic  reader  would  not  have  a  full  idea  of  the  abominations 
connected  with  this  legal  administration  of  St.  Peter's  church  if  we 
were  to  Avithhold  from  him  the  following  statements.  We  have  seen 
that  the  legal  administrator  was  a  plenipotentiary  in  all  respects.  He 
allowed  arrears  to  accumulate  on  the  interest  of  bond  and  mortgage. 
He  allowed  arrearages  to  accumulate  on  the  ground  rent  of  the  pas- 
toral residence.  Death  had  removed  the  senior  pastor.  Other 
clergymen  were  sent  to  aid  in  discharging  the  spiritual  duties  of  the 
sacred  ministry.  They  were  men  who  feared  God,  and  did  not  fear 
powers  of  attorney.  Their  presence  became  disagreeable  to  our 
plenipotentiary;  and,  in  order  to  scatter  the  priests  from  his  neigh- 
borhood, he  made  known  that  the  corporation  of  Trinity  Church, 
inasmuch  as  their  ground  rent  had  not  been  paid,  wished  to  re-enter 
and  take  possession  of  their  property.  He  placed  a  bill  accordingly 
on  their  house — "to  let."  Some  of  tlie  priests  were  already 
frightened  away,  others  had  their  books  packed  up  ;  but  in  the  mean 
time,  and  by  the  merest  accident,  it  came  to  the  knowledge  of  the 
Archbishop  that  the  corporation  of  Trinity  Church  had  no  wish  to 
drive  out  the  priests  of  St.  Peter's  on  account  of  arrearage,  but 
that  they  acceded  to  the  proposition  under  the  advice  of  the  legal 
plenipotentiary,  who  had  stated  to  them  that  the  interests  of  the 
church  required  a  larger  revenue,  and  that  the  only  means  to  effect 
it  were  to  dispossess  the  priests  of  their  abode  and  rent  the  house. 
Under  these  circumstances  the  Archbishop  sent  word  that  he  would 
become  their  tenant,  and  see  that  the  arrearage  should  be  duly  paid. 
At  this  stage  of  the  proceedings,  patience  and  endurance  had  be- 
come exhausted.  The  Archbishop  directed  that  a  meeting  should  be 
called  of  the  congregation  on  the  following  Sunday  evening.  This  broke- 
somewhat  unexpectedly  on  the  ears  of  our  plenipotentiary.  But  he 
was  conscious  of  the  powers  which  the  law  gave  him  within  the 
sacred  precincts  of  St.  Peter's  church,  and  he  remarked,  in  the  most 
calm  and  philosophical  way  imaginable,  to  one  of  the  congregation : 
"  The  Bishop  is  coming  here  this  evening :  I  hope  he  will  behave 
well.  If  he  does,  we  shall  treat  him  with  respect ;  but  if  he  does, 
not,  I  shall  say  to  him,  '  Bishop,  there's  the  door  for  you.'  " 
Vol.  n.— 36 


cG2  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

This  meeting  look  place,  however,  and  the  Bishop  behaved  well. 
But  he  brought  this  man  up,  and  placed  his  conduct  and  administra- 
tion before  his  eyes  in  such  a  light,  that  without  being  told  to  quit 
his  office,  lie  sought  the  door  and  relinquished  it — that  is,  ceased  to 
render  any  further  services,  but  claimed  and  obtained  his  salary,  ac- 
cording to  law,  for  the  unexpired  portion  of  his  engagement. 

If  the  Catholics  of  St.  Peter's  desire  to  go  through  another  expe- 
rience like  this,  they  are  at  liberty  to  organize  lay  trustees  when 
they  will,  and  the  Archbishop  will  have  no  hesitation  in  passing  to  a 
new  board  the  title  of  the  property  which  is  now  recorded  in  his 
name — which  he  has  been  instrumental  in  saving  for  them  and  for 
religion,  and  in  restoring  their  reputation  for  honesty,  which  would 
have  been  sacrificed  if  it  had  not  been  for  his  interference. 

VIII. 

The  condition  of  St.  Peter's  Church  was  at  the  lowest  mark  on  the 
night  of  the  meeting  just  alluded  to,  from  which  the  plenipotentiary 
of  the  law  made  his  final  exit.  The  legality  of  the  sale  under  the  as- 
signment was  confirmed  by  the  proper  ti-ibunal.  The  church  began 
to  be  administered  under  the  present  system.  The  legacy  fi-om  lay- 
trusteeship  at  this  period,  was,  omitting  the  $10,000  which  they  had 
in  hand  at  the  commencement  of  the  building,  $139,975.94,  and  the 
assets  which  they  bequeathed  as  value  for  this,  were  the  walls  and 
roof  of  St.  Peter's  as  it  stands.  The  law  of  the  land  would  have 
been  satisfied  if  the  Catholics  had  paid  only  the  $46,000  for  which 
the  church  was  sold  under  the  assignment.  But  everlasting  justice 
is  an  older  and  a  higher  law  than  is  written  on  the  statute  books 
of  men.  And  although  the  Catholic  community  had  been  betrayed 
into  this  false  position  by  lay-trusteeism,  still  the  sense  of  the  higher 
law  would  not  permit  them  to  have  recourse  to  repudiation  of  just 
debts.  Measures  were  accordingly  taken.  The  Archbishop  brought 
together  a  number  of  the  leading  members  of  the  church  as  a  com- 
mittee. They  began  nobly  by  subscribing  themselves  large  amounts 
for  the  immediate  relief  of  the  note-holders  who  were  most  in  need. 
Other  measures  were  adopted  and  put  in  a  train  of  execution.  The 
consequence  has  been  that  under  the  present  system  of  management, 
within  the  period  of  five  years,  from  the  first  of  November,  1849,  to 
November,  1854,  the  income  of  the  church  was  $03,563.08,  instead 
of  $43,481.19,  during  a  similar  period  of  five  years  under  the  assign- 
ment— that  the  note-holders  received  during  this  lime  $22,674.72, 
instead  of  $1,233.87 — that  the  arrears  on  interest  and  on  ground- 
rent  have  been  paid  up — that,  in  short,  every  dollar  of  debt  con- 
tracted by  the  abominable  system  of  lay-trusteeship  has  been  actually 
paid  or  securely  provided  for. 

As  a  memorial  of  this  change,  and  a  portion  of  the  Catholic  history 
of  New  York,  we  cannot  do  better  than  insert  here,  as  taken  trom 
the  JPreemati's  Journal^  the  proceedings  of  a  meeting  held  in  St. 
Peter's  Church  on  the  last  Sunday  evening  of  the  year  1852  : 


CHURCH  PROPERTY  CONTROVERSY.  563 


EEDEMPTION  OF  ST.  PETER'S  CHURCH. 

From  the  F/temans  Journal,  Jan.  1,  1353. 

The  discourse  of  the  Most  Rev.  Archbishop,  on  last  Sunday  evening,  at  St. 
Peter's  Church,  Barclay  street,  of  which  we  have  the  pleasure  of  presenting  the 
substance  to  our  readers,  will  show  that  the  work  of  redeeming  that  cliurch 
from  its  desperate  financial  embarrassments  has  already  been  accomplished,  or 
is  on  the  eve  of  being  so.  This  result,  joyful  to  every  true  Catholic  in  America, 
is  one  that  could  with  difficulty  have  been  conceived  of  as  possible  at  the  time 
the  Archbishop,  three  years  ago,  took  that  church  into  his  hands  to  rescue  it 
from  the  deplorable  condition  to  which  "  the  law"  administration  of  the  parish 
had  reduced  it.  In  November,  1849,  the  statement  published  in  the  Fifeman 
respecting  the  debts  accumulated,  and  till  then  increasing,  upon  the  church, 
made  the  work  of  rescuing  it  look  like  a  tedious  and  dispiriting  task,  to  be 
handed  down  from  one  faithful  administration  to  its  successor.  How  great, 
then,  is  the  debt  of  gratitude  due  to  the  Archbishop,  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Quinn, 
who  at  that  time  consented  to  take  charge  of  the  parish,  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Bay- 
ley,  who,  with  Mr.  James  B.  Nicholson,  has  spent  so  much  time  and  labor  in 
disentangling  and  regulating  the  confusion  of  affairs,  and  to  all  the  fervent  and 
devoted  Catholics  who  have  contributed  their  exertions  to  this  good  and  glo- 
rious work !  Catholics  need  no  longer  avoid  Barclay  street,  nor  blush,  if  they 
come  in  sight  of  St.  Peter's,  at  the  disgrace  of  which  it  stood  out  the  bulky  and 
only  monument  in  the  financial  history  of  Catholic  churches. 

The  style  of  architecture  of  St.  Peter's  does  not  admit  of  the  carvings  we 
have  seen  on  the  outer  faces  of  the  walls  of  some  old  Gothic  churches  in  Europe, 
where  figures  were  chiseled  representing  the  spirits  of  evil  driven  forth,  with 
hideous  grimaces,  from  within  the  Temple;  but  their  places  might  on  this 
building  be  supplied  by  cutting  on  the  granite  tablets  of  its  portico,  in  truthful 
figures  of  arithmetic,  the  history  of  its  boards  of  trustees,  and  uncanonical  ma- 
noeuvres. While,  ^^•ithin  the  church,  we  think  it  might  be  a  pious  and  edifying 
counterpart  to  engrave  on  a  tablet  of  pure  Avhite — 

"  A  LONG  DESOLATICV, 

AND   A   SHAME  GROWN   OLD, 

THBEE  TEAKS  OF  CANONICAL  OBEDIENCE  AND  CATHOLIC  DEVOTION 

HAVE   SUFFICED  TO  KEPATB. 

A.  D.   1852." 

The  church  was  very  tastefully  decorated,  and  the  altar  was  magnificently 
dressed  for  this  joyful  occasion.  The  church  was  densely  crowded  by  an  audi- 
ence as  intelligent  and  respectable  as  could  well  be  assembled  in  any  one  place. 
At  the  close  of  the  Archbishop's  address,  the  congregation,  who  entered  deeply 
into  the  jubilant  spirit  of  the  evening,  rose,  while  the  choir,  which  always 
performs  good  music  at  St.  Peter's,  chanted  the  Te  Deum  Laudamus,  as  ar- 
ranged by  Romberg. 

But  we  are  too  long  detaining  our  readers  from  the  words  of  the  Archbishop, 
which  were  pretty  nearly  as  follows  : 

"It  is  a  fittle  over  three  years  since  I  had  occasion,  impelled  by  the 
duties  of  my  office,  to  come  here  and  call  your  attention  to  the  situation 
of  the  temporal  affairs  of  this  church.  What  had  passed,  if  not  tmder 
my  eyes,  at  least  within  the  range  of  my  knowledge,  for  some  years  pre- 
viously, had  filled  me  with  apprehension  that  unless  I  interfered,  with 
or  without  permission,  not  even  the  wreck  of  the  hopes  of  the  creditors 
of  this  church  would  have  been  preserved ;  and  on  that  occasion,  you  will 
remember,  I  had  no  words  of  kindness  ;  but  my  language  was  of  censure,  and 
censure  almost  indiscriminately  applied.  Now,  thanks  be  to  Almighty  God,  I 
have  no  occasion  to  use  the  language  of  censure,  but  rather  to  congratulate 


564  AECHBISIIOP   HUGHES. 

you  and  the  Catholic  Church  in  this  city,  and  in  this  country,  upon  the  im- 
provement in  the  condition  of  the  temporal  affairs  of  St.  Peter's  Church  during 
the  interval.  The  story  of  this  churcli  has  gone  abroad  to  the  world  wherever 
the  English  language  is  spoken  and  known,  and  it  has  been  deplored  as  a  ca- 
lamity by  those  who  have  never  seen  the  country  ;  because,  in  fact,  if  the  result 
which  was  obvious,  but  a  short  time  ago,  had  occurred,  it  would  have  left  a  per- 
manent blemish  upon  the  Catholic  name,  and  it  would  have  been  the  first  time 
in  tlie  annals  of  the  Catholic  Church,  that  men  placing  their  confidence  in  the 
faith  of  that  Church,  especially  where  the  sacred  temple  was  concerned,  had 
ever  been  known  to  have  suffered  or  to  have  lost  thereby.  If  you  read  ecclesi- 
astical history,  you  will  not  find  another  instance  of  a  Catholic  church  in  the 
same  circumstances  in  which  St.  Peter's  was  but  three  years  ago  ;  and  although 
I  may  not  say  that  it  is  entirely  released  from  that  condition,  nevertheless,  I 
consider  it  so  much  so,  that  henceforward  we  need  not  hang  our  heads  when 
the  name  of  St.  Peter's,  as  a  specimen  of  Catholic  honesty,  is  brought  imder  our 
notice. 

"  Before  referring  to  the  actual  condition  of  the  church  at  this  moment ,  I  will 
invite  you  to  review  with  me,  briefly,  the  history  and  events  which  have 
brought  about  this  result.  It  pleased  our  ancestors  in  the  faith,  when  they 
were  yet  few  in  this  city,  when  they  were  poor,  and  had  much  to  struggle 
against,  to  conform  their  mode  of  administering  temporal  property  connected 
with  their  religion,  to  the  mode  prevalent  among  their  Protestant  fellow-citizens. 
It  was  supposed  to  be  republican,  enlightened,  and  advantageous,  and  hence,  in- 
stead of  governing  the  church  property  according  to  the  rules — the  ancient  and 
safe  rules  of  the  Catholic  Church — they  received  a  patent  and  authority  from 
the  State  for  the  management  of  the  same.  They  got  themselves  incorjxjrated, 
and  a  few  individuals,  selected  by  themselves  from  their  number,  became  a  body 
Y)erfect  in  law,  with  all  the  prerogatives  that  are  usually  attached,  and  also  the 
responsibilities  to  that  special  designation.  And  so  they  continued.  I  will  not 
pretend  to  enlarge  upon  the  advantages  or  disadvantages  of  this  system  in  its 
relation  to  matters  not  now  before  us.  I  will  not  pretend  to  say  whether  it 
was  in  harmony  ^vith  the  spirit  of  the  Catholic  Churcli,  or  whether  it  did  not 
tend  to  create  a  species  of  congregational  feeling  which  is  not  Catholic.  In  all 
its  relations  to  Catholic  discipline,  and  to  that  unanimous  harmony  of  feeling 
which  ought  to  belong  to  the  Catholic  Church  in  social  and  religious  relations, 
as  a  commvmity  of  faith  and  charity — in  all  these  regards,  I  will  pass  over  the 
advantages  or  disadvantages  of  that  system  ;  but  I  have  one  heavy  charge  to 
bring  against  it  in  the  relation  that  most  interests  us  at  present,  and  it  is  this — 
that  it  gave  power  to  the  body  corporate  for  the  time  being,  to  contract  debts  to  any 
amount  that  public  credit  would  reach,  strengthened  in  those  days  by  the  kno\vn 
fidelity  of  the  CathoUcs  in  connection  with  their  Church,  to  meet  all  their  obliga- 
tions. And  what  made  this  still  more  objectionable  was,  that  these  trustees  did 
not  continue  from  year  to  year  the  same  individuals  ;  for  then,  as  a  consequence, 
their  operations  would  accumulate,  and  the  same  individuals  coidd  be  hold  ac- 
countable for  them,  or  at  least  would  be  in  a  situation  to  explain  how  they  oc- 
curred, and  to  take  measures  to  prevent  them  from  becoming  unmanageable  : 
but  this  trustee  system  changed  its  members  every  two  or  three  years,  so  that 
every  new  set  coming  in  had  the  power  to  contract  debts,  and  had  also,  especi- 
ally as  the  time  went  on,  to  manage  the  obligations  contracted  l)y  their  prede- 
cessors, who  had  departed  from  the  body  corporate,  and  were  lost  and  unknown 
in  the  multitude  at  large.  They  could  say,  we  did  not  contract  these  debts,  for 
we  found  them  contracted  ;  they  have  been  entailed  upon  us,  and  we  must  bear 
with  them.  But,  at  the  same  time,  when  circumstances  seemed  to  require  it, 
they  had  the  same  power  to  contract  new  debts,  and  thus  passing  from  one  suc- 
cession to  another  of  trustees,  the  body  corporate  became  but  a  fiction.  Hence 
this  church — the  very  cradle  of  Catholicity,  the  very  spot  uix)n  which  the  altar 
was  permanently  erected  for  the  first  time  in  the  State  of  New  York — this 
church,  the  oldest  and  most  endeared  by  every  fond  recollection  of  the  oldest 
families,  became,  at  the  period  of  its  completion,  and  as  it  now  is,  indebted  to 


CHURCH  PROPERTY  CONTROVERSY.  565 

the  amount  of  $135,789 ;  and  tliis  debt  was  contracted,  not  to  those  persons 
whose  province  it  is  to  loan  money  with  perfect  sense  as  to  the  security  and 
responsibility  ;  but  this  money  had  been  borrowed  upon  the  faith  of  a  corporate 
seal,  from  the  poor  and  the  industrious  mechanic,  who  had  economized  and  laid  up 
some  of  his  earnings  for  the  day  of  his  need.  It  was  borrowed  from  persons  in 
the  humbler  departments  of  life  ;  and  the  reason  this  debt  is  so  sacred  upon  us 
is  because  they,  in  lending  their  money,  and  taking  this  seal  of  a  corporate 
body  as  a  sufficient  guarantee,  imagined  in  their  own  minds  that  they  were 
loaning  to  the  Catholic  Church  of  God — the  same  Church  which  we  speak  of 
in  the  Apostles'  Creed,  where  it  is  said,  "  I  believe  in  the  Catholic  Church." 
They  imagined  that  they  were  loaning  to  our  Divine  Saviour,  and  it  was  the 
fact  of  the  Church,  the  creed  of  tlie  Church,  that  constituted  their  security,  and 
not  the  figment  of  a  corporate  right  with  the  high  seal  of  a  sovereign  State 
upon  it. 

"  This  was  the  condition  in  which  the  church  was  at  that  period.  I  need  not 
say  that,  while  I  was  made  aware,  as  Bishop  of  the  diocese,  of  the  condition  of 
things  here,  I  never  was  admitted  to  the  confidence  or  the  secrets  of  that  civil 
corporation.  Its  requirements  imposed  u]X)n  its  members  the  obligation  of  in- 
viting nie  to  their  meetings  :  but  the  invitation  I  never  received  :  nor  did  they 
ever  pay  to  the  Bishop  of  the  Diocese  that  respect  of  consulting  him  in  regard  to 
matters  involving  such  consequences,  until  the  period  when  they  came  to  make 
known  that  they  were  bankrupts,  as  a  corporation,  and  proposed  to  pass  over  to 
me  the  church,  with  all  its  income,  and  all  its  responsibilities.  I  must  do  my- 
self the  justice  to  say,  that  upon  that  occasion  I  told  them  that  they  could  not, 
in  conscience,  borrow  one  farthing  more ;  and  that  they  could  not,  in  conscience, 
increase  the  amount  of  their  bond  and  mortgage,  because  I  conceived  that  the 
whole  of  their  profierty  was  not  equivalent  to  the  several  obligations  of  notes 
on  hand  which  they  had  distributed  among  the  poor  ;  and  that,  therefore,  the 
property,  injustice,  was  no  longer  theirs,  but  was  the  property,  and  the  only 
value,  for  those  notes  whichhad  been  given  to  persons  who  had  claims  ;  and  that 
the  effect  of  a  mortgage  would  be  to  cut  out  some  of  those  claims,  or,  at  least,  to 
leave  them  until  after  the  claims  of  the  mortgage  should  be  paid.  If.  upon  that 
occasion,  my  advice  had  been  taken,  all  would  have  been  sold  without  hesita- 
tion, because  I  do  not  look  upon  the  value  of  a  temple,  even  if  it  were  of  mar- 
ble and  gold,  as  any  thing  to  be  compared  with  the  value  of  Catholic  integrity 
in  matters  of  religion.  It  was,  however,  overruled,  and  I  do  not  regret  it.  The 
next  thing  was  an  assignment,  which  was  to  have  taken  place  ;  but  the  parties 
who  were  the  creditors,  and  who  supposed  they  had  a  right  to  step  in,  caused 
an  injunction  (the  full  meaning  of  which  I  really  am  not  able  to  explain,  or 
even  to  comprehend)  to  be  imposed,  so  that,  up  to  1844,  the  church  was  gov- 
erned by  law,  in  the  name  of  a  charter,  and  afterwards  it  was  governed  by 
law,  under  another  asjiect,  and  in  such  a  way  that  even  the  sacred  officers  of 
religion  seemed  to  be,  to  a  certain  extent,  regulated  by  the  requirements  of  the 
ordinances  of  law.  At  this  period,  the  church  was  indebted  $134,;3S1.  That 
continued  under  assignees  from  November,  1844,  until  the  period  to  which  I 
have  already  referred,  when  I  came  here  with  a  determination,  and  conscious  of 
my  rights  as  a  Bishop,  and  in  my  interpretation  of  my  duties,  to  break  up  the 
whole  system,  no  matter  wliat  should  be  the  consequences,  for  it  had  gone  on 
long  enough.  I  had  been  induced  to  acquiesce  in  the  arrangement  at  first  by 
the  promise,  that  during  that  interval,  inasmuch  as  the  law  had  pat  a  stop  to  cer- 
tain payments  of  interest,  there  would  be  an  accumulation  of  !^4,000  or  |5,000  a 
year  to  the  benefit  of  the  poor  creditors.  This  reconciled  me  to  it ;  yet  after  the  four 
or  five  j-ears  were  up,  we  found  that  not  only  was  there  no  accumulation  for  the 
benefit  of  creditors,  but  the  church  had  actually  increased  its  debt ;  for  up  to  the 
period  of  1844,  interest  had  been  paid  by  the  trustees  ;  but  from  that  period  un- 
til November,  1849,  except  upon  the  mortgage,  and  not  all  upon  that,  no  inter- 
est had  been  paid  ;  and  yet  we  find  at  this  period  that  the  debt  was  $185,789, 
showing  an  increase  of  debt,  during  those  five  years,  of  $1,408.  Upon  that  oc- 
casion, you  will  recollect,  I  invited  the  congregation  to  rally  around  me,  and 


566  AECUBISHOP   HUGHE8. 

see  wliat  could  be  done  ;  and  immediately  after,  measures  were  taken,  by  col- 
lection, by  appealing  to  the  generous  members  of  the  congregation,  and  by 
every  means  that  could  be  suggested,  to  get  something  to  jmy  the  more  needy 
and  the  more  numerous  class  of  the  poor  who  were  hovering  a'bout,  and  craving 
for  the  sums  which  they  had  deposited,  or  at  least  for  some  part  of  them.  A  society 
was  formed ;  and,  under  the  constancy  and  devotion  of  that  society,  guided  by 
the  zeal  and  incessant  watchfulness  of  the  reverend  pastor  of  the  church, 
much  has  been  done  since  ;  for  I  find  now,  that  within  these  three  years,  the 
debt  has  not  increased,  but,  on  the  contrary,  has  been  reduced  by  the  sum  of 
$19,706.92  ;  and  of  this  amount,  $9,156.18  was  paid  to  note-holders,  in  casli,  on 
accomit,  and  the  balance  was  paid  to  the  assignees,  for  the  same  class  of  credit- 
ors. Besides  this,  dm-ing  the  same  three  years,  in  which  the  church  has  not 
been  under  the  management  of  legal  agents,  there  have  been  paid,  for  improve- 
ments and  extra  expenses,  $2,742,  making,  in  all,  paid  within  the  last  three 
years,  over  and  above  current  expenses,  $22,448.72.  You  recollect  that  all  this 
has  been  the  gratuitous  efforts  of  parties  who  had  no  individual  concern  in  con- 
tracting the  debts  which  have  so  long  been  impending  upon  this  church. 
Their  moneys  have  been  gratuitous  offerings  to  ransom  the  good  faith  of  the 
Catholic  Church  ;  and  latterly  there  has  been,  in  addition,  an  opportunity  of 
disposing  of  the  interest  which  this  church  had  in  certain  lots  in  Fiftieth 
street,  between  the  Fourth  and  Fifth  avenues.  I  must  take  occasion  here  to  re- 
mark, that  these  lots,  and  others,  to  the  same  extent,  had  been  originally  held 
by  the  Cathedral  and  St.  Peter's  conjointly,  and  that  previous  to  the  sale,  there 
was  a  meeting  of  the  trustees  of  the  Cathedral  called,  at  which  1  was  ]irescnt, 
and  at  which,  with  the  good-will  of  the  people,  and  in  accordance  with  my 
strong  recommendation,  it  was  resolved  that  the  grounds  belonging  to  St.  Pe- 
ter's should  be  bid  up  by  them  at  any  price  whatever,  not  exceecling  the  whole 
debt  upon  this  church.  Why  was  tliis  resolution  adopted  ?  It  was  because 
if  they  should  sell  for  double  their  value,  the  money  was  to  go  to  a  part  of  the 
Catholic  community  to  whom  it  was  honestly  due.  It  was  because  the  money 
with  which  that  purchase  should  be  paid  belonged  to  the  Catholic  community, 
and  because  the  idea  of  a  Catholic  community  is,  that  there  should  be  no  selfish- 
ness or  sectarianism  in  their  dealings  whenever  their  affairs  are  conducted  ac- 
cording to  the  principles,  and  the  views,  and  the  salutary  discipline  of  their 
own  Church.  By  this  means,  the  property  was  enhanced  in  value  at  least  one- 
fourth,  and  if  occasion  had  required,  it  would  have  been  bid  up  to  a  still  greater 
amount.  And  now,  what  is  the  summary  of  all  this  ?  It  is  that  you  divide  the 
payment  of  the  debts  of  St.  Peter's  church  between  the  security  which  the  law 
has  guaranteed,  either  in  consequence  of  the  acts  of  the  trustees,  or  the  duties 
of  the  assignees,  and  the  supplement  which  has  been  made  up  by  tlie  generous 
feelings  which  have  pervaded  the  breasts  of  all  those  who  liave  taken  part  in  add- 
ing to  what  the  law  furnished  as  a  supplement,  reaching  to  the  whole  estate. 
This  constitutes  the  two  elements  ;  and  whereas  the  present  debt  of  the  church 
is  $115,000  ;  and  whereas  there  is  secured  as  one  item,  to  which  note-holders 
have  no  claim — in  which  they  have  no  interest — the  mortgage  of  $40,000  -  the 
balance  would  be  some  $86,000  due  ;  and  on  this  amount  the  sale  of  real  estate, 
by  law,  and  personal  property — for  evdry  thing  has  been  sold,  even  to  the  vest- 
ments and  organ— the  result  would  be,  if  I  can  use  the  language  cmjiloyed 
elsewhere,  a  dividend  of  probably  sixty-five  or  seventy  per  cent,  to  those  poor 
note-holders.  This  is  what  the  law  simply  would  secure  to  them ;  but  it  is 
much  to  your  credit,  my  dear  brethren — you,  the  congregation  of  St.  Peter's— 
that  you  have  made  up  over  and  above  what  the  law  provides,  and  in  such  a 
manner,  that  I  am  here  authorized  to  say  that  before  the  first  day  of  May  next, 
every  dollar  and  every  cent  that  is  due  on  the  face  of  those  notes  shall  be  paid 
totheir  holders,  without  the  diminution  of  one  farthing." 

The  Archbishop  then  went  on  to  detail  the  various  applications  made  to 
him,  through  actual  necessity,  by  the  poorer  class  of  subscribers  to  the  church, 
and  at  the  same  time  exonerated  the  corporation  of  Trinity  church,  in  their  ca- 
pacity of  lessors,  from  all  blame  on  account  of  the  too  notorious  move  of  eject 


CHURCH   PKOPEETY   CONTKOVEESY.  567 

ment,  which  sent  some  of  the  clergy  away  from  the  building  used  as  a  pres- 
bytery. He  alluded  to  them  in  the  following  expressions :  "  I  return  my 
thanks  now  to  that  corporation,  for  the  kindness  and  forbearsince  with  which 
they  treated  the  clergy  of  St.  Peter's  church,  upon  that  occasion,  tor  they  made 
the  observation,  that  for  a  sum  so  trifling  they  would  not  be  willing  to  see 
the  clergy  of  any  denomination  dispossessed  and  turned  out  from  their  lodgings 
and  places  of  usual  residence.  Wliat  is  the  whole  result  of  this  review,  my 
dear  brethren  ?  It  is  that  I  congratulate  you  for  the  constancy  and  the  liber- 
ality with  which  you  have  entered  into  our  jilans,  and  contributed  at  the  door 
on  Sunday,  without  being  fatigued  during  these  three  years,  your  offerings 
towards  the  full  payment  of  the  poor  note-holders  of  this  church.  I  congratu- 
late your  pastor,  who,  by  his  prudence,  and  his  devotion,  and  unceasing  en- 
ergy, has  been  your  representative,  encouraging  you,  and  accomplishing  the 
wonderful  things  which  he  has  accomplished,  when  you  find  that  within  three 
years,  besides  the  ordinary  expenses  of  this  church,  he  has  paid,  or  you  have 
enabled  him  to  pay,  twenty-two  thousand  dollars  to  the  poor  note-holders.  I 
congratulate  St.  Peter's  church  that  they  have  borne  their  own  burdens,  and 
called  for  no  aid  from  other  quarters.  I  congratulate  and  return  my  thanks 
to  those  gentlemen  who  first  met  me  at  the  residence  of  the  clergy,  on  the  very 
night  on  which  that  downward  system  was  broken  up — Avhen  they,  with  a 
liberality  for  which,  individually,  they  had  been  known,  in  other  circum- 
stances contributed  their  hundred,  and  even  some  of  them  five  hundred  dol- 
lars, towards  the  redemption  of  this  temple,  and  towards  wiping  away  the 
stain  which  its  circumstances  were  calculated  to  leave  upon  the  Catholic 
Church. 

"  Nor  can  I  avoid  returning  thanks  to  the  present  assignees,  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Bayley  and  Mr.  James  B.  Nicholson,  for  I  am  well  aware  of  the  labors,  the 
assiduity,  the  patience,  the  loss  of  time,  and  the  trouble  which  these  gentle- 
men have  taken  at  all  times  to  execute  in  the  most  perfect  manner  the  trusts 
committed  to  their  charge.  And  now,  dearly  beloved  brethren,  is  this  dear- 
bought  experience  to  be  lost  upon  the  Catholic  body  ?  Is  this  fact,  extending 
over  more  than  fifteen  years,  and  perplexing  the  efforts  of  the  Catholic  body  in 
this  entire  city,  bearing  down  their  credit,  and  sending  abroad  the  watchword 
of  distrust  against  those  dealing  with  the  church — is  all  this  to  pass  away, 
without  impressing  upon  our  minds  some  useful  lesson  ?  I  trust  not.  I  trust 
it  will  be  a  lesson  to  this  congregation  and  this  city,  and  to  the  Catholic  Church 
throughout  the  entire  United  States.  It  is  an  experience,  and  an  experience 
going  to  show  that  wherever,  in  the  management  even  of  thefr  temporal  affairs, 
the  Catholic  people  have  deserted  the  rules  laid  down  in  their  Church,  that  God 
has  not  manifested  His  blessing  in  their  operations.  It  will  be  a  lesson  which 
ought  not  to  be  lost  on  trustees,  or  bishops,  or  priests,  or  laymen,  viz.  :  that 
they  have  no  right  to  turn  into  bankers,  even  though  the  poor  should  have 
full  confidence  in  making  them  the  depositories  of  money.  It  is  a  treacherous 
business.  It  was  an  unfortunate  day  on  which  the  practice  was  introduced, 
because  it  steals  upon  men  ;  and  while  I  may  seem  to  speak  in  a  manner  which 
would  imply  censure  upon  the  motives  or  integrity  of  those  who  have  been 
concerned  in  the  administration  of  this  church  as  trustees,  I  beg  leave  to  say 
that  I  have  never  known  any  individual  among  them  in  whom  I  could  not  place 
the  utmost  confidence  ;  but  the  system  itself,  the  system  of  borrowing,  I  entirely 
deprecate.  It  is  a  dangerous  system,  and  certainly  as  long  as  Almighty  God 
permits  me  to  be  at  the  head  of  this  diocese,  no  priest  of  mine,  or  Catholic  lay- 
man, shall  ever  have  authority,  in  the  name  of  religion,  to  receive  one  penny 
in  the  form  of  deposit.  This  is  the  lesson  with  the  experience  we  have  had 
should  teach  us,  and  another  lesson  is  one  of  benefit,  as  well  as  warning,  and 
it  is  this :  It  is  now  very  difficult  for  Catholics,  as  such,  to  borrow  money,  for 
our  reputation  has  been  injured  ;  and  so  far  as  we  are  a  religious  body,  I  rejoice 
that  it  is  so,  and  I  trust  that  the  difficulty  of  borrowing  money,  except  in  cases 
of  absolute  necessity,  will  be  so  increased,  that  we  shall  learn  to  find  within 
ourselves  all  the  resources  for  the  healthy  continuation  and  extension  of  our 


568  ARCHBISHpP  HUGHES. 

Church.  In  this  sense  it  will  be  a  benefit ;  and,  dearly  beloved  brethren,  I 
cannot  but  rejoice,  that  during  these  three  brief  years,  every  thing  which  was 
so  dark  in  the  future,  and  almost  hopeless,  God,  by  His  providence,  and  by  in- 
spiring you  with  those  feelings  which  truly  become  your  iaith,  to  repair  the 
blunders  in  which  you  had  become  involved  by  acting  under  different  authori- 
ties, has  changed  to  that  point  that  I  am  able  and  authorized  now  to  gay,  that 
every  dollar  of  the  money  for  which  notes  have  been  given  by  the  trustees  of 
this  church,  shall  be  paid.  I  must,  however,  make  a  distinction.  I  must  say, 
that  where  these  notes  have  passed  for  a  very  small  sum  in  the  days  of  need, 
from  the  hands  of  the  original  owners  to  persons  who  have  purchased  them,  in 
all  such  cases  the  purchaser  of  the  note,  if  he  presents  it,  shall  be  entitled  to 
what  the  law  allows  him,  and  this  will  be  more  than  he  paid  for  it.  In  the 
second  place,  there  is  no  idea  or  jjretence  of  paying  interest  upon  these  notes. 
In  my  recollection,  most  of  the  holders  whom  I  saw  would  have  been  willing 
to  give  the  notes  for  one-fifth  of  their  value  :  and  the  Catholics  all — I  may  say 
all,  for  I  conceive  that  in  the  purchase  of  the  ground  all  have  been  represented 
— ^have  taxed  themselves  and  paid  over  and  above  what  the  law  required  to 
make  up  Catholic  equity,  instead  of  civil  law.  They  have  made  this  sacrifice, 
and  if  tliey  are  able  to  pay  the  poor  Catholics,  it  is  but  just  that  the  latter 
should,  too,  feel  a  small  portion  of  the  sacrifice ;  and  I  hope  that  there  is  no 
man  or  woman,  calling  himself  or  herself  a  Catholic,  who  wiU  have  the  courage 
to  speak,  after  this  sacrifice,  of  claiming  interest. 

"  Yet,  I  must  make  one  exception.  It  has  come  to  my  knowledge,  during 
my  intercourse  with  a  gentleman  having  charge  of  this  matter,  that,  in  some 
cases,  the  poor  servants  of  families  took  their  money,  either  if  they  had  it  by 
them,  or  in  some  instances  from  the  Savings  Bank,  and  brought  it  here,  and 
that  instances  are  known  in  which  the  companion  of  the  Catholic,  who  was  not 
herself  a  Catholic,  but  a  Protestant,  was  nevertheless  induced  to  invest  the 
money  as  if  she  were  a  Catholic  ;  and  it  would  be  very  cruel,  indeed,  if  persons 
not  belonging  to  the  Church  at  all,  but  yet  having  shown  such  a  confidence  in 
the  Church,  should  not  receive  their  money  ;  and  for  this  reason  I  take  it  upon 
myself  to  say,  not  only  that  they  shall  receive  their  principal,  but  every  farthing 
of  interest  to  the  present  day  ;  so  that  those  who  are  not  Catholics,  and  have 
deposited  their  money,  are,  under  the  circumstances,  such  as  shall  be  entitled 
to  their  interest  as  well  as  principal ;  and  whether  the  resources  within  our 
reach  will  be  suflScient  to  meet  tliis  or  not,  I  i)ledge  mj^  word,  and  take  it  upon 
myself,  that  in  every  such  instance,  these  persons  shall  be  paid  both  principal 
and  interest.  As  far  as  the  Catholics  are  concerned,  they  must  not  pretend  to 
speak  of  interest.  I  am  astonished  to  hear  some  persons,  who  only  a  year  ago 
would  have  been  thankful  if  they  could  have  got  half  their  capital,  begin  to 
speak  as  if  they  were  in  the  market  of  usury,  when  they  knew  how  much  their 
brethren  have  done. 

"  I  will  now  conclude.  It  is  the  last  Sunday  evening  of  the  year  1852.  The 
next  Sunday  will  be  another  year  ;  and  it  has  been  in  Catholic  times  a  ]>ractice, 
always  at  the  close  of  the  year  to  return  thanks  to  Almighty  God,  with  prayer 
and  solemn  music,  for  the  blessings  which  he  has  bestowed  upon  his  people 
during  the  season  that  has  just  passed  away.  In  addition  to  this  1  think  you 
have  other  reasons.  We  have  all  other  reasons  to  thank  Almighty  Gotl,  and 
on  that  account  I  shall  say,  both  as  commemorating  the  total  dispersion  of  that 
black  cloud  which  has  so  long  impended  over  this  church,  that  in  both  thanks- 
giving for  that  and  the  blessings  that  God  has  bestowed  on  us  in  this  result. 
We  shall  unite  in  asking  that  there  shall  be  offered  to-day  a  solemn  Te  Deuin 
in  thanksgiving  for  all  these  blessings  and  benefits." 

The  Te  Deum  Laudaraus  was  then  sung  by  the  choir,  the  entire 
congregation  standing. 


CHUECH  PROPERTY  CONTROVERSY.  569 

IX. 

Enough  has  been  said  to  give  an  idea  of  the  results  of  lay  trustee- 
ship as  exemplified  in  a  single  church.  Circumstances  rendered  the 
condition  of  the  other  four  bankrupt  churches,  to  which  allusion  has 
already  been  made,  only  less  desperate  than  that  of  St.  Peter's. 
The  other  ten  churches  that  have  been  erected  for  as  many  new 
congregations,  are  still  heavily  in  debt.  But,  inasmuch  as  they  can 
not  be  irretrievably  mortgaged  without  the  knowledge  of  the  Arch- 
bishop, and  inasmuch  as  he  will  never  suffer  them  to  be  so  mortgaged, 
the  danger  of  their  being  alienated  from  Catholic  worship  is  remote 
and  impossible.  All  these  fifteen  churches,  the  titles  of  which  are 
nominally  vested  in  the  Archbishop,  but  which,  in  reality,  belong 
to  the  several  congregations,  constitute  the  basis  of  that  supposed 
wealth  which  Senator  Brooks  estimated  at  a  little  short  of  $5,000,000. 
We  have  the  authority  of  Messrs.  Glover  and  Wetmore  for  stating 
that  after  the  paymeUt  of  their  debts,  their  value,  allowing  the  avei-age 
of  the  ground  on  which  they  stand  at  the  very  high  sum  of  $5,000  each 
lot,  would  amount  to  the  sum  of  §139,000,  or  thereabouts.  Besides 
the  nominal  ownership  of  the  ground  on  which  these  churches  stand, 
Archbishop  Hughes  is  not  the  proprietor  of  a  single  square  inch  of 
land  on  Manhattan  Island.  ^ 

X. 

It  is  not  for  us  to  determine  by  what  right  a  senator  may  be 
authorized  to  involve  a  private  citizen  (for  neither  the  Constitution 
nor  the  laws  of  this  country  recognize  any  ecclesiastic  in  any  different 
capacity)  in  the  necessity  of  taking  the  trouble  and  going  to  the 
expense  which  a  refutation  of  Mr.  Brooks's  falsehoods  has  imposed 
upon  Archbishop  Hughes.  Certainly  no  man  is  a  criminal  on  account 
of  the  amount  of  property  which  may  be  recorded  in  his  name,  pro- 
vided it  has  been  honestly  acquired  or  honestly  preserved  for  the 
purposes  to  which  it  is  set  apart.  And  if  the  acquisition  of  wealth  by 
religious  denominations  is  sufficient  to  excite  the  jealousy  of  the 
State,  the  investigation  should  extend  to  all  denominations,  and  not 
be  exceptionally  restricted  to  one.  At  all  events,  if  the  Legislature 
of  New  York  is  disposed  to  take  an  inventory  of  the  ecclesiastical 
wealth  of  each  denomination  in  the  State,  they  should  begin  with 
those  who,  by  original  rights  or  the  prescription  of  time,  have  come 
into  the  management  of  really  immense  property.  In  that  way  the 
Episcopalians,  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church,  the  Presbyterians,  the 
Methodists  and  Baptists  would,  by  the  immense  preponderance  of 
their  ecclesiastical  property,  claim  precedence  over  the  Catholics, 
who  are  but  of  comparatively  recent  origin  in  this  city,  and  even 
yet  in  the  condition  of  pure  struggle  to  provide  places  of  worship 
for  their  inci'easing  numbers.  Tiie  writer  of  this  entertains  no 
jealousy  towards  any  denomination  on  account  of  their  ecclesiastical 
wealth.    It  is  to  be  assumed  that  they  came  into  its  possession  by 


570  ABCHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

honest  and  honorable  means.  And  were  it  twice  or  ten  times  as 
large  as  it  is,  we  would  still  say  tliat  the  State  has  no  right  to  inter- 
fere with  it,  at  least  in  the  sense  of  contingent  confiscation,  con- 
templated and  provided  for  in  Senator  Putnam's  bill  against  Ca- 
thohcs. 

XI. 

Neither  have  we  the  slightest  objection  to  the  system  of  lay  trus- 
teeship which  the  same  bill  would  force  upon  Catholics,  that  is,  so 
far  as  other  denominations  may  have  found  it  suitable  to  their 
interests  and  in  harmony  with  their  doctrines.  It  has  so  happened, 
howevei',  as  an  historical  fact,  that  the  Episcopalians,  Dutch  Reformed 
Church,  Presbyterians,  Methodists,  Quakers,  and  probably  some 
other  denominations,  have  sought  exemption  and  obtained  it  from 
the  crude  enactments  of  the  law  of  1784,  which  Senator  Putnam  has 
revived  against  Catholics.  We  say  candidly,  that  this  system  is 
entirely  out  of  keeping  with  the  principles  of  religious  belief  and  of 
ecclesiastical  discipline  peculiar  to  our  faith.  Nor  do  we  know  any 
denomination,  except  the  Congregationalists,  to  whom  it  is  applicable 
or  by  whom  it  is  desired.  Neither  is  it  of  much  consequence  to 
Catholics,  |,hat  wherevej  it  has  existed  some  of  the  clergymen  of 
other  denominations  have  complained  of  it  bitterly,  as  authorizing 
a  despotism  of  the  laity,  controlling  their  freedom  in  the  "ministra- 
tion of  the  Word,"  if  not  of  the  sacraments.  Neither  is  it  our 
business  to  complain  that  Protestant  lay-trustees  have  not  only  in 
some  instances  brought  their  churches  into  market  by  their  mis- 
management, allowed  some  of  them  to  be  sold  even  to  Catholics, 
but  also,  if  report  can  be  relied  on,  have  failed  to  pay  the  debts 
which  they  had  contracted  in  the  name  of  the  religious  community 
to  which  they  belonged — whether  the  sufferers  were,  as  in  some 
cases,  those  who  had  loaned  them  money  on  bond  and  mortgage,  or 
cases  more  cruel  still,  in  which  mechanics,  laborers,  and  others  were 
ultimately  cheated  out  of  the  wages  of  their  hard  labor.  All  these 
are  questions  which  our  Protestant  fellow-citizens  have  a  right  to 
decide  for  themselves,  and  if  they  are  entirely  satisfied  as  for  them- 
selves, with  this  system,  certainly  Catholics  have  no  right  to  pre- 
vent their  approval  and  adoption  of  it.  We  speak  for  Catholics 
only. 

XII. 

This  may,  perhaps,  be  the  proper  place  in  which  to  introduce  a 
few  explanatory  remarks  regarding  some  points  alluded  to  by  Sena- 
tor Brooks,  which,  without  explanation,  the  uncatholic  reader 
would  be  liable  to  misunderstand.  It  has  been  stated  in  various 
ways  that  Catholics  regard  church  property,  when  once  dedicated 
to  religious  purposes,  as  the  property  of  God.  The  meaning,  in  the 
minds  of  Catholics  is,  that  no  matter  in  whom  the  title  of  such 


CHUBCH  PEOPERTY  CONTROVEESY.  571 

property  is  vested,  its  use  is  the  common  right  of  all ;  that  the 
Bishop  has  no  right  to  exclude  the  congregation,  nor  the  congrega- 
tion to  exclude  the  Bishop ;  in  short,  that  it  is  to  be  used  for  the 
2>urpose  of  Catholic  worship.  It  has  happened,  and  it  may  happen 
again,  that  some  portions  of  property  of  this  kind  have  been  sold. 
Thus  arises  the  question,  very  silly  in  itself,  "  How  can  the  property 
of  God  be  sold  ?"  Two  instances  have  been  alluded  to  during  this 
discussion.  One  was  the  old  Transfiguration  Church,  in  Chambers 
street.  The  chui-ch  edifice  was  exceedingly  rickety.  Improve- 
ment in  the  neighborhood  required  that  great  expense  should  be 
undergone  to  shore  it  up.  And  improvement  demanded  that  the 
ground  on  which  it  stood  should  be  occupied  for  warehouses,  rather 
than  as  a  place  of  worship.  It  was  accordingly  sold,  and  the  money 
which  it  brought  was  used  partly  to  pay  its  debts,  and  partly  to 
purchase  the  present  Tiansfiguration  Church,  formerly  Protestant 
Episcopalian  "  Zion,"  corner  of  Mott  and  Cross  streets.  It  may  be 
remarked,  by  the  way,  that  the  old  Ti-ansfiguration  Church  had 
never  been  consecrated  or  dedicated  by  any  Catholic  religious  rites. 
The  anjount  of  debt  from  the  beginning  was  such,  that  neither 
Bishop  Dubois,  nor  Archbishop  Hughes  would  consecrate  a  temple 
so  likely  to  pass  away  from  religious  to  secular  uses.  Something 
similar  occurred  in  regard  to  what  was  called  St.  Stephen's  Church, 
on  the  corner  of  Twenty-seventh  street  and  Madison  avenue. 
Ground  had  been  purchased  there  by  the  congregation  with  the 
sanction  of  the  Bishop  ;  a  temporary  building  was  erected,  but  never 
consecrated,  inasmuch  as  it  was  only  temporary  and  to  be  occupied 
as  a  school-house  atler  the  church  should  have  been  erected.  In  the 
mean  time  the  Harlem  R.  R.  Company  became  the  proprietors  of 
the  rest  of  the  block  in  which  this  building  was  situated.  The 
character  of  that  occupancy  rendered  it  expedient  to  build  the  con- 
templated chuich  on  that  ground  ;  whilst,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
Harlem  R.  R.  Company  desired  the  possession  of  the  whole  square. 
It  was  accordingly  sold  to  them,  and  the  purchase  money  employed 
in  buying  lots  and  building  St.  Stephen's  Church  in  a  more  suitable 
place.  It  was  in  relation  to  this  property  that  Senator  Brooks  placed 
on  record  one  of  the  most  palpable  falsehoods  of  which  he  has  been 
guilty.  He  describes  the  sale  of  this  property  and  its  transfer  to 
the  Harlem  R.  R,  Company.  Of  course,  then,  he  was  aware  that 
it  had  passed  out  of  the  Archbishop's  possession.  And  he  must 
have  known  that  he  was  perpetrating  a  falsehood  when  he  enumerated 
this  same  property  as  being  still  in  the  Archbishop's  possession. 

XIII. 

It  has  been  said  that  the  Archbishop  should  not  have  applied 
terms  of  opprobrium  to  a  senator  of  the  State  of  New  York ;  and 
some  papers  have  gone  so  fiir  as  to  say  that  he  has  applied  the  word 
"  liar,"  "  scoundrel,"  "  villain,"  <fec.,  to  Senator  Brooks.  This  is  en- 
tirely untrue.     Whether  Mr.  Brooks  deserves  those  epithets  or  not 


572  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

is  purely  a  matter  of  inference  in  the  mind  of  each  reader.  But  the 
Archbishop  has  not  applied  them.  Mr.  Brooks  in  this  respect  has 
been  his  own  worst  enemy.  In  his  speech  in  the  senate  of  New 
York  he  made  statements  which  were  entirely  and  absolutely  false. 
Admonished  as  to  their  falsehood,  he  undertook  to  prove  tliem,  and 
in  this  attempt  perpetrated  many  additional  falsehoods.  Thus  the 
issue  of  veracity  between  him  and  the  Archbishop  became  vital ; 
and  if  Mr.  Brooks  has  gone  to  the  wall  on  that  issue,  it  has  been  by 
his  own  procurement.  He  became  the  centre  of  a  triangular  testi- 
mony. At  one  angle  were  his  own  statements ;  at  a  second,  those 
of  Messrs.  Glover  and  Wetmore,  whose  veracity  no  man  will  ven- 
ture to  call  in  question ;  and  at  the  third  point  of  the  triangle  were 
the  records  of  the  register's  office.  Mr.  Brooks  had  falsified  these 
records.  That  fact  is  attested  both  by  their  own  text  and  by  the 
testimony  of  the  two  gentlemen  above  named.  If  Mr.  Brooks, 
therefore,  has  any  complaint  to  make  as  to  the  charge  of  falsehood, 
let  him  blame  not  the  Archbishop,  b\jt  his  own  tongue  and  his  own 
pen.  In  the  speech  in  Albany  he  said  there  were  fifty-eight  entries 
of  property  then  held  by  the  Archbishop.  When  he  came  to  ex- 
amine them  he  found,  not  fifty-eighty  but  forty-six.  And  when 
truthful  men  came  to  examine  his  special  report,  they  found  neither 
fifty-eight  nor  forty-six^  but  only  thirty-two. 

Let  no  one,  then,  be  offended  or  scandalized  if  the  Archbishop 
has  applied  to  such  statements  of  Senator  Brooks  the  only  te^m  in 
our  language  which  characterizes  them  according  to  what  they  are, 
namely,  talsehoods.  These  they  are,  neither  more  nor  less.  And 
they  would  be  just  what  they  are  if,  by  a  ridiculous  affectation  of 
spurious  politeness,  the  Archbishop  had  treated  them  as  mere  typo- 
graphical errors.  The  only  object  of  education  in  this  life  is  to  dis- 
tinguish, in  all  departments  of  human  knowledge,  the  line  which 
separates  truth  from  falsehood.  If  we  were  not  in  the  hope  of  be- 
coming able  to  make  this  distinction,  the  labors  of  the  student  would 
become  purposeless,  and  education  would  be  a  mere  toil  without  the 
prospect  of  a  recompense.  To  apply  the  term  falsehood  to  a  deliber- 
ate statement  made  by  any  one  claiming  the  immunities  of  .social 
decency,  must  necessarily  appear  harsh,  and  is,  in  fltct,  a  humiliating 
necessity  on  the  part  of  him  who  employs  it.  But  when  there  is  no 
alternative  left — when  you  have  to  deal  with  a  man  so  unscrupulous 
as  to  leave  you  no  choice  except  to  put  him  into  the  pit  which  he 
had  dug  for  you — then  in  that  case  things  must  be  called  by  their 
proper  names — truth  must  be  called  truth,  and  falsehood,  falsehood  : 
it  is  for  the  author  of  either  to  be  responsible  both  to  God  and  men. 

XIV. 

It  is  said  by  many  that  the  late  controversy  between  Senator 
Brooks  and  myself  will  have  made  a  great  man  of  him.  I  doubt 
much  whether  that  is  possible.  But  if  the  event  should  verify  the 
prediction,  it  will  not  awaken  in  my  breast  a  single  feeling  of  regret. 


CHUKCH  PEOPERTY  CONTKOVEKSY.  573 

I  have  no  objection  that  Senator  Brooks  should  succeed  in  any  avo- 
cation of  life  to  which  he  may  devote  himself.  The  late  controversy 
between  him  and  me  has  brought  out  for  the  admiration  of  his 
countrymen,  if  they  choose  to  admire  it,  the  special  department  ot 
talent  in  which  his  forte  lies.  If  they  deem  it  worthy  of  recom- 
pense, let  them  reward  it  by  making  Senator  Brooks  mayor  of  the 
city,  governor  of  the  State,  or  president  of  the  Union,  in  case  they 
can  find  no  fitter  man.  As  for  the  M'riter  of  this,  he  has  only  to 
complain  of  the  injustice  done  him  by  Senator  Brooks  in  the  speech 
which  he  delivered  in  the  senate  at  Albany  on  the  6th  of  March 
last.  In  that  speech  the  senator  held  up  Archbishop  Hughes  to  the 
odium  and  suspicion  of  his  countrymen.  And  J,his  he  did,  not  by  a 
statement  of  facts,  but  by  a  statement  of  silly  and  absurd  false- 
hoods. 

It  may  be  as  well  to  conclude  this  introduction  with  a  restatement 
of  that  portion  of  Mr.  Brooks's  speech  which  has  given  rise  to  the 
late  controversy  between  the  Senator  and  the  Archbishop  of  Xew 
York.     The  passage  referred  to  is  as  follows : 

"  I  had  occasion  during  a  visit  of  a  day  in  New  York  to  secure  references, 
taken  from  the  register's  office  there,  of  the  amount  of  property  held  hy  John 
Hughes  in  that  city.  I  suppose  its  value  to  be,  in  New  York  alone,  not  much 
short  of  five  millions  of  dollars.  So  far  from  this  property  being  held,  when  in 
churches,  by  tnistees,  there  are  numerous  transfers  from  trustees  to  John 
Hughes !  Beginning  with  February,  1842,  and  con-tinuing  through  1854,  a 
friend  of  mine  coipied  fifty-eight  entries  of  as  many  distinct  parcels  o/ property 
made  in  the  name  of  land  for  John  Hughes,  all  in  the  space  of  twelve  years !  — 
not  to  John  Hughes,  Bishop,  nor  to  John  Hughes,  ArchfBishop,  nor  to  John 
Hughes,  as  trustee  for  the  great  Roman  Catholic  Church — but  to  plain  John 
Hughes  in  his  own  propria  lyersona.  Some  of  these  parcels  cover  whole  squares 
of  land,  and  nearly  all  of  them  are  of  great  value.  The  rule  of  that  Church  is 
never  to  part  with  property,  and  to  receive  all  that  can  be  purchased.  What  is 
true  of  New  York  city  is  true  of  the  State,  and  fifteen  or  twenty  cases  of  pro- 
perty assigned  to  Bishop  John  Timon  were  named  by  the  senator  from. 
Monroe." 

["  To  those  who  were  curious  in  such  matters,  Mr.  Brooks  exhibited  to  the 
senate  the  number,  book,  and  page  of  those  several  entries  in  the  city  of  New 
York  in  behalf  of  John  Hughes."] 


THE  TRUSTEES  OF  ST.  LOUIS'S  CHURCH,  BUFFALe,— 
AND  MR.  PUTNAM'S  CHURCH  PROPERTY  BILL. 

New  York,  March  28, 1855. 
To  the  Editor  of  the  New  York  Preemayi's  Journal : 

Having  arrived  by  the  Atlantic,  yesterday,  I  have  had  barely  time 
to  read  the  foregoing  strange  documents.  I  proceed  to  make  the 
following  hasty  observations  in  regard  to  them,  inasmuch  as  Cath- 
olics, and  others,  perhaps,  are  anxious  to  know  my  opinions. 


574  AUCHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

I  do  not  think  that  there  is  any  real  ground  for  the  alarm  and  appr©. 
hension  which  I  understand  is  now  prevalent  among  the  Catholics  of 
this  city,  and  no  doubt  of  the  entire  State,  as  to  the  effects  of  a  law, 
which  is  now  under  discussion  in  the  Legislature  at  Albany,  regarding 
ecclesiastical  property.  No  doubt  it  is  in  its  spirit  and  in  its  object  an 
anti-Catholic  enactment,  although  it  professes  to  embrace  all  denomi- 
nations except  the  Society  of  Friends.  Should  it  pass,  it  may  reach  other 
religious  communities,  and  strike  deeper  into  their  ecclesiastical  or- 
ganizations than  its  framers  would  wish.  On  the  other  hand,  they 
felt  themselves  obliged  to  give  it  the  form  and  appearance  of  a  gen- 
eral law,  instead  of  calling  it  by  its  true  title,  "a  penal  enactment, 
requiring  Roman  Catholics  of  the  State  of  Xew  York  to  be  governed, 
in  the  enjoyment  and  use  of  their  own  property  set  apart  for  eccle- 
siastical purposes,  not  by  the  discipline  of  the  religion  which  they 
profess,  but  by  the  statute  of  the  Legislature."  This  would  be  the 
true  title  of  the  bill  as  it  has  now  passed  the  Senate.  But  even 
should  it  become  a  law,  we  can  hardly  think  that  our  Protestant 
fellow-citizens  would  take  any  pleasure  in  executing  upon  us  the  an- 
noyances and  injuries,  for  the  infliction  of  which  it  has  so  ingeniously 
provided.  It  would  impose  such  intricate,  onerous,  and  sometimes^ 
odious  duties  on  the  officers  who  should  be  appointed  to  see  it  exe- 
cbted,  that,  unless  ample  fees  were  provided,  they  would  become  dis- 
gusted with  its  requirements. 

It  would  certainly  inflict  very  great  injury  on  us  in  our  rights  of 
conscience,  and  in  our  rights  of  property,  and  this  without  producing 
any  benefit  to  any  class  of  our  tellow-citizens.  Still,  should  it  pass, 
we  shall  not  sink  under  it.  We  have  borne  up  under  weightier  dis- 
couragements. I  should  not  be  surprised  if  its  results  would  be 
beneficial,  rather  than  otherwise,  to  the  real  interests  of  the  Catholic 
Church  and  people.  The  very  fact  that  we  have  been  singled  out 
and  fettered  in  the  enjoyment  of  religious  immunities  by  civil  enact- 
ments, will,  in  all  probability,  excite  that  sympathy  which  is  natural 
to  the  American  breast  in  favor  of  those  who  suffer  under  the  reality, 
or  even  under  the  appearance  of  persecution,  whether  that  persecu- 
tion be  legal  or  not.  It  will  have  the  effect  to  brace  many  who  have 
hitherto  been  lukewarm  Catholics,  to  a  higher,  a  deeper,  and  a  holier 
appreciation  of  that  religion  which  is  thought  to  require  civil  enact- 
ments for  the  cri[)pling  of  its  progress.  It  will  withdraw  many  from 
the  too  ardent  pursuit  of  political  ends  and  political  objects,  by  which 
theiv  minds  were  led  away  and  wasted  on  mere  transitory  and  tem- 
poral concerns.  It  will  insinuate  to  Catholics  that,  in  the  minds  of 
their  fellow-citizens,  they,  because  of  their  religion,  are  hardly  quali- 
fied to  take  part  in  the  political  strifes  by  which  the  country  is  per- 
petually agitated.  And  the  more  they  withdraw  from  such  agitations, 
whether  by  their  own  choice  or  by  such  legislative  rebukes  as  the 
enactment  under  consideration  contemplates,  the  more  their  hearts 
and  their  minds  will  turn  to  other  considerations  aftecting  their  fu- 
ture being,  and  the  religion  by  means  of  which  they  are  to  secure, 
ultimately,  the  end  of  their  creation.     In  this  view  it  is  probable  that 


CHURCH  PROPERTY  CONTROVERSY.  575 

the  law,  now  before  the  Legislature  at  Albany,  will  prove  in  its  re- 
sults rather  beneficial  than  otherwise  to  the  Catholic  body  at  large. 
The  Legislature  does  not  propose  to  confiscate  their  church  property, 
but  only  to  take  the  management  of  it  out  of  their  hands.  It 
proposes  to  furnish  them,  and  to  force  upon  them,  a  wiser,  juster, 
and  therefore  better  code  of  ecclesiastical  discipline  for  the  manage- 
ment of  their  church  property,  than  their  Chui'ch  has  provided  for 
them.  But  still  it  does  not  go  to  the  length  of  confiscation.  It  ap- 
pears to  be  a  foregone  conclusion  in  the  minds  of  the  framers,  that 
the  law  will  accomplish,  in  practice,  the  results  which  are  outlined  in 
its  theory.  This  is  not  so  certain.  Professional  gentlemen  may 
discover  some  defect  in  the  framing  and  wording  of  the  enactment 
which  will  render  it  inapplicable.  But  even  if  this  should  be  the 
case,  it  will  only  produce  in  the  minds  of  Catholics  the  very  feelings 
and  purposes  which  it  aims  to  overthrow  or  prevent. 

The  Catholic  laity,  in  my  opinion,  will  reason  with  themselves 
thus :  "  The  Legislature  wishes  to  prevent  our  doing  with  our  own 
property  what  we  think  proper ;  it  wishes  us  to  give  nothing  by  de- 
vise, conveyance,  gift,  or  any  other  form  of  transfer,  to  our  bishops 
and  clergy,  for  the  purpose  of  promoting  or  supporting  our  religion, 
except  as  it  sees  fit  to  direct.  Now,  in  this  it  seems  to  meddle  with 
our  religious  as  well  as  civil  rights  ;  and  we  shall  find  twenty  ways 
outside  the  intricate  web  of  its  prohibitions  for  doing,  and  doing 
more  largely  still,  the  very  things  which  it  wishes  us  not  to  do.  In 
these  matters  which  invade  our  religious,  as  well  as  civil  rights,  we 
shall  take  the  liberty  of  doing  what  is  right  in  our  own  way." 

It  does  not  follow  from  all  this,  that  I  should  witness  the  passage 
of  the  act  in  question  with  pleasure  or  satisfaction.  But  1  look 
upon  it  in  anticipation  of  its  worst  consequences;  and  in  order 
to  allay  the  apprehensions  which  prevail,  I  point  out  the  probable 
consequences. 

Under  any  circumstances,  we  must  maintain  our  confidence  in  the 
justice  and  wisdom  of  the  State,  to  which  it  is  our  pride  to  belong. 
If  experience  should  make  it  apparent,  hereafter,  that  the  working 
out  of  this  law  is  partial  and  oppressive  upon  one  denomination,  and 
only  one,  of  the  community,  another  future  Legislature,  better  in- 
formed of  the  true  state  of  the  case,  will  either  amend  its  defects,  or 
repeal  it  altogether,  in  case  it  should  be  found  not  amendable. 

I  have  said  that  I  could  not,  nor  can  any  Catholic,  approve  of  it, 
or  witness  its  passing  into  a  law  with  any  leeling  of  pleasure  or  sat- 
isfaction. But,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  a  matter  of  congratulation 
to  the  Catholics  that  they  have  not  had  recourse  to  any  thing  like 
public  meetings  or  remonstrances,  such  as  are  usually  had  recourse 
to,  to  prevent  the  passage  of  an  iniquitous  or  injurious  enactment. 
Thi're  have  been  times  when  it  might  have  been  their  duty  thus  to 
meet,  j)ass  resolutions,  and  forward  numerously  signed  remonstrances. 
But  in  an  hour  so  pregnant  with  excitement,  wiien  it  would  be  so 
easy  to  engender  feelings  that  ought  to  be  guarded  against,  they 
have  acted  wisely  in  leaving  the   matter  entirely  in  the  hands  of 


576  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

those  who  are  appointed  lesfislators  to  represent  the  sovereign  will 
of  this  sovereign  State.  No  remonstrance  shall  go  forth  from  rae 
against  the  contemjjlated  legislation,  nor  shall  I  encourage  any  thing 
of  the  kind  in  others.  The  matter  is  in  the  hands  of  the  Senate  and 
Assembly  of  New  York,  They  are  entirely,  or  nearly  all,  Protest- 
ants; and  Protestants  have  always  boasted  that  they  were  in  favor 
of  the  most  unbounded  civil  and  religious  liberty.  If  it  be  their  good 
pleasure,  in  this  instance,  to  refute  tiieir  professions  by  their  acts,  be 
it  so ;  but  the  glory  or  dishonor  shall  be  theirs  alone. 

I  think,  however,  that  the  chances  for  right  legislation  in  this  mat- 
ter would  be  greater,  if  the  Legislature  of  New  York  were  better 
informed  of  the  true  state  of  the  case — of  the  facts  and  their  bearings 
involved  in  the  groundwork  of  the  act  of  legislation  to  which  we 
have  referred.  It  is  hardly  possible  that  they  should  be  acquainted 
by  personal  knowledge,  with  the  religious  discipline  peculiar  to  the 
various  denominations  of  the  community.  So,  also,  in  regard  to  the 
specific  facts  involved  in  the  so-called  ecclesiastical  property  question 
among  Catholics.  Their  tutors  appear  to  have  been  the  lay-trustees 
of  St.  Louis's  Church,  in  Buffalo.  What  these  gentlemen  have  said, 
whether  orally  or  in  the  form  of  petition,  has  been  regarded  as  Cath- 
olic testimony,  and  consequently  the  testimony  of  men  who  could 
not  be  suspected  of  wishing  injury  to  that  denomination  to  which 
they  profess  to  belong.  When  one  reads  their  petition,  and  the  act 
now  under  deliberation,  he  is  struck  with  how  nicely  they  fit  into 
each  other.  The  petition  of  George  Fisher,  Michael  Hesmer,  Wil- 
liam B.  Le  Couteulx,  George  Landrack,  and  seventeen  others,  is  the 
foundation, — the  bill  before  the  House,  the  superstructure  to  be 
reared  upon  it.  Now,  wise  legislation  should  rest  upon  a  sound  and 
solid  basis.  That  which  is  preseated  to  the  Legislature  by  the  gen- 
tleman from  Buffalo,  is  neither  sound  nor  solid  ;  and  with  this  part  of 
the  question  I  propose  to  deal  at  some  length, — the  more  so  that 
they  have  introduced  my  name  into  their  petition.  I  begin  by  de- 
claring, as  a  man  of  honor  and  veracity,  that  the  petition  of  the  self- 
styled  Cathohcs  of  St.  Louis's  Church,  so  far  as  it  alleges  grievance^ 
to  be  redressed  or  provided  against,  is  a  compound  of  fiction  in  all 
its  material  parts,  with  a  small  sprinkling  of  truth  in  portions  which 
are  not  material,  from  beginning  to  end.  It  begins  with  the  follow- 
ing statemelit: 

'•  Shortly  after  these  events,  Bishop  Hughes  attempted  to  compel  the  trustees 
to  convey  the  title  of  this  church  (St.  Louis's;  to  him.  The  trustees  resisted 
firmly." 

The  whole  burden  of  the  petition  rests  upon  the  accuracy  or  the  in- 
accuracy of  this  statement,  at  least  so  far  as  Bishop  Hughes  is  con- 
cerned. I  proclaim  in  the  face  of  the  signers  of  the  petition,  and  of 
the  Legislature,  and  of  the  whole  world,  that  in  the  extract  just 
quoted  there  is  not  a  sentence,  nor  a  word,  nor  a  syllable.  :ior  a  let- 
ter of  truth. 

Having  premised  so  much,  it  may  be  proper  for  me  to  give  a  brief 


CHUKCH  PEOPEETY  CONTEOVERSY.  577 

history  of  the  origin  and  nature  of  the  difficulties  between  myself 
and  the  trustees  of  St.  Louis's  Church,  in  BuiFalo.  In  oider  to  make 
the  matter  more  iutelligibk',  it  is  necessary  tliat  I  sliould  revert  to 
the  bearings  of  the  question,  as  it  aifected  the  Catholic  people  of  the 
diocese  of  New  York  at  the  period  referred  to. 

When  the  undersigned  was  appointed  to  the  government  of  the 
diocese  in  1839,  he  found  every  church  therein  under  the  manage- 
ment, so  far  as  related  to  what  was  called  temporalities,  of  lay-trus- 
tees. He  found  the  congregations  of  those  churches  generally  di- 
vided among  themselves  into  contending  parties,  having  wo  mutual 
sympathies  one  with  the  other.  He  found  them  involved  in  debt 
more  than  equal  to  the  value  of  the  property.  In  the  city  of  New 
York  there  were,  at  that  period,  six  Catholic  churches.  Of  these, 
three  were  barely  able  to  meet  the  interest  on  their  debts  as  they 
became  due,  whilst  the  other  three  were  involved  apparently  beyond 
any  prospect  of  extrication.  These  three  latter  churches,  or  rather 
the  trustees  representing  them,  became  bankrupt  in  their  corporate 
capacity.  The  real  and  personal  property  passed  into  the  hands  of 
assignees,  and  were  disposed  of  in  the  ordinary  course  of  law,  just 
the  same  as  if  they  had  been  bankrupt  theatres.  The  price  which 
they  brought  would  not  have  paid  more  than  thirty  cents  on  the 
dollar  to  their  creditors.  And,  on  the  other  hand,  it  would  have 
been  a  stigma  on  the  Catholic  body  at  large,  and  not  on  the  trustees 
as  individuals,  if  their  debts,  whether  recoverable  by  law,  or 
acknowledged  to  be  due  in  justice,  should  not  be  paid  to  the  last 
farthing. 

Now,  here  was  a  result  that  startled  and  alarmed  the  Catholics. 
From  the  time  of  their  origin  in  the  city  of  New  York,  they  had 
been  in  the  habit  of  contributing  generously  by  voluntary  subscrip- 
tion, as  well  as  by  high  pew  rents ;  and  after  a  continuance  of  such 
contributions  during  a  period  of  more  than  half  a  century,  they  made 
the  melancholy  discovery  that  the  churches  vvhich  they  had  built, 
and  supposed  themselves  to  own,  were  sunk  in  debt  far  more  than 
they  were  worth,  and  belonged,  both  in  law  and  equity,  to  their 
creditors.  All  the  money  they  had  contributed  for  religious  pur- 
poses, over  and  above  current  expenses  for  the  maintenance  of  divine- 
worship,  was  gone — gone  ;  and  with  it  their  honor  as  a  trustworthy 
religious  community!  The  present  Archbishop  of  New  York  was. 
the  purchaser  of  those  churches  when  they  were  sold  respectively ; 
that  is,  he  was  the  highest  bidder,  and  accordingly  they  passed  into, 
his  hands  for  the  time  being,  not  in  the  form  of  a  trust  for  him  and 
his  successors,  but  by  a  legal  title  in  fee  simple.  From  that  moment 
the  confidence  and  hopes  of  the  Catholic  people  began  to  revive. 
They  rallied  around  theii-BisIiop,  and  around  the  clergymen  respect- 
ively appointed  by  him  to  take  charge  of  those  churches.  By  an  ef- 
fort, which  has  continued  for  yeai-s,  they  paid  oif  or  provided  for 
their  debts,  as  determined  by  the  legal  price  for  which  they  were 
sold.  But  they  did  more  than  pay  their  leiral  debts.  They  retrieved, 
their  own  honor  as  a  religious  denomination,  by  paying,  also  those 
Vol.  II.— 37 


578  ARCHBISHOP  HUGHES. 

debts  for  the  recovery  of  wliich  there  was  no  law.  They  wiped  ont 
every  stigma  wliich  the  bad  management  of  lay-trustees  had  brought 
upon  tlieir  otherwise  untarnished  name. 

I  would  not  be  understood  here  as  imputing  moral  delinquency 
to  the  several  boards  of  trustees  then  in  existence,  or  to  their  prede- 
cessors. But  experience  has  proved  in  our  own  country,  as  well  as 
elsewhere,  that  there  is  a  subtle  element  of  deceptiveness,  lurking 
and  inherent,  in  the  nature  of  corporate  bodies.  The  members  of 
such  bodies  are  seldom  conscious  of  the  presence  of  this  element, 
which,  as  long  as  things  go  on  well,  philosophy  has  been  baffled  in 
her  attempts  to  detine  or  identify.  It  is  only  when  the  community 
is  stumied  by  some  explosion  or  mismanagement  of  public  trusts  by 
corporate  bodies,  that  the  fact  itself  becomes  palpable  and  undeniable. 
But  even  then,  except  in  some  startling  case  of  fraud,  the  astonish- 
ment settles  down  into  that  benevolent  humanity  which  winds  up  a 
catastrophe  on  a  lailroad,  with  the  considerate  verdict  that  blame  is 
not  to  be  attached  to  any  one  in  particular. 

I  have  never  known  an  instance  of  fraud  or  peculation  ampng  the 
lay-trustees  of  the  unfortunate  churches  to  which  I  have  referred.  In 
other  respects,  they  were  not  exempt  from  those  sell-illusions  to  which 
corporate  bodies,  even  in  seasons  of  apparent  prosperity,  aie  so  fre- 
quently liable.  This  was  proved  by  the  result  of  their  long  labors. 
After  an  administration  of  the  temporal  affairs  of  the  CathoHcs  dur- 
ing a  period  of  fifty  years,  they  and  the  community  were  astonished 
at  discovering  that  the  church  property  under  their  management 
was  still  in  debt  to  an  amount  more  than  its  entire  value.  Thus  it 
was  ascertained  that,  except  in  the  mere  use  of  the  edifice  for  relig- 
ious purposes,  the  condition  of  the  Catholics  of  New  York  was 
worse  than  if  they  had  never  owned  any  church  property  whatever. 
It  was  not  surprising,  therefore,  that  the  Catholic  community,  clergy 
and  laity,  under  such  circumstances,  should  turn  away,  as  they  did, 
in  disgust,  from  a  system  which  had  wrought  out  such  unexpected, 
and,  for  the  honor  of  their  fame  as  a  religious  community,  such  dis- 
creditable results. 

Ou  the  other  hand,  since  the  management  of  church  property  by 
lay  trustees  has  been  set  aside,  or,  rather,  has  died  out,  their  repu- 
tation has  been  retrieved  and  restored.  They  have  seen  paid  oif  not 
only  their  legal  debts,  but  the  debts  of  honor  bequeathed  to  them 
by  the  defunct  system.  They  have  seen  those  older  churches  recov- 
ei'ed  from  ruin,  and  new  churches  springing  up  on  every  side. 
They  have  seen  an  end  put  to  divisions,  bickerings,  and  strifes  in 
the  several  congregations  of  the  diocese,  and  a  spirit  of  union,  har- 
mony, and  above  all,  charity,  extending  itself  over  their  whole  com- 
munity. 

With  this  experience  fresh  in  their  memory,  nothing  less  than  ab- 
solute coercion  will  induce  them  to  return  to  a  systeni,  from  the 
effects  of  which  they  have  escaped  at  the  expense  of  so  many  and 
such  noble  sacrifices. 

I  am,  however,  far  from  being  satisfied  with  the  mode  in  which 


CHURCH  PROPERTY  CONTROVERSY.  579 

church  property  is  generally  held  at  the  present  time.  It  has  in- 
volved the  Bishop  in  many  cares,  anxieties,  and  responsibilities, 
which  it  would  be  for  him  a  great  and  most  desirable  relief  to  be  rid 
of.  And  I  should  hail  with  delight  any  legislative  measure  by 
which,  on  the  one  side,  the  dangers  that  have  resulted  from  the  for- 
mer mismanagement  of  lay  trustees  might  be  securely  guarded 
against ;  and,  on  the  other  side,  the  inconveniences  of  the  present 
system,  the  rights  of  the  laity  as  well  as  of  the  clergy  provided  for, 
and  the  church  property  legally  secured  to  the  sacred  ends  and  pur- 
poses for  which  it  was  created  and  intended. 

In  the  petition  which  Mr.  Putnam  presented  to  the  Legislature  on 
behalf  of  St.  Louis's  Church,  it  is  insinuated,  if  not  asserted,  that  the 
system  of  lay  trustees  was  set  aside  by  the  improper  exercise  of 
episcopal  authority  in  the  diocese  of  New  York.  This  is  entirely 
untrue.  When  that  system  was  set  aside  there  was  no  Catholic 
Bishop  in  the  State  of  New  York,  except  myself,  and  I  know  that  I 
never  used  my  episcopal  authority,  whether  properly  or  improperly, 
for  the  purpose  of  displacing  lay  trustees  in  any  church  in  my  dio- 
cese. It  is  quite  true  that  when  appealed  to  I  have  recommended, 
m  a  few  instances,  that  they  should  resign,  as  the  best  means  of  put- 
ting an  end  to  strifes  among  themselves,  or  of  saving  the  church 
under  their  management  from  being  sold  for  its  debts.  This,  how- 
ever, was  always  in  the  form  of  friendly  advice;  but  in  no  case  have 
I  ever  asked  them  to  resign  their  office  as  an  act  of  obedience  to 
episcopal  authority.  In  no  case  have  I  asked  them,  or  any  of  them, 
to  make  over  the  title  of  their  church  property  to  me.  I  never  re- 
cognized in  them  the  right  of  ownership,  and  I  should  as  soon 
have  thought  of  asking  the  corporation  of  Buffalo  to  make  over  to 
me  their  city  property,  as  of  asking  the  trustees  of  St.  Louis's  to 
make  over  the  title  of  their  cluirch.  It  was  not  theirs  in  such  a 
sense,  or  for  such  a  purpose.  They  could  not  do  it  if  they  would  ; 
and  if  they  did  attempt  it,  it  would  be  as  faithless  agents,  attempt- 
ing to  betray  the  confidence  of  their  principals,  in  giving  a  worthless 
deed  of  property  which  was  not  theirs.  Consequently,  whilst  the 
statement  alluded  to  in  the  petition  of  the  trustees,  and  seventeen 
others,  is  utterly  empty  of  truth,  it  is  filled  and  ovei-flowing  with 
absurdity  and  nonsense. 

The  authority  of  a  bishop  in  the  Catholic  Church  is  a  spiritual  au- 
thority. It  is  the  same  in  a  church  that  has  trustees,  as  in  one  that 
has  none.  All  Catholics  acknowledge  and  are  subject  to  that  au- 
thority. I  may  add  also  what  is  indeed  obvious,  that  that  authority 
extends  to  outward  things  which  are  set  apart  and  appropriated  for 
jjurposes  of  religion;  and  that,  consequently,  when  the  faithful  have 
contributed  for  the  purposes  of  Catholic  worship,  it  isofthejurisdiction, 
of  the  right,  and  duty  of  the  Bishop,  to  see  that  property  so  contri- 
buted, and  for  such  a  purpose,  shall  not  be  misappropriated,  squan- 
dered, or  perverted  from  its  use. 

In  the  Statutes  of  our  Synod,  held  in  1842,  certain  rules  were 
laid  down  by  which  lay  trustees  should  be  thenceforward  guided 


580  ■  AECHBISIIOP  HUGHES. 

in  administeiing  the  ecclesiastical  property  wliicli  tlie  Catholic  peo- 
ple had  contributed  for  the  purpose  of  religion.  The  following  ex- 
tract from  our  Pastoral  Letter,  published  on  that  occasion,  contains 
the  only  rules  which  could  in  the  least  trench  on  the  prerogatives 
of  lay  trustees  which  had  been  so  long  enjoyed  for  ruin  with 
impunity  : 

"  We  have,  therefore,  directed  and  ordained,  by  the  statutes  of  the  diocese,  that 
henceforward  no  body  of  lay  trustees,  or  lay  persons,  by  whatever  name  called, 
shall  be  admitted  to  appoint,  retain,  or  dismiss,  any  person  connected  with  the 
church — such  as  sexton,  organist,  singers,  teachers,  or  otlier  persons  employed  in 
connection  with  religion  or  public  worship,  against  the  will  of  the  pastor,  subject 
to  the  ultimate  decision  of  the  ordinary.  We  have  ordained,  likewise,  that  the  ex- 
penses necessary  for  the  maintenance  of  the  pastor,  and  the  support  of  religion, 
shall,  in  no  case,  be  mthheld  or  denied,  if  the  congregation  are  able  to  afford  them. 
It  shall  not  be  lawful  for  any  board  of  trustees,  or  other  lay  persons,  to  make  use 
of  the  church,  chapel,  basement,  or  other  portions  of  ground,  or  edifices  con- 
secrated to  religion,  for  any  meeting  having  a  secular,  or  even  an  ecclesiastical 
object,  without  the  approval,  previously  had,  of  the  pastor,  who  shall  be  account- 
able to  the  Bishop  for  his  decision.  And,  with  a  view  to  arrest  the  evils  of 
the  trustee  system  in  expending  inconsiderately,  or  otherwise,  the  property  of 
the  faithful,  it  has  been  ordained  as  a  statute  of  the  diocese,  that  no  board  of 
trustees  shall  be  at  liberty  to  vote,  expend,  or  appropriate  for  contracts,  or  under 
any  pretext,  any  portion  of  the  property  which  they  are  appointed  to  adminis- 
ter (excepting  the  current  expenses  as  above  alluded  to),  without  the  express 
approval  and  approbation  of  the  pastor,  in  every  case.  And  it  is  further  or- 
dained, that  even  thus,  the  trustees  of  the  churches,  with  the  approbation  of  the 
pastor,  shall  not  be  at  liberty  to  expend  an  amount  larger  than  the  sum  of  one 
hundred  dollars  in  any  one  year,  without  the  consent  of  the  Bishop  approving 
or  permitting  such  expenditure." 

I  am  sure  that  no  member  of  the  Legislature,  not  even  Mr.  Put- 
nam, will  be  able  to  discover  in  these  regulations  any  thing  unjust, 
unwise,  or  oppressive.  They  took  from  the  boards  of  trustees  the 
power  of  contracting  debts  ad  libitum.,  and  bequeathing  to  their 
successors  in  office  the  less  pleasant  duty  of  making  payment.  They 
took  from  lay  trustees  the  right  of  employing  church  property  for 
the  payment  of  persons  connected  with  religion,  against  whose  fit- 
ness or  moral  character  the  pastor  of  the  church  might  have  strong 
and  well-founded  objections.  In  these  regulations  will  be  found  the 
only  grounds  that  ever  existed  for  the  resistance  to  episcopal  au- 
thority Avhich  the  trustees  of  St.  Louis's  Church,  Bufialo,  were 
pleased  to  inaugurate. 

All  the  other  boards  of  trustees  in  the  diocese  acquiesced  in 
them,  and  the  Catholics  at  large  saw  in  them  a  prudent  measure 
and  a  wise  precaution.  The  only  exception  was  the  trustees  of  St. 
Louis's  Church.  They  would  be  Catholics  after  their  own  fashion, 
and  they  have  reaped  the  consequences.  Not  understanding  the 
English  language  well,  they  caused  the  Pastoral  to  be  translated 
into  German.  Then,  in  their  corporate  capacity  as  lay  trustees, 
they  took  it  into  "mature  and  respectful"  consideration,  and  re- 
viewed it  paragraph  by  paragraph.  They  were  kind  enough  to  ap- 
prove of  some  parts,  whilst  in  the  most  polite  language,  which  a 
French  gentleman  knows  so  well  how  to  employ,  they  signified  to  me 


CHURCH  PROPERTY  CONTROVERSY.  581 

that  other  portions  of  the  document  did  not  meet  their  approbation. 
Their  objections  were  chiefly,  I  may  say  exchisively,  against  the 
regulations  contained  in  the  above  extract  from  the  Pastoral  Letter. 
They  would  not  allow  either  bishop  or  priest  to  examine  their 
church  books,  or  their  treasurer's  accounts.  They  would  not  allow 
the  pastor  to  have  any  thing  to  do  with  the  approval  or  disap- 
proval of  persons  whom  they  might  think  fit  to  employ  in  connec- 
tion with  the  services  of  the  church.  Thus,  by  implication,  they 
Avould  reserve  to  themselves  the  right  to  employ  an  infidel  to  teach 
catech.ism  to  the  children  of  the  congregation — the  right  to  employ 
a  Jew  to  serve  the  priest  at  Mass,  and  a  scoffer  at  all  religion  to 
play  the  organ  on  Sunday,  or  chant  the  praises  of  God  in  His  holy 
temple.  Their  refusal  to  acquiesce  in  the  above  regulations  of  the 
Pastoral  Letter  was  communicated  to  me,  accompanied  by  polite  ex- 
pressions of  profound  respect  for  episcopal  authority.  In  reply,  I 
expressed  to  them  briefly  my  regret  at  the  course  "vvliich  they 
thought  proper  to  adopt,  intimated  that  the  duties  of  my  office  re- 
quired that  I  should  be-  the  Bishop,  ^nd  that  in  the  government  6t 
the  diocese  they  should  be  content  with  their  condition  as  laymen ; 
that  under  no  circumstances  would  I  quarrel  or  have  any  contro- 
versy with  thera — that  if  they  thought  proper  to  perse\ere  in  their 
resolutions,  we  should  part  company  in  peace — that  bishops  and. 
priests,  and  religion  itseU",  were  qtiite  as  free  in  this  country  as  were 
lay  ti'ustees. 

In  the  Pastoral  Letter  it  had  been  made  known  that  at  the  period 
of  six  months  from  its  promulgation,  the  jjriest  should  be  withdrawn 
from  every  church  whose  trustees  should  refuse  to  comply  with  the 
above  regulations.  The  trustees  of  St.  Louis's  Church  alone  per- 
severed in  their  refusal.  The  priest,  however,  was  not  withdrawn 
by  me,  but  was  actually  compelled  by  the  ill  treatment  he  received 
from  the  trustees  and  their  adherents  to  quit  his  post  and  return  to 
his  native  country.  From  the  time  he  left  I  did  not  send  another 
priest,  nor  was  another  priest  permitted  to  officiate  in  their  church. 
But  as  the  Catholic  people  whose  interests  these  men  had  sa  mis- 
managed, whose  peace  they  had  destroyed,  whom  they  had  deprived 
of  religious  consolation  so  fiir  as  depended  on  them,  were  still  a 
precious  portion  of  my  Catholic  flock,  I  sent  two  other  priests,  not 
indeed  to  be  under  the  ignorant  tyranny  of  lay  trustees  in  St.  Louis's 
Church,  but  to  be  free  ministers  of  God,  freely  discharging  their 
duties  towards  all  the  people. 

The  Almighty  gave  a  blessing  to  their  ministry  and  labors.  A 
new  temple  was  soon  commenced,  and  this  church  of  St.  Louis  re- 
mained, an  altarless  pile,  which  its  owners  might  have  disposed  of 
as  they  thought  proper.  On  my  second  episcopal  visitation,  one  or 
two  years  atterwards,  the  trustees  then  in  office  addressed  me  a 
note  soliciting  me  to  receive  them  for  the  purpose  of  an  interview 
in  regard  to  its  condition.  I  informed  theiu  in  repl.v  that  unless 
they  were  prepared  to  acquiesce  in  the  requirements  of  the  Phstoral 
Leitei-,  and  thus  come  back  to  the  starting  point  of  their  schism,  an 


682  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

interview  would  be  useless,  and  could  not  be  granted.  They  came, 
notwithstanding,  at  the  hour  which  they  indicated  in  their  note. 
They  asked  me  to  explain  the  meaning  of  certain  passages  in  the 
extract  of  the  Pastoral  as  quoted  above.  Tliat  was  i-eadily  given, 
and  at  its  close  they  alleged,  as  an  apology  for  their  schismatical 
course  up  to  that  time,  that  they  were  unacquainted  with  tiie  value 
of  English  words,  that  Mr.  William  B.  Le  Couteulx  had  been  their 
interpreter — and  that  he  had  always  assured  them  that  the  Bishop 
was  endeavoring  to  get  possession  of  tlieir  church  propeity,  in  order 
to  give  it  to  the  Irish  !  In  short,  they  stated  (that  is,  some  of  them 
stated  and  the  rest  remained  silent)  that  if  my  intei-pretation  of  the 
Pastoral  Letter  was  correct,  Mr.  Le  Couteulx  had  been  deceiving 
them  from  the  beginning,  and  that  now  they  were  prepared  to  sub- 
rait  in  all  things  to  the  general  discipline  of  the  diocese  as  set  forth 
in  the  Pastoral  Letter.  Their  submission  was  complete  and  uncon- 
ditional,— it  was  spontaneous,  for,  I  neither  argued  with  them  nor 
suffered  them  to  argue  with  me.  I  congratulated  them,  intimating 
at  the  same  time  that  their  acknowledged  and  causeless  obstinacy 
had  given  great  scandal,  which,  as  good  Christians,  they  were  bound 
to  repair  as  far  as  possible.  This  they  admitted,  and  were  prepared 
to  ask  pardon  of  God  and  of  their  Bishop  for  the  scandals  they  had 
given..  They  besought  the  Bishop,  however,  to  open  their  clmrch 
and  preach  in  it  on  the  following  day,  which  was  Sunday.  I  replied 
that  before  I  opened  their  church  they  should  make  the  amende 
honorable  to  their  fellow-Catholics  of  the  diocese  and  of  the  world, 
which  they  did  in  the  afternoon  papers  by  a  public  expression  of 
their  regret  for  the  course  they  had  hitherto  pursued.  Here  the 
matter  ended,  as  between  the  Bishop  of  New  York  and  the  trustees 
of  St.  Louis's  Church.  A  new  pastor  was  appointed,  and  things 
■went  on  peacefully  till  the  diocese  was  divided. 

With  the  details  of  the  subsequent  history  of  this  controversy  I 
am  unacquainted,  but  I  am  quite  persuaded  that  the  trustees  of  St. 
Louis's  Church  have  had  as  little  reason  to  complain  of  their  present 
zealous  and  devoted  Bishop  as  tliey  had  to  complain  of  me. 

Whether  in  view  of  the  foregoing  facts  the  Legislature  can  do 
any  thing  to  relieve  those  gentlemen  from  the  laws  of  the  leligious 
denomination  to  which  they  profess  to  belong,  it  will  remain  for  Mr. 
Putnam  and  his  colleagues  to  determine. 

Their  petition  states  as  follows,  viz. : 

"  The  trustees  sent  one  of  their  number,  William  B.  Le  Couteulx,  Elsq.,  to 
Europe  for  the  purpose  of  preventing  this  arbitrary,  and  as  was  claimed,  this 
illegal  action  of  the  Bishop,  through  the  intervention  of  Cardinal  Fornari,  tlie 
Pope's  Nuncio  in  Paris.  Mr.  Le  C.  succeeded  in  his  mission.  No  further 
eflForts  were  made  at  the  time  by  Bishop  Hughes  to  disturb  the  title  to  the 
church,  and  its  members  fondly  hoped  that  peace  was  permanently  restored." 

Here  is  a  strange  jumble  of  fact  and  fiction.  It  is  quite  true  that 
Mr.  Le  Couteulx  went  to  Europe, — it  is  quite  false  that  he  succeeded 
in  his  mission.     Bishop  Hughes  had  many  conversations  with  Cardi- 


CHURCH  PROPEETY  CONTROVERSY.        •   683 

nal  Fornari  in  Paris  after  Mr.  Le  C.'s  visit,  and  the  Nuncio  never  so 
much  as  alhided  either  to  Mr.  Le  Couteulx  or  to  the  St.  Louis's 
Church  in  Buffiilo.  Peace,  then,  was  not  restored  in  consequence  of 
any  authority  in  the  Catholic  Church,  for  neither  bishop,  nor  cardinal, 
nor  ix»pe,  ever  spoke  or  wrote  to  Bishop  Hughes  on  the  subject. 
But  peace  was  restored  in  consequence  of  the  trustees  having,  in  the 
interview  above  alluded  to,  voluntarily  and  unconditionally  sub- 
mitted to  the  requirements  of  the  Pastoral  Letter  ; — in  consequence 
of  their  having  expressed  sorrow  for  their  scandalous  conduct ; — and 
in  consequence  of  their  having  promised,  if  the  Bishop  would  only 
grant  them  a  priest,  to  conform  thenceforward  in  their  administration 
as  lay  trustees  to  the  rules  of  the  diocese. 

Such  is  the  plain,  simple  history  of  facts  involved  in  the  so-called 
controvei'sy  between  the  trustees  of  St.  Louis's  Church  and  myself, 
up  to  the  period  when  the  diocese  was  divided.  Let  no  one  suppose 
that  this  statement  of  facts  is  untrue  or  incorrect  in  any  of  its  parts, 
I  had  some  correspondence,  but  no  controversy  with  the  trustees. 
I  had  much  conversation  also,  especially  with  their  spokesman  ;  and 
I  defy  him  to  show  that  in  writing,  in  speech,  or  by  any  act  or  sign, 
I  have  ever  made  the  proposition,  or  exhibited  the  desire,  to  meddle, 
directly  or  indirectly,  with  the  title  of  their  church. 

This  is  a  true  and  simple,  though  hastily  written  statement,  of  the 
whole  question  between  St.  Louis's  Church  and  the  undersigned. 

•f  JOHN,  Archbishop  of  New  York. 


MORE    OF    THE    DIFFICULTIES    OF    THE    ST.    LOUIS 
CHURCH,  BUFFALO. 

To  the  .Editor  of  the  New  York  Daily  Times  : 

Mr.  Wm.  B.  Le  Couteulx's  letter,  addressed  to  me,  and  published 
in  the  Buffalo  Commercial  Advertiser^  of  the  5th  inst.,  and  copied 
into  your  paper  of  this  date,  requires  some  notice  at  my  hands.  I 
shall  have  no  direct  controversy  with  Mr.  Wm.  B.  Le  Couteulx. 
But  I  must  begin  by  disclaiming  any  intention  to  injure  "  a  reputa- 
tion which  he  has  acquired  by  the  rectitude  of  his  conduct,  his  man- 
ners, and  his  kind  and  upright  disposition."  This  is  the  character 
which  he  claims  for  himself,  and  with  which  I  have  nothing  to  do. 
It  would  be  well  for  him  if  he  had  economized  his  reputation,  and 
spared  it  as  much  as  I  have  done.  I  have  no  imkind  feelings  towards 
him  or  towards  any  human  being.  But  his  own  acts  determine  that 
he  is  without  the  slightest  necessity  for  an  imputation  against  it  on 
my  part.  Besides,  if  he  looks  at  the  testimonies  of  certain  journals, 
he  will  be  satisfied  that  he  never  stood  so  high  as  he  does  at  present, 
in  the  estimation  of  the  enemies  of  the  Catholic  Church,  for  the  ac- 
complishment of  whose  purposes,  he  and  his  colleagues  have  made 
themselves,  voluntarily  and  gratuitously,  the  efficient  implements. 


584  4  AECHBisnop  hughes. 

Mr.  Le  Couteulx  assumes  that  I  have  branded  liim  and  liis  col- 
leagues, in  the  public  pi-ints,  as  infidels  and  liars.  I  must  beg  leave 
to  decline  the  authorship  of  such  vulgar  language.  But  if  Mr.  Lo 
Couteulx  adopts  such  epithets,  and  applies  them  to  himself  and  his 
associates,  I  cannot  deny  him  the  superior  advantan^es  of  knowing 
whether  they  are  truly  applicable  or  not.  I  only  disclaim  having 
used  or  applied  such  terms,  and  throw  back  their  authorship  upon 
Mr.  Wm.  B.  Le  Couteulx.  But  I  thank  that  gentleman  for  aiding 
me  in  establishing  the  triumph  of  truth  over  falsehood,  touching  the 
difficulties  between  St.  Louis's  Church  and  myself. 

In  the  petition  presented  to  the  Legislature  of  New  York,  it  i* 
stated,  "  shortly  after  these  events  Bishop  Iluglies  attempted  to  com- 
pel the  trustees  to  convey  the  title  of  their  property  to  him.  The 
trustees  resisted  firmly."  To  this  statement  the  name  of  Mr.  Le 
Couteulx  is  signed,  among  others,  as  a  veracious  witness.  In  the 
letter  now  before  me,  I  find  the  following  statement :  "  It  is  true, 
sir,  that  you  (Bishop  Hughes)  never  demanded,  that  is  to  say,  in  ex- 
press words,  the  title  to  our  church  property."  This  is  signed  as  a 
veracious  statement  by  Wm.  B.  Le  Couteulx.  These  two  statements, 
from  the  same  author,  contradict  each  other,  and  I  choose  to  believe 
the  statement  in  the  letter,  inasmuch  as  it  is  a  substantial  endorse- 
ment of  what  I  had  previously  written — namely,  that  in  the  state- 
ment of  the  petition  there  was  not  a  sentence,  or  a  word,  or  a  syllable, 
or  a  letter  of  truth.  In  this,  Mr.  Le  Couteulx  substantially  agrees, 
when  he  says  that  I  never  demanded  the  title  to  the  churcli  property. 
But  he  goes  on  to  say  that,  if  he  and  the  trustees  had  acquiesced  in 
the  requirements  of  my  Pasto-i-al  Letter,  the  whole  of.their  property 
would  have  passed  under  my  absolute  control  and  dominion.  This 
consequence  was  altogether  a  non  sequitur.  Other  congregatioTis 
acquiesced  in  those  regulations,  and  yet  continued  in  the  undisturbed 
possession  of  their  property,  just  as  before.  And  I  may  as  well  ob- 
serve here,  that  from  the  day  on  wliich  the  Pastoral  Letter  was  pub- 
lished until  the  present  hour,  I  have  never  asked,  I  have  never 
accepted,  I  have  never  received  one  inch  of  church  })roperty  from 
trustees,  of  any  description.  If  Mr.  Le  Couteulx  and  his  colleagues 
are  so  incapable  of  reasoning,  as  to  suppose  that  their  com[)liance 
Avith  a  regulation  of  discipline,  not  touching  on  their  vested  I'ights  in 
the  least,  was  a  transfer  of  their  property,  it  furnishes  an  evidence  of 
stupidity  entirely  unbecoming  men  of  pretensions  like  theirs.  But 
Mr.  Le  Couteulx  himself  has  no  confidence  in  this  subterfuge,  for  he 
says  :  "If  this  argument  of  mine  on  your  Pastoral  Letter  is  not  con- 
clusive, what  are  we  to  think  of  the  decree  adopted  in  the  synod  of 
Baltimore  in  1849?"  of  which  he  gives  the  words  of  the  fourth  arti- 
cle. Alas,  how  Mr.  Le  Couteulx  must  feel  himself  lowered  down, 
when  he  is  obliged  to  quote  as  a  pretext  for  the  schismatical  course 
which  he  and  his  colleagues  thought  proper  to  adopt  in  1842,  any 
event  which  took  place  seven  years  afterwards.  And  this  warrants 
him  in  asking,  "  Is  not  that  article  conclusive  ?  Does  it  not  show, 
plainly,  that  you  and  Bishop  Timon  demanded  our  property  ?"    Now, 


CeUKCH  PROPERTY  CONTROVERSY.  585 

manifestly  it  shows  no  such  thing.  First,  because  I  (that  is,  Bishop 
Hughes)  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  St.  Louis's  Church,  in  Buftalo, 
when  that  article  was  written  in  1849.  Secondly,  becau.se  that  ar- 
ticle had  no  reference  to  any  vested  title  in  church  property  already 
existing,  whether  in  trustees  or  otherwise.  Thirdly,  because  Mr. 
Le  Couteulx,  or  whoever  translated  the  fourth  statute,  has  perverted 
the  meaning,  and  falsified  the  text.  The  words  of  the  statute,  as  it 
stands  in  Latin,  are  as  follows,  viz  :  "  Statuerunt  Patres  Ecdesias 
ornnes,  ceteraque  bona  Ecclesiastica,  quce  vel  dono,  vel  Fideliuni 
oblationibiis  acquisita,  in  charitatis  vel  religionis  operibus  sunt  im- 
pefidend'i,  ad  ordinarium  pertinere  j  nisi  appareat^  sa'iptoque 
constet  ilia  ordini  alicui  Megulari,  vel  Sacerdotum  Congregationi 
in  ipsorum,  usiini  tradita  fiiisse.''''  The  translation  of  which  is 
simply  this :  "  The  Fathers  have  directed  or  ordained  that  all 
churches  and  other  ecclesiastical  goods  acquired  by  donation,  or  by 
the  otierings  of  the  faithful,  to  be  expended  or  employed  in  works  of 
charity  or  of  religion,  belong  to  the  ordinary,  unless  it  appear  and  is 
made  evident  in  writing,  that  such  property  has  been  given  to  some 
religious  order  or  community  of  priests."  The  words  which  are 
suppressed  in  Mr.  Le  Couteulx's  translation,  and  which  show  that 
this  statute  had  a  prospective,  and  not  a  retrospective  bearing,  are 
the  words,  "  Su7it  impendencla — to  be  expended."  It  is  singular 
how  the  translator  should  have  omitted,  by  mistake,  Xhis  only  two 
words  in  the  article  which  refute  his  interpretation  of  its  meaning. 
Consequently,  therefore,  Mr.  Le  Couteulx  is  just  as  unfortunate  in 
quoting  this  article,  as  he  is  in  making  an  event  of  the  year  1849  a 
groundwork  for  what  he  and  his  colleagues  had  done  in  1842.  Mr. 
Le  Couteulx  now  proceeds  to  controvert  my  statement  with  regard 
to  the  unqualitied  and  spontaneous  submission  of  the  trustees  on 
my  episcopal  visit  to  Buffalo.  It  seems  he  has  taken  the  pains  to 
have  them  make  affidavit  in  regard  to  what  occurred  in  the  interview 
betweeen  them  and  me ;  and  like  sensible  men,  as  they  are,  they 
first  declare  on  oath  that  my  statement  is  entirely  and  altogether  in- 
correct as  regards  what  one  of  them  said  respecting  Mr.  Le 
Couteulx's  having  been  their  interpreter,  and  his  having  been  de- 
ceiving them  from  the  commencement, — that  is,  if  my  explanation 
of  the  meaning  of  the  Pastoral  Letter  was  correct.  The  public  will 
be  painfully  amused  at  the  reason  which  warrants  them  in  declaring, 
under  oath,  that  my  statement  is  entirely  and  altogether  incorrect. 
That  reason  is,  that  they  do  not  even  remember  Mr.  Le  Couteulx's 
name  was  once  pronounced  during  said  interview.  Now,  this  only 
proves  on  oath  that  they  have  had  bad  memories ;  but  it  does  not 
warrant  them  in  stating  that  a  thing  did  not  occur  simply  because  it 
has  escaped  their  recollections.  1  made  the  statement  because  it 
was  true  ;  because  I  remember  it  distinctly.  But,  considering  the 
position  in  which  Mr,  Le  Couteulx  finds  himself^  it  is  singular  that 
he  or  his  associates  should  deem  it  necessary  to  invoke  the  solemnity 
of  an  oath  before  a  commissioner  of  deeds,  and  the  whole  sura 
and   substance   of  that   oath   amounts  only  to  a  declaration   that 


686  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

they  do  not  remember  what  occurred  at  the  interview.     JVbn  mi 
ricordo. 

Mr,  Le  Couteulx  reminds  me  that  it  was  I  who  drew  up  the 
amende  honorable  signed  by  the  trustees,  and  published  on  the  same 
day  in  the  Buffalo  Comm,ercial  Advertiser.  This  is  true.  But  I 
will  explain  how  it  happened.  The  interview  occurred  on  Saturday, 
after  twelve  o'clock.  It  lasted  some  time.  The  paper,  it  was  said, 
was  usually  published  at  two  o'clock.  They  were  exceedingly 
anxious  that  I  should  open,  and  preach  in,  St.  Louis's  Church  on  the 
following  day  (Sunday).  I,  on  the  other  hand,  had  made  known  to 
them  my  determination  never  to  open  that  church  until  they  should 
first  ask  pardon  of  their  fellow-Catholics  of  the  diocese  of  New 
York  and  of  the  country  for  the  scandal  which  they  had  given. 
They  attempted  to  draw  up  the  formulary  of  a  document  to  that 
effect.     But  their  very  anxiety  to  have  it  in  time  for  the  afternoon 

faper  disqualified  them  from  writing  it  as  hastily  as  they  would  wish, 
witnessed  what  I  considered  to  be  at  that  moment  their  good 
Catholic  disposition  ;  and  in  order  not  to  disappoint  them  in  their 
hopes  for  the  following  day,  I  took  the  pen  and  drew  the  form  of 
their  apology,  making  it  as  little  humiliating  to  them  as  possible.  I 
saw  that  they  would  have  signed  a  card  reflecting  upon  themselves 
much  more  seriously  for  their  past  conduct ;  but  I  felt  that  it  would 
be  ungenerous  and  uncharitable  on  my  part  to  take  advantage  of 
their  disposition  by  imposing  on  them  anything  that  could  be  con- 
strued into  an  act  of  humiliation. 

Mr.  Le  Couteulx  is  very  much  surprised  that  Cardinal  Fornari 
should  never  have  spoken  or  written  to  me  on  the  subject  of  St. 
Louis's  Church  in  Buffalo.  However,  the  fact  is  as  I  have  stated. 
No  ecclesiastic  in  the  Church,  from  the  Pope  downward,  has  ever 
spoken  or  written  to  me  on  the  subject.  What  passed  between  Mr. 
Le  Couteulx  and  the  Nuncio  in  Paris  I  do  not  know,  but  when  Mr. 
Le  Couteulx  stated,  in  his  petiJLion  to  the  Legislature,  that  he  had 
appealed  to  Cardinal  Fornari  as  a  special  deputy  from  the  trustees 
of  Buffalo,  and  that  he  had  been  "  successful  in  his  mission,"  he 
placed  me  under  the  necessity  of  showing  that  he  was  quite  mistaken, 
and  that  there  was  not  a  word  of  truth  in  the  pretended  success  of 
his  mission.  He  says  that  he  called  upon  me  on  his  return,  imme- 
diately after  his  arrival  at  New  York  ;  and  that  he  wrote  the  next 
day  to  Nuncio  Fornari  a  faithful  account  of  what  had  taken  place 
between  him  and  me  during  the  brief  interview.  I  should  be  very 
curious  to  see  that  letter,  for  I  am  at  a  loss  to  imagine  what  it  could 
be  made  up  of.  I  recollect  well  the  substance  of  what  occurred  in 
the  interview.  I  received  Mr.  Le  Couteulx  as  I  would  any  other 
gentleman,  if  not  cordially,  at  least  courteously.  He  never  told  me 
that  he  had  been  on  a  mission  to  Cardinal  Fornari  with  a  view  to 
have  my  administration  impeached  or  amended.  But  after  the 
ordinary  common-place,  he  proceeded  to  express  his  desire  that  the 
difliculties  in  Buffalo  might  be  brought  to  an  end.  I  may  here  ob- 
serve that,  pending  those  difliculties,  I  had  determined  to  have  no 


CHURCH   PROPERTY   CONTROVERSY.  -  587 

quarrel  or  controversy  with  the  recusant  lay  Catholics  of  St.  Louis's 
church  ;  and  as  the  best  means  of  carrying  out  that  determination,  I 
had  made  it  a  rule  to  have  no  conversation  with  any  irresponsible  in- 
dividual or  solitary  member  of  that  congregation.  When  Mr.  Le 
Couteulx,  therefore,  touched  on  the  subject,  I  signified  to  him,  in 
language  as  polite  as  the  occasion  would  permit,  that  it  was  a  subject 
on  which  I  did  not  allow  myself  to  converse  with  any  unauthorized 
member  of  St.  Louis's  church,  and  gave  the  conversation  another 
turn  by  asking  what  kind  of  a  passage  he  had  had,  and  whether  the 
weather  had  been  fine  during  the  voyage.  He  says  now  that  he 
sent  a  faithful  account  on  the  following  day  of  what  took  place  ;  and 
since  this  is  the  amount  of  what  really  did  take  place.  Cardinal  For- 
nari  must  have  found  his  letter  exceedingly  interesting. 

However,  Mr.  Le  Couteulx  seems  to  have  been  under  some 
strange  hallucination  ;  for  he  asserts  that  my  episcopal  visitation  to 
Buifulo  was  just  about  two  months  after  he  had  dispatched  his  let- 
ter, and  corresponded  to  a  nicety  with  the  time  when  I  should  have 
had  a  letter  from  Cardinal  Fornari  in  answer  to  his.  Now,  such 
reckoning  as  to  time  was  fair  enough.  But  the  hallucination  to 
which  I  refer  consists  in  Mr.  Le  Couteulx's  supposing  that  my  visit 
to  Buffalo  was  in  consequence  of  the  Nuncio's  admonition;  and  as 
proof  of  this,  he  says  that  I  went  to  Buffalo  and  settled  every  thing 
with  the  trustees  upon  the  publication  of  a  card,  showing  that  "you 
(Bishop  Hughes)  was  right,  and  they  (the  trustees)  wrong."  Mr. 
Le  Couteulx  knows  that,  as  became  my  duty,  I  visited  the  different 
congregations  of  the  diocese — that  the  Catholics  of  Buffalo  were  en- 
titled to  that  visit ;  and  that  as  to  the  schismatical  trustees  of  St, 
Louis's  church,  and  their  adherents,  they  were  no  longer  numbered 
among  my  flock,  except  as  wayward,  self-willed,  and  erring  breth- 
ren. I  neither  sought  them  out  nor  spoke  of  them.  And  I  may 
say  now,  that  as  the  difficulty  then  stood,  their  church  would  have 
crumbled  into  dust,  brick  by  brick,  before  I  should  have  consented 
to  give  them  a  priest,  or  do  any  other  act  which  should  recognize 
the  principle  of  their  stupid  resistance  to  episcopal  authority.  I  did  not 
address  myself  to  the  trustees.  They,  in  language  more  than  suffi- 
ciently humble  and  respectful,  addressed  themselves  to  me,  begging 
that  I  would  admit  them  to  an  interview.  This  I  declined  peremp- 
torily, excepting  on  condition  of  their  preparedness  to  come  back  to 
the  starling  point  of  their  schism,  and  to  acknowledge  themselves 
wrong  in  all  their  subsequent  course.  Still,  poor  Mr.  Le  Couteulx 
seems  to  have  imagined  that,  because  it  was  just  two  months  from 
the  time  he  wrote  a  letter  to  Cardinal  Fornari,  I  must  have  i-eceived 
from  that  illustrious  prelate  an  admonition  to  proceed  to  Buffalo, 
and  make  my  peace  with  the  trustees  on  the  best  terms  possible. 
In  dealing  with  such  a  letter  as  the  one  I  am  now  replying  to,  it  is 
difficult  for  even  pity  to  triumph  over  impatience. 

It  is  haidly  worth  while  to  be  sorry  at  the  ungenerous  attack 
which  Mr.  Le  Couteulx  makes  on  the  zealous  and  amiable  Rev.  Mr. 
Pax,  the  real  builder  of  St.  Louis's  church,  Buffalo  ;  for  although  he 


688  ARCHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

could  not  have  built  it  out  of  liis  own  funds,  yet  he  wore  himself 
down  in  toiling  to  obtain  subscriptions  for  its  erection.  Nor  would 
he  have  ever  undertaken  such  a  task,  if  he  had  not  been  assured  by 
the  venerable  Bishop  Dubois,  that  in  his  mission  in  Buffalo  he  would 
not  be  under  the  government  of  lay  trustees.  This  assurance  was 
made,  inasmuch  as  the  respected  and  venerable  father  of  Mr.  Le 
Couteulx  had  given  a  deed  of  the  property  on  which  the  church 
now  stands,  to  the  late  Bishop  Dubois,  not  dreaming  that  a  number 
of  laymen  should,  in  the  mean  time,  get  themselves  surreptitiously 
recognized  as  trustees  of  the  same.  Their  treatment  of  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Pax  may  be  best  ascertained  from  the  letters  he  wrote  to  me 
complaining  of  their  conduct,  and  giving  facts  and  dates  regarding 
what  happened.  I  continued  to  encourage  him,  begging  of  him  to 
bear  every  thing  for  the  sake  of  the  poor  people,  assuring  him  of 
what  was  the  fact,  that  if  he  left  them,  I  had  no  German  clergyman 
to  put  in  his  place.  This,  however,  was  long  previous  to  the  schism 
inaugurated  by  Mr.  Le  Couteulx  and  his  colleagues.  Even  that 
Bchism,  however,  did  not  authorize  me,  as  I  thought,  to  remove  him  ; 
but  when  annoyances,  and  these  arising  from  the  rebellious  portion 
of  his  own  flock,  as  was  supposed  even  by  the  Buffalo  editors  at  the 
time,  reached  a  point  of  endangering  his  life,  such  as  the  hurling  of 
large  paving-stones  through  his  windows  in  the  darkness  of  .night,  I 
could  not,  in  conscience,  require  him  to  continue  longer.  Mr.  Le 
Couteulx  says  that  he  carried  away  with  him  $6,000,  which  Mr.  Le 
Couteulx  describes  as  "  a  pretty  fair  compensation  for  so  sliort  a 
time  of  martyrdom."  Mr.  Le  Couteulx  must  pardon  me  if  I  say 
candidly,  that  although  it  may  be  true,  yet  I  cannot  believe  this 
statement.  Will  he  be  pleased  to  make  known  his  authority  that 
Mr.  Pax  carried  away  $6,000  ?  When  he  shall  have  stated  the  au- 
thority on  which  he  makes  this  announcement,  I  shall  take  the  lib- 
erty of  examining  it,  and  I  have  no  doubt  it  will  prove  as  hollow  as 
that  on  which  he  has  made  other  statements.  Mr.  Le  Couteulx  con- 
cludes that,  in  his  opinion,  the  great  majority  of  Catholics  in  this 
country  will  rejoice  if  Hon.  Senator  Putnam's  bill  becomes  a  law. 
Now,  as  to  the  rejoicing  of  the  Catholics,  or  a  majority  of  them,  that 
is  a  matter  entirely  extraneous  from  the  subject  in  hand.  One  thing 
is  certain — that  neither  the  great  majority,  nor  the  great  minority 
of  Catholics  in  this  country,  will  ever  select  Mr,  Wm.  B.  Le  Cou- 
teulx as  their  spokesman.  If  they  wish  the  aid  of  civil  legislation  in 
regulating  the  ecclesiastical  matters  of  their  church,  they  will  make 
their  desire  and  express  their  wants  in  the  language  of  respect  and 
truthfulness  which  it  becomes  those  who  approach  the  Legislature  of 
the  State  to  employ.  In  the  mean  time,  they  feel  wounded  to  think 
that  whereas  they  had  not  made  any  complaint  to  the  Legislature, 
that  honorable  body  should  feel  itself  warranted  to  thrust  upon  them 
a  code  of  discipline  which  they  do  not  desire — which  has  been  founded 
on  the  misrepresentation  of  the  trustees  of  St.  Louis's  church,  Buf 
falo,  and  sustained  by  the  illiberal  and  anti-Catholio  feeling  which 
now  so  unhappily  prevails  throughout  the  State. 


CHUKCH  PKOPEETY  CONTROTEESY.  589 

Finally,  if  Mr.  Wm,  B.  Le  Couteulx  is  now  placed  in  a  condition 
by  no  means  flattering  to  his  own  estimate  of  his  character,  as  pos- 
sessing "a  pure  conscience     and  a  reputation  which 

he  has  acquired  by  the  rectitusJe  of  his  conduct,  his  manners,  and  his 
kind  and  upright  disposition,"  he  must  hold  himself,  not  me,  respon- 
sible for  the  result.  For  the  last  twelve  or  thirteen  years  he  and  his 
colleagues  have  lost  no  opportunity  of  assailing  me,  assailing  the 
Bishop  of  Buffalo,  assailing  the  Prelates  of  the  United  States,  some- 
times directly,  sometimes  indirectly,  by  frequent,  injurious  statements 
utterly  unfounded  in  truth.  This  is  the  day  of  reckoning  which  he 
and  his  colleagues  have  brought  upon  themselves  by  the  unwarrant- 
able allegation  of  their  petition  to  the  Legislature.  Having  remained 
almost  silent  under  such  obloquy  for  these  many  years  past,  and 
having  now  at  length  taken  my  pen  in  hand,  I  wish  Mr.  Le  Cou- 
teulx and  his  colleagues  to  bring  out  all  they  have  to  say,  and  I 
pledge  myself,  founding  that  pledge  on  the  omnipotence  and  infalli- 
bility of  truth,  to  continue  from  document  to  document  to  oppress 
them  with  its  crushing  weight. 

•^  JOHN,  Archbishop  of  New  York. 

New  Tokk,  April  7, 1855. 


REVIEW  OF  SENATOR  BROOKS'S  SPEECH. 

To  the  Editors,  of  the  Courier  and  JUnquirer : 

When  an  individual  who  never  expected  much  from  the  favors  of 
fortune,  finds  himself  unexpectedly  and  all  at  once  the  proprietor  of 
immense  wealtli,  it  is,  I  trust,  not  unbecoming  in  him  to  expend  a 
portion  of  it  in  promoting  the  welfare  of  his  countrymen  by  mul- 
tiplying the  opportunities  for  acquiring  knowledge.  Neither  should 
feelings  of  gratitude  be  altogether  disregai'ded  in  such  expenditure ; 
and  as  I  am  mainly  indebted  to  the  Hon.  Erastus  Brooks  for  the 
immense  fortune  which  I  now  possess,  I  liope  his  modesty  will  permit 
him  to  share  with  me  in  the  immortality  which  will  result  to  its 
founder  from  the  magnificence  and  perpetuity  of  the  monument, 
'•'' CBra  perrenius^''  which  is  to  commemorate  my  princely  fortune, 
and  his  sagacity  in  finding  out  its  existence.  Li  a  speech  delivered 
by  Mr.  Senktor  Brooks  before  that  branch  of  our  Legislature  which 
has  been  so  enlightened  by  the  flashing  evidences  of  his  erudition, 
and  encouraged  to  habits  of  industry  by  his  painstaking  search  after 
the  titles  of  property  vested  in  me,  he  has  made  known  that  my 
propeity  in  the  city  of  New  York  alone  is  not  much  short  of  five 
millions  of  dollars.  His  colleagues  must  have  been  as  much  edified 
as  I  have  been  surprised  at  this  announcement.  Still,  it  appears  that 
Mr.  Senator  Brooks,  like  an  honorable  man,  who  would  not  deceive, 
furnished  evidence  from  the  records  of  property  in  New  York  to 


690  AECHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

sustain  his  senatorial  statement;  for,  towards  the  close  of  his  speech, 
he  has  inserted  in  brackets  the  following  words : 

"  To  those  wlio  were  curious  in  such  matters,  Mr.  Brooks  exhibited  to  the 
Senate  the  number,  book,  and  page  of  those  several  entries  in  the  city  of  New 
York  in  behalf  of  John  Hughes." 

So  it  seems  certain,  on  the  testimony  of  Mr,  Brooks,  that  my 
property  in  this  city  alone  is  not  much  short  of  five  millions  of  dol- 
lars. Out  of  the  city  it  should  be  proportionably  great,  but  of  its 
extent  Mr.  Brooks  has  not  given  us  any  information.  Like  a  strictly 
conscientious  man,  he  testifies  only  to  what  he  knows.  The  amount 
in  his  estimate  would  be  five  millions ;  but,  in  order  to  avoid  the  pos- 
sibility of  error,  he  leaves  a  little  margin,  and  declares  it  not  much 
short  of  that  amount.  The  paper  called  the  Presbyterian  sets  it  down 
at  twenty-five  millions  of  dollars,  and  I  know  not  by  what  right  Mr. 
Brooks  should  have  diminished  the  amount  of  my  property  by  strik- 
ing out  the  surplus  twenty  millions  so  generously  assigned  me  by  the 
Presbyterian.  The  reason  may  be  that  the  Presbyterian  is  not  a 
Senator,  and  therefore  (though  I  do  not  admit  the  validity  of  the 
reason)  less  bound  to  be  truthful  in  its  statements  and  accurate  in  its 
arithmetic  than  an  honoi'able-  Senator.  Besides,  the  Presbyterian 
being  a  religious  paper,  allowance  must  be  made  for  its  benevolent 
exaggerations,  and  its  efforts  to  be  liberal  in  dealing  with  persons  of 
another  creed.  It  seems,  then,  that  I  must  bid  good-bye  to  the 
twenty  millions,  and  satisfy  myself  with  what  Mr.  Brooks  allows — 
property  not  much  short  of  five.  Let  us  state  it  at  four  millions. 
And  now  I  have  a  proposition  to  make  to  Mr.  Brooks,  whicli  will  be 
interesting  to  him  and  our  fellow-citizens  at  large.  In  order  to  avoid 
being  reduced  to  want  in  my  old  age,  I  propose  to  set  apart  one-half 
of  this  amount,  and  to  secure  it  out  of  the  estate,  as  a  reasonable 
provision  against  what  is  commonly  called  a  "  rainy  day."  I  shall 
reserve  to  myself  the  right  of  expending  the  other  two  millions  for 
the  public  good,  according  to  my  own  sense  of  what  is  likely  to  be 
most  beneficial. 

Much  has  been  already  done  for  the  diffusion  of  knowledge  ;  but 
the  perusal  of  Mr.  Brooks's  speech,  and  of  other  kindred  documents, 
satisfies  me  that  more  is  still  needed.  I  propose,  therefore,  to  found 
a  public  library  for  the  use,  not  of  any  one  profession  or  class  of 
men,  but  for  all  mankind.  I  think  that  with  the  surplus  two  millions 
which  Mr.  Brooks  has  allowed  me  I  shall  be  enabled  to  erect  a 
suitable  building  ;  and  I  propose  to  furnish  it  with  the  best  editions 
of  books  that  can  he  found  in  Europe  or  America,  to  the  number  of 
five  hundred  thousand  volumes.  According  to  a  rough  estimate, 
half  a  million  would  be  sufficient  to  put  up  the  building,  a  million  to 
furnish  the  books,  and  another  half  million  to  be  funded,  so  that  the 
atmual  interest  may  be  sufficient  to  meet  current  expenses — such  as 
librarians'  salaries,  gas  lights,  provision  of  Croton  water,  tables,  and 
the  conveniences  for  writing  out  any  extract  which  visitors  may  think 
proper  to  make.     It  is  to  be  open  to  natives  and  foreigners,  Catholics 


CHURCH  PROPERTr  CONTROVERSY.  591 

and  Protestants,  Jews  and  Gentiles ;  in  short,  a  really  pnblic  library, 
worthy  of  this  immense  city.  And  as  an  evidence  of  my  gratitude 
to  our  honorable  Senator,  to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  the  discovery 
of  my  immense  riches,  I  would  have  it  called — that  is,  if  the  gentle- 
man's modesty  will  permit  me — the  Erastus  Brooks  Library.  This 
designation  should  be  engraved  in  large  and  gilded  letters  over  its 
marbfe  portals ;  and  I  am  sure  the  honoi'able  gentleman  will  consent 
to  have  the  apartment  to  be  allotted  as  the  receptacle  of  curious 
pamphlets  enriched  by  a  copy  of  his  speech,  pronoimced  in  the 
Senate  at  Albany  on  the  6th  of  March,  1855.  Thus  posterity  will 
know  from  the  outside  of  the  building  not  only  to  whom  they  are 
indebted  for  so  important  a  public  institution,  but  also,  from  an  in- 
vestigation of  its  more  precious  treasures  of  literature  within,  what 
manner  of  man  their  benefactor  was. 

I  foresee  that  there  may  be  a  difficulty  about  the  location  of  the 
edifice ;  but  without  waiting  for  the  formalities  which  have  to  be 
gone  through  as  regards  other  particulars,  we  can  settle  this  ques- 
tion immediately.  Mr.  Brooks,  as  a  gentleman  of  veracity,  assured 
the  Senate  of  New  York,  after  having  examined  my  property,  that 
*'  some  of  the  parcels  cover  whole  squares  of  land,  and  nearly  all 
of  them  are  of  great  value."  Now,  this  is  an  extraordinary  discovery, 
and  if  it  had  not  been  asserted  on  the  veracity  of  an  honorable 
Senator,  I  could  not  have  believed  it.  I  do  not  know  where  any  of 
these  squares  of  land  are  situated  ;  but  of  course  Mr.  Brooks  knows, 
and  I  pledge  myself  to  give  him  a  deed  of  any  one  of  them  he 
may  choose  to  select,  provided  he  can  only  find  it  out — which  is 
more  than  I  can  do.  This  I  am  ready  to  do  to-morrow,  even  though 
it  should  encroach  on  that  portion  of  my  estate  which  I  would  re- 
serve for  "  pin-money."  Mr.  Brooks  has  stated  that,  within  twelve 
years,  fifty-eight  entries  of  as  many  distinct  parcels  of  property  were 
made  in  my  favor.  Now,  this  is  more  than  I  am  aware  of,  for,  in 
fact,  I  never  counted  such  entries.  So,  also,  with  regard  to  the 
whole  squares  of  land  of  which  I  am  the  owner,  if  Mr.  Brooks  has 
not  made  a  statement  at  variance  with  truth.  I  am  not  aware  of 
such  ownership.  I  do  not  know  where  those  squares  of  land  are 
situated.  But,  of  course,  Mr.  Brooks  knows — otherwise  he  would  not 
have  made  the  assertion.  It  is  possible  that  some  persons  have  made 
over  to  me  squares  of  land  without  giving  any  intimation  of  the  fact, 
and  I  should  be  much  obliged  to  Mr.  Brooks  if  he  would  take  the 
pains  to  consult  documents  in  the  register's  office  once  more,  and 
let  me  know  where  those  squares  of  land  are.  But  there  are  some 
things  which  Mr.  Brooks  has  stated  with  regard  to  my  property 
which  I  know  to  be  incorrect  and  unfounded  in  truth.  He  says,  for 
instance,  that  in  the  register's  office  there  are  numerous  transfers 
from  trustees  to  me.  Now  this  statement  I  know  to  be  untrue, 
inasmuch  as  I  have  never  received  or  accepted  any  transfer  of  any 
property  whatever  from  trustees.  In  this  paiticuiar,  at  least,  Mr. 
Brooks  allowed  himself  to  be  deceived,  and  contributed  his  share 
towards  the  deception  of  his  fellow-senators  and  the  public.     But 


692  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

with  regard  to  the  whole  squares  of  land  which,  he  sayj?,  are  mine, 
I  hereby  authorize  him  to  sell  any  one  of  thetn  at  his  option,  for 
cash,  pledging  myself,  as  I  do  hereby,  to  give  to  the  purchaser  such 
deed  as  I  possess  of  the  same. 

You  may  suppose,  gentlemen,  that  all  this  is  wntten  in  playful- 
ness. Now,  whether  or  not,  will  depend  on  the  truth  of  Mr. 
Brooks's  statements,  made  in  the  Senate  of  New  York  on  the  6tli  of 
March.  If  Mr.  Brooks  was  in  earnest,  so  am  I.  If  Mr.  Brooks,  on 
a  matter  of  fact,  spoke  the  truth,  taking  his  assertion  as  the  ground 
of  my  hypothesis,  I  speak  the  truth  also.  If  my  property  is  not  much 
short  of  five  millions,  as  Mr.  Brooks  asserted,  I  pledge  myself  sol- 
emnly that  there  is  no  jest  as  to  the  project  of  the  new  Library. 
But  if,  on  the  other  hand,  Mr.  Brooks  did  not  speak  the  truth  in  the 
statements  which  he  made,  the  worse  for  posterity,  and  the  worse 
for  him.  The  matter  is  reduced  at  present  to  a  question  of  veracity, 
and  it  is  for  Mr.  Brooks  to  prove  his  assertion,  or  occupy  the  position 
which  his  failure  to  do  so  has  in  reserve  for  him. 

In  sober  seriousness,  however,  is  it  not  melancholy  to  witness  the 
multitudinous  and  mendacious  charges  which  are  made  from  day  to 
day  against  Catholics,  as  a  body,  and  against  individuals  professing 
their  religion  ?  If  there  be  an  intention  among  the  public  men  of 
this  country  to  disfranchise  Catholics,  to  abridge  them  of  their  rights, 
in  the  name  of  all  that  is  honorable,  I  would  .say,  let  it  be  done  by  a 
manly  and  noble  declaration  to  that  eifect.  If  Protestantism  cannot 
thrive  in  this  country  unless  it  have  some  one  or  more  denominations 
to  degrade  and  trample  upon,  as  in  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  let  it 
speak  out  candidly  and  make  known  the  fact.  If  defamation  in  ag- 
gregate and  in  detail  can  accomplish  it,  the  Catholics  of  this  country 
will  soon  be  degraded  enough  in  the  minds  of  their  fellow-citizens. 
But  even  of  this  we  should  not  have  so  much  reason  to  complain,  if 
the  purpose  were  openly  avowed,  so  that  all  parties  would  have  fair 
and  timely  warning.  If  that  should  be  done,  I  have  no  hesitation  in 
taking  on  myself  to  say,  that  so  far  as  Catholics  are  concerned,  im- 
migration will  soon  come  to  a  dead  stand,  and  emigration  will 
probably  commence. 

It  is  exceedingly  painful  for  me  to  have  to  appear  in  the  public 
press  in  reference  to  topics  of  this  kind ;  but,  if  the  trustees  of  St. 
Louis's  Church,  and  even  an  honorable  Senator,  accuse  me  of  acts 
which  would  be  dishonorable,  and  even  dishonest,  if  they  were  true, 
have  I  not  the  right,  is  it  not  my  duty,  both  to  myself  and  those 
who  take  any  interest  in  my  reputation,  to  hurl  back  the  false  accu- 
sations in  the  face  of  their  authors  ?  If  Messrs.  Brooks  and  others 
make  charges  against  me  by  name,  which  I  know  to  be  false,  have  I 
not  a  right  to  defend  myself,  and  to  denounce  them  as  unreliable 
and  false  witnesses?  If  not,  I  have  studied  the  sense  of  justice  and 
fair  play,  by  which  Americans  are  actuated,  to  very  little  purpose. 
If  I  have  no  right  to  defend  myself  when  assailed,  personally  and  by 
name,  by  any  man,  against  the  accusation,  then  have  I  studied  the 
rights  of  an  American  citizen  and  the  genius  of  American  institu- 


CHURCH  PROPERTY  CONTROVERSY.  593 

tions  to  very  little  purpose  indeed.  I  respect  the  dignity  of  a  Sena- 
tor;  but  when  an  individual  who  is  invested  with  that  dignity  trifles 
with  it  at  my  expense,  I  claim  the  right  to  hold  him  responsible  for 
the  accuracy  of  his  statements. 

For  these  reasons,  I  request  Mr.  Erastus  Brooks,  with  all  the  re- 
spect that  is  due  to  him,  to  meet  the  issue  of  veracity  between  him 
and  me,  and  either  to  prove  his  statements,  or  to  retract  them  un- 
der the  impulse  of  those  high  principles  which  constitute  an  honor- 
able man,  whether  he  be  a  Senator  or  not. 

•5-  JOHN,  Archbishop  of  New  York. 


DO  CATHOLICS,  AS  SUCH,  MEDDLE  IN  POLITICS? 

To  the  Editor  of  the  New  York  FreemarCs  Journal : 

Ix  the  Albany  State  Register  there  is  a  long  editorial  article, 
headed  "  Another  Bull  from  the  Vatican,''''  purporting  to  be  a  re- 
view of  certain  phrases  in  my  letter  addressed  to  your  Journal,  and 
published  on  the  31st  ult.  In  this  the  editor  of  the  Register  gives 
loose  reign  to  the  indulgence  of  strong  bigotry,  in  language  hardly 
remarkable  for  any  thing  else  than  its  prosiness  and  imbecility. 

A  newspaper  is  made  of  old  rags,  transformed  into  adaptation  for 
its  use.  It  receives  any  impression,  true  or  false,  enlightened  or 
stupid,  which  type  have  been  arranged  to  impress  upon  its  surface. 
I  can  have  no  direct  controversy  with  a  newspaper — abstractedly 
from  its  editor.  The  editor  of  the  Albany  State  Register  is,  I  per- 
ceive, a  Mr.  S.  H.  Hammond,  a  highly  respectable  man,  no  doubt, 
but  apparently  very  credulous,  and  certainly  most  inaccurate  in  his 
statements.  Mr.  Hammond  must  have  ^en  my  letter,  in  which  I 
denied  the  truth  of  the  statement  made  in  the  petition  of  the  Trus- 
tees in  Buffalo,  to  the  effect  that  I  had  attempted  to  compel  them 
to  make  over  the  title  of  their  church  to  me.  He  must  have  seen 
that  the  correctness  of  my  statement  was  admitted  by  Mr.  Wm.  B. 
Le  Couteulx,  one  of  the  signers  of  the  petition,  and,  as  a  conse- 
quence, he  must  have  seen  the  falsehood  of  the  charge  above  re- 
ferred to.  And  yet  Mr.  Hammond  does  not  hesitate  to  repeat  hi* 
calumny,  as  if  it  had  not  been  denied,  and  the  truth  of  the  denial 
admitted  by  one  of  the  parties  signing  the  petition.  How  is  this  to 
be  accounted  for  ?  It  is  for  Mr.  Hammond  to  answer  the  question. 
But  not  only  does  he  repeat  this  refuted  calumny,  but  he  enlarges 
on  it  as  if  it  were  true !  How  is  this  to  be  accounted  for  ?  I 
leave  Mr,  Hammond  to  answer.  I  shall  not  go  over  the  ground 
again. 

Vol.  II.— 38 


594  AECHBISHOP  HUGHES. 

But  Mr.  Hammond  has  insinuated  other  charges  to  which  I  think 
it  proper  that  I  should  make  a  suitable  reply.  He  does  not  state 
those  charges  in  specific  language.  He  assumes  them  as  matters 
not  to  be  called  into  question.  He  passes  from  the  Catholic  indi- 
viduals to  the  Catholic  system,  and  betrays  unmistakable  evidences 
that,  whether  artificially  or  naturally,  he  is  under  the  influence  of  an 
anti-Popery  mania.  Speaking  of  the  Catholic  Church  and  its  mem- 
bers in  this  country,  he  uses  the  following  language  : 

"  Were  the  evils  of  this  system  confined  wholly  to  spiritual  mat- 
ters, we  should  have  nothing  to  say.  But  they  reach  far  beyond 
this.  This  despotism  seeks  a  control  beyond  the  mere  pale  of  the 
Church.  It  has  become  ambitious  of  civil  power.  It  bands  its  sub- 
jects together,  and  marches  them  into  the  arena  of  politics.  It 
grasps  at  the  control  of  the  political  action  of  the  government,  and 
struggles  to  direct  its  policy.  It  favors  alliances  with  political  ambi- 
tion, and  joins  hands  with  the  demagogues  of  party.  When  Governor 
Seward  said,  '  Bishop  Hughes  is  iny  friend — I  honor,  respect,  and 
confide  in  him,'  he  was  speaking  of  a  political  friend  and  associate ;  a 
confederate  in  securing  political  influence  ;  a  supporter  in  the  exer- 
cise of  political  power.  With  Bishop  Hughes  he  took  the  long  line 
of  descending  priesthood,  and  the  fettered  and  bound  masses  of  the 
Catholic  people." 

Mr.  Hammond  is  evidently  a  credulous  man.  There  was  a  period 
when  the  old-womanism  of  Protestant  London  entered  into  a  ju- 
dicial investigation  of  a  reported  conspiracy  of  the  Papists,  the  con- 
spiracy being  no  more  nor  less  than  a  plot  on  the  part  of  the  emissaries 
of  Rome,  to  blow  up  the  river  Thames,  and  drown  the  royal  city  of 
London.  If  Mr.  Hammond  had  been  an  editor  at  the  time  and 
place  when  and  where  this  occurred,  the  circumstances  around  him 
and  the  credulous  character  of  his  mind  would  have  been  more  in 
harmony  with  each  other  than  they  are  at  present.  If  Mr.  Ham- 
mond knows  any  fact  to  prove  that  the  Catholic  religion  bands  its 
subjects  together  and  marches  them  into  the  arena  of  politics,  he 
owes  it  to  himself  and  his  country  to  furnish  the  evidences.  If  he 
knows  no  such  facts,  then,  he  is  bearing  false  witness  against  his 
neighbor.  If  he  knows  any  facts  going  to  prove  that  the  Catholic 
religion,  or  its  professors,  as  such,  struggle  to  direct  the  policy  of 
this  country,  he  is  hardly  less  than  a  traitor  if  he  conceals  the  proofs 
of  so  dangerous  a  proceeding.  If  the  Catholic  religion  forms  alli- 
ances with  political  ambition,  and  joins  hands  with  the  demagogues 
of  party,  Mr.  Hammond  is  more  guilty  than  those  he  accuses,  if  he 
conceals  the  facts  which  would  substantiate  his  assertion.  If,  as  he 
says.  Gov.  Seward  did  me  the  honor  to  call  me  his  friend,  and  to  say 
that  he  respected  and  confided  in  me,  it  is  more  than  I  ever  knew  or 
lieard  before ; — but  as  to  the  confidence  reposed  in  me,  Governor 
Seward  would  not  have  been  disappointed.  Mr.  Hammond  says 
that  Governor  Seward  was  then  speaking  of  a  political  friend  and 
associate ;  and  I  can  assure  liim  that  in  this  statement  he  has 
forsaken  the  path  of  truth.     This  I  know  of  my  own  knowledge.    I 


CHURCH  PROPERTY  CONTROVERSY.  595 

am  not  a  political  friend  and  associate  of  Governor  Seward ;  I  never 
was  ;  I  am  not  his  confederate  in  securing  political  influence ;  I  am. 
not  his  supporter  in  the  exercise  of  power.  And  yet  I  am  proud  to 
call  him  my  friend,  in  the  only  relation  that  ever  existed  between 
us,  which  has  been  one  of  mere  social,  and,  to  me,  pleasant  inter- 
course. If  the  people  of  the  United  States  should  think  proper  to  confer 
upon  him  the  highest  honor  in  their  gift,  I  shall  not  heave  a  sigh  or 
shed  a  tear  at  their  choice.  But  no  vote  of  mine  shall  aid  him.  In 
this,  as  in  all  hia  public  acts,  he  is  in  the  hands  of  his  countrymen  ; 
and  I  am  well  dispensed  from  the  necessity  of  either  approving  or  con- 
demning his  principles  or  his  conduct.  And  since  this  topic  has 
been  brought  up  again,  I  will  say  this,  that  so  far  from  his  being  a 
gainer  by  his  friendship  towards  me,  which  I  highly  esteem,  he 
would  have  been  buried  under  the  obloquy  which  open  enemies  and 
deceitful  friends  have  vied  with  each  other  in  heaping  upon  him  in 
connection  with  my  name,  if  he  had  not  been  proof  against  calumny. 
The  long  ordeal  through  which  he  has  passed,  under  the  calumnious 
imputations  of  intrigue  with  Catholics  and  foreigners,  and  his  emerg- 
ing from  it  with  a  blighter  name  than  before,  is  a  proof  that  he 
needs  no  individual  support,  that  his  is  intrinsically  the  sterling  metal 
of  a  true  man.  But  he  can  propel  his  own  bark,  as  he  has  hitherto 
done,  without  any  aid  from  me  or  from  Catholics. 

I  will  state,  for  the  information  of  Mr.  Hammond,  who  is  prob- 
ably too  young  to  remember  the  period  when  it  was  necessary  for 
me  to  state  it  before,  in  the  face  of  several  editors  of  New  York  city 
and  New  York  State,  that  in  all  my  life  I  never  voted  but  once  ; 
and  in  all  my  life  I  never  advised,  publicly  or  privately,  any  one  as 
to  how  he  should  vote,  except  once  also.  That  was  under  very  pe- 
culiar circumstances.  The  Catholics  of  New  York  city  were  en- 
deavoring to  relieve  themselves  from  the  injurious  consequences  of  a 
system  of  education  for  the  support  of  which  they  had  to  pay  taxes, 
and  the  administration  and  superintendence  of  which  were  a  mo- 
nopoly in  the  hands  of  a  close  corporation,  known  as  the  Public 
School  Society.  At  first  the  Catholics  were  opposed  to  me  in  seek- 
ing a  change  which  has  since  resulted  very  beneficially  to  the  cause 
of  education.  Next,  the  whole  Protestant  community  were  op- 
posed, and  sounded  the  alarm  of  the  dangers  of  Popery,  in  a  manner 
just  as  silly,  and  just  as  little  true,  as  the  present  trumpet  notes  of 
the  Albany  State  Register.  Finally,  the  truth  made  its  way,  the 
change  took  place,  the  facilities  for  education  have  been  multiplied 
on  every  side.  The  Public  School  Society  is  gone,  and  no  persua- 
sion could  induce  either  Catholics  or  Protestants  to  return  to  their 
old  system.  To  effect  the  change  we  had  to  appeal  by  petition 
to  the  proper  authorities ;  first,  to  the  Common  Council,  where  our 
petition  was  denied  ;  next,  to  the  Legislature  of  the  State,  where 
the  change  took  place — not  precisely  as  we  could  have  desired,  but 
as  the  Legislature  thought  proper  to  make  it.  Mr.  Hammond  will  be 
pleased  to  lake  particular  notice  of  the  fact  I  am  now  about  to  mention  : 
that  within  a  few  days  previous  to  the  election,  the  Public  School 


596  AKCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

Society,  by  their  agents,  waited  on  the  candidates  for  the  Legisla- 
ture, and  I'equired  a  pledge  from  theru,  from  those  of  one  party  as 
well  as  those  of  another,  to  refuse  the  petition  for  a  change  in  the 
system  of  education,  in  the  event  of  their  being  elected.  This  was 
too  much.  It  was  secret.  It  was  insidious.  It  left  the  Catholics  to 
vote  for  one  party  or  the  other,  concealing  from  them  that  no  matter 
which  party  they  voted  for,  or  which  candidate,  they  were  elevating 
into  power  men  who  had  prtjudged  their  cause,  and  had  bound 
themselves  to  reject  even  a  consideration  of  its  merits.  In  a  meet- 
ing which  they  had  called  in  furtherance  of  their  appeal  to  the  Leg- 
islature, this  discovery  of  the  unworthy  trick  to  deprive  them  be- 
forehand even  of  the  right  of  a  hearing,  was  communicated  to  me, 
and  on  that  occasion  I  urged  them,  with  all  the  zeal  and  earnestness 
I  was  capable  of,  to  refuse  their  vote  to  any  man  of  any  party,  who 
had  accepted  the  degrading  pledge,  that  if  elected  he  would  refuse 
them  even  the  chance  of  obtaining  justice.  If  this  was  meddling 
with  politics,  then  I  did  meddle  once,  but  I  have  never  regretted  it. 
On  the  contrary,  there  is  nothing  in  my  life,  apart  from  my  sacred 
ministry,  to  which  I  look  back  with  so  much  satisfaction  as  to  the 
course  I  pursued  on  that  occasion.  And  if,  by  a  secret  combination 
among  those  to  be  elected  by  their  votes,  there  should  be  an  attempt  to 
deny  them  the  fair  right  of  petitioning  the  Legislature  as  other  citizens 
have  a  right  to  do,  or  to  deny  the  prayer  of  that  petition,  however 
just  it  might  appear  in  the  eyes  of  an  impartial  Legislature,  I  feel 
that  I  am  yet  American  citizen  enough  to  do  again  what  I  did  on 
that  occasion.  I  did  not  call  it  meddling  in  politics,  but  only  an  in- 
terfei'ence  to  break  up  an  unworthy  combination,  formed  with  the 
view  to  deny  one  portion  of  the  people  rights  to  which  all  are 
equally  entitled. 

But  in  no  other  case  have  I  ever  aided  or  abetted,  or  been  in  con- 
nection with  any  political  party,  or  any  individual  of  any  party, 
since  the  world  began.  On  the  contrary,  when  I  was  appointed  to 
take  charge  of  this  diocese,  I  prescribed  for  its  numerous  clergy,  as 
a  rule  of  conduct,  to  abstain  from  all  interference  in  politics.  I  did 
not  deny  them  the  right  to  vote  as  other  citizens  merely  in  consequence 
of  their  being  clergymen.  That  right,  I  believe,  they  have  seldom, 
if  at  all,  exercised.  I  myself  have  not  exercised  it.  I  have  ever 
considered  that  the  most  appropriate  position  for  a  clergyman, 
whether  Catholic  or  Protestant,  to  occupy  in  the  midst  of  political 
struggles,  is  one,  if  not  of  absolute  neutrality,  at  least  of  abstinence 
from  all  partisanship.  There  are  few  congregations  in  which  the 
members  are  not  divided  in  their  political  opinions,  and  the  Catholic 
clergyman  who  would  take  sides  on  such  an  occasion  would  be  sure 
to  impair  the  usefulness  of  his  own  ministry. 

How,  then,  can  Mr.  Hammond  of  the  Albany  State  Register,  call 
rae  a  political  friend  and  associate  of  Governor  Seward,  or  of  any  other 
man  ?  Is  Mr,  Hammond  at  liberty,  in  violation  of  a  precept  of  the 
decalogue,  to  bear  false  witness  against  his  neighbor  ?  I  defy  all 
men  living  to  point  out  an  act  in  my  life  in  which  I  have  been  con- 


CHURCH  PROPEKTY  CONTEOVEEST.  597 

nected  with  any  political  party,  any  political  causes,  any  political  in- 
dividual in  the  United  States  or  elsewhere.  How,  then,  can  Mr. 
Hammond  give  circulation  to  a  statement  which  he  knows  to  be  in- 
jurious to  me,  and  wliich  is  at  variance  with  truth?  I  tell  him 
the  Catholics,  as  such,  have  no  politics.  They  are  free  to  vote 
on  all  occasions  just  like  their  fellow-citizens — that  is,  as  each  man 
chooses.  Let  them  be  as  free  on  this  subject  as  Mr.  Hammond  him- 
self. If  they  eiT,  they  are  in  the  company  of  immense  majorities  of 
Americans  and  Protestants.  If  they  do  not  err  in  their  preference 
or  in  their  party,  so  much  the  better  for  the  country.  But  whether 
they  err  or  not,  they  act  with  large  portions  of  their  fellow-country- 
men. 

It  is  evident  that  Mr.  Hammond  is  one  of  the  oracles  of  a  new  po- 
litical organization,  which  hopes  to  rise  into  power  by  depressing 
Catholics.  For  myself,  I  have  no  great  objection  to  see  that  party 
come  into  power,  because  once  having  power  in  their  hands,  I  think 
the  true  American  would  revive  in  their  breasts,  and  they  would  ad- 
minister it,  generally,  just  as  if  they  were  called  by  one  of  the  old 
party  names.  But  I  regret  that  they  think  it  expedient  to  degrade 
and  depress  Catholics  as  a  means  to  their  success.  And  I  am  ut- 
terly at  a  loss  to  understand  how  a  Legislature,  which  evinced  so 
much  political  virtue  and  patriotism  as  was  exhibited  in  the  election 
of  Mr.  Seward  to  the  Senate,  could  have  found  itself  capable  of  passing 
the  anti-Catholic  Church  Property  Bill,  but  too  well  calculated  to  in- 
tensify and  perpetuate  a  bitter  memory  in  regard  to  the  influences 
by  which  that  bill  was  passed.  The  Catholics  had  not  asked  for 
such  a  bill ;  they  did  not  need  it.  It  Avas  forced  upon  them  un- 
der false  assertions.  It  was  intended  for  them  alone.  It  is  an  act 
of  partial  legislation.  They  will,  no  doubt,  submit  to  it  in  so  far  as 
they  are  bound  to' do,  but  they  are  not  likely  to  be  voluntary  par- 
ties to  its  execution. 

In  conclusion,  I  request  Mr,  Hammond,  as  a  particular  favor, 
either  to  prove  that  I  am  a  political  partisan,  a  meddler  in  politics,  &c., 
&c.,  or  else  to  withdraw  so  unfounded  a  charge.  I  think,  in  doing 
the  one  or  the  other,  he  will  render  equally  a  service  to  the  public 
and  to  the  undersigned. 

•f  JOHN,  Archbishop  of  New  York. 
New  Yobk,  April  17, 1855. 


SECOND  LETTER. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Nevo  York  Freeman's  Journal : 

Teuth  is  a  great  thing.  There  would  be  no  chance  for  the  pro- 
tection of  innocence  or  of  righteousness  without  it.  Mr.  Brooks  teels 
this^  the  force  of  truth,  as  if  it  were  his  enemy ;  and  he  exhibits  the 


598  AKCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

instinctive  philosophy  of  poor  human  nature  by  shrinking  away  in 
dread  from  its  approach,  even  without  waiting  until  the  tribunal  at 
which  he  stands  accused  has  pronounced  him  guilty  of  falsehood. 
It  is  the  same  instinctive  philosophy  which  prompts  the  man  of  un- 
controlled passions,  when  he  has  committed  a  deed  of  fatal  violence 
against  his  fellow-man,  to  magnify  to  others,  as  well  as  to  himself, 
the  great  distinction  there  is  between  manslaughter  and  murder, 
even  before  his  trial  has  come  on.  And  Mr.  Brooks,  inheriting  this 
poor  human  nature  like  other  men,  and  seeing  truth  in  the  dislance, 
but  approaching,  begins  to  throw  out  a  remote  defence  by  giving  us 
the  moral  definition  of  a  lie  as  necessarily  resulting  from  an  intention 
to  deceive.  But  who  has  spoken  to  Mr.  Brooks,  or  even  whispered 
to  him,  except  it  be  his  own  conscience,  any  thing  about  a  lie  or 
lying?  Why,  then,  should  he  anticipate  his  defence  by  drawing  a 
distinction  between  falsehood  ignorantly  uttered  and  deliberate 
mendacity  ?  Nobody  can  answer  these  questions  except  Mr.  Brooks 
himself  And  if  Mr.  Brooks  had  not  contrived  to  place  himself  in 
the  disreputable  position  which  he  now  occupies,  his  casuistry  about 
lying  would  have  been  altogether  supei-fluous. 

However,  Senator  Brooks,  according  to  the  just  principles  of 
Anglo-Saxon  jurisprudence,  is  entitled  to  the  benefit  of  all  doubts 
like  any  other  accused  person,  whether  as  regards  the  facts  or  the 
law  of  the  case.  I  have  charged  Mr.  Brooks  with  uttering  falsehood 
prejudicial  to  my  reputation,  in  his  speech  pronounced  on  the  6th 
March,  and  in  presence  of  his  colleagues  in  the  Senate  Chamber  of 
New  York.  I  have  not  enumerated  all  the  lialsehoods  of  that  speech, 
but  have  taken  one  or  two  specimens.  The  controversy  is  still  pend- 
ing, as  Mr.  Brooks  has  not  had  time  to  look  after  the  real  slate  of 
the  case.  He  has  been,  to  use  his  own  introductory  expression, 
"  under  the  pressure  of  official  duties  at  Albany.'* 

In  that  speech  Mr.  Brooks  stated  that  I  was  the  owner  of  real 
estate  to  the  amount  of  something  little  short  of  five  million  of  dol- 
lars. This  was  untrue,  and  in  order  to  exhibit  its  author  to  the 
public  just  as  he  is,  I  pledged  myself  solemnly  that  after  deducting 
two  millions'  worth  from  my  supposed  enormous  estate,  I  should 
appropriate  the  balance  to  the  erection  of  a  library,  if  Senator  Brooks 
could  point  out  where  the  property  was.  This  was  the  first  falsehood 
(Mr.  Brooks  must  pardon  me  for  using  the  plain  term)  wliich  I 
pointed  out  in  his  speech.  Senator  Brooks  staled  in  his  place  that 
some  of  my  real  estate  consisted  of  whole  squares.  The  senator  did 
not  state  how  many,  and  his  colleagues,  if  they  believed  him  at  all, 
may  have  inferred  that  these  whole  squares  amounted  to  fifteen  or 
twenty — at  all  events,  they  could  not  be  less  than  two.  This  was 
the  second  falsehood  pointed  out  and  charged  on  Mr.  Brooks,  as 
liaving  been  uttered  in  his  speech  of  the  6th  of  Marcli.  The  tiiird 
was,  that  many  of  the  conveyances  of  real  estate  to  me  were  made 
by  trustees.  Now,  I  state  that  any  one  who  asserts  either  of  these 
three  statements,  asserts  a  gross,  and,  towards  me,  an  injurious 
lalsehood. 


CHURCH  PROPERTY  CONTROVERSY.  599 

Senator  Brooks  thinks  he  has  discovered  a  way  of  twisting  out  of 
the  awkward  position  into  which  he  rushed  with  eyes  open  and 
malice  prepense.  He  proposes  an  arbitration,  forsooth.  He  will 
appoint  one,  I  may  appoint  another,  and  these  two  shall  jointly  elect 
a  third,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  decide  whether  he  has  stated  the 
truth,  or  whether  Archbishop  Hughes  has  equivocated  or  omitted 
the  truth.  Gentle  Senator  Brooks!  With  what  a  show  of  artless- 
ness  he  attempts  to  evade  the  direct  issue  of  veracity  involved  in 
the  controversy  !  I  know,  of  my  own  knowledge,  that  in  the  three 
statements  above  referred  to,  Senator  Brooks  has  taken  as  great  a 
liberty  with  truth  as  if  he  had  said  that  two  and  two  make  seven. 

Arbitration  is  unnecessary.  If  I  am  the  owner  of  whole  squares 
of  ground,  Mr,  Brooks  can  show  from  the  records  of  the  city,  or  in- 
dicate for  physical  inspection,  where  they  are.  If  he  fails  to  do  this, 
while  his  proofs,  if  he  has  any,  are  so  undeniable,  and  so  within  his 
reach,  then  the  public  will  not  fail  to  perceive  that  Mr.  Brooks,  in 
liis  place  as  senator,  has  made  a  statement  which  was  false,  and  in- 
tended to  be  injurious.  So  if  I  received  any  conveyance  of  property 
from  trustees,  the  records  cited  by  Mr,  Brooks  in  the  Senate  will 
bear  him  out.  If  he  fail  to  produce  those  records,  then  the  public 
will  perceive  that  his  statement  is  a  falsehood,  and  will  not  be  slow 
in  coming  to  the  conclusion  that  Senator  Brooks  is — what  he  is. 

It  is,  I  own,  humiliating  for  me  to  have  to  write  thus  of  any  of 
my  fellow-citizens,  especially  of  one  who  has  been  honored  with  a 
confidence  large  enough  to  depute  him  to  the  Senate  of  the  State. 
But  I  have  been  assailed  by  so  many  calumnies  from  various  sources, 
that  a  test  like  the  present,  brought  forth  in  plain  and  direct  lan- 
guage, may  be  taken  as  a  sample  of  the  power  and  the  advantages 
which  a  man  cherishing  a  love  of  truth,  of  honor,  and  of  rectitude, 
will  possess  over  a  whole  army  of  such  accusers  as  Mr.  Senator 
Brooks.  He  cannot  prove  his  statements,  and  the  reason  is,  because 
they  aie  untrue.  Will  it  not  be  better  for  him,  then,  to  pay  homage 
to  truth  by  acknowledging  that  he  had  deceived  himself  and  con- 
tributed to  the  deception  of  others  ? 

Mr.  Wm.  B.  Le  Couteulx  comes  out  with  a  little  card  very  much 
in  the  vein  of  that  instinctive  philosophy  of  poor  human  nature  of 
which  Senator  Brooks  has  given  so  na'lve  a  specimen.  Mr,  Le  Cou- 
teulx thinks  that  "denials  against  denials,  being  no  proofs,  would 
amount  to  a  miserable  pen-war,"  31r,  Le  Uouteulx  misrepresents  the 
state  of  the  question.  It  is  nit  denials  against  denials.  I  stated 
that  the  assertion  in  Mr.  Le  Couteulx's  petition,  namely,  that  "Bishop 
Huglifs  attempted  to  compel  the  trustees  to  convey  the  title  of  this 
church  property  to  him,"  was  a  falsehood.  Now,  Mr.  Le  Couteulx 
did  not  deny,  but  acknowledged  this  in  writing  ;  consequently  he  is 
my  witness,  although  his  testimony  is  superfluous,  to  prove  that  it 
was  a  falsehood.  And  yet  he  and  his  colleagues  have  imposed  on 
the  Legislature  of  the  State  by  having  this  among  other  falsehoods 
believed  as  the  truth.  And  now  Mr.  Le  Couteulx  has  come  to  the 
conclusion  that  "denials  against  denials,  being  no  proofs,  would 


600  ARCHBISIKH'  HUOHES. 

amount  to  a  most  miserable  pen-war."  He  forgets  that  he  did  not 
deny  my  statement,  that  he  admitted  it,  and  thereby  acknowledged 
the  falsehood  of  his  own.  How  could  he  deny  the  truth,  and  which 
he  knew  to  be  the  truth  ?  For  he  knew  from  the  beginning,  as  well 
as  he  does  now,  that  I  never  attempted  to  compel  the  trustees  to 
convey  the  title  of  their  church  property  to  me.  Until  Mr.  Le  Cou- 
teulx,  therefore,  shall  find  some  ground  of  truth  to  stand  upon,  he 
will  do  well  to  give  up  his  "  most  miserable  pen-war,"  and  apologize, 
with  Mr.  Bi'ooks,  for  the  deception  which  he,  with  others,  has  prac- 
tised on  the  Legislature  of  the  State  and  on  his  fellow-citizens. 
Perhaps  he  makes  the  distinction  about  the  morality  of  lying  which 
the  senator  has  brought  forth,  namely  :  That  to  constitute  a  lie  there 
must  have  existed  "an  intention  to  deceive."  I  do  not  enter  into 
the  sanctuary,  if  it  can  be  called  by  so  sacred  a  term,  of  intentions 
in  the  breast  of  either  Senator  Brooks  or  Mr.  Le  Couteulx.  I  speak 
of  their  public  acts  and  of  their  printed  words,  leaving  others  to 
judge  of  their  intentions  as  charitably  as  they  may.  But  even  if  it 
were  only  for  the  sake  of  good  example  to  the  rising  generation, 
they  would  do  well  to  retract  those  false  statements,  being  convinced 
that  the  security  of  the  State  and  the  welfare  of  society  are  never 
80  well  guaranteed  as  when  they  rest  on  the  everlasting  foundations 
of  truth. 

4.  JOHN,  Archbishop  of  New  York. 
New  Yobk,  April  17, 1855. 


THIRD  LETTER. 

To  the  -Editor  of  the  New  York  Daily  Times  :■ 

Mr.  William  B.  Le  Couteulx,  George  Fisher,  Michael  Hesmin, 
John  Londrack,  by  name,  and  seventeen  others  without  name,  were 
the  authors  of  the  falsehood  palmed  on  the  Legislature  of  New  York, 
in  their  petition  on  behalf  of  St.  Louis's  Church,  Buffalo.  The  Anti- 
Catholic  Church  Property  Bill,  brought  in  by  Mr.  Putnam,  was 
founded  in  great  part  on  the  falsehoods  thus  attested.  One  of  these 
was,  that  "Bishop  Hughes  attempted  to  compel  the  trustees  of  St. 
Louis's  Church  to  convey  the  title  oV  their  church  property  to  him." 
The  falsehood  of  this  statement  has  been  already  pointed  out  by  me, 
and  reluctantly  admitted  by  Mr.  William  B.  Le  Couteulx,  who,  in 
his  lettei-,  published  in  the  New  York  Daily  Times  of  the  Tth 
instant,  admits  that  I  never  demanded  the  title  to  their  church  pro- 
perty ;  but,  that  after  reading  my  Pastoral  Letter,  published  in  1842, 
he  and  his  colleagues  were  stupid  enough  to  come  to  the  conclusion 
that,  if  they  acquiesced  in  the  requirements  of  the  Pastoral  Letter, 
"  the  whole  would  have  passed  under  my  absolute  control  and  abso- 
lute dominion  "     I  have  already  stated  that  this  consequence  need 


CHUKCH  PKOPERTT  CONTROVERSY.  601 

not  necessarily  follow;  and  as  a  proof,  which  Mr.  Le  Couteulx  and 
his  colleagues  may  be  capable  of  understanding,  the  trustees  of  St. 
Nicholas  Church,  in  Second-street,  in  this  city,  did  acquiesce  in  the 
requirements  of  the  pastoral,  and  yet  continued  to  be  legally  the 
owners  and  administrators  of  their  church  property  just  the  same  as 
before.  Mr.  Le  Couteulx,  in  a  letter  of  his  date4[  Buffalo,  April  21, 
attempts  to  go  over  this  ground  again.  That  is  quite  unnecessary. 
He  forgets,  indeed,  the  poUteness  of  a  French  gentleman,  and  as 
showing  his  consciousness  of  the  fact,  he  says: 

"  These  remarks,  rather  severe,  have  been  forced  out  of  me." 

The  good  gentleman  may  be  perfectly  easy  on  this  score.  He  has 
forfeited  the  attributes  which  would  have  left  it  in  his  power  to  be 
"  severe,''''  towards  any  one,  but  especially  towards  me. 

As  there  is  still  some  misapprehension  with  regard  to  the  history 
of  the  unfortunate  St.  Louis  Church  in  Buffalo,  I  shall  take  advantage 
of  this  occasion  to  supply  the  information  I  possess  on  the  subject. 
First  of  all,  Mr.  Le  Couteulx,  senior,  gave  a  deed  to  Bishop  Dubois 
for  a  certain  piece  of  ground  to  be  used  for  the  purposes  of  Catholic 
worship.  Next,  Mr,  William  B.  Couteulx  and  some  others,  by  a 
surreptitious  movement,  even  while  Bishop  Dubois  was  still  living, 
contrived  to  become  a  corporate  body  to  take  charge  of  his  father's 
donation  to  the  Bishop.  Thirdly,  since  the  church  has  been  com- 
pleted, Mr.  William  B.  Le  Couteulx  has  not  left  any  thing  undone 
to  defeat  the  intentions  of  his  venerable  father,  and  drive  away 
Catholic  worship  from  the  ground  which  his  parent  had  given  to  the 
late  Bishop  of  New  York  for  religious  purposes.  Fourth,  it  is  not 
certain  that  Mr.  William  B.  Le  Couteulx  wishes  to  deprive  the 
Catholic  congregation  of  St.  Louis  of  this  property  by  bringing 
about  its  relapse  into  the  residuary  estate  of  his  father,  from  which 
even  something  might  be  added  to  his  own  private  inheritance ;  and 
yet  it  is  difficult  to  account  for  the  obstinate  and  schismatic  course 
which  Mr.  William  B.  Le  Couteulx  has  adopted  in  regard  to  it  on  any 
other  hypothesis.  His  generous  and  pious  father  made  a  donation 
to  the  city  of  Buffalo  of  ground  for  an  orphan  asylum.  Mr.  William 
B.  Le  Couteulx  must  be  cognizant  of  the  fact  that,  when  the  asylum 
was  built,  and  Catholic  children,  among  others,  admitted,  the  Pro- 
testant bigotry  of  the  managers  would  not  admit  the  ministry  of  a 
Catholic  priest  towards  the  poor  children  of  that  religion  which  his 
father  professed,  and  of  which  he  was  an  ornament,  just  as  much  as 
his  son  William  B.  is  the  reverse.  Here,  then,  is  the  result  of  his 
father's  benevolence.  He  contrives  that  the  Catholic  priest  shall 
be  alienated  from  the  ground  given  by  his  father  for  Catholic  pur- 
poses ;  and  the  managers  of  the  orphan  asylum  contrive  to  have  the 
same  priest  repelled  from  entrance  on  the  ground  given  for  an 
orphan  asylum. 

I'do  not  thank  Mr.  Le  Couteulx  for  admitting  the  falsehood 
already  pointed  out  in  the  petition  of  which  he  was  one  of  the 
signers.  He  could  not  have  done  otherwise.  And  if  he  thinks 
that  he  is  honoring  his  father's  memory  by  defeating  his  father's 


602  ARCHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

pious  intention,  let  him   continue  in  his  unfortunate  anti-Catbolic 
course. 

As  there  has  been  some  mistake  in  regai'd  to  the  name  of  Le 
Couteulx,  I  think  it  proper  to  state  that  no  son  or  daughter  of  Mr. 
William  1?.  Le  Couteulx  is  now  in  this  country.  At  all  events,  Mr. 
Le  Couteulx  of  thih  city  is  the  son  of  the  truly  Catholic  and  amiable 
Mr,  Le  Couteulx,  who  at  present  resides  in  Paris,  and  who  so  well 
sustains  the  honor  of  his  hereditary  name.  He  is  only  nephew  to 
Mr,  William  B.  Le  Couteulx,  leader  of  the  trustees  of  St.  Louis's 
Church,  Buffalo. 

•f  JOHN,  Archbishop  of  New  York. 

New  Yobk,  April  18, 1855. 


FOURTH  LETTER. 

To  the  Editors  of  the  Courier  and  Enquirer  : 

I  AM  glad  to  perceive,  by  his  attempted  defence  in  your  paper  of 
this  date,  that  Mr.  Brooks  begins  to  realize  vaguely  the  position  in 
which  he  has  placed  himself.  He  commences  his  pitiable  defence  by 
misrepresenting  the  state  of  the  question.  He  says  it  is  "  in  regard 
to  my  ownership  of  real  estate  property  in  the  city  of  New  York," 
The  question  is  not  in  regard  to  any  such  thing,  and  this  Mr.  Brooks 
knows  as  well  as  I  do.  The  question  is  in  regard  to  the  truth  or 
falsehood  of  certain  statements  made  by  him  in  the  Senate  of  New 
York  on  the  6th  of  March.  In  reference  to  my  ownership  of  real 
estate  property^  as  Mr.  Brooks  calls  it,  there  is  no  question.  The  title 
of  many  Catholic  churches  in  the  city  of  New  York  is  vested  in 
me,  and  so  far  I  am  the  owner.  My  intention,  even,  is  to  add  to 
this  property  by  purchasing  such  additional  lots,  or  accepting  the 
gift  of  them,  as  I  may  find  from  time  to  time  to  be  desirable  for  the 
purpose  of  providing  religious  instruction  for  the  wants  of  the  Ca- 
tholic flock  committed  to  my  charge.  If  Mr.  Brooks  will  examine 
the  records  of  the  city  of  New  York  three  months  from  this  time, 
he  will  probably  find  conveyances  made  to  me  by  parties  who  have 
the  right  to  sell  or  bestow,  as  they  think  prober. 

But  I  shall  waive  all  controversy  regarding  matters  introduced 
into  Mr.  Brooks's  reply,  in  order  to  direct  his  wandering  attention 
to  the  real  state  of  the  case.  On  the  6th  of  March  he  asserted  that 
my  property  in  the  city  of  New  York  alone  was  not  much  short  of 
five  millions.  This  was  falsehood  No.  1.  He  asserted  that  of  this 
property  numerous  transfers  had  been  made  to  me  by  trustees. 
This  was  falsehood  No.  2.  He  asserted  that  some  of  the  parcels 
conveyed  to  me  covered  whole  squares  of  land.  This  was  falsehood 
No.  3. 

Now,  we  shall  take  these  falsehoods  in  their  order.     Mr.  Brooks, 


CHURCH  PKOPEETY  CONTROVEKSY.  603 

in  maintaining  falsehood  No.  1,  has  copied  out  ten  entries  as  found 
in  the  register's  books  of  this  city.  He  heads  the  list  with  the 
words : 

"  CONVEYANCES   TO   JOHN   HUGHES." 

The  first  conveyance  is  a  lease^  which  shows,  so  far  as  the  owner- 
ship of  real  estate  is  concerned,  that  tlie  very  heading  of  the  entries 
is  not  correct. 

The  second  is  also  a  lease,  showing  the  same  thing. 

The  third  is  from  George  Wildes  and  Agnes  his  wife,  and  it  re- 
mains for  Mr.  Brooks  to  show  that  Mr.  Wildes  and  his  wife  had  been 
trustees  of  a  Catholic  church. 

The  fourth  is  from  Andrew  Byrne,  and  is  the  conveyance,  not  of 
real  estate,  but  of  a  lease  also. 

The  fifth  is  from  David  Dudley  Field  and  Stephen  J.  Field,  trus- 
tees of  wife  and  Harriet  D.  Field,  wife  of  D.  D.  Field.  (I  copy 
from  Mr.  Brooks's  report  of  these  matters  in  your  journal,  but  I  de- 
cline all  responsibility  for  their  accuracy.)  Mr.  Brooks  does  not  in- 
form us  whether  these  parties  had  been  trustees  of  Catholic  church 
property  or  not. 

The  sixth  is  from  the  Rev.  Wm.  Patton,  D.  D.,  and  Mary  his  wife. 
Mr.  Brooks  does  not  say  that  the  Rev.  Dr.  and  his  wife  had  been 
trustees  of  any  Catholic  church. 

Here  Mr,  Senator  Brooks  seems  to  have  become  desperate,  and 
gives  a  duplicate  under  head  No.  7  of  the  conveyance  made  by 
George  Wildes  and  Agnes  his  wife,  as  already  recorded  under  head 
No.  3.  I  was  not  aware  that  Mr.  Wildes  had  given  me  two  deeds 
of  the  same  property.  But  Mr.  Senator  Bix)oks  is  a  man  of  singular 
enterprise,  and  he  has  made  the  discovery,  and  attempted  to  impose 
upon  the  public  by  a  falsehood  so  easily  to  be  detected. 

No.  8  is  fi-om  Mr.  Bartholomew  O'Connor,  who,  if  Mr.  Brooks  is 
to  be  believed,  is  named  in  the  record  as  trustee  to  Christ's  Church 
— the  truth  being  that  Mr.  Bartholomew  O'Connor  in  that  case  was 
only  the  assignee  of  a  bankrupt  board  of  trustees. 

No.  9  is  fronn  George  Plammann  and  Catharine  A.  his  wife  ; 
Thomas  Ward  and  Margaretta  his  wife  ;  Nathaniel  P.  Baily  and  his 
wife,  et  aL,  to  Nicholas  Dean,  of  the  second  part,  and  John  Hughes, 
of  the  third  part.  Under  the  same  No.  9  we  find,  immediately  fol- 
lowing, Andrew  Byrne,  clergyman,  to  John  Hughes,  bishop. 

No.  10  is  a  specimen  of  Mr.  Brooks's  eloquent  brevity  of  style.  It 
is  entitled,  "  Same  to  same.''''  Here  again  Mr.  Brooks  duplicates  the 
same  conveyance  ;  so  that  in  the  simple  copying  from  the  registry, 
by  way  of  defence  for  older  falsehoods,  he  invents  new  ones,  and  in 
two  instances  copies  the  same  conveyances — I  suppose  by  way  of 
guarding  against  mistakes. 

I  hope  the  respectable  gentlemen  and  their  wives  here  mentioned 
will  liold  Mr.  Brooks,  and  not  me,  responsible  for  having  their  names 
paraded  in  a  public  newspaper.  The  extract  of  all  these  entries  is 
brought  forth  by  Mr.  Brooks  to  substantiate  what  I  have  taken  the 


604  AECHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

liberty  to  call  his  falsehood,  uttered  in  the  Senate  of  New  York, 
when  he  alleged  in  his  official  capacity,  and  as  one  having  taken  pains 
to  be  well  informed  on  the  subject,  that  the  value  of  my  real  estate 
in  the  city  of  New  York  alone  was  not  much  short  of  five  millions. 
We  have  just  seen  that  Mr.  Brooks  has  counted  two  conveyances 
each  twice  over,  and  that  instead  of  ten  conveyances,  there  are  in 
reality  only  eight  on  the  very  record  which  he  professes  to  have  ex- 
amined. None  of  these  conveyances  of  real  estate  are  from  trustees 
of  Catholic  churches. 

Is  it  not  lamentable  to  think  that  a  man  who  has  been  senator  of 
the  State  of  New  York  should  so  misrepresent  the  records  of  entries 
which  are  open  to  the  inspection  of  all  in  the  register's  office  ? 

But  the  question  is  not  whether  I  am  the  owner  of  some  portion 
of  real  estate,  but  whether  Mr.  Brooks  did  not  utter  a  falsehood 
when  he  stated  that  the  value  of  my  property  in  the  city  of  New 
York  alone  was  little  short  of  five  millions  of  dollars.  The  gentle- 
man attempts  to  make  his  extract  honest-looking  by  describing  the 
boundaries  of  each  section  of  property  thus  conveyed  with  a  minute- 
ness very  uninteresting  to  the  public,  but  with  an  exactitude  becom- 
ing a  conveyancer's  apprentice.  One  would  suppose  that  he  imagined 
himself  copying  a  list  of  the  arrivals  at  the  hotels,  to  be  published 
in  that  meanest  of  all  printed  newspapers,  the  New  York  JSxpress^ 
of  which  he  is  one  of  the  editors. 

Now,  the  difference  between  the  value  of  the  eight  conveyances 
cited  by  Mr.  Brooks,  and  a  little  short  of  five  millions  of  dollars,  will 
be  the  measure  of  the  difference  between  the  truth  of  his  present  de- 
fence and  the  falsehood  of  his  assertion  in  the  Senate  on  the  6th  of 
March  last.  I  suppose  the  gross  value  of  the  eight  conveyances 
enumerated  to  be  two  hundred  thousand  dollars,  and  deduct  two 
hundred  thousand  dollars  from  a  sum  a  little  short  of  five  millions — 
say  four  millions  seven  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars — there 
remains  a  difference  between  truth  and  falsehood  of  four  millions 
five  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars,  which  Mr.  Brooks  has  still 
to  account  for.  In  other  words,  by  a  strict  arithmetical  calculation, 
there  is  a  difference  of  two  thousand  two  hundred  and  seventy-five 
per  cent,  between  the  truth,  if  we  can  call  it  so,  of  Mr.  Brooks's  de- 
fence and  the  original  falsehood  of  his  statement.  This  is  a  large 
per  centage,  but  Senator  Brooks  may  yet  have  means  of  reducing  it. 
So  far,  I  think,  it  is  quite  clear  that  the  charge  of  falsehood  No.  1  has 
not  been  refuted.  However,  small  work  is  enough  for  the  senator 
during  one  day,  and  as  he  signs  his  letter  "  for  to-day,  yours  very 
respectfully,"  we  must  wait  to  see  what  he  has  in  reserve  for  to- 
morrow. I  would  only  beg  him  not  to  attempt  filling  up  his  sched- 
ule by  enumerating  the  same  conveyance  twice,  as  he  has  done 
*'  for  to-day." 

Falsehood  No.  2,  as  found  in  his  speech  of  the  6th  of  March,  is, 
that  among  the  conveyances  there  are  numerous  transfers  from  trus- 
tees to  John  Hughes.  Mr.  Brooks  has  done  nothing  as  yet  by  way 
of  attempt  to  sustain  this  falsehood.     He  has  not  shown  one  single 


CHURCH  PROPERTY  CONTEOVERST.  605 

such  transfer,  and  accordingly  we  may  say  there  is  little  short  of 
five  millions  per  cent,  between  his  impotent  defence  and  his  false  as- 
sertion on  the  6th  of  March,  in  the  Senate  of  New  York.  But  we 
must  be  indulgent,  and  allow  him  time  to  examine  the  records  for  them. 

The  statement  in  his  speech  which  we  marked  as  falsehood  No.  3, 
that  some  of  the  parcels  of  property  conveyed  to  me  cover  whole 
squares  of  land,  Mr.  Brooks  "for  to-day"  has  not  had  time,  I  sup- 
pose, to  indicate,  as  he  has  done  in  other  instances,  in  what  part  of 
the  city  all  these  certain  lots,  or  whole  squares  of  land  lie,  and  are 
situate.  But  we  must  give  him  time.  He  has  done  pretty  well  for 
one  day.  He  has  made  ten  entries  for  the  newspapers  out  of  eight 
in  the  register's  books ;  and  to  a  .man  who  can  do  this,  powers  of 
originality  cannot  be  denied. 

On  the  whole,  I  think  Mr.  Brooks  has  been  very  unsuccessful  in 
his  attempt  to  substantiate  the  three  propositions  which  I  have  indi- 
cated as  falsehoods  Nos.  1,  2,  and  3. 

In  the  present  melancholy  predicament  in  which  Mr.  Brooks  has  con- 
trived to  place  himself,  I  think  he  might  dispense  with  all  moralizing 
as  regards  proj^iieties  of  language.  They  are  out  of  season  for  his 
pen.  He  is  not  satisfied  at  my  using  the  word  falsehood  in  regard 
to  any  of  his  assertions,  however  injurious  to  me  or  mischievous  to 
others.  Now,  falsehood  is  the  only  word  that  could  express  my 
meaning.  To  gentlemen  of  more  refined  sensibility  than  the  senator, 
a  gentler  term  would  have  been  sufficient  to  arouse  that  quick  and 
honorable  resentment — either  to  prove  the  assertion  advanced,  or  to 
apologize  manfully  fur  ha\ing  been  betrayed  into  it.  On  the  other 
hand,  if  a  stronger  expression  had  been  used,  it  would  have  implied 
a  direct  violation  of  the  courtesies  of  life,  even  in  regard  to  one  by 
whom  truth  had  been  so  outraged.  Mr.  Brooks  is  very  severe  upon 
me,  as  he  imagines,  when  he  says  that  "  a  scullion  can  call  names, 
and  use  epithets;  but  names  and  epithets,"  says  Mr.  Brooks,  "are 
not  trutii."  Pray,  where  did  Mr.  Brooks  learn  this  philosophy  ?  I 
can  assure  him  that  names  and  epithets  rightly  applied  are  truth, 
and  oftentimes  truth  in  its  condensed  form.  Nor  do  they  cease  to 
be  truth,  when  they  are  rightly  employed,  even  by  scullions.  The 
only  philosophy  which  would  be  profitable  to  Senator  Brooks  is  that 
by  which  in  his  dealings  with  his  fellow-men,  whether  in  the  Sen- 
ate chamber  or  elsewhere,  he  should  take  those  pi;)ecautions  becom- 
ing an  honorable  gentleman,  to  see  that  it  should  not  be  in  the 
power  of  friend  or  foe,  of  scullion  or  prelate,  to  apply  to  him  any 
name  or  epithet  which  should  unfortunately  be  too  well  founded  in 
truth. 

I  confess  that  it  is  any  thing  but  pleasant  to  me  to  be  obliged  to 
employ  them.  But  when  Mr.  Brooks  has  so  gratuitously  gone  out 
of  his  way  to  impress  upon  the  minds  of  his  colleagues  in  the  Senate, 
and  of  his  fellow-citizens  elsewhere,  the  belief  of  statements  utterly 
at  variance  with  truth,  he  cannot  deny  me  the  privilege  of  calling 
upon  him  for  the  proof  of  his  statements,  if  he  has  any,  and  of  stig- 
matizing them  as  falsehoods,  if  he  has  not. 


C06  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

I  do  not  know  that  I  have  any  thing  more  to  say  until  Mr.  Brooks 
biings  out  the  results  of  another  day's  investigation  of  the  records. 

4"  JOHN",  Archbishop  of  New  York. 
Nbw  Tokk,  April  19, 1855. 


FIFTH  LETTER. 

To  the  Editors  of  the  Courier  and  Miquirer  : 

There  is  a  moral  of  general  utility  involved  and  in  process  of  in- 
creasing development  in  the  controversy  between  Senator  Brooks 
and  myself,  which  the  public  will  do  well  to  store  away  in  its  mem- 
ory. If  I  dare  make  a  suggestion  for  the  benefit  of  the  rising  gen- 
eration who  are  now  receiving  instruction  in  the  public  schools,  I 
would  urge  the  teachers  to  impress  upon  the  children  the  possibility 
of  their  giving  utterance  to  some  falsehood, — since  to  err  is  human, — 
but  to  caution  them  at  the  same  time  against  the  culpability  and 
dangers  of  attempting  to  maintain  a  falsehood,  if  by  any  misfortune 
they  should  have  asserted  it.  And  as  an  illustration,  they  might 
say  to  the  classes — "  Just  look  at  the  condition  of  Senator  Brooks, 
who  is  actually  in  this  predicament."  The  senator  begins  his  un- 
fortunate defence  in  the  Courier  and  Enquirer  of  this  morning,  by 
the  following  assertion : 

"  My  statements  in  the  Senate  were  : 

'"''  First. — As  to  the  fact  of  the  property  owned  by  John  Hughes — 
meaning  the  Archbishop. 

"  Secondly. — As  to  the  value  of  the  property  thus  held  by  John 
Hughes — meaning  the  Archbishop. 

"  Thirdly. — As  to  their  transfer  from  trustees  to  John  Hughes — 
meaning  the  Archbishop." 

He  adds :  "  I  am  charged  with  falsehood  in  these  my  several  as- 
severations." 

It  is  not  true  that  these  were  Mr.  Senator  Brooks's  statements  in 
the  Senate.  It  is  not  true  that  Mr.  Brooks  has  been  charged  with 
falsehood  in  these  his  several  statements.  Mr.  Brooks  knows  that 
neither  of  these  assertions  of  his  is  true.  And  Mr.  Brooks  knows 
that  he  shall  be  my  witness  to  prove  that  he  knows  that  they  are 
not  true. 

In  his  speech  in  the  Senate,  after  having  professed  to  make  him- 
self acquainted  with  the  amount  of  property  held  by  John  Hughes, 
in  this  city,  as  taken  from  the  register's  office,  he  goes  on  to  say : 

"  I  suppose  its  value  to  be,  in  New  York  alone,  not  much  short  of  five  millions 
of  dollars.     So  far  from  this  property  being  held,  when  in  churches,  by  trustees, 
there  are  numerous  transfers  from  trustees  to  John  Hughes.     Beginning  with 
February,  1842,  and  continuing  through  1854,  a  friend  of  mine  copied  fifty 
eight  entries  of  as  many  distinct  parcels  of  property  made  in  the  name  of  land 


CHURCH  PROPERTY  CONTROVERSY.  607 

for  John  Hughes,  all  in  the  space  of  twelve  years.  Not  to  John  Hughes, 
Bishop,  not  to  John  Hughes,  Arch+Bisliop  (sic),  nor  to  John  Hughes  as 
trustee  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  but  to  plain  John  Hughes,  in  his 
propria  persona.  Some  of  tltese  parcels  cover  whole  squares  of  land,  and  nearly 
all  of  them  are  of  great  value." — Speech  of  Mr.  Brooks  delivered  in  the  Senate 
of  Netc  York  on  the  Qth  of  March,  1855. 

When  Mr.  Brooks  attempts  in  his  letter  of  this  morning  to  sub- 
stitute another  set  of  statements  instead  of  these,  and  declares  them 
to  be  the  statements  made  by  him  in  the  Senate,  he  does  that 
which  an  honorable  man,  with  the  knowledge  which  he  has,  would 
have  shrunk  from  doing.  He  furnishes,  like  a  broken-down  witness 
imder  cross-examination,  the  very  testimony  which  is  fatal  to  him- 
self 

The  charge  of  falsehood  was  made  against  his  statements  as  found 
in  his  speech,  and  not  against  the  silly  subterfuge  of  statements  as 
set  down  in  his  letter  of  this  morning.  Having  disposed  of  this 
point  in  which  Mr.  Brooks  is  witness  against  himself,  we  must  pro- 
ceed to  examine  the  result  of  his  labors  in  trying  to  make  up  for  the 
two  thousand  two  hundred  and  seventy-five  per  cent,  which  his 
account,  after  his  first  day's  investigation  of  the  records,  left  as  a 
balance  to  be  still  accounted  for,  between  the  truth  of  his  defence 
and  the  falsehoods  of  his  speech. 

I  shall  endeavor  to  allow  a  great  many  trifling  things  to  pass  to 
the  credit  of  Mr.  Brooks,  so  as  to  relieve  him,  if  possible,  from  the 
weight  of  the  burden  under  which  he  labors.  He  begins  by  alleging 
that  he  is  borne  out  in  regard  to  conveyances  from  trustees  by  the 
fact  that  the  trustees  of  St.  John's  Roman  Catholic  Church  gave  me 
a  lease  of  their  property.  Now  one  of  two  things :  A  man  who  has 
a  lease  is  either  the  owner  of  the  property  or  he  is  not.  If  he  is  not 
the  owner,  the  property  has  not  been  conveyed  to  him  in  the  sense 
of  Mr.  Brooks's  statement,  that  numerous  transfers  of  property  were 
made  to  me  by  trustees  ;  and,  in  that  event,  Mr.  Brooks  has  failed 
to  prove  his  assertion.  He  has  only  proved  that  I  am  the  tenant  of 
the  trustees  of  St.  John's  Church ;  and  if  he  thinks  this  warrants  his 
statement,  then  a  lease,  according  to  Mr.  Brooks,  will  be  equivalent 
to  a  deed  in  fee-simple.  This  is  Radicalism,  Fourierism,  such  as  has 
not  been  put  forth  before.  But,  besides,  it  so  happens  that  this  St. 
John's  Roman  Catholic  Church  has  been  always,  and  now  is  managed, 
in  its  temporal  aflairs,  by  lay  trustees,  and  the  Archbishop  has  never 
meddled  with  them,  except  when  they  attempted,  once  or  twice, 
to  disregard  the  discipline  of  the  diocese  in  other  respects. 

The  next  pretended  trustee  is  Mr.  Bartholomew  O'Connor,  who 
became  legal  assignee  of  one  of  our  bankrupt  boards  of  lay  trustees, 
and  who  transferred  it  according  to  law,  and  entirely  in  his  civil 
capacity,  as  an  agent  of  the  law.  The  Archbishop  purchased  it  at 
the  higl^jist  price  it  would  bring,  paid  its  debts,  and  preserved  it  for 
the  uses  of  religion  to  the  congregation  by  whose  exertions  it  had 
been  built,  and  by  whose  lay  trustees  it  -would  have  been  ruined  if 
the  Archbishop  had  not  taken  it  in  hand. 


608  AECHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

Mr.  Brooks  demurs  as  to  the  question  of  conveyance  from  Andrew 
Byrne,  and  denies  that  he  duplicated.  But  he  corrects  his  error  in 
a  way  which  surprises  me.  He  says,  now,  that  the  transfers  were 
made,  not  by  Andrew  Byrne  to  me,  but  by  me  to  Andrew  Byrne. 
His  words  are  :  "  If  he,  the  Arclibishop,  will  look  again,  he  will  see 
that  there  w-ere  two  transfers /Vow?  him  (the  Arclibishop)  <o  Andrew 
Byrne."  Now,  if  this  be  so,  it  will  tell  against  Mr.  Brooks,  and 
actually  increase,  instead  of  diminish  the  per-centage  of  difference 
between  the  truth  of  his  defence,  and  the  falsehoods  of  his  speech  in 
the  Senate.  He  acknowledges,  however,  that  in  the  case  of  George 
Wildes,  and  Agnes  his  wife,  he.  Senator  Brooks,  did  duplicate,  and 
counted  the  same  transfer  twice  ;  and  in  reference  to  this,  I  am  proud 
to  see  him  acknowledge  the  truth.     He  says  : 

"  I  owe  it  to  tl>e  public  to  state  that  a  transfer  of  property  was 
twice  cited  by  me  by  mistake,  because  it  was  so  written."  Well, 
well,  whether  it  was  so  written  or  not,  this  little  confession  will  do 
him  no  harm. 

But,  unfortunately,  Mr.  Brooks  shows  scanty  signs  of  penitence ; 
for,  although  he  acknowledges  that  he  duplicated,  he  does  not  omit 
to  add  the  false  citation  to  the  number  of  entries.  In  his  preceding 
letter,  the  conveyances,  according  to  Mr.  Brooks,  amounted  to  ten. 
Now,  strike  out  from  ten,  one  entry  which  he  duplicated,  and  let  us 
suppose  him  correct  in  stating,  as  he  does  in  his  letter  of  this  date, 
that  two  other  entries  which  he  had  adduced  as  from  Andrew  Byrne 
to  John  Hughes,  were  in  reality  from  John  Hughes  to  Andrew 
Byrne,  his  ten  entries  of  yesterday  are  reduced  to  seven  "  for  to-day." 
Still,  after  acknowledging  these  mistakes,  Mr.  Brooks  dashes  on,  and 
counts  his  conveyance  for  to-day  as  No.  1 1  instead  of  No.  8.  This 
is  from  Zachariah  Kuntz  to  John  Hughes,  and  is,  no  doubt,  the 
ground  on  which  the  St.  Francis  Church,  in  Thirty-first-street,  now 
stands. 

No.  12,  according  to  Mr.  Brooks,  but  No.  9,  according  to  his 
correct  statement,  is  from  James  Foster  and  his  wife  to  John  Hughes. 
The  senator  does  not  say  that  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Foster  bad  been  trustees 
of  a  Catholic  church. 

No.  13  is  Sarah  Remsen  to  John  Hughes. 

No.  14  is  George  W.  Hall,  of  Buffalo,  to  John  Hughes. 

No.  15  is  from  James  liae,  of  Macon,  Georgia,  to  John  Hughes. 

No.  16,  George  W.  Hall  and  wife  to  John  IJughes. 

No.  17,  G.  W.  and  H.  A.  Costar  to  John  Hughes. 

Here  I  must  pause  to  point  out  an  instance  of  the  exceeding 
exactness  and  scrupulosity  with  which  our  senator  describes  the 
dimensions  of  this  particular  lot.  He  says  it  is  between  Seventh  and 
Eighth  streets,  and  is  "  one  hundred  feet  by  tico  inches.''''  See 
Avhat  it  is  to  be  exact.  A  few  more  discoveries  of  this  kind  will 
mount  up  towards  the  five  millions.  One  hundred  feet  by  two 
inches  ! 

No.  18.  Mary  Anne  Gaffney,  B.  Gaffney,  and  A.  J.  Donnelly  to 
John  Hughes. 


CHUECH  PROPERTY  CONTROVERSY.  609 

No.  19,  John  V.  Westervelt,  sherifF,  to  John  Hughes. 

No.  20,  Richard  Kein,  clergyman,  to  John  Hughes. 

No.  21,  Gregory  Dillon  to  John  Hughes. 

Thus  closes  Senator  Brooks's  second  day's  labor  in  finding  out  the 
entries  of  property  conveyed  to  me.  I  sliall  not  examine  them 
minutely,  but  just  take  them  as  the  senator  has  presented  tliem.  I 
shall  only  claim  that  he  shall  stiike  out  three  from  Uventy-one,  as 
mistakes  acknowledged  by  himself — then  there  will  remain  eighteen. 
But  in  his  speech  at  Albany  he  asserted  that  he  had  "  copied  fiftt- 

KIGHT  EXTRIES    OF  AS    MANY    DISTINCT   PARCELS    OF  PROPERTY,  made 

in  the  name  of  land  from  John  Hughes^"  Out  of  these  he  has  dis- 
covered, so  far,  but  eighteen  ;  and  he  has  forty  more  to  find  out,  if 
he  would  support  the  false  statement  of  his  speech. — But  Mr.  Brooks 
begins  to  despair  of  the  recorder's  office,  and  I  shall  not  trouble 
him  further  at  present  in  regard  to  it,  except  to  say  that  I  shall  hold 
him  accountable  for  the  forty  other  entries  which  would  be  necessary 
to  change  the  statement  in  his  speech  from  a  falsehood  into  a  fact. 
He  hopes  to  prove,  however,  from  the  Catholic  Almanac,  what  the 
register's  office  fails  him  in.  He  says  the  diocese  of  Brooklyn  has 
fifteen  churches,  and  insinuates  that  I  am  the  owner  of  them  all. 
The  diocese  of  Buffalo  has  a  hundred  churches,  and  that  of  Albany 
eighty-seven,  and  Mr.  Brooks  arranges  his  defence  so  as  to  insinuate 
that  these  churches  belong  to  me.  I  may  tell  him  that  all  church 
property  in  the  diocese  of  Brooklyn,  Albany,  and  Buffalo  belong  to 
the  Catholic  people  of  each. 

But  Mr.  Brooks  is  determined  that  I  shall  be  rich  whether  I  will 
or  not,  and  he  enumerates,  not  as  from  the  register's  office,  but  as 
from  the  Catholic  Almanac,  among  other  items  of  property,  "  The 
Confraternity  of  the  Rosary,  <fcc.,  &c."  "  The  Arch-Confraternity 
of  the  Immaculate  Heart  of  Mary."  He  does  not  tell  us  by  whom 
conveyances  were  made  to  us  of  these  parcels  of  property.  We  may 
suppose,  however,  that  they  are  from  John  Doe  and  Richard  Roe 
and  their  wives^  as  found  recorded  in  Lib.  1,759,  page,  a  little  short 
of  5,000,000. 

Our  veracious  senator  next  enmnerates  as  my  property  : 

"  The  Redemptorist  Convent,  3d-street. 

"  College  of  St.  Francis  Xavier,  West  15th-street. 

"  Community  of  Brothers,  Canal-street. 

"  Academy  of  the  Holy  Infant  Jesus,  ManhattanviUe. 

"  Convent  of  the  Sacred  Hoart,  near  ManhattanviUe. 

"  Sacred  Heart  Academy,  near  Harlem. 

"  Convent  of  the  Sisters  of  Mercy,  Houston  and  Mulberry. 

"  Academy  of  St.  Vincent,  lOTth-street. 

"  St.  Mary's  School,  East  Broadway." 

I  must  tell  Mr.  Brooks,  that  in  this  long  list  of  institutions  I  have 
not  the  slightest  portion  of  property,  as  he  will  find  if  he  takes  the 
trouble  to  examine  the  records  of  the  register's  office  a  little  more 
minutely. 

In  the  senator's  next  effort  I  would  suggest  to  him,  if  he  caa 
Vol.  II.— 39 


610  AECHBI8H0P  HUGHES. 

do  it  honestly,  to  diminish  the  large  per  centage  of  difference  be- 
tween whatever  is  of  truth  in  his  defence  and  the  falsehood  of  state- 
ments made  by  him  in  his  speech  at  Albany,  by  slipping  in  to  my 
account,  tovvards  making,  up  the  five  millions,  a  large  slice  of  the 
real  estate  which,  it  is  generally  understood,  is  owned  by  Wm.  B. 
Astor,  Esq.  Of  course  I  have  said,  if  tliis  can  be  done  honestly. 
It  will  save  ^le  senator  the  trouble  of  going  out  of  this  city,  either 
to  the  diocese  of  Albany,  or  Buffalo,  or  Brooklyn. 

Let  us  now  come  to  the  arithmetic  of  the  matter.  We  allowed 
him  for  his  first  day's  labor  in  the  register's  office  a  discovery  of 
property  to  the  amount  of  two  hundred  thousand  dollars.  For  his 
second,  and  just  to  encourage  him  in  making  out  his  five  millions, 
we  will  allow  his  discoveries  to  be  worth  two  hundred  thousand 
more.     Let  us  state  it  thus: 

According  to  Senator  Brooks  in  the  Senate  of  New  York,  on 
the  6th  of  last  March,  the  property  of  Archbishop  Hughes,  iu 
the  City  of  New  York  alone,  was  worth  $4^750,000 

Mr.  Brooks's  first  day's  investigation  of  the  Archbishop's 

real  estate,  say, $200,000 

Second  day's  ditto', 200,000 

Deduct $400,000 

Balance  between  truth    and  falsehood    still   to  be   ac- 
counted for  by  the  senator $4,350,000 

Besides  this,  Mr.  Brooks  will  have  to  account  for  the  forty  missing 
entries  on  the  register's  books,  which  he  paraded  before  the  Senate 
on  the  day  and  date  above  mentioned.  And  I  hope  he  will  not  give 
up  the  register's  office  for  the  Catholic  Almanac,  or  enumerate 
any  more  "  Confraternities  of  the  Rosary"  among  the  parcels  of  my 
property.  But  m  hat  has  become  of  the  whole  squares  of  land  which 
the  senator  says  were  mine  ?  Verily  the  senator's  ease  furnishes  a 
moral,  and  should  be  held  up  as  a  beacon,  cautioning  youth  espe- 
cially against  an  attempt  to  sustain  any  statement  which  they  know 
to  be  untrue.  How  easy  would  it  have  been  for  Mr.  Brooks  to  have 
come  out  at  first  with  the  old  saw,  humanum  est  errare  !  How 
much  less  humiliating  than  his  present  position,  if  he  had  said  that 
he  had  been  misled  by  the  false  statements  of  the  trustees'  petition 
from  St.  Louis's  Church,  Buffalo ;  that  for  a  moment  the  anti-Popery 
mania  had  taken  possession  of  his  will,  memory,  and  understanding; 
tliat  he  had  been  carried  away  by  the  passions  of  tlie  hour,  and  did 
not  reflect  on  what  he  was  saying,  &c.,  &c. 

His  letter  of  this  date  shows  that  in  his  zeal  to  make  up  the  differ- 
ence between  truth  an<^  falsehood,  he  does  not  overlook  the  smallest 
things.  We  have  seen  already  the  minuteness  with  which  he  has 
set  down  that  valuable  property  of  mine,  whicli,  according  to  him, 
is  a  hundred  feet  one  way  by  two  inches  the  other.  He  has  discov- 
ered, also,  that  by  a  deed  in  the  recorder's  office,  I  am  entitled  to 
a  fiee  seat  in  the  Harlem  Railroad  cars  from  the  City  Hall  to  Ford- 
ham,  and  from  Fordham  to  the  City  Hall,  as  often  as  I  choose  to 


f 
) 


CHUKCH  PROPERTY  CONTROVERSY.  611 

ride.  It  is  ungenerous  in  Mr.  Brooks  to  quote  this,  because  in  his 
speech  he  a&serted-that  he  spoke  of  my  property  in  the  city  of  New 
Yoi-k  alone,  whereas,  if  he  reflects  for  a  moment,  he  will  perceive 
that  this  property  of  a  free  seat  in  the  Harlem  Railroad  cars,  is  only 
partly  in  the  city.  It  is  in  the  city  from  the  Park  to  Harlem  Bridge, 
and  all  beyond  that  is  out  of  the  city.  This  is  a  small  matter ;  but 
Mr,  Brooks  is  so  nice  and  scrupulous  in  his  enumerations  of  my 
p4operty,  that  I  think  he  must  have  overlooked  it  through  inad- 
vertency. 

The  public  will  perceive  that  in  all  I  have  hitherto  written,  I  have 
not  embarrassed  the  question  by  an  explanation  of  the  circumstances 
under  which  property  has  been  entered  in  my  name.  I  reserve 
to  myself  the  privilege  of  giving  a  full  and  candid  account  of  such 
matters,  for  the  information  of  those  who  may  take  an  interest  in 
the  question,  so  soon  as  Mr.  Brooks  shall  have  accounted  for  the 
balance  of  my  property,  constituting  the  difference,  if  he  is  to  be  be- 
lieved, between  $400,000,  for  which  we  have  given  him  credit  al- 
ready, and  1=4,750,000  which  he  said  my  property  in  the  city  of  New 
York  alone  was  worth,  on  the  6th  of  last  March.  But  I  cannot  close 
the  present  communication  without  again  directing  the  attention  of 
the  public  to  the  dangers,  not  so  much  of  making  a  false  and  foolish 
statement  in  a  senatorial  speech,  as  Mr.  Brooks  has  done,  but  of 
persevering,  as  Mr.  Brooks  does,  in  the  attempt  to  sustain  it  by  new 
subterfuges. 

•I*  JOHN,  Archbishop  of  New  York. 

New  Yobk,  April  21,  1855. 


SIXTH  LETTER. 

To  the  Editors  of  the  Courier  and  Enquirer  : 

I  HAVE  chai'ged  Senator  Brooks  with  falsehoods,  uttered  deliber- 
ately by  him  in  the  Senate  chamber  of  New  York,  and  calculated, 
if  not  intended,  to  inflict  injury  on  my  reputation.  I  have  sustained 
the  charge  already  to  some  extent  by  facts,  and  pledge  myself  to  the 
public  that  other  facts  shall  not  be  wanting  to  complete  the  proof  of 
my  charge.  In  the  mean  time,  Senator  Brooks  affects  to  ignore  the 
evidences  that  brand  him  as  no  honorable  man  would  suffer  himself 
to  be  branded,  as  nothing  more  than  idle  epithets  that  have  no 
meaning.  If  I  call  a  man  a  thief^  or  the  receiver  of  property  stolen 
from  me,  he  may  say  (provided  he  is  innocent)  that  the  charge  of 
theft,  or  the  receiving  of  stolen  goods,  falls  harmless  at  his  feet — that 
if  I  am  satisfied  with  my  "string  of  epithets,"  he  is  content  with  his 
"  record  of  facts,"  But  if  I  show  on  his  person  the  very  pi-operty 
which  has  been  stolen  from  me,  it  is  too  late  for  him  to  say  that  "  my 
charges  fall  harmless  at  his  feet." 


612  ARCHBISHOP  HUGHES. 

I  use  this  illastration  not  as  intended  to  degrade  Mr.  Brooks  in 
any  ^A■ay,  but  to  point  out  to  him  that  when  I  charge  him  with  false- 
hood, it  is  because  he  has  been  guilty  of  falsehood,  and  if  he  dare 
deny  the  charge,  I  am  quite  prepared  to  prove  it. 

Our  senator,  therefore,  must  see  the  necessity  of  standing  up  for 
his  reputation.  The  matter  is  too  serious  for  that  philosophy  which 
he  attempts  to  put  on.  He  should  know  that  his  friends,  his  con- 
stituents, the  Legislature  of  New  York,  and  the  people  of  the  State 
and  country  at  large,  have  an  interest  in  his  reputation  which  he  has 
no  right  to  trifle  with.  No  man  is  the  absolute  owner  either  of  his 
life  or  character.  Neither  the  one  nor  the  other  is  his  property  in 
any  sense  that  would  authorize  him  to  destroy  or  damage  it.  His 
life  is  the  property  of  God.  His  character  belongs  to  his  fellow-men. 
His  relation  to  either  is  that  of  a  trustee,  and  society  has  a  right  to 
require  that  he  shall  act  as  a  faithful  guardian  for  the  preservation 
of  both.  Mr.  Senator  Brooks,  therefore,  is  not  at  liberty  to  affect 
the  philosophy  of  indifference  when  the  charge  of  falsehood  is  brought 
against  him  on  responsible  authority.  He  has  no  right  to  let  him- 
self down  to  a  position  of  acknowledged  degradation,  without  mak- 
ing an  effort  to  sustain  himself  against  charges  which  are  damaging  to 
his  character  only  in  so  far  as,  unhappily  for  him,  they  are  too  true. 

Again,  Mr.  Brooks  may  not  attempt  to  throw  dust  into  the  eyes 
of  that  "  intelligent  peopU"  whom  we  both  address,  by  copying  out 
extracts  from  the  register's  office  as  regards  property  conveyed  to 
me.  This  is  not  the  question.  If  Mr.  Brooks  had  stated  before  the 
Senate  that  certain  conveyances  had  been  made  to  me  in  the  city  of 
New  York,  or  elsewhere,  he  would  have  stated  what  I  myself  was 
the  first  to  proclaim, — what  is  known  to  the  whole  community  of 
New  York,  and  what  requires  no  proof  It  is  known  to  all  that  for 
the  last  twelve  or  fourteen  years,  property  designed  for  Catholic 
church  purposes  has  been  vested  in  the  Bishop, — said  property  being 
in  all  other  respects,  for  its  uses,  its  income,  its  expenditures,  as  much 
the  property  of  the  several  congregations,  as  if  it  had  been  invested 
in  lay  trustees — the  only  difference  being  that  there  is  no  authority 
whereby  such  property  can  be  mortgaged  and  brought  into  jeopardy 
by  irresponsible  laymen  without  the  knowledge  and  concurrence  of 
the  Bishop.  By  copying  extracts  from  the  register's  office,  there- 
fore, Mr.  Brooks  is  attempting  to  prove  what  is  not  in  dispute,  what 
is  admitted,  what  is  known  to  all  as  a  general  fact. 

But  even  in  his  undertaking  to  prove  what  everybody  knows  as 
to  the  general  fact,  Mr.  Brooks  is  not  justified  in  falsifying  the  records 
from  which  he  pretends  to  give  extracts.  In  this  he  shows  the  moral 
danger  of  an  attempt  to  sustain  a  primary  falsehood,  since  every 
such  attempt  involves  the  necessity  of  having  recourse  to  secondary, 
and,  in  maintaining  these,  to  certify  falsehoods  ad  infinitum  nauseam. 
The  fiat  of  the  Almighty  at  the  creation,  in  reference  to  plants  and 
trees,  ordaining  that  each  should  bear  fruit  and  seed  according  to  its 
kind,  is  perfectly  applicable  to  truth  and  falsehood.  Each  bears 
fruit  accordins;  to  its  kind. 


CHCRCH  PEOPEKTV  CONTROVERSY.  613 

To  elucidate  this  principle,  it  will  be  sufficient  to  state  that  in  hu- 
man thought  or  human  language  there  are  but  three  kinds  of  propo- 
sitions possible.  First,  the  proposition  which  is  true,  and  which  ' 
yields  fruit  according  to  its  kind,  requiring  nothing  but  truth  to  sus- 
tain it.  Second,  the  proposition  which  is  false,  and  in  like  manner 
yields  fruit  according  to  its  kind,  making  it  necessary  that  other 
falsehoods  should  be  invented  and  employed  for  its  support.  Third, 
a  mixed  proposition,  which  is  partly  true  and  partly  false;  but 
which,  when  it  comes  to  be  analyzed,  and  the  portion  which  is  true 
divided  from  the  portion  which  is  false,  will  produce  distinct  corre- 
sponding fruits,  each  according  to  its  kind.  The  portion  which  is 
false  will  require  falsehoods  for  its  support,  and  the  portion  which  is 
true  will  rest  exclusively  for  support  on  the  fruits  which  it  bears  ac- 
cording to  its  kind.  In  other  words,  falsehood  cannot  be  main- 
tained by  truth,  nor  does  truth  ever  require  to  be  maintained  by 
falsehood. 

Having  premised  these  observations,  I  proceed  to  say  that,  of  the 
primary  talsehoods  contained  in  Mr.  Brooks's  speech  in  the  Senate 
of  New  York,  the  first  I  shall  notice  is  the  statement  that  "  the  valve 
of  Archbishop  Hughes'' s  property  in  the  city  of  New  York  alone  is 
not  much  short  of  Jive  7nillions  of  dollars.''^  As  Mr.  Brooks  is  en- 
gaged in  an  attempt  to  sustain  this  falsehood,  I  shall  reserve  for  another 
communication  the  jjroofs  that  it  has  already  borne  fruits  according 
to  its  kind. 

The  second  is  the  statement  in  his  speech  that  he  "had  copied 
from  the  records  fifty-eight  entries  of  as  many  distinct  parcels  of 
property  made  in  the  name  of  and  for  John  Hughes."  The  senator's 
extracts  from  the  register's  office,  are  an  attempt  to  sustain  this 
statement ;  and  although  he  has  falsified  the  entries,  and  counted  at 
least  one  entry  twice  over,  as  shall  be  shown  more  fully  hereafler, 
he  has  as  yet  reached  only  No.  30,  out  of  fifty-eight,  leaving  twenty- 
eight  distinct  entries  to  be  still  accounted  for.  In  regard  to  the 
fifty-eight  entries,  we  find  in  his  speech  the  following  statement,  em- 
bodied by  M'ay  of  annotation  :  "  To  those  who  tcere  curious  in  such 
7natters^  3Ir.  Broohs  exhibited  to  the  Senate  the  member^  book,  and 
page  of  these  several  entries  in  the  city  of  New  York.''''  This  was 
on  the  6lh  of  last  March.  He  has,  in  his  pretended  extracts  from 
the  r^ister's  office,  counted  some  entries  twice  ;  he  has  falsified 
others,  and  yet,  having  arrived,  according  to  bis  own  calculation,  at 
No.  30  out  of  fifty-eight,  for  which  he  had  day  and  date,  book  and 
number  and  page,  to  flourish  in  the  face  of  his  brother  senators  more 
than  seven  weeks  ago,  he  now  acknowledges  himself  as  mt«M6-Aaie«5, 
and  begs  for  somebody  to  help  him  out  of  his  difficulty.  This  may 
be  seen  from  the  following  advertisement  in  that  meanest  of  all 
printed  newspapers,  which  it  is  unnecessary  to  mention  : 

"CONVEYAXCES    TO    ARCHBISHOP    HUGHES- 

"  The  friends  of  the  rights  of  church  trustees,  and  the  laity,  against  the  usur- 
pations of  Archbishop  Hughes,  and  his  associates,  are  requested  to  send  ab- 


614  AECIIBISHOP    HUGHES. 

Btracts  of  conveyances  of  church  property  to  him,  to  the  office  of  the  New  York 
Express.    Our  object  is  to  elicit  the  truth  as  to  the  amount  and  value  of  the 
•  church  property  owned  by  the  Archbishop  and  his  associates  in  office." 

So,  then,  Senator  Brooks  is  now  begging  that  somebody  may 
furnish  him  with  evidences  to  support  a  statement  made  by  liim  on 
the  6th  of  March,  accompanied  with  a  pretended  exhibition  of  num- 
ber, book,  etc.,  which  contained  the  official  proofs  of  the  statements 
in  his  speech.  Verily,  the  senator's  propositions  are  bearing  fruit 
each  according  to  its  kind  ! 

The  third  of  the  primary  falsehoods  of  his  speech  was,  that  "  some 
of  these  parcels  cover  whole  squares  of  la?id,  and  nearly  all  of  them 
are  of  great  wa^we."  I  take  it  for  granted  that  Senator  Brooks  ad- 
mits the  falsehood  of  this  statement,  inasmuch  as  hitherto  he  has 
made  no  allusion  to  it.  If,  however,  he  does  not  admit  its  falsehood, 
surely  he  will  not  withhold  from  the  public  the  whereabouts  of 
these  whole  squares  of  land. 

The  fourth  primary  falsehood  which  I  pointed  out  in  the  speech 
of  the  senator  is,  that  "  numerous  transfers  of  this  property,  or  par- 
cels of  land,  were  made  by  trustees  to  John  Hughes." 

I  have  always  denied  that  I  ever  asked,  sought,  received,  or  ac- 
cepted any  property  from  lay  trustees.  This  denial  I  i-epeat  to-day 
with  increased  emphasis.  My  words  in  a  public  document,  published 
before  I  had  seen  the  speech  of  Senator  Brooks,  were,  "that  I  never 
recognize  in  them"  (trustees  of  the  Catholic  Church  propeity)  "the 
right  of  ownership ;".,..  that  "  they  could  not  make  over  to  me 
the  title  of  such  property  ;  that  it  was  not  theirs  in  such  a  sense  or 
for  such  a  purpose  ;  that  they  could  not  do  it  if  they  would."  Mr. 
Brooks  aflects  to  believe  that  he  has  invalidated  this  statement  by 
the  fact  that  the  trustees  of  St.  John's  Church  made  to  me  a  lease 
of  their  property  for  999  years.  Now,  to  proVe  the  truth  of  my 
statement  in  this  particular,  it  is  only  necessary  to  mention  two 
facts.  The  one  is,  that  this  transfer  was  that  of  a  lease,  and  not  of 
property  in  fee-simple,  as  the  false  statement  in  the  senator's  speech 
implied.  The  second  is,  that  so  far  from  accepting  this  property,  as 
giving  me  any  right  of  ownership,  I  have  never  meddled  with  the 
management  of  its  temporal  aifairs,  directly  or  indirectly — that  it  is 
now,  and  always  has  been,  administered  by  lay  trustees,  just  in  the 
same  manner  as  if  no  such  transfer  of  lease  had  ever  been  ii»ade". 

I  wish  it  to  be  understood  that  every  report  of  extracts  which  Mr. 
Brooks  has  hitherto  put  forth  as  from  the  register's  records,  shall 
be  specifically  and  critically  examined  by  a  professional  gentleman, 
with  the  view  of  showing,  number  by  number,  how  the  several  pri- 
mary falsehoods  of  the  senator's  speech  have  borne  fruit,  each  accord- 
ing to  its  kind,  in  his  attempt  to  sustain  them.  The  senator  has  ob- 
tained from  "  The  Trade"  a  series  of  opinions  extracted  from  various 
newspapers  favorable  to  his  position.  He  forgets  that  the  matters 
in  debate  between  him  and  me  are  matters  of  fact  and  not  of  opinion. 
What  if  the  Legislature  of  New  York  and  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States  gave  an  opinion  either  in  his  lavor  or  in  mine  ?     It 


CHURCH  PROPERTY  CONTROVERSY.  615 

would  not  be  worth  a  straw,  inasmuch  as  the  question  is  not  one  of 
opinion  but  one  of  fact.  Two  and  two  make  four.  That  is  a  fact. 
And  if  any  man  were  to  say  that  they  make  five  or  severi,  the  in- 
dorsements of  other  men,  possibly  as  blinded  as  himself,  would  not 
alter  the  state  of  his  case  one  iota. 

Besides,  these  worthy  confreres  of  Senator  Brooks  are  under  a 
mistaken  view  of  the  subject.  They  seem  to  suppose  that  if  any 
property  had  been  conveyed  to  me,  then  Senator  Bi"ooks  is  right 
and  I  am  wrong.  They  seem  to  suppose  that  I  denied  the  owner- 
ship of  any  property.  But  this  pretended  ignorance  must  be  a  piece 
of  affectation.  They  do  not  forget  that  in  my  very  first  letter  I  ad- 
mitted the  ownership  of  property,  nor  was  I  at  all  parsimonious  in 
reserving  a  sufficient  amount  to  myself  out  of  the  unexpected  fortune 
of  twenty-five  millions  bestowed  on  me  by  The  Presbyterian.,  which 
Mr.  Brooks  had  the  cruelty  to  reduce  to  a  sum  barely  short  of  five 
millions. 

They  do  not  forget  that  taking  this  diminished  appropriation  of 
the  senator  as  the  standard  of  calculation,  I  reserved  the  amount  of 
two  millions  as  a  provision  against  want  in  my  old  age,  and  devoted 
the  surplus  (say  $2,750,000)  to  the  establishment  of  a  great  institu- 
tion which  was  to  bear  the  title  of  "  The  Erastus  Brooks  Library'' — 
that  is,  on  the  hypothesis  that  the  senator  should  point  out  where 
all  this  immense  property  was.  The  senator  has  attempted  to  change 
the  issue,  and  he  writes  little  squibs  himself,  or  gets  others  to  write 
them  for  him,  or  accepts  them  if  spontaneously  offered,  to  the  effect 
that  he  has  triumphed  over  me,  because  he  has  proved  that  some 
conveyances  of  land  have  been  made  in  ray  favor,  which  was  never 
denied.  But  let  these  kind  editors  help  him  out  in  showing  the 
amount  of  property — the  fifty-eight  entries — the  numerous  transfers 
from  trustees — the  whole  squares  of  land,  which,  in  his  speech  at 
Albany,  on  the  6th  of  March,  he  stated  were  mine.  If  they  do  not 
help  him  in  this  way  they  do  not  help  him  at  all,  although  their 
little  squibs  may  fill  up  a  portion  of  the  New  York  Mqyress^  and  in- 
duce its  readers  to  think  that  Senator  Brooks  imagines  himself  to  be 
making  great  progress. 

Having  disposed  sufliciently  of  the  senator's  last  effort,  at  least  till 
a  reliable  investigation  of  the  records  shall  have  been  made,  I  will 
lose  sight  of  the  senator,  and  address  the  remaining  portion  of  this 
communication  to  the  good  sense  and  candor  of  my  iellow-citizens. 
Catholics  and  Protestants,  whose  esteem  I  value,  and  who  may  have 
been  misled  in  their  judgment  on  the  subject  involved. 

Fiist. — It  has  been  the  practice,  especially  since  the  bankruptcy 
of  no  less  than  four  boards  of  CathoHc  lay  trustees  in  this  city  alone, 
to  invest  the  title  of  new  churches  in  the  Bishop.  This  was  conform- 
able to  the  discipline  of  the  Catholic  Church  as  regulated  by  the 
Provincial  Councils  of  Baltimore.  It  was  also  in  conformity  with 
the  wishes  of  the  Catholic  people,  at  least  in  this  city,  whose  tem- 
poral interests  and  reputation  as  a  religious  community  had  been 
almost  destroyed  by  the  bad  management  of  lay  trustees.     It  is  un- 


616  ARCHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

derstood  among  Catholics  that  whatever  may  be  the  form  of  legal 
tenure  by  which  churcli  property  is  held,  being  once  recognized  as 
church  property,  it  belongs  not  to  the  bishop  or  the  trustees,  or  the 
parishes,  or  the  people,  but  that  it  is  to  be  regarded  as  the  property 
of  God,  set  apart  for  religious  uses,  and  enjoyed  for  the  common 
benefit  of  all. 

Secondly. — Under  these  circumstances,  they  look  upon  the  bishop 
as  the  natural  guardian  of  property  which  has  been  created,  not  by 
any  gift  or  donation  of  the  State,  but  by  their  own  voluntary  contri- 
butions  of  charity.  And  whatever  law  the  State  may  pass,  there  is 
one  thing  certain,  that  nothing  less  than  coercion  will  induce  the 
Catholics  to  discontinue  or  withdraw  the  confidence  which  they 
have  in  their  bishops  as  the  natural  guardians  of  such  property. 
They  never  dream  that  the  bishop  is  the  owner  of  their  church  and 
church  property,  merely  because  the  deed  thereof  may  be  recorded 
in  his  name.  Neither  will  less  than  coercion  induce  them  to  put 
their  pi'operty,  and  their  reputation  as  a  religious  community,  at  the 
irresponsible  disposal  of  lay  trustees,  armed  with  legal  power  to 
mortgage  their  property,  and  impose  upon  them,  as  has  been  done 
already,  the  burden  of  debts  by  which  their  churches  may  become 
bankrupt  and  sold  for  the  benefit  of  creditors. 

Thirdly. — It  was  in  this  full  understanding  on  all  sides  that  they 
(the  Catholics  of  New  York)  contributed  to  redeem  no  less  than 
four  churches  from  the  disgraceful  consequences  of  bankruptcy, 
through  bad  management  on  the  part  of  lay  trustees.  These  churches 
were  sold  under  process  of  law  for  the  benefit  of  their  creditors.  The 
amount  which  they  brought  would  not  have  been  more  than  some 
thirty  or  forty  cents  in  the  dollar.  But  when  the  bishop  consented 
to  put  himself-at  the  head  of  the  Catholic  body,  and  accept  the  title 
of  this  property,  they  rallied  around  him ;  and  by  imposing  sacrifices 
on  themselves,  they  paid  not  only  the  thirty  cents  on  the  dollar, 
which  the  law  of  the  State  had  secured  to  the  creditors,  but  they 
went  beyond  law,  and  conformed  to  justice  by  paying  one  hundred 
cents  to  the  dollar.  There  is  no  spirit  of  repudiation  of  honest  debts 
among  Catholics,  but  they  are  not  willing  that  lay  trustees  shall  have 
the  power  of  mortgaging — I  will  not  say  their  property  only,  but 
also  their  upright  and  honorable  fame. 

Fourthly. — It  is  in  this  spirit  and  with  this  understanding  that 
the  Bishop  is  invested  with  the  title  of  whatever  church  property  is 
recorded  in  his  name,  either  in  the  city  of  New  York  or  throughout 
the  diocese.  Each  church  belongs,  practically,  to  the  Catholic  con- 
gregation worshipping  therein.  All  the  churches  of  the  diocese  be- 
long in  the  same  way  to  all  the  Catholics  of  the  diocese.  To  suj)pose 
that  the  bishop  should  alienate  them,  mortgage  them,  or  in  any 
other  manner  abuse  his  trust  for  his  own  use  and  benefit,  is  to  sup- 
pose something  that  has  never  entered  the  minds  of  the  Catholic 
people.  And,  for  myself^  I  can  say,  that  my  support  since  I  have 
been  appointed  Bisliop  of  New  York  has  been  derived  from  the  free 
and  voluntary  offerings  of  the  flock  committed  to  my  charge.     Not 


CHUKCH  PROPERTY  CONTROVEKSY.  617 

80  much  as  one  farthing  has  accrued  to  me  from  the  nominal  owner- 
ship of  church  property. 

Fifthly. — It  must  not  be  inferred  from  this  that  I  am  not  suffi- 
ciently pi'ovided  for,  whether  as  regards  my  personal  expenses  or  the 
much  weightier  expenses  incident  to  my  position  as  Catholic  Ai'ch- 
bishop  of  New  York,  In  that  respect  I  feel  that  I  am  very  rich — 
rich  in  the  confidence  and  affections  of  the  people  committed  to  my 
care — rich  in  the  moderate  but  sufficient  sum  which  is  provided 
annually  for  the  support  of  my  person  and  my  position — rich  in  the 
consolation  derived  from  witnessing  the  increasing  piety,  harmony, 
union,  zeal,  and  mutual  charity  of  the  people  committed  to  my 
care — rich  in  th^  consciousness  that  from  the  moment  I  was  reluct- 
antly induced  to  accept  the  office  in  the  Church  of  which  I  then  felt 
and  still  feel  myself  so  unworthy,  I  made  an  offering  of  my  mind, 
and  heart,  and  life  for  the  glory  of  God,  in  promoting  the  spiritual 
and  temporal  welfare  of  the  flock  over  whom  I  was  placed  as  pastor 
by  the  great  Bishop  and  Shepherd  of  our  souls. 

Sixthly. — Having  thus  shown  how  rich  a  man  I  am,  it  is  but  fair 
now  that  I  should  state  how  poor.  Fortunately  the  temporal  affiiira 
of  my  diocese  are  in  good  order,  so  that  my  successor,  were  I  to  die 
to-morrow,  will  only  have  to  look  at  the  private  archives  to  under- 
stand at  a  glance  the  actual  condition  of  matters  and  things.  As 
representative  of  the  diocese,  I  am  personally  indebted  to  the 
amount  of  thirty  thousand  dollars.  But  by  way  of  assets  I  have  in 
my  personal  right  an  amount  of  property  which  I  suppose,  if  its 
value  could  be  realized,  would  cover  the  debt.  Mr.  Brooks  and  his 
associates  may  feel  an  interest  in  knowing  of  what  these  assets  con- 
sist, and  I  will  tell  hiiu.  They  are  partly  bequests,  partly  donations, 
partly  the  hope  of  a  favorable  decision  in  regard  to  a  suit  which  was 
in  chancery  before  chancery  was  abolished.  Besides  this  property, 
which  I  consider  as  assets  against  my  debts,  I  am  the  owner  of  a 
library  which  would  be  of  little  use  to  many  of  those  who  take  an 
interest  in  the  question  of  my  property,  but  which  to  me  is  very 
valuable.  I  am  the  owner  of  a  part  of  the  furniture  of  the  house  in 
which  I  live — but  only  a  part.  Let  us  now  sum  up.  All  that  is 
Church  property  on  Manhattan  Island,  whether  the  title  be  invested 
in  me  or  not,  belongs  to  the  Catholics  of  Manhattan  Island,  and  not 
to  me.  When  this  deduction  is  made,  I  am  left  the  owner  of  my 
library  and  a  part  of  the  furniture  in  my  dwelling.  But  I  am  not 
the  owner  of  one  square  inch  of  ground  within  the  city  of  New 
York.  I  am  the  owner  of  the  bed  I  sleep  on,  but  not  of  the  roof 
or  the  walls  that  protect  me  against  the  inclemency  of  the  seasons. 
I  do  not,  however,  complain  of  my  poverty,  for  I  am  not  poor.  I 
know  that  any  one  invested  with  the  office  which  I  hold  in  the 
Church  of  God,  is  the  more  honored  in  proportion  as  his  condition 
assimilates  to  that  of  his  Divine  Master,  who  had  not  whereon  to 
lay  his  head.  And  it  would  be  an  especial  reproach  to  me  to  be  the 
successor  of  the  devoted  and  disinterested  Bishop  Dubois,  who  died 
so  poor  that  the  Catholics  of  his  cathedral  had  to  bear  the  expenses 


618  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

of  his  funeral,  if  I  disgraced  the  inheritance  of  his  office  by  grasping 
at  and  appropriating  to  my  own  use  any  thing  more  of  the  things  of 
this  world  than  are  necessary  to  provide  me  with  daily  food  and 
raiment. 

But  notwithstanding  all  this,  Senator  Brooks  will  have  to  give 
some  account  of-  the  four  millions  seven  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
dollars  which  he  said  was  the  value  of  my  property  on  the  6th  day 
of  last  March. 

•f«  JOHN,  Archbishop  of  New  York. 
New  Yobk,  April  28, 1855. 


SEVENTH  LETTER. 

To  the  Editors  of  the  Courier  and  Enquirer : 

Our  senator  has  a  vague  idea  of  respectability,  nnder  the  influence 
of  which  he  intimates  that  falsehoods,  with  the  deliberate  utterance 
of  which  he  is  charged,  and  with  which  no  honorable  man  would 
suffer  himself  to  be  branded,  are  by  no  means  complimentary  to 
him.  But  it  is  impossible  to  relieve  him  from  these  charges.  False- 
hood he  has  been  guilty  of  in  almost  eveiy  paragraph  of  his  speech 
on  the  6th  of  March,  and  of  his  writings-in  reference  to  it  since. 

For  the  present,  I  shall  only  enumerate  the  last  falsehood  from 
his  pen.     It  is  found  in  the  following  words,  viz. : 

"  First  now  as  to  the  parcels  of  property  and  squares  of  land,  1  enumerate 
the  thirty-two  lots  of  ground  on  Fiftieth  and  Fifty-first  streets  in  two  parcels, 
one  three  hundred  and  fifty  feet  by  two  hundred  and  ten  feet  ten  inches,  and 
the  other,  one  hundred  and  five  feet  by  eighty-five." 

When  Mr.  Brooks  wrote  this,  he  knew  as  well  as  I  do  that  I  am 
not  the  owner  of  a  solitary  square  inch  of  ground  on  Fiftieth  or 
Fifty-first  street,  and  with  this  knowledge  in  his  mind,  Mr.  Erastus 
Brooks  has  exhibited  himself  in  the  light  of  a  man  who  has  no 
regard  for  veracity,  and  who  is,  therefore,  utterly  unworthy  of 
notice.  I  take  him  consequently,  with  covered  hands,  to  the  nearest 
open  sash  of  a  window,  and  send  him  forth  with  the  single  mental 
observation,  "  Go  hence,  wretched  and  vile  insect, — the  world  has 
space  for  you  as  well  as  for  me." 

»J»  JOHN,  Archbishop  of  New  York. 
Nkw  York,  May  1, 1855. 


CHURCH  PKOPERTY  CONTEOVEESY.  619 


A  CARD  TO  THE  PUBLIC. 

The  citizens  of  New  Yoi*k,  and  of  the  United  States,  must  have 
seen,  and  the  decent  portion  of  them  must  have  regretted,  the 
progress  of  what  seemed  to  be  a  controversy  between  the  under- 
signed and  Mr.  Erastus  Brooks,  senator  of  the  State  of  New  York. 
The  point  involved  is  a  point  of  veracity,  in  which  Senator  Brooks  is 
responsibly  charged  with  falsehood,  and  although  the  case  would 
warrant  it,  the  charge  has  not  been  extended  to  a  more  degrading 
terra.  The  undersigned,  although  not  born  in  this  country,  is  far 
from  being  insensible  or  indifferent  to  the  necessity  of  maintaining 
an  honorable  character  for  those  who  represent  its  high  functions  in 
the  legislature,  the  judiciary,  or  the  executive.  And  it  is  no  pleasure 
to  him,  but  directly  the  leverse,  that  Senator  Brooks  has  placed  it 
in  his  ])ower,  and  made  it  of  obligation  for  him  to  prove,  as  he  is 
quite  prepared  to  do,  that  he,  the  said  Senator  Brooks,  is  a  man  of 
falsehood. 

All  this  shall  appear  in  less  than  ten  days  from  the  date  of  this 
card. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  undei-signed  feels  humbled  at  the  necessity 
of  saying  or  writing  any  thing  which  should  bring  infamy  or  dis- 
grace upon  his  country,  even  though  the  falsehoods  of  a  person  like 
Senator  Brooks  should  be  the  immediate  occasion  of  it. 

The  physical  and  material  powers  of  the  United  States  are  becom- 
ing more  and  more  recognized  from  day  to  day  by  the  civilized 
nations  of  the  world.  Unfortunately  the  moral  attributes  of  our 
progressive  greatness  are,  in  the  estimation  of  the  same  nations, 
sinking  from  day  to  day.  And  what  with  the  unfavorable  portion 
that  is  perhaps  true  in  this  unsettled  account,  and  the  prejudices  of 
foreign  nations  who  are  unprepared  to  believe  any  favorable  report 
in  our  regard,  the  probability  is,  that  whether  we  like  it  or  not,  our 
course  in  the  esteem  of  the  civilized  world  has  at  this  moment  a 
rather  downward  tendency. 

The  undersigned  is  but  a  cipher,  yet  he  feels  an  interest  in  the 
reputation,  honor,  prosperity,  and  progress  of  the  United  States, 
which  makes  it  a  very  painful  duty  for  him  to  charge  any  one  who 
has  officiated  as  a  senator  of  the  country  at  large,  or  of  a  particular 
State,  with  falsehood. 

But,  under  present  circumstances,  there  is  no  alternative.  He 
charges  Senator  Brooks  with  multiplied  and  deliberate  falsehoods, 
and  he  only  solicits  from  the  rightmindedness  and  patience  of  the 
American  public  a  suspension  of  judgment  for  ten  days. 

In  the  mean  time,  it  would  be  unbecoming  and  perfectly  disgust- 
ing in  the  eyes  of  foreign  journalists,  and  his  own  countrymen  at 
home,  as  well  as  humiliating  and  painful  to  his  own  feelings,  to  see 
and  read  in  the  American  journals,  that  a  Roman  Catholic  Arch- 
bishop, who  claims  to  be  an  American,  and  who,  if  he  is  not  an 
American,  has  no  right  or  claim  on  any  other,  country  in  the  world, 


620  AKCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

should  appear  as  the  accuser  of  an  American  senator,  whose  place  of 
nativity  is  unquestioned,  charging  upon  the  same  senator  falselioods 
deliberately  and  repeatedly  uttered.  This  is  the  issue  to  which  Mr. 
Erastus  Brooks  has  urged  and  brought  me.  I  meet  it.  And  while 
I  shield  as  much  as  possible  the  dignity  of  character  which  is 
implied  by  the  word  senator^  I  hope  that  the  justice  of  American 
public  opinion  will  give  me  full  liberty  to  repel  and  expose  the 
falsehoods  of  the  mail  called  Erastus  Brooks.  I  appeal  with  entire 
confidence  to  the  patience,  as  well  as  justice,  of  that  American 
public  opinion,  which  has  never  disappointed  me  in  matters  of  trutlk 
and  justice,  for  a  suspense  often  days  or  two  weeks. 

•f  JOHN,  Archbishop  of  New  York. 
New  Yokk,  May  3, 1855. 


TO  THE  PUBLIC. 

*  *  *  "  Mater  veritatis  dies  non  permissura  sit  longam  firaudibus  regnran." 
—Grotius,  de  Imp.  8.  P.  100,  b.  6. 

♦  *  *  "  Liglit,  the  mother  of  Truth,  will  not  permit  Deception  to  enjoy  a  long 
reign." 

During  the  last  session  of  the  New  York  Legislature,  a  petition 
was  presented  by  the  trustees  of  St.  Louis's  Church,  Buffalo,  com- 
plaining of  pretended  grievances  which  they  had  suffered,  as  they 
alleged,  at  the  hands  of  their  ecclesiastical  superiors,  and  praying 
for  an  act  of  civil  legislation,  on  the  part  of  the  State,  by  which 
their  religious  grievances  might  be  bi'ought  to  an  end,  and  similar 
ones  henceforth  prevented  in  other  congregations.  In  that  petition 
they  averred,  among  other  numerous  falsehoods,  that  "  Bishop 
Hughes  had  attempted  to  compel  them  (the  trustees)  to  make  the 
title  of  their  church  over  to  him."  The  Hon.  Mr.  Putnam  drafted  a 
bill  of  contingent  confiscation  and  penalties  against  the  Catholics  of 
this  State,  unless  their  Bishops  should  henceforth  govern  and  regu- 
late all  matters  affecting  church  property,  according  to  the  provi- 
sions of  the  act.  The  undersigned  denied  that  there  was  one  word, 
or  syllable,  or  letter  of  truth  in  the  statement  quoted  from  the  peti- 
tion ;  and  Mr.  Wm.  B.  Le  Couteulx  has  since  admitted  its  entire 
falsehood,  even  while  attempting  to  vindicate  his  own  course  and 
that  of  his  fellow-trustees.  Notwithstanding  the  falsehoods  of  his 
petition,  they  are  entirely  adopted  by  Mr.  Putnam,  and  the  one 
already  mentioned  is  specially  incorporated  in  his  speech  in  favor  of 
the  bill.  There  is  no  evidence  that  Mr.  Putnam  was  then  aware  of 
the  falsehood  which  he  had  adopted  from  the  text  of  the  petition. 
But  he  must  be  aware  of  it  now. 

Mr.  Senator  Brooks,  of  this  city,  also  made  a  speech  on  the  same 
side.  By  him  the  falsehood  or  falsehoods  of  the  Buffalo  petition 
adopted  by  Mr.  Senator  Putnam,  were  entirely  thrown  in  the  shade 


CHUECH  PROPEKTY  CONTEOVEfiSY.  621 

by  the  gigantic  scale  on  which  he  projected  his.  According  to  him, 
Bishop  Hughes  was  the  owner,  in  his  own  personal  right,  of  an 
immense  amount  of  real  estate  in  the  city  of  Xew  York.  He  sup- 
posed its  value  to  be  little  short  of  five  millions  of  dollars.  It  con- 
sisted, according  to  him,  of  no  less  than  fifty-eight  distinct  parcels  of 
real  estate,  some  of  them  covering  "  whole  squares  of  land,"  and  all 
recorded  in  the  register's  ofiice,  to  the  number  of  fifty-eight  entries. 
Of  this  property  there  were,  according  to  Mr.  Brooks,  "  numerous 
ti'ansfers  from  trustees,"  and,  lest  any  senator  should  doubt  his 
veracity,  he  sported  a  pretended  reference  as  from  the  records  in 
the  register's  office,  giving  book,  number,  and  page  for  the  correct- 
ness of  his  statements. 

One  is  at  a  loss  whether  to  be  surprised  more  at  the  boldness  of 
this  man's  falsehoods,  or  at  the  imbecile  credulity  of  a  public,  calling 
itself  enlightened,  who,  nevertheless,  seemed  to  receive  his  state- 
ments as  so  many  gospel  truths. 

Shortly  after  my  return  from  Europe,  I  called  the  attention  of 
Senator  Brooks  to  the  wantonness  and  extravagance  of  his  assertions. 
My  letter  was  written  in  a  spirit  of  playfulness.  I  intimated  that 
after  leserving  to  myself,  against  the  wants  of  old  age,  out  of  this 
property  little  short  of  five  millions,  as  Mr.  Brooks  had  asserted,  the 
sum  of  two  millions,  I  should  appropriate  all  the  balance,  say  two 
millions  seven  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars,  to  the  founding 
of  a  magniticent  library  which  shoidd  be  worthy  of  Xew  York  ;  and 
as  I  was  indebted  to  the  senator  for  ray  immense  fortune,  it  should 
bear  his  name,  and  be  called  "  The  Erastus  Brooks  Library." 

I  intimated,  however,  in  a  tone  sufficiently  serious  to  attract  his 
attention,  that  his  statements  were  untrue,  and  I  called  upon  him 
either  to  prove  or  retract  them.  He  chose  the  alternative  of  proof, 
and  the  public  will  see  how  desperate  is  the  condition  of  a  man  who 
undertakes  to  prove  a  falsehood  : — since  truth  will  ever  scorn  to  be  a 
handmaid  in  such  an  enterprise,  and  will  leave  him  entirely  depend- 
ent on  his  ingenuity  for  the  invention  of  secondary  falsehoods  in 
support  of  those  which  were  primary. 

Out  of  this  grew  the  late  controversy  between  Mr.  Brooks  and 
myself.  It  was  not  my  business  to  prove  that  the  statements  of  his 
speech  were  false.  It  was  his  to  prove  them  true.  It  was  but  fair 
that  he  should  have  full  scope  to  accomplish  this  awful  task  in  his 
own  way,  and  the  public  have  witnessed  the  industry  with  which  he 
has  prosecuted  the  work. 

It  has  been  matter  of  surprise  to  some,  that  I  should  not  have 
had  at  any  moment  my  proofs  at  hand  to  refute  both  the  primary 
and  secondary  falsehoods  of  Mr.  Brooks.  In  other  words,  that  I 
was  not  prepared  to  prove  a  negative,  which  no  man  has  ever  done 
by  direct  argument,  and  which  no  man  can  ever  do.  The  proof  of 
a  negative  must  always  be  by  deduction  from  argument  which  is 
positive  ;  and  how  could  I  bring  my  proofs  of  a  negative  through 
the  medmm  of  positive  facts  to  a  close,  until  Mr.  Brooks  should  have 
completed  his  whole  winding  and  tortuous  career  of  mendacity  ?     I 


622  ^         ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

believe  he  has  done  this,  at  least.  And  now  it  is  time  for  me  to 
bring  my  positive  facts  to  bear  upon  his  positive  falsehoods,  scatter 
them  to  the  winds,  and  leave  him  standing  before  the  community  a 
self  degraded,  self-ruined  man.  But  before  I  commence,  it  is  proper 
to  state  that  whatever  property  may  be  found  on  the  records  of  the 
register's  books  in  the  city  of  New  York,  in  my  name,  is  in  equity 
and  truth,  though  not  in  its  legal  form,  the  property  of  the  several 
congregations  to  be  enumerated  hereafter  ;  that  the  management  of 
this  property  has  been,  by  a  rule  of  the  diocese  dating  as  far  back  as 
1843,  in  the  hands  of  the  respective  pastors  of  each  congregation, 
■who  are  required  to  associate  with  them  one  or  two  respectable  and 
competent  laymen  to  assist  them  in  the  administration  of  the  tempo- 
ralities of  their  church — to  keep  regular  accounts  of  its  income,  its 
expenditures,  etc., — to  make  and  publish,  from  time  to  time,  at  least 
once  a  year,  a  report  of  the  condition  of  the  church,  to  be  distributed 
among  their  pew-holders,  and  a  copy  of  the  same  to  be  forwarded  to 
the  archiepiscopal  residence,  in  order  to  have  it  inserted  in  a  diocesan 
register  kept  lor  that  purpose.  The  title  of  their  church  lots  was 
vested  nominally  in  the  Bishop.  But  he  never  considered  this  as 
giving  him  any  more  right  to  the  ownership,  in  the  sense  of  Mr. 
Brooks,  than  he  would  have  to  regard  as  his  mvn  an  offering  of 
charity  handed  to  him  for  the  benefit  of  the  Orphan  Asylum.  Nei- 
ther has  he  ever  received  so  much  as  one  farthing  of  revenue  or  in- 
come from  this  property,  in  consequence  of  his  nominal  ownership. 
Neither  has  he  troubled  himself  with  the  management  of  the  tem- 
poralities of  these  congregations,  except  in  so  far  as  to  prevent  the 
church  property  from  being  mortgaged,  or  exposed  to  alienation,  as 
had  been  the  case  under  the  irresponsible  management  of  lay  trustees. 
Whenever  the  clergyman  and  his  advisers  reported  to  the  Bishop 
the  expediency  of  their  doing  something  in  regard  to  such  property, 
he  acquiesced  as  often  as  his  judgment  approved  of  their  j)roposal. 
In  this  way  deeds,  and  titles,  and  transfers,  and  mortgages,  etc., 
were  brought  to  him  from  time  to  time  for  signature,  and,  as  a  mat- 
ter of  course,  he  went  through  the  legal  formality  of  appending  his 
name.  So,  also,  when  new  lots  were  purchased  for  the  erection  of 
new  churches,  required  by  the  increasing  numbers  of  the  faithful, 
the  deed  was  made  out  in  the  Bishop's  name, — and  the  local  pastor 
and  his  associates  managed  all  the  rest. 

It  is  hardly  to  be  wondered  at,  therefore,  that  the  Bishop  himself 
should  have  been  almost  taken  by  surprise  by  the  display  of  docu- 
ments exhibited  by  Mr.  Brooks,  purporting  to  be  extracts  from  the 
records  in  the  register's  office.  The  Arclibishop  was  perfectly 
aware,  in  a  general  way,  that  Mr.  Bi'ooks  had  entered  boldly  on  a 
career  of  falsehood  ;  but  he  was  not  prepared  to  suppose  that  a  sen- 
ator of  the  State  of  New  York,  in  order  to  brazen  it  out  against  him, 
would  have  dared  to  falsify  the  public  records.  This,  however,  Mr. 
Brooks  has  done. 

Before  proceeding  to  exhibit  the  secondary  falsehoods  of  Mr. 
Brooks  more  at  length,  I  shall  give  a  statement  of  all  the  property 


CHURCH  PROPERTY  CONTROVERSY.  623 

recorded  in  my  name  in  the  register's  office  on  the  day  of  the  sen- 
ator's speech.  It  is  the  same  to-day,  as  nothing  has  been  added  to 
or  taken  from  it  since. 

The  property,  then,  which  is  recorded  in  my  name,  is  the  ags^re- 
gate  of  lots  on  which  fifteen  different  Cathohc  congregations  have 
their  places  of  worship,  their  priest's  residences,  and,  in  some  in- 
stances, their  schools.  '  The  number  of  these  lots  is  seventy-seven, 
(77)  giving  a  fraction  over  five  lots  each  for  the  church  edifices  of 
these  fifteen  congregations.  I  am  told  by  competent  judges,  that  if 
these  lots  were  to  be  sold,  the  buildings  on  them,  though  exceed- 
ingly valuable  to  the  Catholics  as  places  for  the  purposes  of  divine 
public  worship,  would  not  add  to  their  value  in  the  estimation  of 
purchasei'S.  I  am  further  told,  by  competent  judges,  that,  scattered 
as  they  are  at  various  points,  from  Barelay-street  to  Manhattanville, 
they  would  not  fetch  more,  one  with  the  other,  than  five  thou- 
sand dollars  each  lot.  This  would  produce,  as  the  total  value  of 
property  recorded  in  the  register's  office,  in  the  name  of  the  Arch- 
bishop : 

The  sum  of $385,000 

But  in  the  same  register's  oflSce  there  are  recorded  as  encum- 
brances on  these  seventy-seven  lots,  mortgages  to  the  amount, 
in  the  aggregate,  of 245,640 

Reducing  the  net  value  of  property  recorded  in  the  name  of  Arch- 
bishop Hughes,  to  the  alarming  sum  (not  of  a  "  little  short  of 
$5,000,000,"  but)  of $139,360 

It  is  to  be  observed  that  before  the  Archbishop  realized  even 
this  sum,  it  would  be  necessary  for  him  not  only  to  become  a  dis- 
honest man,  but  also  to  go  through  the  process  of  turning  fifteen 
Catholic  congregations,  with  their  respective  priests,  into  the  streets 
of  the  city. 

Such  are  the  length  and  breadth,  and  height  and  depth,  of  all  the 
real  estate  recorded  in  the  name  of  Archbishop  Hughes  in  the  books 
of  the  register's  office.  I  trust  the  Protestant  community  will 
breathe  more  freely  in  consequence  of  knowing  this  fact.  I  trust 
also  that  our  Catholic  laity  will  be  prepared  better  to  give  an  answer, 
when  the  supposed  immense  wealth  of  their  Archbishop  is  made  a 
reproach  to  them.  I  may  as  well  add  here,  that  the  property  of  the 
Cathedral,  including  Calvary  Cemetery,  is  managed  by  the  Board 
of  Trustees  of  St.  Patrick's  Church  ;  that  they  receive,  and  expend, 
and  keep  an  accoXmt  of  all  income  and  all  outlay  connected  with 
their  trust ;  that  the  Archbishop's  relation  to  it  is  precisely  the  same 
as  that  of  his  predecessor ;  that  he  has  no  personal  income  to  the 
amount  of  one  farthing  from  these  revenues,  except  what  is  annually 
appropriated  by  the  Board  for  his  decent  maintenance  ; — that  the 
sum  thus  apportioned,  though  sufficient,  is  yet  moderate  enough, 
and  that  if  it  is  not  more,  the  reason  is  that  the  Archbishop  has  more 
than  once  declined  to  accept  a  larger  amount. 


624  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES.    " 

There  was  a  period  during  the  late  controversy  between  Mr. 
Brooks  and  myself,  -when  I  almost  doubted  whether  falsehood  would 
not  gain  the  victory  over  truth.  A  perfect  novice  as  regards  deeds 
and  titles  and  formalities  of  law,  I  should  not  have  known  where  to 
commence  my  refutation  of  the  man  of  falsehood.  Accordingly,  I 
referred  the  matter  to  two  respectable  legal  gentlemen,  namely, 
Messrs.  T.  James  Glover  and  W.  C.  Wetmore.  When  I  asked  the 
public  to  suspend  their  judgment  for  ten  days  or  two  weeks,  it  was 
that  these  gentlemen  might  have  time  to  examine  the  records  in  the 
register's  office.  This  they  have  done.  They  have  followed  Mr. 
Brooks,  number  by  number.  They  have  examined  every  thing 
alleged  by  him  as  on  the  authority  of  the  public  records,  and  from 
their  reliable  statement  now  submitted,  I  shall  be  able  to  show  that 
Mr.  Brooks  has  been  guilty  of  numerous,  deliberate,  and  wilful  false- 
hoods, including  the  daring  experiment  of  perverting  and  falsifying 
the  very  records  which  he  pretended  to  cite.  Here  are  the  letter 
and  report  of  Messrs.  Glover  and  Wetmore : 

To  the  Most  Rev.  Arclibishop  Hughes : 

In  compliance  with  your  request,  we  have  examined  the  various  records  of 
conveyances  to  you,  mentioned  in  the  several  letters  of  Senator  Brooks,  as  well 
as  others  made  by  you  ;  and  we  beg  leave  to  present  to  you,  as  the  result  of 
such  examination,  the  accompanying  report,  upon  the  accuracy  of  which  you 
may  confidently  rely. 

We  have  only  to  observe  that  the  respective  deeds  are  numbered  to  corre- 
spond with  the  numbers  used  by  Senator  Brooks,  and  that  those  which  are  not 
noticed  are  correctly  cited  by  him,  except  some  inaccuracies  of  reference. 
We  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  great  respect, 

Your  obedient  servants, 

(Signed)  T.  James  Glover. 

W.  C.  Wetmore. 
New  York,  May  11, 1855. 

REPORT. 

No.  I.  is  a  lease  for  999  years,  at  a  nominal  rent,  but  with  a  covenant  on  the 
part  of  the  lessee  to  maintain  a  church  according  to  the  rites  and  discipline  of 
the  Roman  Catholic  Church. 

No.  II.  is  an  assignment  of  a  lease  affecting  the  sa/me  premises  mentioned  in 
No.  XIX. 

The  lots  belonging  to  St.  Paul's  Church  at  Harlem,  were  assessed  for  the 
opening  of  One  Hundred  and  Seventeenth-street,  in  1840.  They  were  sold  to 
P.  Doherty,  for  non-payment  of  the  assessment,  and  the  same  not  being  re- 
deemed were  leased  to  him  by  the  Mayor,  &c.,  of  the  City  of  New  York,  for 
twenty  years._  This  is  the  lease  assigned  by  P.  Doherty  to  the  Rt.  Rev.  John 
Hughes,  as  stated  in  No.  II.  The  identical  premises  were  conveyed  by  the 
Sheriff,  in  an  execution  sale  against  the  Trustees  of  St.  Paul's  Church,  to  the 
Rt.  Rev.  John  Hughes,  as  set  out  in  No.  XIX.  The  two  deeds  convey  but  one 
and  the  same  piece  of  property. 

No.  III.  is  between  {he  sanie  parties  and  for  the  same  premises  mentioned  in 
No.  VII. 

No.  VI.  is  a  deed  by  Patten  and  wife  of  the  half  part  of  a  vault  for  burial  on 
the  premises  mentioned  in  No.  X. 

No.  VII.  is  the  same  as  No.  IIT.  as  above  stated. 


CHURCH  PKOPERTY  CONTKOVERSY.  625 

No.  Vin.  is  correctly  stated  as  follows : 

Bartholomew  O'Connor  Deed  dated 

of  the  1st  part,  7th  Feb.,  rec.  23 
to  Sept.,  1845. . 

Rt.  Rev.  John  Hughes  Lib.  465,  p.  415. 
of  the  2d  part. 

This  deed  cites  a  conveyance  by  the  Trustees  of  Christ  Church  to  Bartholo- 
mew O'Connor,  dated  5th  January,  1843,  whereby  the  trustees,  with  the  con- 
sent of  the  Court  of  Chancery,  assigned  their  lands,  &c.,  upon  trust  to  sell  the 
same,  and  out  of  the  proceeds  to  pay  their  creditors.  It  then,  in  consideration 
of  $42,000,  conveys  the  four  lots  on  James-street,  and  also  the  vestments,  church 
furniture,  and  organ.  Mr.  0  Connor  is  nowhere  styled  Trustee  to  Christ  Church, 
nor  trustee  of  Christ  Church.  Nor  was  he  such  in  fact  or  in  law,  nor  can  he 
with  propriety  be  so  styled.  He  was  simply  an  assignee  for  the  benefit  of 
creditors,  by  virtue  of  an  assignment  made  January,  1843,  and  conveyed  the 
premises  in  February,  1845,  to  Et.  Rev.  John  Hughes  in  the  same  manner  as 
he  might  have  done  to  any  other  purchaser. 

No.  IX.  is  a  conveyance  of  the  property  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  at  Manhattan- 
ville,  the  whole  of  which  was  subsequently  convej-ed  by  the  Rt.  Rev.  John 
Hughes  to  Alovsia  Hardv,  bv  deed  dated  10th  February,  1847,  recorded  on  17th 
January,  1848,"  lib.  497,  p.  292. 

No.  XI.  The  premises  mentioned  in  this  deed,  executed  by  Z.  Kant'ze,  though 
separately  numbered  on  the  map,  really  form  but  one  lot,  having  a  front 
on  the  street  of  twenty-five  feet  by  about  one  hundred  and  sixty  feet 
deep. 

Nos.  XIV.,  XV.,  and  XVI.,  all  relate  to  the  property  of  the  Convent  of  Mercy. 
No.  XIV.  is  an  assignment  of  a  lease  for  life  of  one  lot  on  Mulberry-street.  No. 
XV.  is  a  confirmation  of  a  previous  deed  by  the  attorney  in  fact  of  Mr.  Rea,  to 
W.  H.  Butler — the  power  of  attorney  having  been  lost.  No.  XFV.  is  the  main 
source  of  title  to  this  property. 

The  whole  of  it  was  conveyed  by  the  Most  Rev.  John  Hughes  to  "  The 
Institution  of  Mercv,"  aa  soon  as  incorporated,  according  to  law,  by  deed  dated 
1st  June,  1854  ;  rec.  15th  June,  1854,  lib.  663,  p.  368. 

No.  XVII.  is  a  conveyance  of  a  "  strip  of  land,"  not  a  lot,  being  only  two 
incJies  in  width  by  one  hiindred  feet  in  depth,  adjoining  another  lot. 

No.  XVIIl.  is  the  conveyance  of  an  irregular  piece  of  land  at  the  comer 
of  Twenty-seventh-street  and  Madison-avenue  ;  on  the  preceding  page  of 
the  record  is  a  release  of  dower  in  the  same  premises  in  consideration  of 
$3,377.63. 

The  wliole  of  this  piece  of  land  was  conveyed  by  the  Most  Rev.  Archbishop* 
to  the  Harlem  Railroad  Companv,  bv  deed  dated  6th  Januarv,  1853  ;  rec.  2tt 
April,  1853,  lib.  616,  p.  640. 

No.  XIX.  is  the  sheriff's  deed  mentioned  above  under  the  head  of  No«.  11^ 
and  conveys  the  same  premises. 

No.  XXII.  is  a  deed  of  confirmation  of  the  same  premises  described  in  No. 
XLVI.  The  latter  (No.  XLVI.)  is  a  deed  from  Rev.  Felix  Varela,  to  the  Most 
Rev.  John  Hughes,  of  the  property  known  as  Transfiguration  Church.  It 
bears  date  April  23,  1850,  and  was  recorded  on  the  1st  day  of  November,  1850, 
in  liber  554,  page  486.     The  conveyance  No.  XXII.  bears  date  December  9th, 

1851,  and  was  recorded  on ,  in  liber  591,  page  268.     This  deed  recites  upon 

its  face  an  order  of  the  Supreme  Court,  dated  November  22d,  1851,  authorizing 
the  trustees  to  execute  it  in  confirmaiion  of  the  title  of  the  grantee. 

The  whole  of  these  premises  mentioned  in  the  above  deeds,  was  conveyed 
by  the  Most  Rev.  Archbishop  to  L.  J.  Wyeth,  by  deed  dated  May  2d,  1853 ;. 
recorded  the  same  day,  lib.  640,  p.  464. 

No.  XXVI.  is  an  assignment  of  a  lease  for  the  unexpired  portion  of  a  term,, 
having  originally  three  vears  and  six  months  to  run  from  November  Ist,, 
1850. 

Vol.  II.— 40 


626  ARCHBISHOP  HUGHES. 

No.  XLI.  is  a  conveyance  from  the  Corporation  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church,  known  as  Zion's  Church. 

No.  XLIII.  is  a  conveyance  of  four  lots,  on  the  corner  of  Fifth-avenue  and 
Fiftieth-street — being  one  hundred  feet  five  inches  on  the  avenue,  by  ono 
hundred  feet  in  depth.  It  is  not  a  conveyance  of  "  a  square  of  land,"  in  the 
sense  in  which  the  term  is  used  ;  nor,  indeed,  in  any  sense. 

But  the  entire  premises  described  in  this  deed  were  conveyed  by  the  Most 
Rev.  Archbishop  Hughes  to  the  trustees  of  St.  Patrick's  Cathedral,  by  deed 
dated  February  8th,  1858  ;  recorded  March  9th,  1853,  liber  630,  page  337. 

No.  XLVI.  has  been  already  disposed  of. 

The  deed  of  the  Orphan  Asylum  property  is  correctly  stated  as  follows  ;  Tlie 
Mayor,  Aldermen,  &c.,  of  the  city  of  New  York,  of  the  first  part,  to  the  Roman 
Catholic  Orphan  Asylum  Society,  in  the  city  of  New  York,  of  the  second  part — 
deed  dated  August  1st,  1846  ;  recorded  Book  A  of  Deeds,  page  271,  comptroller's 
oflBce  -  conveys  a  piece  of  land  on  Fifth-avenue,  between  Fifty-first  and  Fifty- 
second  streets,  and  extending  easterly  450  feet,  upon  condition  that  the  ]ianies 
of  the  second  part  erect  thereon,  witidn  three  years,  a  building  to  be  approved 
by  the  Mayor,  and  that  they  keep  the  premises  for  the  purposes  contemplated 
by  their  charter.  The  counterpart  is  signed  by  the  President  and  Secretary  of 
the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  Asylum. 

(Signed)  T.  James  (Jlovkr. 

W.  C.  Wetmoke. 

The  foregoing  authentic  statements,  taken  from  the  records,  will 
warrant  me  in  summing  up  the  results  of  the  examination  made  by 
Messrs.  Glover  and  Wetmore,  as  follows  : 

I.  Ml'.  Brooks  has  falsified  the  record,  by  styling  Bartholomew 
O'Connor  "  Trustee  to  Christ  Church." 

II.  He  falsely  cited  the  deed  from  the' trustees  of  Transfiguration 
Church,  executed  in  1851.  The /a^seAooc?  consisted  in  suppressing 
what  appears  upon  the  face  of  that  deed — that  it  was  simply  in  con- 
firmation of  a  title  previously  vested  in  the  Archbishop.  The  prem- 
ises had  been,  in  truth,  conveyed  to  him  by  Rev.  F.  Varela,  in  1850. 

III.  He  intentionally  falsifies,  when  he  declares  that  the  deed  of 
Michael  Curran  conveyed  "  a  square  of  land." 

IV.  He  wilfully  counts  the  following  premises  twice  : 

1st.  The  property  of  St.  Paul's  Church, — first  under  the  lease  from  P.  Doher- 
ty,  and  again  under  |he  deed  from  Westervelt. 

2d.  The  half  part  of  a  vault  for  burial,  under  the  deed  from  Patten  and  wife, 
the  same  having  been  embraced  in  the  premises  conveyed  by  Rev.  Andrew 
Byrne. 

3d.  The  lot  described  in  deed  from  Mr.  Rea, — first  under  that  deed,  and  again 
imder  the  deed  from  G.  W.  Hall. 

4th.  The  Transfiuration  Church  property, — first  under  the  Varela  deed,  and 
again  under  the  deed  of  confirmation. 

V.  He  includes  the  following  property,  though  conveyed  away  by 
the  Archbishop : 

Ist.  The  property  of  the  Sacred  Heart  at  Manhattanville. 

2d.  The  property  of  the  Convent  of  Mercy. 

3d.  The  property  at  the  corner  of  Madison-avenue  and  Twenty-seventh-street. 
He  will  not  deny  that  he  knew  the  Archbishop  conveyed  away  this  property, 
for  he  cites  the  deed  to  the  Harlem  Railroad  Company  in  the  very  letter  in 
which  he  falsely  attributes  to  the  Archbishop  tlie  ownership  of  it. 

4th.  The  property  of  the  Transfiguration  Cliurch.     Not  content  with  setting 


CHUECH   PROPEETY    COISTTKOVEESY.  627 

it  down  as  stUl  vested  in  the  name  of  the  Archbishop,  though  he  conveyed  it 
away  two  years  ago,  Mr.  B.  counts  it  twice. 

5th.  The  four  lots  at  the  corner  of  Fifth-avenue  and  Fiftieth-street. 

VI.  He  counts  the  following  as  entire  lots ; 

Ist.  The  half  of  a  vault  for  burial. 

2d.  The  "  strip  of  laud,"  two  inches  wide,  conveyed  by  Costar's  executors. 
3d.  A  piece  of  land,  15  feet  by  97  feet  four  inches,  conveyed  by  R.  Kein. 
4th.  A  piece  of  land,  26  feet  three  inches  by  33  feet  6  inches,  conveyed  by 
Wood's  executors. 

VII.  He  counts  the  leasehold  lot  a,ssigned  by  J,  R.  Bayley,  al- 
though the  term  expired  on  the  1st  of  May,  1854. 

VIII.  He  counts  the  property  conveyed  by  Z,  Kantze  as  two 
lots — the  same  forming,  in  truth,  but  one. 

This  reduces  the  number  of  deeds  of  lots  now  vested  in  the  Arch- 
bishop to  32,  and  reduces  the  lots  themselves  from  101  to  77,  as  fol- 
lows : 

Whole  number  of  deeds  quoted  by  Mr.  Brooks 46 

Actual  number,  as  taken  from  the  records  in  the  register's  office 32 

Difference 14 

Wliole  number  of  lots  stated  by  Mr.  Brooks 101 

Strike  out  the  following lota 

1.  Lease — St.  John's 3 

2.  "        J.  R.  Bayley  ;  expired  May,  1854 1 

3.  "        P.  Doherty ;  counted  twice 1 

4.  Deed — Patten  "  1 

5.  "        James  Rea  "  1 

6.  "        Trustees  of   Transfiguration    Church ;    counted 

twice 2 

7.  "        Commann ;  conveyed  away 1 

8.  "        G.  W.  Hall                  «         6 

9.  "        M.  A.  Gaffney             "         2 

10.  "  Rev.  F.  Varela  "         2 

11.  '*  Michael  Curran  "  1  "  square" 

12.  "  Costar's  executors  ;  a  strip 1 

13.  "  P.  Kein  ;  part  of  lot 1 

14.  "  Wood's  executors  ;  part  of  lot 1 

Making  in  all 24 

Which,  subtracted  from  101,  as  reported  by  Mr.  Brooks,  leaves  a  balance, 
as  has  been  elsewhere  mentioned,  of  lots 77 

It  would  require  a  small  volume  to  develop  at  length  all  the  cir- 
cumstances of  meanness  that  characterize  the  falsehoods  of  which 
Mr.  Brooks  has  been  guilty.  I  may  say,  in  general,  that  all  false- 
hoods range  themselves  either  under  one  or  other  of  these  two 
heads — namely  :  the  assertion  of  something  that  has  no  existence  in 
reality,  or  the  denial  of  something  which  has.  It  follows,  therefore, 
that  ialsehood  has  no  real  existence,  except  as  the  negative  of  truth ; 
and  consequently  that  what  is  called  public  opinion  has  no  power  to 
create  truth  from  falsehood,  or  to  destroy  truth  and  render  it  false. 


628  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

Public  opinion,  to  be  worth  any  thing  as  regards  things  wliich  exist, 
or  things  which  do  not,  ought  to  be  the  legitimate  offspring  of  truth 
— its  creature,  not  its  creator.  A  friend  of  mine  has  preserved  some 
four  columns  of  scraps  from  different  newspapers,  published  for  the 
most  part  in  the  interior,  as  evidence  of  public  opinion  in  regard  to 
the  late  controversy  between  Mr.  Brooks  and  myself.  The  generality 
of  the  press,  however,  and  especially  in  the  large  cities,  have  had  the 
kindness  to  abstain  from  pronouncing  judgment  on  the  question  of 
veracity  until  the  evidence  should  be  all  in  and  the  testimony  closed 
on  both  sides.  For  this  just  course  of  forbearance  pending  the  con- 
troversy, and  especially  since  I  solicited  a  suspension  of  judgment 
for  ten  days  or  two  weeks,  I  now  make  my  grateful  acknowledg- 
ments. But  I  have  no  such  acknowledgments  to  make  to  the  jour- 
nals which  have  pronounced  a  premature  judgment,  and  whose  hasty 
opinions  have  been  eagerly  gathered  into  the  columns  of  the  Express. 
Having  indorsed  Mr.  Brooks  without  waiting  to  know  what  they 
were  about,  it  was  but  consistent  that  they  should  vilify  Archbishop 
Hughes,  which  they  have  not  failed  to  do.  I  do  not  ask  them  to 
retract  what  they  have  said ;  I  do  not  ask  them  to  recall  or  change 
their  opinions  on  the  subject ;  but  I  do  ask  them,  as  the  only  repara- 
tion which  it  is  in  their  power  to  make,  to  publish  this  letter  in  their 
respective  papers.  If  they  are  honorable  men  they  will  do  so.  If  I 
were  their  enemy,  which  I  am  not,  I  could  not  desire  to  inflict  on 
them  a  more  humiliating  punishment  for  their  unfair  and  rash  judg- 
ment. If  they  only  publish  this  letter,  they  may,  of  course,  if  they 
choose,  still  continue  to  encourage  falsehood,  and  the  falsification 
of  public  documents,  by  their  continued  indorsement  of  Senator 
Brooks. 

It  is  customary  throughout  nearly  all  Christendom  for  a  Catholic 
bishop  to  prefix  the  sign  of  the  cross  to  his  signature.  Most  of  those 
editors  just  now  referred  to,  and  who  have  been  fabricating  public 
opinion  for  the  New  York  Express,  seem  to  be  too  poor  in  the  re- 
sources of  their  printing-offices  to  possess  any  type  which  would  rep- 
resent the  symbol  of  Christianity,  and  as  the  next  substitute  thereto, 
or  rather  in  ndicule  thereof,  they  substitute  the  sign  of  the  assassin — 
the  dagger.  They  imagine  apparently  that  this  substitution  will  make 
trem-endous  havoc  on  the  reputation  of  Archbishop  Hughes.  But 
they  seem  to  forget  that  the  sign  of  the  cross  is  the  sign  of  man's 
redemption,  and  that  symbol  in  which  St.  Paul  glorified,  and  the 
symbol  which,  when  represented  by  a  dagger,  they  are  giving  over 
to  the  scandal  of  youth,  the  ridicule  of  the  infidel  and  scoffer  at  all 
Christianity.  And  yet  our  type-founders  are  not  surely  so  barren  of 
ingenuity  as  not  to  be  able  to  invent  something  outside  the  alphabet 
which  would  give  a  grave  and  decent  idea  of  the  sign  of  the  cross. 
Every  civilized  nation  is  familiar  with  symbolic  language,  nor  are  we, 
as  a  people,  at  all  deficient  in  this  respect,  with  the  single  exception 
I  have  just  mentioned.  Outside  the  alphabet  we  have  our  symbolic 
type  to  represent,  for  instance,  a  section  of  railway,  a  steam-engine, 
a  tree,  a  house,  a  stray  horse,  or  a  runaway  negro.     In  fact  we  have 


OeURCH    PROPERTY"    COlTrROTERSY.  C29 

in  our  printing-offices  symbolic  type  for  alm9st  every  thing  except 
the  sign  of  tlie  cross.  Surely  it  cannot  be  that  our  printers  are  so 
excessively  American,  according  to  the  late  and  improved  sense  of 
that  term,  that  they  reject  the  sign  of  the  cross  because  it  symbol- 
izes 2i  foreign  religion.  Alas !  if  all  Americans  were  like  some  of  our 
modern  legislators,  Christianity,  the  thing  symbolized,  as  well  as  its 
type,  would  be  foreign  enough.  Be  this,  however,  as  it  may,  I  will 
forgive  those  editors  if  they  will  only  publish  this  letter,  and  allow 
their  readers  to  see  and  study  the  melancholy  evidences  it  exhibits 
of  the  humiliating  position  into  which  their  rash,  unjust,  hasty  con- 
clusions in  my  regard,  and  their  blind  reliance  on  the  veracity  of 
Senator  Brooks,  have  betrayed  them.  Their  readers  will  perceive 
that  the  honorable  senator  has  left  no  species  of  falsehood  unem- 
ployed. Being  no  doubt  acquainted  with  the  rules  of  evidence,  they 
"will  perceive  that  Mr.  Brooks  has  perpetrated  the  lalsehood  direct, 
assert io  falsi,  which,  if  such  a  terra  can  be  applied  in  such  a  case,  is 
manly  and  undisguised  falsehood — as,  lor  example,  the  "  whole 
squares  of  land"  wtiich  in  his  speech  he  said  were  mine.  This  is  the 
out  and  out  assertio  falsi,  without  a  shadow  of  mitigation.  The 
next  species  is  in  the  insinuation  of  what  is  false,  suggestio  falsi. 
Take,  for  example,  the  case  in  which  he  intimates,  and  would  have 
the  public  believe,  that  the  property  given  to  the  Orphan  Asylum  by 
the  corporation  of  the  city  was  given  to  me,  on  the  plea  that  ray 
name,  as  president  of  the  society,  and  that  of  its  secretary,  were 
signed  to  the  conditions  6n  which  the  conveyance  had  been  made. 
The  third  species  is  the  suppressing  of  tlie  truth,  supjyressio  veri. 
This  has  been  exempUHed  by  our  senator — as,  for  instance,  in  the 
case  of  the  deed,  which  has  on  its  face,  as  certified  by  Messrs. 
Glover  and  Wetmore,  "  in  conftrriiatiorC  of  a  jirevious  title.  If  the 
first  species  of  lalsehood  here  alluded  to  be  regarded  as  at  least  bold, 
open,  manly,  and  outspoken,  the  second  and  third,  whenever  a  ques- 
tion of  veracity  is  involved,  are  always  looked  upon  as  low,  sneaking, 
and  base.  On  the  whole,  it  appears,  from  records  and  testimony 
which  Mr.  Brooks  will  not  dare  deny,  that  he  is  an  expert  in  every 
department  of  falsehood,  and  that  we  can  say  of  him,  but  in  a  dit- 
ferent  sense,  what  the  poet  said  of  Sheridan — he 


Through  each  mode  of  the  lyre. 
And  -was  master  of  all." 

Time  will  not  permit  me  to  go  into  further  details  on  this  melan- 
choly subject.  I  presume  the  puV)lic  is  disgusted  with  the  exhibition 
whicii  Senator  Brooks  has  rendered  it  my  painful  but  imperative 
duty  thus  to  furnish,  on  the  authority  of  witnesses  and  documents 
which  he  cannot  gainsay.  The  reader,  however,  cannot  be  more  dis- 
gusted with  it  than  the  writer  is.  And  if  he  will  cast  his  eyes  back 
over  the  correspondence  which  has  taken  place,  he  will  see  that  I 
left  nothing  undone  at  an  earlier  stage  of  its  progress  to  warn  and 
save  Mr.  Brooks  from  results  which  he  has  determined  on  realizing 


630  ARCHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

to  the  bitter  end.  I  8|)oke  of  the  bad  example  to  our  youth  which 
would  result  from  his  course ;  I  reminded  him  that  his  reputation 
belonged  not  to  himself,  but  to  his  country,  and  that  he  was  not  at 
liberty  to  trifle  with  it ;  I  tried  to  rouse  him  to  the  dangers  of  his 
career  by  language  approaching  insult,  in  order  to  bring  him  to  an 
issue  on  some  specific  question  of  veracity  before  he  should  have  ac- 
cumulated upon  his  head  the  mountain  which  not  only  hides,  but 
crushes.  It  was  all  in  vain.  If  I  was  content  with  my  "  epithets," 
he  said  he  was  content  with  his  "  facts."  And  by  this  bold  but  des- 
perate course,  Mr.  Brooks  must  have  flattered  himself  that  he  should 
carry  a  large  portion  of  the  public  with  him ;  or,  at  all  events,  that 
he  should  so  befog  the  question  as  to  enable  him  to  escape  detection 
and  exposure.  That  mass  of  "public  opinion,"  so  called,  which  has 
been  gathered  from  various  newspapers  into  the  columns  of  the  Me- 
press,  shows  that  for  a  brief  period  Mr.  Brooks  succeeded  in  his  pur- 
pose ;  but  should  he  ever  enter  on  a  controversy  again,  let  him  not 
forget  the  motto  prefixed  to  this  letter,  in  which  the  great  Dutch 
philospher  proclaims  an  important  principle,  namely  :  "  Light,  the 
the  mother  of  Truth,  will  not  permit  Deception  to  enjoy  a  long 
reign." 

Before  closing  this  communication,  I  must  be  allowed  to  say  a  few 
words  in  reference  to  the  style  of  vituperation  employed  towards  me 
by  those  editors  whose  adverse  opinions  have  been  garnered  in  the 
columns  of  the  JSxpress.  They  hold  it  as  an  impertinence  for  a  for- 
eigner like  myself  to  adventure  on  any  criticism  of  the  language 
which  a  native-born  American  Senator  may  think  proper  to  employ 
to  his  prejudice.  They  have  indorsed  the  career  and  position  of  Mr. 
Brooks,  in  reference  to  the  issue  of  the  late  controversy,  and  in  op- 
position to  facts  and  truth.  I  hold  their  opinions,  therefore,  at  a 
very  low  estimate.  Nevertheless,  I  must  tell  them  that  I  am  not  a 
foreigner ;  I  renounced  foreignism  on  oatli  nearly  forty  years  ago.  I 
procured  Irom  the  proper  court  a  certificate  of  political  and  civil  birth- 
right as  an  American  citizen,  and  I  am  not  disposed  to  relinquish  one 
jot  of  the  privileges  to  which,  in  the  laith  of  the  country,  it  entitled 
me.  But  if  I  renounced  foreignism,  I  did  not  renounce  humanity. 
And  whilst  I  hold  myself  to  be  as  true  and  loyal  an  American  as 
ever  claimed  the  protection  of  our  national  flag,  I  would  not  exchange 
the  bright  memories  of  my  early  boyhood  in  another  land,  and  be- 
neath a  different  sky,  for  those  of  any  man  living,  no  matter  where 
he  was  born.  Those  editors  who  fabricate  public  opinion  for  the  N. 
Y.  Express,  say  that  I  am  not  an  American.  But  they  are  mistaken. 
If  principles  and  feelings  which  are  theorized,  though,  perhaps,  not 
always  realized  in  the  system  of  our  free  government,  constitute  an 
American,  they  were  mine  from  earliest  memory — they  were  innate — 
they  were  inherited — they  were  a  portion  of  my  nature.  I  could 
not  eliminate  them  from  the  moral  constitution  of  my  nature  and 
being,  even  if  I  woiild.  In  this  sense  I  was  an  American  from  birth. 
I  revered  j  ustice  and  truth,  as  it  were,  by  instinct.  I  hated  oppres- 
sion and  despised  falsehood.     I  cherished,  both  for  myself,  and,  as 


CHUKCH  PROPERTY  CONTROVERSY.  631 

far  as  practicable,  for  all  mankind,  a  love  of  the  largest  liberty  com- 
patible witli  private  rights  and  public  order.  Of  course,  then,  when 
I^enal  latvs,  enacted  on  account  of  my  religion,  had  rendered  my  na- 
tive land  unfit  for  a  life-long  residence,  unless  I  would  belong  to  a 
degraded  class,  America,  according  to  its  professed  principles,  was 
the  country  for  me.  But  I  came  not  merely  to  be  an  inhabitant, 
but  a  citizen  of  the  United  States.  I  have,  therefore,  been  an 
American — I  am  an  American — I  will  be  an  American — I  shall  be 
an  American  in  despite  of  all  the  editors  that  have  rushed  into  the 
New  York  JSxpress^  with  only  half  the  evidence  before  them,  to  re- 
cord judgment  in  favor  of  Senator  Brooks,  and  against  Archbishop 
Hughes. 

In  regard  to  the  recent  enactment  of  our  Legislature,  forcing  an 
unsolicited  bill  on  the  Catholics  of  New  York,  out  of  which  the  late 
controversy  with  Senator  Brooks  arose,  it  is  not,  perhaps,  becoming 
for  me  to  say  much.  It  is,  I  think,  the  first  statute  passed  in  the 
Legislature  of  New  York  since  the  Revolution,  which  has  for  its  ob- 
ject to  abridge  the  religious  and  encroach  on  the  civil  rights  of  the 
members  of  one  specific  religious  denomination.  Hitherto  when  any 
denomitiation  of  Christians  in  the  State  desired  the  modification  of 
its  laws  affecting  Church  property,  the  Legislature  waited  for  their 
petitions  to  that  efiect,  took  the  same  into  consideration,  and  when 
there  was  no  insuperable  objection,  modified  the  laws  so  as  to  ac- 
commodate them  to  the  requirements  of  the  particular  sect  or  denomi- 
nation by  whom  the  petition  had  been  presented.  Thus,  the  law  of 
1784,  though  still  on  the  statute-book,  has  become  practically  anti- 
quated and  obsolete.  From  its  odious  and  oftentimes  impracticable 
requirements,  the  Episcopalians,  the  Presbyterians,  the  Methodists, 
the  Dutch  Reformed  Church,  the  Quakers,  and  perhaps  others  be- 
sides, have  at  various  times  solicited  exemption  at  the  hands  of  the 
Legislature,  and  obtained  special  enactments  more  in  accordance 
with  their  faith  and  discipline  respectively.  Now,  this  antiquated 
law  is  the  one  which  is  revived,  reinvigorated,  strengthened  by  pro- 
visions for  contingent  confiscation  of  Church  property,  and  forced 
upon  the  Catholics  of  the  State  of  New  York  as  sufficiently  good  for 
them.  They  had  not  petitioned  for  it — ^they  did  not  desire  it — 
they  will  not  have  it,  if  they  can  lawfully  dispense  with  its  enact- 
ments. 

I  am  indebted  to  the  kindness  of  a  friend,  perfectly  competent 
to  form  a  judgment  on  the  subject,  for  the  following  synopsis  of  the 
hardships  provided  for  in  the  different  sections  of  this  Church 
Tenure  Bill  : 

1st.  It  makes  void  a  deed  of  land,  if  intended  for  religious  wor- 
ship— that  is  to  say,  it  takes  from  every  man  (lay  or  ecclesiastic) 
the  right,  either  to  give  to  any  individual,  or  to  buy  a  lot,  to  devote 
it  to  the  highest  purpose  to  which  it  can  be  devoted,  the  adoration 
of  the  living  God. 

2d.  It  avoids  a  last  will  of  any  real  estate  so  used.  It  thus 
makes  it  unlawful  for  any  man  to  leave  such  property  by  will  to 


682  ARCHBISHOP  HUGHES. 

any  person,  even  his  own  children,  and  this  notwithstanding  he 
may  have  purchased  it  and  built  a  church  upon  it  with  his  own 
money. 

3d.  It  attempts  to  affect  lands,  held  in  fee-simple  absolute,  with  a 
newly  created  trust  in  law,  by  a  usurpation  of  judicial  functions, 
which,  if  tolerated,  would  destroy  the  Judiciary,  and  make  the  Leg- 
islature supreme  and  despotic. 

4th.  It  would  thus  not  only  impair  the  validity  of  a  vested  title,  in 
violation  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  but  it  M'ould  de- 
prive a  man  of  his  property  without  judicial  process,  in  violation  of 
our  State  Constitution  and  Bill  of  Rights. 

5th.  By  a  short,  summary  sentence,  it  would  wrest  from  the  indi- 
vidual and  from  his  heirs  and  devisees  all  title  to  such  property  on 
his  death  (no  matter  how  lawfully  acquired),  declaring  by  a  stretch 
of  power  equalled  only  by  the  assumed  omnipotence  of  Parliament, 
that  on  his  death  it  shall  vest  in  the  State. 

The  Constitution  delares  that  the  entire  and  absolute  property  in 
lands  is  vested  in  the  individual  owner,  subject  only  to  the  law  of 
escheat  for  defect  of  heirs.  Yet,  here  we  have  a  statute  above  the 
Constitution — a  statute  of  confiscation  and  of  usurpation.  More- 
over, it  is  the  legislation  of  tlie  strong  against  the  weak — the  legis- 
lation of  political  and  religious  animosity,  forcing,  in  the  19th  cen- 
tury, and  in  this  free  land,  upon  one  religious  body  a  system  of 
church  management  hostile  to  their  Chinx-h  discipline. 

How  many  are  the  private  rights,  hitherto  declared  sacred  and  in- 
alienable, which  are  stricken  down  by  this  bold  enactment !  Surely 
there  is  matter  in  this  act  to  make  thinking  men  pause  and  wonder 
that  the  transition  from  unrestricted  freedom  to  absolute  despotism 
is  so  easy  and  so  rapid. 

Such  is  the  synopsis  of  the  effects  contemplated  by  what  is  called 
the  Church  Tenure  Bill.  And  the  reader  who  has  had  the  patience 
to  peruse  the  whole  of  this  communication,  will  have  seen  by  what 
means  it  was  introduced,  and  by  what  means  its  enactment  has  been 
accomplished. 

•fr  JOHN,  Archbishop  of  New  York. 

New  York,  May  14th,  1855. 


MISCELLANEOUS. 


AN  EXAMINATION 

OF  THE  REASONS  ALLEGED  BY  A  PROTESTANT  FOR  PROTESTING 
AGAINST  THE  DOCTRINE.  OF  THE  CATHOLIC  CHURCH ;  OR,  AN 
ANSWER  TO  OBJECTIONS,  UNDER  THE  TITLE  OF  "PROTEST- 
ANTISM AND  POPERY,"  MADE  BY  AN  ANONYMOUS  WRITER.* 

"  It  is  a  shame  to  charge  men  with  what  they  are  not  guilty  of,  in  order  to 
make  the  breach  wider,  already  too  wide." — Dr.  Montague,  Bishop  of  Norwich. 
"  In  necessariis  unitas,  in  non  necessariis  liberalitas,  in  omnibus  caritas." 

It  will  be  recollected  that  this  is  not  an  attack  on  the  religion  of  others,  but 
a  reply  to  their  misrepresentations  and  groundless  objections  ;  and  if,  in  the  an- 
swers, any  expression  should  be  found  indecorous  or  uncharitable,  the  writer  of 
them  has  only  to  observe  that  it  was  not  intended  as  such — his  sole  object  was 
the  defence  of  Catholic  faith,  the  removal  of  his  correspondent's  prejudices,  and 
the  exposition  of  truth.  The  Author. 

Dear  Sir — As  you  have  modestly  concealed  your  name,  and  sub- 
stituted a  fictitious  signature  to  your  objections,  I  shall  suffer  you  to 
remain  unknown  for  the  present,  and  shall  encroach  on  your  privacy 
no  further  than  by  addressing  you  through  your  "Bostonian"  mask, 
in  the  second  person.  When  I  saw  the  title  under  whicli  those  ob- 
jections were  brought  forward,  I  naturally  concluded  that  you  had 
entered  the  arena  of  controversy  qs  a  representative  of  "  Protestant- 
ism," and  of  course  was  much  surprised,  in  reading  your  ninefold 
"  protest,"  to  find  that  you  become  neither  more  nor  less  than  your 
own  individual  representative;  and  that  the  whole  question  is  re- 
duced to  this,  "whether  the  doctrine  of  the  Catholic  Church,  or  that 
which  you,  as  a  protesting  individual,  are  pleased  to  adopt  and  pro- 
fess, be  the  true  religion."  Your  words,  after  having  laid  down  the 
Catholic  doctrine  on  the  several  points  (though  not  without  the 
usual  quantum  of  misrepresentation),  are  universally  these  :  "  Whilst 
Z,  as  a  Protestant,  believe,"  &c.  Surely,  as  the  champion  of  "  Pro- 
testantism against  Popery,"  you  ought  to  have  defended  what  Pro- 
testants as  a  body  believe,  and  leave  the  I  aside.  Why  did  you 
not  do  so  ?  Must  we  refute  the  puny  protest  of  an  individual  against 
the  doctrines  of  millions,  of  whom  the  lightest  would  weigh  as  heavy 
in  the  scale  of  importance  and  authority  as  yourself?  But  you  had 
reason  not  to  pledge  yourself  for  that  belief  of  the  body  of  Protest- 

*  Published  in  Philadelphia,  in  1827. 


634  ARCHBISHOP    HUGHE8. 

ants,  because  you  do  not  know  what  they  believe  ;  even  in  the  com- 
munion to  which  you  belong  there  is,  perliaps,  not  another  person 
whose  belief  quadrates  altogether  with  yours  on  doctrinal  points — 
except,  indeed,  that  all  agree  in  opposition  to  that  faith  which  their 
forefathers  professed,  down  to  the  days  of  Martin  Luther. 

I  shall  now  proceed  to  examine  your  objections,  and  I  think  it 
would  be  unjust  to  ascribe  the  merit  of  their  originality,  trifling  as 
it  is,  to  you.  The  prefatory  catechism  by  which  you  wish  to  drill 
your  reader  into  a  proper  attitude  to  hear  your  protestations  with 
advantage  may  be,  for  what  I  know,  your  own  ;  but  it  is  certainly  a 
most  curious  morceau^  and  well  worth  preserving.  Indeed,  it  be- 
trays as  little  knowledge  of  the  peculiarities  of  the  "  Protestant  reli- 
gion" as  of  the  Catholic,  which  you  are  pleased  to  designate  by  the 
appellation  of  "  Popery."  I  must  inform  you,  however,  that  the  su- 
premacy of  the  Pope,  which  gave  rise  to  this  word,  forms  but  one 
article  of  Catholic  faith. 

"  A  Protestant,"  you  say,  is  "  one  who  protests  against  Popery." 
I  could  easily  show  that  by  this  definition  every  infidel  is  as  much  a 
Protestant  as  yourself,  since  even  the  deist  protests  against  more  of 
Catholic  doctrine  than  you  do.  Hence  the  Mahometan  and  Jew,  as 
well  as  deists  and  pagans,  are  excellent  Protestants  if  your  definition 
be  correct. 

To  all  these,  your  charitable  definition  of  a  "  Protestant"  opens 
the  gate  of  your  communion,  although  in  the  sequel  of  your  protes- 
tations you  shut  it  against  several  classes  of  acknowledged  Protes- 
tants— such  as  Unitarians,  where  you  establish  the  trinity  of  persons 
in  God,  and  Quakers,  where  you  make  a  belief  in  two  sacraments 
necessary  to  salvation. 

But  your  reason  for  protesting  against  the  Catholic  religion,  and 
adhering  to  the  Protestant  system  of  unlimited  import,  is  of  a  piece 
with  your  unintelligible  definition — namely,  because  you  cannot  find 
the  doctrines  of  Popery,  which  you  say  "  are  not  according  to  god- 
'liness,"  contained  in  the  sacred  writings:  whereas  those  of  the  Pro- 
testant religion  are  all  founded  on  the  truths  revealed  in  the  Old  and 
New  Testaments.  Here  is  a  twofold  reason  :  first,  you  cannot  find, 
you  say,  the  doctrine  of  Popery  in  the  sacred  writings.  You  recol- 
lect that  one  of  the  ancient  philosophers  could  not  find  a  man  in  a 
large  and  populous  city,  although  he  manifested  the  sincerity  of  his 
search  by  bearing  «a  lighted  lantern  ia  his  hand,  as  if  the  light  of 
broad  day  were  insuflScient.  Thus,  sir,  until  you  extinguish  the  little 
lamp  of  private  interpretation,  and  understand  the  divine  word  in 
that  light  in  which  the  Church  which  received  the  "  spirit  of  truth" 
(John,  xiv.  17)  for  that  purpose  has  ever  understood  and  explained 
it,  you  will  be  as  unsuccessful  as  the  philosopher — you  will  be  always 
appearing  to  learn,  and  never  able  to  come  to  the  truth.  (2  Tim. 
iii.  7.)  Indeed,  this  caution  were  unnecessary,  if  you  would  follow 
the  injunction  of  that  sacred  woi'd  which  you  pretend  so  much  to 
venerate.  St.  Peter  informs  you  that  "  no  prophecy  is  of  any  private 
interpretation,"  and  contrary  to  this  divine  maxim,  you  and  every 


ANSWER   TO   NINE   OBJECTIONS-  635 

Protestant  individual  fix  your  private  interpretation  on  every  text, 
according  to  your  respective  religious  prejudices.  The  eunuch  of 
Ethiopia  could  read  the  Scriptures  as  well  as  you,  and  yet  he  ac- 
knowledged that  he  could  not  understand  their  meaning  unless  it  were 
"shown  him."  (Acts,  viii.  31.)  Hence,  if  he  had  had  presumption 
enough  to  protest  against  the  explanations  of  Philip,  the  deacon,  it 
is  more  than  probable  that  he  would  have  been  as  unsuccessful  in 
finding  the  doctrines  of  salvation  in  the  sacred  writings  as  you  are 
witli  regard  to  those  of  Popery.  Even  in  the  administration  of  civil 
justice,  it  is  the  judge  and  not  the  culprit  who  determines  the  true 
sense  of  the  statute,  by  which  the  latter  is  condemned  ;  and  if  the 
law-book  were  put  into  the  criminal's  own  hands  for  that  purpose, 
he  would  scarcely  find  therein  the  doctrine  of  condemnation.  But 
you  say  the  "  doctrines  of  the  Protestant  religion  are  all  founded  on 
the  truths  revealed  in  the  Old  and  New  Testaments."  Now,  if  I  were 
disposed  to  compare  this  assertion  with  your  definition  of  a  "  Pro- 
testant," and  urge  both  to  the  extent  of  their  absurdity,  your  lan- 
guage would  prove  that  the  doctrine  of  the  deist  is  founded  on  the 
Old  and  New  Testaments,  since  he  protests  against  Popery  more 
roundly  than  yourself;  and  of  course,  by  such  protest,  has  all  the  re- 
quisites which  constitute  a  Protestant — and  the  doctrine  of  Protest- 
ants, you  say,  are  all  founded  on  the  Bible  !  That  this  paradoxical 
consequence,  however  unintentional  on  your  part,  is  fairly  deduced 
from  your  positions,  no  man  who  has  the  slightest  notion  of  logic 
can  deny.  But  how  to  give  a  correct  definition  of  Protestantism 
has  hitherto  remained  a  secret.  Calvin  and  Dudith  complain  of  the 
variations  of  their  contemporary  Protestants ;  the  latter  says : 

"  Our  people  are  carried  about  by  every  -wind  of  doctrine.  If  you  know  what 
their  belief  is  to-day,  you  cannot  tell  what  it  will  be  to-morrow.  Is  there  one 
article  of  religion  in  which  these  churches  which  are  at  war  ^vith  the  Pope 
agree  together  ?  If  you  run  over  all  the  articles  from  the  first  to  the  last,  you 
will  not  find  one  which  is  not  held  by  some  of  these  to  be  an  article  of  faith, 
and  rejected  by  others  as  an  impiety."    {Epist.  ad  Capiton) 

Such  is  the  language  of  a  Protestant  leader,  in  the  very  infancy  of 
Protestantism ;  and  it  is  more  applicable  to  Protestants  at  the  pres- 
ent day  than  it  then  was.  In  vain  did  they  try  to  establish  uni- 
formity of  doctrine  by  confessions  of  faith  :  the  ink  with  which  they 
subscribed  their  names  to  one  confession  had  scarcely  time  to  dry 
on.  the  paper  till  it  was  found  necessary  to  draw  up  another — until 
they  are  now  obliged  to  leave  even  their  ministers  to  believe  what 
they  please,  as  a  late  example  in  a  neighboring  city  sufficiently 
proves.  Hence  I  am  not  surprised  that  you  failed  in  giving  a  proper 
definition,  since  the  ablest  among  your  protesting  predecessors  have 
attempted  it  in  vain.  Protestantism  is  a  quicksand  in  which  you 
cannot  find  solidity  enough  ta  found  an  exact  logical  definition — in 
lact,  the  word  conveys  no  positive  idea  whatever — it  expresses  what 
you  do  not  believe,  and  even  that  only  in  part,  but  does  not  specify 
what  you  do  beheve. 


636  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

I  shall  now  proceed  to  the  consideration  of  your  objections ;  and 
let  me  here  observe,  tliat  in  the  question  at  issue  between  the  whole 
Catholic  Church  and  your  whole  self,  you  act  both  as  a  party  and  a 
judge ;  or  to  employ  the  technical  expression,  "  you  beg  the  ques- 
tion." 

You  enter  your  protest  against  the  Church  of  Rome,  and  then 
refer  to  texts  of  Scripture,  with  as  much  confidence  as  if  the  inspired 
writer  had  ])enned  them  for  the  express  purpose  of  propping  up  your 
protest  against  Popery.  You  have  not  proved  (as  you  were  cer- 
tainly bound  to  do,  in  order  to  justify  your  hasty  conclusion),  you 
have  not  proved,  by  one  single  argument,  that  the  texts  to  which 
you  refer  apply  to  the  questions  at  issue ;  this  you  take  for  granted^ 
by  your  repeated  assumptions  that  our  doctrines  are  contrary  to 
such  and  such  scriptures.  You  take  upon  yourself  to  say  that  they 
are  contrary,  but  you  do  not  (because  you  cannot)  prove  them  to  be 
80  by  argument.  Hence,  sir,  as  you  quote  them  against  Catholic 
doctiine  misrepresented^  and  as  they  prove  nothing  against  the  real 
doctrine  of  the  Church,  I  shall  not  enter  into  a  special  disquisition  on 
their  import,  but  shall  simply  state  what  is  the  real  belief  of  Catho- 
lics on  the  sevei'al  points  against  which  you  object,  and  show  you 
that  it  is  warranted  by  the  authority  of  scriptural  texts,  as  well  as 
by  the  practice  of  antiquity. 

First,  then,  you  "  protest  against  the  Church  of  Rome,  because,  you  say,  she 
believes  the  Pope  of  Rome  is  supreme  head  of  Christ's  Church  on  earth,  and 
calls  him  papa,  pope,  or  father.     Contrary  to  these  scriptures,"  etc. 

If  you  had  only  said  visible  head  of  Christ's  Church  on  earth,  you 
would  have  hit  exactly  on  the  Catholic  doctrine  regarding  this 
point.  But  it  seems  that  you  (or  rather  the  original  writer)  left  out 
the  word  visible,  for  the  base  purpose  of  misrepresenting  Catholics, 
by  pretending  that  they  believe  the  pope  to  be  supreme  head  of 
Christ's  Church,  to  the  exclusion  even  of  Christ  himself  This 
impiety  you  cannot  condemn  more  sincerely  than  Catholics  do. 
They  believe  Jesus  Christ  to  be  the  supreme  divine  i?ivisible  head  of 
the  Church,  and  the  pope  to  be  his  vicar  and  the  visible  head  of 
the  Church  on  earth.  They  believe  that  a  pre-eminence  of  author- 
ity over  the  Church  was  communicated  by  our  Saviour  to  St.  Peter, 
that  this  pre-eminence  of  authority  descended  to  his  lawful  succes- 
sors, and  was  ordained  for  the  good  goverriment  of  the  Church  for 
the  regular  transmission  of  that  faith  which  was  "  once  delivered  to 
the  saints"  (Jude,  3),  to  preserve  the  faithful  from  being  tossed  to 
and  fro  by  every  wind  of  doctrine,  as  Dudith  acknowledges  Protest- 
ants have  been,  ever  since  their  first  separation  from  the  centre  of 
Christian  unity.  That  St.  Peter  was  to  be  the  supreme  visible  head 
of  the  Church,  after  the  ascension  of  its  divine  Founder,  appears 
incontrovertible  from  the  extraordinary  commission  he  received  from 
Christ,  as  we  find  by  different  texts  of  the  sacred  writings.  In  the 
sixteenth  chapter,  eighteenth  and  nineteenth  verses,  of  St.  Matthew, 
Christ  addresses  St.  Peter  in  the  following  words  : 


ANSWER   TO    NINE    OBJECTIONS.  637 

"  Thou  art  Peter  ;  and  upon  this  rock  I  will  build  ray  Church,  and 
the  gates  of"  hell  shall  not  prevail  against  it;  and  I  will  give  to  thee 
the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven;  and  whatsoever  thou  shalt  bind 
upon  earth  it  shall  be  bound  also  in  heaven,  and  whatsoever  thou 
shalt  loose  shall  be  loosed  also  in  heaven."  In  another  place  He  says 
to  Peter,  "  I  have  prayed  for  thee,  that  thy  faith  fail  not,  and  thou 
being  once  converted  confirm  thy  brethren."  (Luke,  xxii.  32.) 
Again,  Christ  gives  to  Peter  alone  an  extraordinary  charge  in  St. 
John  (xxi  1 7),  where  after  having  twice  told  him  to  feed  his  lambs, 
he  adds  over  and  above  "  feed  ray  sheep.''''  (See  also  Matt.  x.  2, 
where  Peter  is  put  at  the  head  of  the  apostles,  by  being  called 
first.) 

Tliat  you  could  not  find  these  texts  in  the  sacred  writings  appears 
somewliat  strange ;  and  how  you  will  explain  away  the  extraordi- 
nary prerogatives,  which  they  evidently  imply,  I  am  at  a  loss  to  con- 
jecture. Now  if  Christ  was  pleased  to  communicate  them  to  St. 
Peter  for  the  good  government  of  the.  Church,  it  follows  that  they 
must  have  descended  to  his  successors  for  the  same  beneficial  end  ; 
since  the  Church  was  to  subsist  to  the  end  of  time,  and  St.  Peter  to 
live  but  tiie  natural  term  of  human  life.  But  as  the  Bishops  of 
Rome  are  the  acknowledged  successors  of  St.  Peter,  they  must  also 
have  succeeded  to  those  powers  which  were  communicated  to  him 
for  the  general  advantage  of  the  universal  Church,  However,  you 
protest  against  it,  as  Christ  said,  "  Call  none  your  father  upon 
earth ;  for  one  is  your  Father,  he  that  is  in  heaven."  (Matt, 
xxiii.  9  ) 

This  text,  sir,  goes  as  far  to  prove  that  you  are  not  head  of  your 
family,  as  it  does  to  prove  that  the  Church  has  no  visible  head  on 
earth.  Your  disobedient  son  may  quote  this  text  to  prove  that  he 
must  not  call  you  father,  that  you  have  no  right  to  restrain  him  in 
his  licentiousness,  and  ground  his  protest  against  your  authority  on 
the  same  text  by  which  you  (by  perverting  its  meaning)  quote 
against  the  visible  head  of  the  Church.  This  circumstance  furnishes 
one  instance  of  a  truth,  which  I  will  have  further  occasion  to  devel- 
op in  the  sequel ;  namely,  that  it  is  not  texts  of  Scripture,  but  the 
true  meaning  of  those  texts,  which  it  imports  us  to  find  out,  in  the 
discussion  of  controverted  points.  It  is  not  the  repetition  of  scrip- 
tural plirases  which  ^^roves  any  thing  ;  since  the  devil  himself  could, 
and  actually  did,  repeat  passages  from  the  sacred  writings  in  sup- 
port of  his  positions,  when  he  tempted  our  blessed  Saviour.  St. 
Peter  himself  declares  (2  Peter,  iii.  16),  that  in  Scripture  there  are 
many  passages  hard  to  be  understood,  which  the  unlearned  and 
unstable  wrest  to  their  own  destruction.  The  holy  apostle  would 
see  this  truth  abundantly  verified,  were  he  to  live  in  the  present  age 
and  behold  a  thousand  creeds  which  contradict  one  another  in 
essential  points ;  all  said  (to  use  your  own  phrase)  "  to  be  founded 
on  the  truths  contained  in  the  Old  and  New  Testaments." 

Do  you  believe,  sir,  that  the  God  of  wisdom  has  established  a 
divided  kingdom  in  the  economy  of  religion  ?  and  yet  point  out  to 


638  ARCHBISHOP  HUGHES. 

me  the  sect  that  does  not  claim  God  as  its  author,  and  quote  Scrip- 
ture in  support  of  its  tenets  ? — as  if  the  Spirit  of  truth,  wliicli  is  sup- 
posed to  have  dictated  tlie  sacred  writings,  could  have  intended  all 
the  contradictory  and  contrary  meanings  ascribed  to  those  writings! 
The  abuse  of  Scripture  is  carried  to  such  shameless  excess  at  the 
present  day,  that  the  Unitarian  boldly  denies  the  divinity  of  Jesus 
Christ,  and  quotes  Scripture  in  support  of  the  impious  dogma.  If 
other  proofs  of  this  abuse  were  still  wanting,  your  three  pages  and 
a  quarter  prove  to  evidence  that  the  unlearned  and  unstable  do 
wrest  Scripture  to  their  own  destruction — since  the  very  first  text 
you  refer  to  would  prove,  if  your  interpretation  of  it  be  correct, 
that  you  have  no  authority  in  your  own  fomily  !  Hence  the  neces- 
sity of  a  tribunal  competent  to  determine  the  true  sense  of  Scripture 
— otherwise  you  and  I  may  contend  forever  about  its  meaning,  and 
each  may  conclude  in  your  own  words,  "  I  believe  from  these  Script- 
ures," &c.  But  it  does  not  follow  that  the  sense  of  Scripture  changes 
because  you  or  I^  as  individuals,  think  proper  to  believe  different 
doctrines. 

I  ground  my  hopes  of  salvation  on  the  inspired  writings  no  less 
than  you  do,  with  this  material  difference,  that  I  understand  their 
meaning  as  explained  by  that  Church  to  whose  guardianship  they 
were  originally  intrusted — whose  establishment  on  earth  was  anterior 
even  to  their  promulgation — the  succession  of  whose  pastors  forms 
a  chain  in  which  there  is  not  a  link  deficient,  from  the  days  of  the 
apostles  down  to  the  present  day — against  which,  it  was  said  by 
Jesus  Christ,  that  the  gates  of  hell  should  never  prevail  (Matt.  xvi. 
18),  and  with  which  He  promised  to  remain  aU  days,  even  to  the 
consummation  of  world.  (Matthew,  xxviii.  20.)  Whereas  you,  on 
the  contrary,  coming  into  existence  1700  years  posterior  to  the 
origin  of  Christianity,  and  finding  on  earth  two  books,  the  one  called 
the  Old,  and  the  other  the  New  Testament,  make  two  extraordinary 
assumptions,  which  sound  reason  will  never  warrant ; — viz.,  you  take 
it  for  granted,  1st,  that  these  two  books  are  really  the  word  of  God ; 
and  2dly,  this  being  supposed,  you  judge  yourself  competent  to 
pronounce  on  their  true  meaning,  although  you  find  such  a  mass  of 
authority  against  you.  If  I  can  find  one  individual  in  the  first  ages 
of  Christianity  who  understands  Scripture  in  a  different  sense  from 
you,  I  have  certainly  a  rational  motive  to  prefer  his  interpretation 
to  that  which  you  adopt ;  because,  living  immediately  after  the 
promulgation  of  these  sacred  oracles,  he  had  better  means  of 
ascertaining  their  true  meaning.  But  if,  instead  of  one,  I  find  all 
commentators,  and  all  the  members  of  the  Catholic  Church,  in  every 
age,  agreeing  that  Scripture  does  not  authorize  your  protest ;  and  if 
to  this  authority,  I  oppose  your  gratuitous  explanation  of  the  sacred 
text,  you  must  acknowledge  that  prudence  itself  will  make  me  cling 
to  their  decision,  and  reject  yours,  not  only  as  presumptuous,  but 
as  false.  But  further,  if  I  cut  off  the  other  Protestant  sects,  who 
understand  the  text  differently  from  that  to  which  you  belong,  how 
few  will  remain  to  concur  in  your  interpretation  ?     This  is  not  yet 


ANSWER   TO   NINE   OBJECTIONS.  639 

all,  for  even  in  the  specific  communion  to  which  you  belong,  there 
is,  perhaps,  not  another  individual  who  agrees  with  you,  as  to  the 
real  meaning  of  each  scriptural  text ;  so  that  in  the  singleness  of 
some,  at  least,  of  your  religious  opinions,  you  may  boast,  in  the 
words  of  Luther,  that  you  stand  "  alone" — having  the  whole  world 
opposed  to  you.  In  this  predicament,  however,  you  are  like  every 
other  Protestant,  of  every  other  denomination,  whether  Quaker, 
Methodist,  Unitarian,  or  Baptist. 

Hence,  sir,  I  conclude  that  texts  of  Scripture  are  perfectly  useless, 
unless  you  can  prove  that  they  really  mean  what  you  say  they  do  ; 
and  this  will  be  difficult,  since  on  many  points  there  is  an  authority, 
amounting  to  that  of  nearly  all  the  Christian  woi-ld,  against  you. 
This  is  not  a  gratuitous  conclusion  ;  take  your  Bible,  and  quote  every 
passage  in  it  to  the  Protestant  Unitarian  for  example,  will  you  prove 
to  him  that  Jesus  Christ  is  the  Son  of  God,  equal  to  His  Father? 
No,  sir,  you  cannot,  after  a  thousand  quotations,  give  him  so  much 
as  one  proof  that  he  should  abandon  his  religion  for  yours.  And 
why  ?  Because  he  claims  the  same  destructive  privileges  as  you  do : 
that  of  interpreting  Scripture  as  to  his  fancy  seems  good.  He  will 
twist  and  pervert  scriptural  texts  against  you,  as  copiously  as  you 
do  against  CathoHcs.  He  will  make  use  of  your  own  argument  and 
tell  you,  "  He  rejects  your  creed,  as  not  being  according  to  godliness 
— that  he  cannot  find  the  doctrines  which  you  profess  (viz.,  the 
divinity  of  Christ)  in  the  sacred  writings,  whereas  that  of  the  Uni- 
tarians is  all  founded  on  the  truths  revealed  in  the  Old  and  New  Testa- 
ments." But  what  is  still  worse,  you  cannot,  with  all  your  biblical 
prowess,  overturn  this  same  argument  in  the  mouth  of  a  Unitarian  : 
because,  if  it  goes  to  texts,,  he  is  as  bold  to  grasp  at  the  sacred 
volume  as  you  are,  and  his  nerves  are  even  somewhat  stronger  in 
tearing  it  to  pieces. 

*  Secondly. — "  You  protest  against  the  Church  of  Rome,  because,  you  say,  she 
teaches  that,  besides  the  worship  of  God  the  Father,  God  the  Son,  and  God  the 
Holy  Ghost,  the  three  adorable  persons  of  the  Trinity,  in  one  God,  it  is  right  to 
pray  to  the  Virgin  Mary  and  saints,  to  whom  more  frequent  addresses  are 
made  in  that  Church  than  to  Almighty  God ;  and  even  to  bow  down  before 
crucifixes,  pictures,  and  relics,"  etc. 

True  it  is,  sir,  the  Church  teaches  it  to  be  useful  and  profitable  to 
pray  to  the  Virgin  Mary  and  saints,  but  not  in  the  same  sense  as  to 
the  Almighty  God.  We  know  that  God  is  our  creator;  that  Jesus 
Christ  is  our  redeemer;  and  that  there  is  no  other  name  given  to 
man  whereby  we  may  be  saved.  (Acts,  iv.  12.)  When  we  pray  to 
the  saints  we  do  not  place  them  on  an  equality  with  the  Deity,  as 
the  construction  of  your  objection  would  insinuate.  We  beg  from 
them  the  mediation  of  intercession,  not  that  of  redemption  ;  and 
whatever  benefit  we  derive  from  their  intercession,  we  know  comes 
to  us  through  the  merits  of  Jesus  Christ,  because  we  believe  that  to 
His  merits  alone  they  were  themselves  indebted  for  the  means  of 
their  own  salvation.  Now,  sir,  do  you  not  suppose  that  you  can 
innocently,  and  without  prejudice  to  the  merits  of  Christ,  recom- 


640  ARCHBISHOP  HUGHES. 

mend  yourself  to  the  prayers  of  a  sinner  like  yourself?  And  if  you 
can,  why  may  not  Catholics  recommend  themselves  to  the  prayers 
of  God's  special  servants?  There  is  a  perfect  parity  between  the 
two  cases;  for  you  must  recollect  that  we  expect  no  favor  from  the 
saints  beyond  what  God  is  pleased  to  grant  to  their  intercessioti. 
Did  you  not  observe,  in  your  reading  of  Scripture,  that  although  God 
rejected  the  prayers  of  Eliphaz  and  his  two  friends,  Baldad  and 
Sophar,  still  he  promised  to  accept  those  of  "  Mis  servant  Job"  in 
their  behalf?     (Job,  xiii.  8.) 

Here  you  will  tell  me  that  Job  was  present  to  hear  his  friends, 
when  they  besought  his  intercession  with  God  in  their  behalf :  I 
grant  it.  But  were  the  angels,  whose  blessing  the  patriarch  Jacob 
invoked  on  the  children  of  Joseph,  present  when  he  prayed  to  them? 
(Gen.  xlvii.  16)  ;  where  he  will  have  not  only  his  own  name,  but 
the  name  also  of  his  fathers,  Abraham  and  Isaac,  invoked  upon  them/ 
And  (Gen.  xxxiii.  26)  we  find  that,  speaking  to  the  angel,  with 
whom  he  had  wrestled,  he  said,  I  will  not  let  thee  go  till  thou  bless 
me.  Abraham  worshipped  the  three  angels  (Gen.  xviii.  2),  and  we 
do  not  find  that  they  prevented  him  ;  which  they  certainly  would 
have  done,  had  it  been  derogatory  to  the  honor  of  that  God  whose 
messengers  they  were.  It  is  affirmed  of  Joshua,  that  he  adored 
"the  angels"  (Josh.  v.  15) ;  neither  do  we  find  him  repi'chended  for 
this  act  by  the  latter.  In  the  first  chapter  and  fourth  verse  of  the 
Apocalypse,  we  find  St.  John  invoking  the  seven  spirits  who  stand 
before  the  throne  of  God,  on  the  seven  churches  of  Asia.  These  are 
texts  which,  it  again  appears  strange  enough,  you  could  not  find  in 
the  sacred  writings. 

Now,  sir,  be  candid,  and  recall  the  imputation  of  idolatry,  which, 
without  expressing  the  word,  you  indirectly  impute  to  Catholics  in 
your  objections;  or  else  come  forward  boldly,  and  implicate  the 
patriarchs  of  the  old  law,  and  apostles  of  the  new,  in  the  same  foul 
imputation ;  since,  by  reference  to  these  texts,  you  will  see  they 
committed  the  very  same  acts  which  you  pretend  to  be  criminal  in 
the  Catholics.  If  it  was  lawful  for  them,  it  cannot  be  criminal  in  us. 
If  it  be  a  crime  in  us,  be  consistent,  and  accuse  them  likewise  of  the 
crime. 

After  showing  how  unguarded  is  your  protestation  against  the 
relative  honor  and  invocation  of  Catholics  towards  the  saints  and 
angels,  methinks  I  hear  one  of  your  Unitarian  brethren  quoting  you 
a  series  of  texts,  to  prove  that  you  are  guilty  of  absolute  idolatry, 
when  you  worship  as  God  Hiiu  who  is  expVessly  named  in  the  sacred 
writings  as  the  "  man  Christ."  (l  Tim.  ii.  8.)  You  may  indeed 
prove  to  him  that  Christ  is  God,  and  consequently  to  be  worshipped 
as  such  ;  but  if  you  do,  it  must  be  by  appealing  to  the  authority  of 
that  Church  against  wliich  you  protest:  for  if  you  enter  the  arena 
to  contend  against  your  Unitarian  brethren,  merely  upon  Protestant 
principles,  a  certain  defeat  awaits  you.  Look  at  the  number  of 
Unitarian  churches  in  Boston,  and  inquire  whether  they  were  built 
to  be  what  they  are  f 


ANSWER   TO   NINE   OBJECTIONS.  641 

The  assertion,  that  more  frequent  addresses  are  made  to  the 
saints  than  to  Almighty  God,  is  as  untrue  as  it  is  gratuitous.  If  you 
examine  our  public  hturgy,  you  will  find  that  the  efficacy  of  almost 
every  prayer  is  ascribed  exjyressly  to  the  merit  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  As  to  images,  it  is  equally  false  to  say  that  we  pay  them 
any  degree  of  religious  adoration  whatever;  we  preserve  them  only 
as  memorials  of  our  redemption,  or  of  holy  persons  who  have  pre- 
ceded us  in  the  way  of  sanctification.  A  look  at  a  good  picture  (of 
the  crucifixion,  for  example),  recalls  immediately  to  our  mind  how 
much  our  Saviour  suffered  for  us ;  and  in  viewing  it,  even  the  igno- 
rant and  unlettered  can  read  the  history  of  their  redemption,  with  as 
much  devotion  as  if  they  understood  the  print  of  the  gospel ;  which, 
after  all,  is  no  more  than  a  series  of  historical  pictures,  as  far  as  it 
goes.  A  crucifix,  with  us,  is  precisely  what  you  call  the  sacrament 
of  the  Lord's  Supper,  viz.,  a  memorial  of  Christ's  death  for  us  on  the 
cross.  And  although  you  believe  this  sacrament  to  be  nothing  more 
than  a  mere  memorial,  do  you  not  approach  it,  I  ask  you,  with  some 
greater  degree  of  reverence  than  you  do  your  ordinary  meals  ? 
Certainly  you  do  ;  and  can  you  condemn  us  for  venerating  a  crucifix, 
not  on  its  own  account,  but  on  account  of  the  mystery  of  our  re- 
demption, of  which  it  reminds  us,  as  forcibly,  at  least,  as  your  Lord's 
Supper  reminds  you  thereof?  You  say  that  God  has  forbidden  us 
to  make  any  likeness  of  Him  or  of  any  of  His  creatures.  And  who 
commanded  the  cherubs  of  beaten  gold  to  be  placed  over  the  propi- 
tiatory or  mercy-seat,  in  the  very  sanctuary  of  the  Jewish  temple  ? 
(Exod.  XXV.)  Who  ordered  the  brazen  serpent  to  be  set  up  as  a 
sign,  and  promised  that  whosoever  would  look  upon  it  would  live, 
although  bitten  by  the  fiery  serpent  ?  (Xum.  xxi.  8.)  Our  Bibles 
makes  God  Himself  the  author  of  both  these  mandates  to  His  people. 
St.  John  refers  to  this  brazen  serpent,  and  calls  it  a  figure  of  Christ. 
(John,  iii.  14.)  And  if  it  was  lawful  to  have  a  brazen  figure  of 
Christ  before  His  coming,  it  cannot  be  unlawful  to  retain  a  sensible 
memorial  of  Him  after  His  departure.  But  it  is  not  in  having,  you 
will  tell  me,  but  in  venerating  such  memorial  that  the  error  consists^ 
Now,  sir,  do  you  not  retain  and  venerate  the  portrait  of  some  dear 
departed  friend — of  your  father,  or  your  mother,  let  me  suppose  ? 
Will  your  conscience  reproach  you  if,  through  affection  for  the  per- 
son whom  it  represents  (a  vile  sinner,  perhaps),  you  sometimes  press 
it  to  your  lips?  And  yet  you  would  not  for  the  wealth  of  the  world 
treat  a  picture  of  Jesus  Christ,  or  of  His  faithful  follower,  with  the 
same  veneration !  It  is  indeed  strange,  if  you  may  thus  lawfully 
testify  your  respect  and  love  for  a  departed  friend,  whose  life  was 
remarkable  for  nothing,  perhaps,  but  indifference  towards  God — it 
is  strange,  I  say,  that  we  should  be  prohibited  from  testifying  a. like 
veneration  towards  the  memorials  of  Christy  and  o^  His  faithful 
servants.  But  in  so  doing  we  are  no  more  guilty  of  adoring  them, 
than  two  persons  who  happen  to  meet  and  compliment  each  other 
by  a  reciprocal  inclination  of  the  head,  are  guilty  of  mutual  adora- 
tion. 

Vol.  II.— 41 


64:2  AKCHBISHOP  HUGHES. 

With  respect  to  relics — if  St.  Paul's  handkerchief,  by  which  the 
sick  were  restored  to  health  (Acts,  xix.  12),  had  fallen  into  your 
hands,  I  ask  you,  would  you  have  made  the  ordinary  use  of  it  ?  To 
be  consistent  with  your  principles,  you  must  say  that  you  would — 
and  to  say  you  loould,  dear  sir,  is  a  hard  conclusion.  Did  not  the 
woman  in  the  gospel  (Matt.  ix.  20,  21)  receive  the  cure  of  her 
disease  from  touching  the  hern  of  the  Saviour's  garment  ;  and 
the  man  the  restoration  of  his  sight  from  the  application  of  clay  and 
spittle?  If  the  sick  woman  had  been  a  Protestant  she  would  have 
continued  to  languish  rather  than  touch  the  hem  of  a  garment,  when 
she  could  have  whispered  her  petition  into  the  ear  of  her  God.  But 
she  was  not  a  Protestant,  and  by  the  silent  act  of  touching  His 
garment,  she  spoke  to  the  Redeemer's  heart.  Now,  sir,  if  Jesus 
Christ  was  pleased  to  work  such  cures  by  the  simple  touch  of  His 
robe,  or  by  a  little  humid  clay,  or  the  handkerchief  touched  by  His 
servant,  why  might  not  a  particle  of  that  cross,  which  was  moistened 
with  His  precious  blood,  have  the  same  efficacy,  if  applied  with  a 
faith  equal  to  that  of  the  woman  mentioned  above. 

Thirdly. — "You  protest  against  the  Church  of  Rome,  because,  you  say,  she 
teaches  that  her  members  ought  not  to  exercise  their  own  judgment  in  matters 
of  religion  ;  but  to  receive  their  doctrines  from  her,  and  her  traditions,  which 
she  declares  to  be  an  infallible  authority,  although  at  variance  with  the  written 
word  of  God,  on  which  account  her  clergy  are  very  unwilling  that  their  flock 
should  read  the  Bible  contrary  to  these  Scriptures,"  etc. 

These  charges,  as  they  appear  in  your  objection,  are  not  true,  yet 
I  will  suppose,  through  charity,  that  you  would  not  have  adopted 
them  had  you  not  been  ignorant  of  their  falsity.  The  Catholics,  in- 
deed, believe,  and  Scripture  itself  warrants  the  doctrine,  that  Christ 
established  a  visible  Church  on  earth,  which  was  to  be  the  depository 
of  His  doctrine,  whether  written  or  unwritten — to  the  pastors  of 
"which  Church  He  said,  in  the  persons  of  the  apostles :  "  Go  ye,  there- 
fore, and  teach  all  nations,  baptizing  them  in  the  name  of  the  Father, 
and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  teaching  them  to  observe 
all  things  whatsoever  I  have  commanded  you.  And  lo  !  I  am  wiih 
you  all  days,  even  to  the  end  of  the  world."  (Matt,  xxviii.  19,  20.) 
And  again  (Matt.  xvi.  15),  "Go  ye  into  all  the  world,  and  preach 
the  gospel  to  every  creature."  By  these  two  passages  you  perceive 
that  it  is  hy  preaching  a?id  teaching  that  Christ  will  have  His  truths 
to  be  propagated  among  mankind — and  that  the>/  should  not  err  in 
the  discharge  of  this  twofold  duty.  He  promises  to  be  "  icith'  His 
apostles  to  the  end  of  the  world."  This  promise  must  extend  io  their 
successors,  since  the  apostles  themselves  were  to  live  only  the  ordi- 
nary term  of  human  life.  To  the  same  apostles  it  was  said  by  their 
divine  Master:  "I  will  pray  the  Father,  and  Ho  shall  give  you 
another  Comforter,  that  He  may  abide  icith  you  forever  ;  the  Con\- 
forter,  which  is  the  Holy  Ghost,  whom  the  Father  will  send  in  My 
name:  He  shall  ?eacA  you  all  things,  a.nd  hv'iug  all  things  to  your 
remembrance,  whatsoever  I  have  said  unto  you.''''  (John,  xiv.  16,  26.) 
Here,  sir,  the  Holy  Ghost  is  promised  to  be  given,  to  bring  all 


ANSWER  TO  NINE  OBJECTIONS.  643 

things  to  the  remembrance  of  the  apostles,  who  were  appointed  to 
teach  all  ?7atio?is,  and  of  their  successors,  since  He  was  to  remain 
forever.  Now,  that  this  promise  is  still  verified  in  some  Church,  is 
evident,  if  the  words  of  Christ,  "  to  the  end  of  the  world — and  for- 
ever," have  any  real  meaning.  And  as  the  Catholics  can  prove  an 
uninterrupted  succession  of  pastors  or  teachers  from  the  apostles^ 
whereas  Protestantism  came  into  existence  fifteen  hundred  years  af- 
terwards, it  follows  that  to  the  former  belong  the  promises  of  Christ, 
and  that  from  her  the  Spirit  of  truth  has  never  departed.  If  this  be 
so,  can  the  members  of  the  Church  of  Rome  make  a  more  rational 
use  of  their  judgment,  than  by  submitting  to  those  ichoxcere  author- 
ized by  God  to  teach  and  preach,  and  whom  the  Spirit  of  truth  was 
to  lead  into  all  truth  ?  (St.  John.)  In  this  commission  of  Jesus  Christ, 
we  find  not  a  word o^  the  Bible.  He  never  wrote  any  part  of  it  Him- 
self, nor  do  we  find,  in  the  sacred  writing,  that  He  commanded  his 
apostles  to  write  ;  and,  in  fact,  the  Christian  religion  was  widely 
spread  over  the  world  by  their  verbal  teaching  and  preaching  before 
any  part  of  the  New  Testament  was  written.  It  appears,  by  the 
drift  of  your  objections,  that  if  the  manner  of  propagating  Christianity 
had  been  left  to  yow,  you  would  have  set  the  apostles  to  write,  and 
employed  underlings  to  distribute  Bibles  among  the  nations  of  the 
earth,  leaving  them  to  attach  what  meaning  they  pleased  to  such 
writings.  Jesus  Chi  ist,  however,  in  the  establishment  of  His  religion, 
adopted  a  different  mode  from  that  of  a  Bible  society.  He  did  not 
tell  His  apostles  to  stay  at  Jerusalem  to  write,  and  put  their  writings 
into  everybody's  hands,  to  be  understood  in  every  contradictory 
sense  ;  but  He  said :  "  Go — teach,  baptize — I  am  with  you  to  the  end 
of  the  world — he  who  hears  yow,  hears  Me — he  who  despises  you^ 
despises  Jfe."  (Luke,  x.  16.)  Again,  "Thou  art  Peter  (who,  strange 
as  it  may  appear  to  you,  was  the  first  '  Pope  of  Rome''),  and  on  this 
rock  I  will  build  My  Church,  and  the  gates  of  hell  shall  r\oi  prevail 
against  ity  (See  Matt.  xvi.  18.)  And  if  the  apostles  had  left  the 
mysteries  of  revelation  at  the  mercy  of  those  judgments  to  which 
they  were  proposed,  it  would  not  have  been  necessary  for  the  Lord 
to  work  with  them  when  they  preached,  confirming  the  words  with 
sigtis  following.  (Mark,  xvi.  20.)  Because,  if  by  the  ordinary  efforts 
of  human  judgment  the  matters  of  religion  could  be  comprehended 
by  reason,  then  miracles  were  useless  to  prove  its  verity.  The  mind 
would  intuitively  see  it,  and  assent.  You  yourself,  sir,  exercise 
your  judgment  on  some  matters  of  your  own  religion,  without  being 
in  any  manner  able  to  comprehend  them.  You  insinuate,  in  your 
objection,  that  the  traditions  of  the  Catholic  Church  are  at  variance 
with  the  written  word  of  God  ;  hence,  you  reject  the  tradition,  and 
take  the  naked  Bible  for  your  rule  of  faith.  This,  sir,  is  a  prudent 
plan,  and  has  been  adopted  by  most  of  the  Piotestant  leaders,  for  the 
following  very  obvious  reasons,  viz. :  They  say  that  the  voice  of 
tradition,  in  all  ages  of  Christianity,  was  against  their  doctrines ;  that 
if  they  admitted  it,  it  would  condemn  them.  Hence,  by  means  of 
twisting  and  perverting  the  text,  they  have  extracted  a  thousand 


644  AECHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

contradictory  creeds  from  the  Bible,  as  if  it  had  no  meaning  what- 
ever, before  they  rose  to  explain  it  in  the  sixteenth  century ;  or,  as 
if  it  has  every  possible  contradictory  meaning  that  tlie  rival  sects  of 
Protestants  are  pleased  to  assign  it  since  that  period.  The  Catholic 
Church,  however,  has  followed  a  different  course  from  the  beginning. 
She  has  faithfully  kept  the  unwritten  word  of  God,  as  well  as  the 
written,  in  obedience  to  the  injunction  of  St.  Paul,  who  puts  the 
one  on  a  level  with  the  other :  "  Tlierefore,  brethren^  standfast,  and 
hold  the  TKADTTiox  ye  have  been  taught,  whether  by  avord  or  by  our 
epistle.^''  (2  Thess.  ii.  13.)  The  apostle  does  not  call  the  Scriptures 
necessary,  but  07ily  '''' profitable,  for  doctrine,  for  reproof,  for  cor- 
rection, and  for  instruction  in  righteousness."  (2  Tim,  iii.  16.) 

This  expresses  the  doctrine  of  the  Catholic  Church  at  the  present 
day  on  the  subject  of  Scripture ;  she  proclaims  them,  with  St.  Paul, 
to  be  good  and  profitable  /  but  she  knows  they  are  liable  to  abuse, 
according  to  the  expression  of  St.  Peter.  (2  Epist.  iii.  16.) 

Now,  as  the  Son  of  God  has  promised  the  Spirit  of  truth  to  the 
apostles  and  their  lawful  successors  forever — and  as  only  the  pastors  of 
the  Catholic  Church  claim  any  indisputable,  regular  succession  from 
those  apostles,  it  consequently  follows  that  to  them  alone  apply  the 
words  of  Christ,  "  Go  teach,"  etc.,  and  that  those  who  are  to  be 
taught  are  bound  to  hear,  and  forbidden  to  reject  them  under 
the  penalty  of  rejecting  Christ  himself,  by  whom  they  were  sent. 
(Luke,  X.  16.) 

Hence,  also,  I  further  infer  that  these  lawful  successors  of  the 
apostles  are  still  guided  in  the  ministry  of  teaching  by  the  same 
holy  Spirit  of  truth,  and  constitute  an  infallible  authority  to  decide  on 
all  controverted  doctrines,  and  to  determi7ie  the  real  meaning  of 
Scriptui-e,  which  is,  in  many  places,  too  obscure  to  be  easily  under- 
stood in  its  true  sense,  as  the  contradictory  interpretations  of  Prot- 
estant sects  and  Protestant  individuals  manifestly  prove.  The  Cath- 
olic Church,  then,  does  not  forbid  the  reading  of  the  sacred  Scrip- 
tures ;  but  she  prohibits  the  interpretation  of  them  in  any  other  than 
the  approved  sense  in  which  they  were  understood  and  explained  by 
the  Church  from  the  begin7iing.  If  the  Scriptures  were  what  you 
call  them,  "  the  only  nde  of  faith,''"'  Christ  would  certainly  have 
made  their  true  meaning  so  obvious  as  not  to  be  mistaken  by  any  ; 
and  yet  you  yourself  must  acknowledge  that  this  is  not  the  case,  un- 
less you  suppose  contradictory  creeds  to  be  equally  true,  which  is  an 
absurdity.  The  Redeemer  of  the  world,  therefore,  did  not  leave  the 
children  of  His  Church  to  be  tossed  to  and  fro  by  every  wind  of  doc- 
trine which  might  .operate  upon  their  fancies  in  reading  the  Bible  ; 
on  the  contrary,  we  find  that  He  has  given  "  some,  apostles  ;  and  some, 
prophets  •  and  some,  evatigelists ;  and  others,  pastors  and  teach- 
ers;  fov  the  perfecting  the  saints,  for  the  toork  of  the  ministry.'''' 
(Ephes.  iv.  11.) 

Having  thus  given  pastors  and  teachers,  I  ask  you,  does  not 
Christ  expect  that  Christians  should  hearken  to,  and  obey  them? 
But  as  Protestants  know  that  the  commission  to  teach  belongs  only 


ANSWER  TO  NIXE  OBJECTIONS.  645 

to  tlie  rightful  successors  of  the  apostles  in  the  work  of  the  ministry, 
they  give  up  all  daitu  to  the  right  o^  teaching^  except  in  announcing 
from  the  pulpit,  7iot  a  certain  doctrine,  but  one  that  is  probable  in 
their  opinion  /  for  the  rest,  leaving  their  hearers  to  collect  their  creed 
fi'om  the  leaves  of  a  Pocket-Bible ;  as  if  Clirist  had  given  neither 
pastor  nor  teacher  for  the  work  of  the  ministry,  and  the  perfecting 
the  saints !  Well  assured  that  they  have  no  claims  to  infallibility 
themselves,  they  seek  to  destroy  the  promises  of  Christ  to  His 
Church,  and  therefore  cry  out  that  He  meant  something  else  when 
He  said :  "6^0,  teach^  lam  with  you  to  the  end  of  the  world — I  shall 
give  you  the  Spirit  of  truth — and  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail 
against  My  Church.''^ 

When  you  accuse  the  Catholic  clergy  of  keeping  their  flocks  from 
reading  the  Bible,  you  are  not  aware,  I  suppose,  that  with  the  ap- 
probation of  that  clergy  the  Bible  and  Testament  are  published  and 
oflfered  for  sale  to  the  Catholic  laity  in  almost  every  bookstore  in 
the  country.  Indeed,  the  contradictions  and  absurdities  which  the 
diiferent  protesting  sects  around  them  deduce  from  the  Bible,  have 
cooled  any  predilection  they  might  otherwise  have  for  private  inter- 
pretation ;  and  at  tiie  same  time  convinced  them  that  if  the  truth 
of  doctrine  exists  upon  earth,  it  must  be  in  that  Catholic  communion 
to  which  tiiey  belong. 

What  motive,  I  ask  you,  could  induce  the  Catholic  clergy  to  de- 
ceive their  flocks  ?  Surely,  not  the  hopes  of  reward  in  a  future  life. 
But  perhaps  it  is  some  temporal  gain  or  convenience.  Certainly 
not,  sir ;  for  if  they  could  barter  their  consciences  for  temporal  mo- 
tives, they  would  become  Piotestant  parsons.  They  would  thereby 
receive  larger  salaries  than  commonly  fall  to  their  lot  in  the  Catholic 
ministry  ;  and  you  have  scarcely  any  idea  from  what  a  number  ot 
ministerial  toils,  and  labors,  and  duties,  and  privations  the  unlim- 
ited charity  of  Protestantism  would  free  them,  did  they  but  profess 
any  one  of  its  multiplied  theories.  They  need  not  then  tust — all  Prot- 
estants agree  in  pronouncing  it  useless.  They  need  not  be  at  the 
trouble  of  teaching — for  Protestants  say  the  Bible  alone  can  do  that 
duty.  They  need  not  pretend  to  explain  the  sacred  word — every 
Protestant  pretends  to  understand  it  better  than  they  do  ;  since  they 
pretend  to  know  it  better  than  all  the  doctors  of  the  Catholic  Church. 
Neither  need  they  tiien  approach  the  bed  of  loathsome,  and  sometimes 
infectious,  disease — Protestants  say  that  St.  James's  precept  for 
anointing  the  sick  (James,  v.  14,  15)  is  no  longer  to  be  observed.  In 
fact,  if  Protestants  really  believe,  as  you  say,  that  the  Bible  is  the 
o?i/y  rule  of  faith,  and  that  each  individual  is  competent  to  under- 
stand the  meaning  of  its  contents,  it  seems  to  me  useless  for  them  to 
employ  ministers;  and  the  only  way  left  for  tliese  gentlemen  to  acquire 
a  just  title  to  their  salary,  is  by  teaching  their  flocks  to  read  the  Bible. 

It  is  strange,  sir,  that  with  all  the  veneration  you  profess  for  the 
sacred  writings,  and  all  your  aftected  contempt  of  tradition,  you 
should  prefer  the  latter  to  the  former.  I  shall  instance  this  Protest- 
ant inconsistency  by  one  or  two  stubborn  facts. 


646  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

One  of  the  first  precepts  in  the  Bible  is  that  of  sanctifying  the 
seventh  day:  "God  blessed  the  seventh  day,  and  sanctiHed  it." 
(Gen,  ii.  3.)  This  precept  He  confirmed  in  tlie  ten  commandments : 
"  Remember  the  Sabbath  day,  to  keep  it  holy.  The  seventh  day  is 
the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord  thy  God,"  (Exod.  xx.)  From  the  begin- 
ning of  Genesis  to  the  end  of  Revelations  you  do  not  find  one  text 
of  Scripture  to  annul  the  force  of  this  precept.  Christ  says  that  He 
came  not  to  destroy  the  law,  but  to  fulfil  it,  (Matt.  v.  17.)  Both 
He  and  His  disciples  observed  the  Sabbath  day ;  and  of  His  apostles 
it  is  recorded  that  they  rested  on  the  Sabbath  day,  according  to  the 
commandment.  (Luke,  xxiii,  56.) 

Now,  how  can  you,  sir,  who  make  the  Bible  the  sole  rule  of  your 
faith,  profane  the  Sabbath,  or  seventh  day  of  the  week,  and  transfer 
the  obligation  of  keeping  it  holy  to  the  first,  called  Sunday  ?  Here 
you  go  contrary  to  Scripture,  and  the  command  of  Almighty  God, 
and  prefer  the  authority  of  Catholic  tradition,  which  says  that  the 
apostles  made  the  change  in  honor  of  Christ's  resurrection,  and  the 
descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost  on  the  first  day  of  the  week  !  Again,  the 
Almighty  forbids  the  eating  of  blood.  (Gen.  ix.  4.)  The  prohibition 
is  repeated  by  the  apostles  (Acts,  xv,  20),  and  yet,  contrary  to  these 
Scriptures,  you  eat  blood  puddings ;  at  least,  I  never  knew  a  Prot- 
estant to  have  any  scruples  on  this  subject,  unless  such  as  arose  from 
want  of  appetite,  or  natural  dislike,  although  we  find  no  Scripture  to 
make  it  lawful ! 

Next,  as  a  "Protestant,"  you  pen  a  pious  paragraph  about  the 
necessity  of  putting  the  Bible  in  the  hands  of  everybody,  that  they 
may  ascertain  whether  what  they  depend  on  for  the  salvation  of 
their  souls,  is  built  upon  the  word  of  God  called  the  Bible.  Now, 
sir,  suppose  me  a  proselyte  to  your  doctrine.  You  put  the  Bible 
in  ray  hand,  and  tell  me  to  "exercise  ray  judgment  on  matters  of 
religion."  You  tell  rae  to  examine  diligently,  whether  what  I 
depend  on  for  the  salvation  of  my  soul  is  built  on  the  Bible.  But, 
to  exercise  ray  judgment  rationally^  I  must  first  examine  what  the 
Bible  itself  is  built  on.  Hitherto,  I  had  taken  it  on  the  authority 
of  Catholic  tradition,  to  be  what  you  call  it,  "  the  word  of  God  ;" 
this  tradition,  however,  you  declare  not  to  be  depended  on.  Hence, 
I  return  to  the  question,  and  ask  you  again,  what  is  the  Bible  built 
on  ?  This  reminds  us  of  the  Indian  philosopher,  who  maintained 
that  the  world  rests  on  the  back  of  a  huge  elephant,  which  stands 
on  the  back  of  a  turtle,  and  so  proved  his  theory,  as  if  the  turtle  it- 
self required  no  support  under  such  an  immense  load.  But,  you  will 
tell  me  I  am  not  serious  in  supposing  the  Bible  to  be  other  than  the 
very  word  of  God  ;  and  that 'a  sincere  mind  will  have  no  such  doubts 
on  the  subject.  I  grant,  sir,  I  am  not  seriously  denying  or  doubting 
it  to  be  God's  word,  but  if  I  did  not  admit  what  you  reject,  viz.,  the 
authority  oi  tradition.^\<io\!\^x\o\.  help  being  serious;  and  if  others  do 
not  exercise  their  judgment  in  this  way,  when  you  put  tiie  Bible  into 
their  hands,  it  is  because  they  do  not  follow  your  advice  in  its  full 
import.     For  what  does  it  matter  that  a  man  finds,  or  thinks  he  finds 


ANSWER   TO    NINE   OBJECTIONS.  64:7 

his  religion  built  on  the  Bible,  if  he  cannot  find  the  Bible  to  rest  on 
some  sure  foundation  as  to  its  divine  origin?  which,  I  again  I'epeat, 
you  cannot  prove  but  by  an  appeal  to  the  authority  of  that  Church 
against  which  you  protest,  and  whose  traditions  you  despise. 

Fourthly. — "  You  protest  against  the  Church  of  Rome,  because,  you  say,  she 
believes  that  wicked  sinners,  such  as  we  are,  can  do  works  meritorious  in  the  sight 
of  God,  and  available  to  our  own  justification  ;  as  also  that  we  can  derive  merit 
from  the  intercession  of  saints,  and  works  of  supererogation,  as  well  as  from 
fasting,  masses,  pilgrimages,  penances,  and  other  ceremonies,  thereby  making 
the  sufferings  of  Christ  of  no  effect,"  etc. 

I  am  somewhat  astonished  to  find  you  protesting  against  the  mer- 
it of  good  works,  wliilst  your  Protestant  brethren  of  the  Unitarian 
persuasion  rest  their  hopes  of  salvation  almost  exclusively  on  the 
merits  of  their  moral  actions.  The  doctrine  of  the  inutihty  of  good 
works,  I  thought,  had  been  exploded  by  all  denominations.  Your 
protest,  however,  convinces  me  that  you  still  cling  to  it ;  though,  for 
the  honor  of  Christianity,  which  you  profess,  I  trust  you  do  not  reduce 
it  to  practice.  Perhaps,  indeed,  your  adoption  of  it  is  caused  by  your 
misunderstanding  the  Catholic  doctrine  on  this  point,  which  appears 
almost  evident  from  the  form  of  your  objections.  I  will  therefore 
explain,  as  briefly  as  possible,  what  the  Catholic  Church  believes,  and 
what  she  condemns,  regarding  the  merit  of  good  works.  She  be- 
lieves that  Jesus  Christ  is  our  only  Saviour  and  Redeemer,  and 
that  without  faith  in  Him  we  cannot  partake  of  the  redemption 
which  He  purchased  for  us  by  His  blood  ;  but  she  does  not  be- 
lieve that  the  Son  of  God  will  force  salvation  upon  us  for  merely 
believing  in  Sim,  unless  we  do  moreover  what  He  has  commanded. 
She  believes  that,  by  His  death,  He  has  merited  for  us  the  grace  and 
means  of  justification  /  but  that,  in  order  to  make  our  calling  and 
election  sure  (2  Peter  i.  10),  we  must  co-operate  with  that  grace, 
and  have  i-ecourse  to  those  means,  by  the  practice  of  good  works  in 
faith.  Hence,  she  teaches  her  children  that,  so  long  as  they  are  in 
a  state  of  grace,  the  Almighty  God  looks  with  complacency  on  every 
good  action  they  perform  for  His  sake ;  and  that  whosoever  shall 
give  so  much  as  only  a  cup  of  cold  water,  in  the  name  of  a  disciple,  shall 
not  lose  his  reward.  (Matt.  x.  42.)  Now,  if  there  be  no  merit  in 
good  works,  what  did  our  Saviour  mean  when  He  thus  spoke  of  a  re- 
ward for  the  performance  of  a  good  action  ?  A  gift,  you  know,  is  a 
gratuitous  offering — but  a  reward,  in  all  languages,  supposes  the 
person  who  receives  it  to  have  done  something  for  which  he  is  re- 
warded. Again,  our  Lord,  speaking  in  His  sermon  on  the  mount, 
of  those  who  suffer  persecution  for  justice'  sake,  calls  them  blessed, 
and  bids  them  "rejoice  and  be  glad,  because  their  reward  is  very 
great  in  heaven.:^  (Matt.  v.  11,  12.)  If  to  suffer  for  justice'  sake 
be  not  a  good  work,  why  should  Christ  promise  to  reward  it  ?  But 
since  He  has  actually  so  promised,  we  must  conclude  that  it  is  merito- 
rious, and  that,  wicked  sinners  as  we  are,  we  may  thereby  do  some- 
thing available  to  our  oww  justification,  through  His  merits.  Now, 
can  you  say  that  we  make  void  the  sufferings  of  Christ,  if  we  do 


648  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

that  in  the  doing  of  which  He  says  we  are  blessed,  and  for  which 
He  says,  our  '■'•reward  is  very  great  in  heaven?"  Certainly  not. 
We  know,  as  well  as  you,  that  it  is  those  sufferings  of  His  which 
give  their  value  to  our  actions,  and  render  them  pleasing  and  ac- 
ceptable in  the  sight  of  God.  But  perhaps  you  will  say  that  we  de- 
pend on  our  own  strength  for  our  justification,  more  than  on  the  merits 
of  Christ?  Xo,  sir.  This  doctrine  the  Church  condemns  as  sincerely 
as  you  do.  She  knows  with  St.  Paul  (Heb.  xi.  1 6),  that  "  without  faith 
it  is  impossible  to  please  God  ;  but  she  likewise  believes,  witli  St. 
James  (ii.  24),  that  '■'■faith  alone  doth  not  justify"' — "tliat  fliith 
without  good  works  is  dead?''  (Ibid.  14,  17,  20,  etc.)  In  short, 
sir,  she  teaches  that  sinful  beings,  as  you  justly  say  we  are,  we  have 
no  inherent  right  to  a  participation  of  His  heavenly  rewards,  unless 
what  is  derived  from  the  Redeen\er''s  merits  ;  but  she  also  teaches  that 
our  own  exertions,  after  we  have  come  to  the  use  of  reason,  are  ne- 
cessary for  the  application  of  those  merits  to  ourselves,  and  that 
God  will  reicard  or  punish  every  man  according  to  his  works. 
(Matt.  xvi.  27.) 

The  Cathohc  Church  does  not  teach  that  her  members  derive 
merit  from  the  intercession  of  saints.  We  believe  that  they  assist 
us  by  their  prayers ;  and  I  think  I  have  already  proved  this  point 
sufficiently  in  the  answer  to  another  objection. 

You  must  have  a  very  imperfect  notion  of  our  doctrine,  when  you 
call  the  sacrifice  of  the  Mass  a  ceremony;  at  least,  if  you  suppose 
that  Catholics  believe  it  to  be  no  more  than  is  usually  iuTplied  by  that 
word.  We  hold  it  to  be  a  real  sacrifice,  in  wliich  the  body  and  blood 
of  Christ  are  really  produced  and  present,  by  virtue  of  the  words  of 
consecration,  and  offered  up  to  God  in  an  unbloody  manner.  You 
read  (Matt.  xxvi.  26)  that,  on  the  eve  of  His  passion.  He  took  bread, 
and  blessed  and  broke,  and  gave  to  His  disciples ;  and  sjiid,  •"  Take 
ye  and  eat ;  this  is  My  body^  He,  moreover,  authorized  them  to 
do  the  same  thing.  (Luke,  xxii.  19.)  When  the  Saviour  said, 
"this  is  My  body,"  Protestants  say  His  meaning  was,  this  is  not  My 
body,  conformably  to  the  principles  of  Luther,  who  declares  tiiat  a 
command  to  perform  good  works,  in  Scripture,  means  a  prohibition 
of  them.  Now,  if  Christ  meant  to  inculcate  the  mysterious  doctrine 
of  His  real  presence,  what  other  words  could  He  have  made  use  of 
than  those  which  He  spoke  on  this  occasion,  when  He  said,  "  Tliis  is 
My  body."  On  the  contrary,  what  words  were  better  calculate<l  to 
lead  His  followers  into  error,  if  He  meant  that  His  words  should 
have  been  understood  in  a  figurative  sense.  At  all  events,  Protest- 
ants explain  these  words  away  to  the  typical  signification  of  Clirist's 
body ;  but  we  find  nothing  about  type  in  the  text.  It  is  on  tliis 
principle  of  arbitrary  interpretation  that  the  Unitarian  brancii  of 
Protestantism  explains  the  text  of  St.  John,  ''The  Word  w:\s  made 
flesh,"  etc.  (John  i.  15),  [by  which  you,  as  well  as  Catholics,  prove 
the  divinity  of  Christ],  in  any  other  sense  than  that  which  we  affix 
to  it.  Now,  when  you  justly  accuse  them  of  perverting  tlie  obvioua 
meaning  of  this  text  do  they  not  retort  your  argument,  and,  with 


ANSWER  TO   KINE   OBJECTIONS.  649 

equal  justice,  accuse  you  of  perverting  tlie  words  of  our  Saviour, 
"  This  is  my  body,"  whicli  Luther  himself  acknowledged  were  too 
plain  to  be  misunderstood  ?  It  has  been  the  doctrine  of  the  Catholic 
Church,  in  all  ages,  that  Christ  gave  His  real  body  and  blood,  as 
He  expressly  declares  in  the  words  of  the  text,  together  with  power 
and  commission  to  His  apostles  to  do  the  same  thing  in  commemo- 
ration of  Him.  Hence,  having  received  this  doctrine  and  practice 
from  the  apostles,  she  holds  fast  to  this  day  the  traditions  she 
received,  whether  by  word  or  epistle.  (2  Thess.  ii.  15.)  This  is  the 
sacrifice  that  was  prefigured  by  the  offering  of  Melchisedech,  which 
consisted  of  bread  and  wine.  (Gen.  xiv.  18.)  It  was  afterwards 
foretold  by  the  prophet  Malachy  (i.  20,  11),  where  he  saw  in  pro- 
phetic vision  that  "  in  every  place,  from  the  rising  to  the  setting  of 
the  sun,  sacrifice  and  a  clean  oblation  were  offered  to  the  Lord 
among  the  Gentiles."  Now,  where  is  the  sacrifice  in  every  place 
among  the  Gentiles,  unless  it  be  the  sacrifice  which  is  offered  by  the 
Bishops  and  priests  of  the  Church,  in  which  Jesus  Christ,  by  an  un- 
speakable mystery  of  love,  makes  Himself  the  unspotted  victim,  the 
clean  oblation  ?  Jesus  Christ  loved  His  own  who  were  in  the 
world,  and  loved  them  to  the  end.  (John,  xiii.  1.)  Now  why 
should  it  be  thought  a  thing  incredible  that  He  left  the  sacrament 
of  His  body  and  blood  as  the  pledge  of  that  infinite  love  ? 

I  grant  that  we  are  unable  to  comprehend  this  mystery  by  mere 
reason;  but  reason  and  revelation  tell  us  that  "with  God  no  word 
shall  be  impossible"  (Luke,  i.  27);  and  when  we  read,  moreover, 
that  Christ  did  change  bread  and  wine  into  His  body  and  blood, 
and  commanded  His  apostles  to  do  the  same,  we  act  in  conformity 
with  sound  reason  when  we  believe  that  the  lawful  successors  of  the 
apostles  are  enabled,  by  the  same  divine  power,  to  do  the  same  thing 
at  this  day.  It  is  a  mystery;  but  you  do  not  stop  at  mysteries; 
else  you  will  reject  the  trinity  of  persons  in  God,  as  well  as  the 
resurrection  of  the  body,  etc.  In  a  word,  if  you  wait  till  reason  is 
satisfied,  the  smallest  blade  of  grass  will  be  enough  to  contbund 
you.  Do  you  not  remark  that  St.  Paul  attests  the  doctrine  of  the  real 
presence  (1  Cor.  x.  16),  where  be  calls  the  chalice  which  he  blessed, 
and  the  bread  which  he  broke,  the  blood  and  body  of  the  Lord  ? 
In  this  text,  observe  that  the  apostle  blesses  and  breaks,  as  Christ 
had  done,  and  attributes  the  same  effect  to  his  own  blessing  as  to 
that  of  his  divine  Master,  viz.,  the  real  presence  of  the  Lord's  body. 
He  likewise  writes  to  his  disciple  Timothy,  to  commend  the  things 
he  had  heard  to  faithful  men,  who  should  be  fit  to  teach  others  also. 
(2  Tim.  ii.  2.)  Hence,  this  doctrine  of  the  Mass  has  been  handed 
down  from  age  to  age ;  insomuch,  that  the  Eastern  heretics,  who 
were  cut  off  from  the  Church  more  than  one  thousand  three  hundred 
years  since,  still  retain  it,  as  it  is  retained  in  the  Catholic  communion 
to  the  present  time,  which  they  certainly  would  not  have  done  if 
they  could  have  found  its  origin  other  than  apostolical.  It  is  well 
known  that  Luther  maintained  tlie  doctrine  of  Christ's  real  pres- 
ence to  his  dying  day ;  and  if  he  refrained  from  saying  Mass,  it  was 


650  ARCHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

not  (as  he  himself  informs  us)  till  after  the  devil  had  urged  powerful 
arguments  against  it.  Calvin  never  was  a  priest ;  and  having  no 
authority  to  offer  up  sacrifice,  it  is  not  to  be  wondered,  at  that  he  re- 
jected the  Mass  in  his  new  system  of  religion. 

In  short,  from  the  evidence  of  the  texts  already  adduced,  I  will 
venture  to  affirm,  that  if  there  is  one  dogma  of  religion  which  an 
upright  and  unsophisticated  mind  can  discover  in  the  sacred  writing, 
it  is  that  of  Christ's  real  presence  in  the  holy  Eucharist.  How 
would  such  a  mind,  unprejudiced  by  previously  conceived  opinions, 
ever  imagine  that  these  words  of  Scripture,  "This  is  My  body," 
mean  this  is  NOT  My  body,  but  a  figure  of  My  body.  But  if 
such  a  mind  should  learn,  moreover,  that  this  figurative  meaning 
was  almost  unheard  of  from  the  birth  of  Christianity  down  to  that 
of  Protestantism  in  the  sixteenth  century,  it  would  not  hesitate  for  a 
moment  to  reject  an  interpretation  so  arbitrary  and  so  modern. 
Such  a  mind,  however,  is  really  to  be  met  with  ;  and  Protestants,  as 
well  as  others,  are  taught  no  small  share  of  their  religion  in  the 
nursery,  long  before  they  are  able  to  read  the  Bible  ;  and  when 
they  come  to  open  the  sacred  volume,  their  minds  are  already 
warped  by  prejudice  against  other  religions.  Popery  especially  ;  be- 
cause it  was  pictured,  in  their  youthful  imaginations,  as  an  abomina- 
tion, and  because  they  read  its  pretended  impiety  in  tracts  of  relig- 
ious bigotry,  which  are  printed  in  large  characters  for  the  use  of 
children.  Hence,  when  they  come  to  read  the  Scriptures  in  more 
advanced  years,  they  can  see  nothing  in  them  but  the  opinions  of 
their  several  religious  leaders.  The  Episcopalian  reads,  in  fact,  the 
thirty-nine  articles,  while  he  thinks  he  is  reading  the  gospel.  The 
Presbyterian  "  cannot  find"  these  articles  in  holy  writ ;  but  most 
of  Calvin's  doctrine  appears  evident.  The  Methodist  can  see  noth- 
ing but  Wesley's  or  Whitfield's  opinion  throughout  the  whole  Bible  ! 
Whilst  the  doctrines  of  Socinus  appear  equally  evident  to  the  Uni- 
tarian. Thus,  in  the  language  of  an  apostle  (2  Tim.  iii.  7):  "They 
are  ever  learning,  and  never  able  to  come  to  the  knowledge  of  the 
truth."  The  Catholic,  on  the  contrary,  reads  the  Scriptures  in  that 
867186  in  which  they  have  been  understood  by  tlie  tchole  Church, 
which  has  preserved  and  explained  them  from  the  beginning  ;  and 
he  would  begin  to  have  serious  doubts  whether  the  Scriptures  were 
really  the  word  of  God,  if  he  could  believe  that  their  true  meaning 
had  been  a  "hidden  treasure"  for  more  than  fifteen  hundred  years, 
till  Luther,  Zuinglius,  Fox,  Cranmei',  etc.,  I'ose,  and  undertook  to 
point  it  out. 

You  next  protest  against  fasting  ;  and  I  must  confess  the  doctri7ie 
is  not  very  agreeable  to  nature,  and  the  practice  still  less.  But 
surely  a  follower  of  Christ  should  not  protest  against  a  doctiine 
which  our  Saviour  declared  His  children  should  practise,  though  not 
while  the  Bridegroom  was  with  them.  (Matt.  ix.  15.)  If  tasting 
were  a  useless  ceremony,  do  you  believe,  sir,  the  saints  and  cliosen 
servants  of  God,  under  both  the  ancient  and  Christian  dispensation, 
would  have  practised  it  ?  and  that  they  did  practise  it  is  sufficiently 


ANSWER   TO   NINE   OBJECTIONS.  651 

proved  from  Daniel,  x.  3,  12,  and  from  Acts,  xiii.  3  ;  xiv.  22.  If  these 
are  deemed  insufficient,  you  may  further  see  Joel,  ii.  12;  1  Esdras, 
viii.  23  ;  Xehera.  i.  4  ;  Jonas,  iii.  5,  in  the  Old  Testament ;  and  in  the 
New — Matt.  iv.  2  ;  Mark,  ii.  20  ;  Luke,  v.  35  ;  2  Cor.  vi.  5,  etc.  War- 
ranted by  these  authorities,  the  Church  has  ever  taught  that,  through 
the  merits  of  Christ,  fasting  is  profitable  to  salvation,  when  accom- 
panied with  humility  and  compunction  of  heart.  As  to  pilgrimages, 
Catholics  consider  them  good  and  laudable,  or  evil  and  unavailing, 
according  to  the  motive  for  which  they  are  undertaken,  and  the  rela- 
tive situation  of  the  person  who  wishes  to  perform  them.  There  is 
no  doubt  but  pious  impressions  are  produced  or  heightened  by  ex- 
ternal circumstances,  as  travellers  and  pilgrims  have  experienced 
where  they  could  say,  "  Here  it  was  that  the  Saviour  of  the  world 
was  born,  and  here  that  He  shed  His  precious  blood  for  me." 

It  was  natural  for  you,  after  having  rejected  the  merit  of  good 
works,  to  object  to  those  of  supererogation ;  but  do  you  not  read  in 
the  nineteenth  chapter  of  St.  Matthew  that  Christ  said.  "If  you  wish  to 
be  perfect,  go  sell  all  thou  hast,  and  give  to  the  poor,  and  thou  shalt 
have  treasure  in  heaven,  and  come  and  follow  Me  ?"  Now  this 
selling  and  giving  is  obligatory  on  all,  or  it  is  a  counsel  to  those  ordy 
who  wish  to  be  perfect.  It  cannot  be  the  former,  because  if  all  were 
to  sell,  who  would  remain  to  buy  ?  Consequently,  it  is  of  counsel 
only  for  some ;  you  do  not  sin  by  not  following  it,  but  if  you  do 
follow  it  you  perform  what  the  Church  calls  a  work  of  supereroga- 
tion, and  what  Jesus  Christ  promises  to  reward  with  treasure  in 
heaven. 

Fifthly. — "  You  protest  against  the  Church  of  Rome,  because,  you  say,  she  has 
appointed  the  five  following  sacraments — confirmation,  penance,  extreme  unc- 
tion, holy  orders,  and  matriinony  (in  addition  to  baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper, 
which  were  ordained  by  Christ  himself) — thereby  diverting  the  attention  of  her 
members  from  these  to  those  of  her  own  institution,  which  are  not  necessary  to 
salvation,  nor  commanded  as  such  in  Scripture,"  etc. 

On  what  authority,  sir,  do  you  accuse  the  Church  of  having  insti- 
tuted five  new  sacraments  ?  What  proof  do  you  adduce  to  support 
your  accusation  ?  It  is  strange  that  she  should  have  appointed  five 
sacraments,  when  she  has  always  taught  that  she  has  no  authority  to 
appoint  one,  or  to  make  so  much  as  a  single  article  of  faith.  But, 
at  the  same  time,  she  has  no  right  to  diminish  the  number  of  sacra- 
ments by  even  one.  She  must  teach  concerning  them  as  has 
been  taught  from  the  beginning ;  because  she  holds  it  to  be  equally 
criminal  to  take  away  a  sacrament  from  the  number  appointed  by 
divine  authority,  as  to  add  one  which  had  not  been  so  ordained. 

A  sacrament  is  generally  defined  to  be  an  "  exterior  ceremony, 
ordained  by  Jesus  Christ,  for  the  communication  of  internal  grace." 
Now,  the  Quaker  maintains  that  Christ  never  ordained  any  such 
ceremony.  You  say  He  did  ordain  two,  and  two  only  ;  and  thus  ac- 
cuse the  Quaker  of  rejecting  two  sacraments,  and  the  Catholic  of 
framing  five  which  are  not  of  divine  ordination.  If  I  can  show  you 
by  Scripture  and  reason  that  there  are  more  than  two  sacraments  of 


653  ARCHBISHOP  HUGHES. 

divine  institution,  it  will  follow  that  you  are  as  guilty  as  you  esteem 
the  Quaker  in  rejecting  what  God  has  appointed  ;  and  tims  the 
Catholic  Church  will  stand  exculpated  from  the  charge  of  having 
ordained  five  new  sacraments. 

You  say  that  those  sacraments  are  not  appointed  in  Scripture — 
yes,  you  say  so — and  the  Quaker  says  precisely  the  same  of  baptism 
and  the  Lord's  Supper.  I  answer  that  the  religious  observance  of 
Sunday  is  not  appointed  in  Scripture ;  and  yet  you  both  pass  by  the 
Sabbath  which  is  commanded,  and  sanctify  the  Sunday,  as  do  the 
Catholics.  The  Scripture  itself  assures  you  (John,  xxi.  25)  that 
"  there  are  many  other  things  which  Jesus  did  that  are  not  written  ;" 
and  among  these  other  things  might  not  our  Saviour  have  ordained 
the  five  sacraments  in  question  ?  This  is  the  more  probable,  as  they 
were  considered  to  be  sacraments  by  the  Fathers  of  the  Church  who 
lived  more  than  fourteen  hundred  years  ago,  and  who  consequently 
had  better  |means  to  ascertain  whether  they  were  of  divine  institu- 
tion than  you  have  at  present.  But  I  maintain  that  they  do  rest  on 
the  authority  of  Scripture,  although,  like  the  Quaker  with  respect 
to  baptism,  you  say  you  cannot  find  them  there.  Take  your  Testa- 
ment and  look  at  the  eighth  chapter  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  verse 
eighteenth.  You  there  find  that  the  Holy  Ghost  was  communicated  to 
the  newly-baptized  Christians  by  the  ceremony  of  imposing  hands. 
Now  it  is  by  this  same  ceremony  that  the  successors  of  the  apostles,  the 
Bishops  of  the  Catholic  Clmrch,  confer  the  sacrament  of  confirmation 
at  the  present  day.  That  this  was  a  real  sacrament  is  undeniable, 
from  the  subsequent  declaration  in  the  text,  that  the  Holy  Ghost 
was  THEREBY  communicated ;  and  when  you  see  the  apostles  con- 
ferring it,  consistently  with  truth  or  justice,  how  can  you  accuse  the 
Church  of  having  invented  it,  unless  you  charge  the  apostles  as 
those  inventing  Catholics  ? 

But  in  what  part  of  Scripture  do  we  find  the  written  ordinance  ot 
sacramental  imposition  of  hands  by  Christ?  In  no  part  of  it. 
Hence,  in  your  objection,  you  conclude  that  since  Christ  did  not 
ordain  it  in  writing,  thei'efore  He  did  not  ordain  it  at  all.  This  con- 
clusion is  rash,  and  contradictory  to  Scripture  itself;  because  St. 
John  says,  as  I  before  observed,  that  Jesus  did  many  other  things 
that  are  not  written.  And  in  the  general  commission  He  gave  to  His 
apostles.  He  told  them  to  teach  to  the  nations  to  observe  not  only 
what  should  be  written  of  Him  (because  as  yet  no  part  of  the  Chris- 
tian doctrine  had  been  committed  to  writing),  but,  moreover,  all 
whatsoever  He  had  commanded  them.  Now,  might  not  the  sacra- 
ment of  confirmation  have  been  included  in  these  verbal  commands^ 
which  were  the  only  ones  given  by  Jesus,  and  the  extent  and  value 
of  which  are  nowhere  specified  ?  or  rather,  does  it  not  appear  cer- 
tain to  every  unprejudiced  reader  of  the  Scripture,  since  we  see  the 
apostles  universally  imposing  their  hands  on  the  newly  baptized, 
with  the  express  confidence  that  the  Holy  Gliost  would  thereby  be 
communicated?  They  might  indeed  impose  hands;  but  unless 
Christ  had  ordained  that  ceremony  for  the  communication  of  grace, 


ANSWEE   TO   NINE   OBJECTIONS.  653 

the  Holy  Spirit  would  not  have  been  tbei*eby  infused  into  tlie  con- 
firmed, which  the  text  invariably  declares  to  have  been  tlie  effect  of 
such  imposition.  We  find  the  apostle  of  the  Gentiles  performed  the 
same  ceremony,  and  the  same  Holy  Ghost  thereby  came  upon  those 
whom  he  had  just  baptized  at  Ephesus.  (Acts,  xix.  6.)  And  in  the 
epistle  to  the  Hebrews  (vi.  2)  he  refers  to  it,  and  ranks  it  with  the 
most  momentous  doctrines  of  Christianity. 

Perhaps  you  will  say  that  the  apostles  alone  had  the  right  to 
communicate  the  Holy  Ghost  by  the  imposition  of  hands.  You 
have  the  same  reason  to  suppose  they  alone  had  the  right  to  baptize 
or  consecrate,  or  discharge  any  other  ministerial  duty.  But,  alas  ! 
Protestants  have  no  rule  of  faith :  in  the  unlimited  prerogative  of 
private  interpretation,  they  are  left  to  siqjpose,  and  guess,  and  be- 
lieve, and  disbelieve  what  they  please.  Hence,  in  the  explanation  of 
Scripture,  they  contradict  each  other  in  an  endless  variety  of  ways. 
The  Catholic  Church,  on  the  contrary,  clings  to  the  doctrines  re- 
ceived from  Christ  and  his  apostles,  whether  by  word  or  by  epistle, 
as  to  an  anchor  of  salvation,  because  she  knows  that  the  meaning  of 
Scripture  is  the  same  now  that  it  was  from  the  beginning,  and  that 
it  cannot  change  to  suit  the  shifting  creeds  of  Protestant  sects  or 
Protestant  individuals. 

The  other  four  sacraments  rest  on  authority  equally  convincing  as 
to  their  divine  institution,  as  I  will  show  of  penance  in  another  place. 
If  the  arguments  here  adduced  are  weighty  enough  to  convince  an 
unprejudiced  mind  that  confirmation  is  a  sacrament  of  divine  ordi- 
nance (as  the  practice  of  the  apostles  puts  beyond  doubt),  it  follows 
that  tliere  are  more  saci'aments  in  the  Clmrch  of  Christ  than  baj)tisra 
tind  the  Loid's  Supper,  and  that  your  protest  is  unwarrantable  and 
groundless,  which  is  enough  for  my  present  purpose.  If,  on  the 
contrary,  those  arguments,  fairly  and  candidly  considered,  still  seem 
inconclusive,  you  are  at  liberty  to  expose  their  weakness.  In  this, 
however,  you  must  beware  not  to  use  reasoning  which  will  apply 
equally  to  baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper,  because  the  Quaker  will 
smile  when  he  hears  you  shaping  arguments  which  will  turn  against 
yourself. 

As  to  your  insinuation  that  the  Church  diverts  the  attention  of 
her  members  from  baptism  and  the  Eucharist,  or  Lord's  Supper,  it  is 
so  palpably  unfounded  that  nothing  but  ignorance  will  screen  the 
original  Avriter  from  the  imputation  of  malice  in  penning  it.  The 
fact  is  so  far  otherwise,  that  Catholics  believe  baptism  to  be  essential 
to  salvation  for  all  those  who  have  it  in  their  power  to  receive  it ; 
and  that  the  Eucharist,  being  considered  not  only  as  a  sacrament, 
but  also  as  the  victim  of  that  sacrifice  of  which  Malachy  spoke, 
belongs  to  the  essence  of  our  religion  ;  and  to  these  two  the  Church 
attaches  more  importance,  if  possible,  than  to  all  the  others ;  and 
yet  you  say  that  she  diverts  the  attention  of  her  membeis  from 
them. 

Sixthly. — "  You  protest  against  the  Clmrch  of  Rome,  because,  you  say,  she 
teaches  the  doctrine  of  transubstantiation  ;  by  which hermembers  are  required 


654  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

to  believe  that  the  bread  and  wine  are  actually  changed,  at  the  time  of  consecra- 
tion, into  the  body  and  blood,  soul  and  divinity  of  Christ,  and  to  fall  down 
before  them  and  worship  them  as  such.  She  likewise  denies  the  cup  to  her 
laity,"  etc. 

The  word  transubstantiation  is  become  so  cant  among  Protestants, 
that  against  it  they  direct  all  their  controversial  arguments.  This 
would  be  proper  enough  for  those  of  the  Lutherans,  who  believe  the 
real  presence  by  eonsubstantiation ;  but  for  those  who  do  not  be- 
lieve Jesus  Christ  to  be  present  in  the  sacrament  of  the  E.\charist, 
under  any  form — except,  peradventure,  by  His  attribute  of  ubiquity) 
— it  is  useless  to  protest  against  transubstantiation  more  than  against 
consubstantiation.  The  main  question  is,  whether  He  is  or  is  not 
really  present  by  virtue  of  the  words  of  consecration  which  He  used 
at  the  institution  of  this  sacrament,  and  commanded  His  apostles  to 
use  in  His  name.  If  the  authority  of  Scripture,  and  the  universal 
belief  of  all  ages  and  Christian  nations,  with  the  exception  of  a  few 
modern  sects,  is  sufficient  to  convince  you  that  He  is  present,  then 
we  may  examine  after  what  manner  that  presence  is  effected,  which 
manner  is  but  a  secondary  consideration. 

Your  objection  against  the  real  presence  seems  to  have  been  bor- 
rowed from  the  incredulous  Jews;  for  when  the  Saviour  said,  "  I 
am  the  living  bread  which  came  down  from  heaven.  If  any  man 
eat  of  this  bread  he  shall  live  forever;  and  the  bread  that  I  will  give 
is  My  flesh,  for  the  life  of  the  world ;"  the  text  declares  that  the 
*'  Jews  strove  among  themselves,"  saying,  ''  How  can  this  man  give 
us  His  flesh  to  eatV"  Then  Jesus  said  unto  them,  "Verily,  verily, 
I  say  unto  you:  unless  you  eat  the  flesh  of  the  Son  of  man,  and  drink 
His  blood,  ye  have  no  life  in  you ;  for  My  flesh  is  meat  indeed,  My 
blood  is  drink  indeed."  Do  you  believe  that  Jesus  Christ  was  an 
impostor?  Do  not  be  shocked  at  the  question  ;  for  either  Ho  meant 
to  give  them  His  body  and  blood  to  eat  and  drink,  or  He  did  not. 
If  He  did  not,  why  did  He  suffer,  not  only  the  multitude,  but  His  own 
beloved  disciples  also,  to  secede  from  Him,  because  they  understood 
(as  Catholics  do)  that  He  spoke  literally  of  His  true  flesh  and  blood  ; 
but  because  they  could  not  understand  Ao^o,  they  went  back  and  walked 
no  more  with  Him.  (John,  vi.  67.)  If,  on  the  contrary,  He  meant 
to  be  understood  according  to  the  literal  meaning  of  His  words  (as 
appears  evident  from  His  not  explaining  it  in  any  other  sense),  why 
do  yoit  deny  the  fulfilment  of  these  words  in  the  sacrament  of  His 
love,  because,  like  the  seceding  Jews,  you  do  not  understand  the 
mysterious  how  ?  We  do  not  find  that  He  softened  this  hard  saying 
by  any  explanation,  even  to  His  selected  twelve — where  He  asked 
them  in  the  words  of  tender  complaint,  "  Will  you  also  go  away  ?" 
Then  Simon  Peter,  without  being  staggered  at  the  word  whicli  he 
did  not  understand  more  than  you  do,  answered  Him,  "  Lord,  to 
whom  shall  we  go  ?  Thou  hast  the  words  of  eternal  life."  (John, 
vi.  69.)  Now,  if  it  be  an  error  to  believe,  as  Catholic^  do,  that  the 
body  and  blood  of  Christ  are  really  contained  in  the  sacrament  of 
the  Eucharist,  you  must  admit  that  it  is  an  error  to  which  the  words 


ANSWER   TO   NINE   OBJECTIONS.  655 

of  Christ  Himself  gave  rise  in  the  minds  of  His  contemporary  dis- 
ciples, and  of  which  He  olfered  no  explanation  to  undeceive  them. 
But  as  Clirist  cannot  be  the  author  of  deception,  I  infer  that  He 
meant  precisely  what  His  words  import — that  His  body  and  blood, 
and  consequently  His  soul  and  divinity,  are  really  contained  in  the 
sacrament  of  the  Eucharist ;  and  that,  under  the  appearance  of  bread 
and  wine,  we  adore  no  other  than  the  Saviour  of  the  world  Himself 
As  to  the  communion  under  one  kind,  which  you  call  "  denying 
the  chalice  to  the  laity,"  I  grant  that  Christ  said  to  His  apostles, 
"  Drink  ye  all  of  this ;"  He  also  said  on  the  same  occasion,  "  Do  this 
in  commemoration  of  Me."  Now,  on  what  authority  can  you  make 
the  first  charge  applicable  to  the  laity,  whilst  you  resti'ict  the  latter 
to  the  clergy  ?  and  yet  you  do  not  allow  the  laity  of  either  sex  to 
pronounce  the  consecration  of  the  sacrament,  although  you  make 
this  nothing  more  than  a  mere  figurative  type.  Hence,  the  texts  of 
Scripture  by  which  you  pretend  to  prove  the  rights  of  the  laity  to 
the  chalice  will  equally  prove  their  rights  to  consecrate  both  species, 
and  to  distribute  them  to  others,  which,  however,  I  presume  you 
will  not  admit.  Christ  has  said,  "  He  who  eateth  My  flesh  and 
drinketh  My  blood  abideth  in  Me  and  I  in  him;"  but  He  has  equally 
said,  speaking  of  His  body,  "  He  who  eateth  this  bread  shall  live 
forever,"  Now,  by  this  text  it  is  evident  that  Christ  attributes  the 
same  effect  to  the  reception  of  one  species  only  that  He  does  else- 
where to  both ;  and  in  all  the  Scripture  we  have  no  positive  assur- 
ance of  the  contrary.  If  we  considered  the  sacrament  of  the  Eucha- 
rist only  as  a  figurative  nieinorial  of  Christ's  death,  I  grant  that,  as 
the  chalice  would  represent  the  blood,  we  should  have  no  reason  to 
dispense  with  it.  But  we  Catholics  possess  the  reality,  an(J  in  the 
reception  of  the  one  species  we  receive  the  same  God,  whole  and  en- 
tire, as  He  is  contained  in  both. 

Seventhly. — "  You  protest  against  the  Church  of  Rome,  because  she  believes, 
you  say,  that  repeating  our  prayers  should  be  inflicted  as  a  penance  ;  and  be- 
cause her  public  worship  is  offered  in  Latin,  a  language  unknown  to  most  of 
the  congregation,  so  that  it  is  impossible  for  them  to  join  with  their  under- 
standing contrary  to,"  etc. 

Here,  again,  you  reprobate  the  repetition  of  prayers  for  penance, 
as  if  penance  by  fasting  would  meet  your  .approbation  ;  whereas,  in 
the  next  objection,  no  less  than  in  a  former  one,  we  find  you  "  pro- 
testing" against  the  whole  doctrine  of  penance,  as  contrary  to  what 
you  believe.  This  disordei',  however,  in  the  arrangement  of  your 
objections  is,  I  make  no  doubt,  to  be  attributed  rather  to  the  mobil- 
ity and  unsettled  state  of  Protestant  belief  than  to  a  want  of  intel- 
lectual capacity  on  your  part,  or  on  the  part  of  him  fi-om  whom  you 
copied.  I  shall  here  prove  that  the  repetition  of  prayers  has  nothing 
in  it  objectionable ;  and  under  the  next  objection  (where  it  comes  more 
\fi  order),  I  shall  prove  penance  itself  to  be  a  real  sacrament. 

What  do  we  read  in  St.  Mark,  xiv.  39?  where,  speaking  of  Jesus, 
it  is  said,  "  And  going  away  again   He  prayed,  saying  the  same 


656  AKCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

words.''''  Here  observe  that  our  Saviour  had  ah-eady  prayed  to  His 
heavenly  Father,  and  that  in  His  second  prayer  He  rejyeated  the 
same  words.  Now,  it"  to  repeat  over  the  same  piaycr  were  unlaw- 
ful, do  you  believe  the  Son  of  God  would  have  authorized  it  by  His 
own  example  ?  Do  you  suppose,  moreover,  that  when  He  taiiGjht 
His  disciples  that  most  sublime  of  all  prayers,  beginning,  "  Our 
Father,  who  art  in  heaven,"  etc.,  He  intended  that  it  should  not  be 
repeated  a  second  time  ?  If  He  did  not,  can  you  condemn  the  rep- 
etition of  the  same  prayer  ?  But  it  would  seem  that  Protestants 
are  afraid  their  public  prayers  will  not  be  heard,  unless  they  appear 
to  compose  as  they  pronounce  them — although  they  are  not  unfre- 
quently  composed  in  the  study,  and  committed  to  memory,  pi-e- 
viously.  If  you  could  but  have  an  opportunity  of  comparing  the 
middle  and  both  ends  of  some  (truly  extemporaneous)  prayers  that 
I  have  heard  delivered,  you  would  pronounce  them  the  effusions  of 
a  disordered  intellect.  Such,  however,  is  the  rage  of  the  times,  that 
I  have  seen  a  hundred  mouths  open,  shouting  Amen  to  all  the  con- 
tradiction and  absurdity  Avhich  they  contained.  For  my  own  part, 
I  do  not  believe  that  a  new  arrangement  of  words  is  absolutely  ne- 
cessary for  every  succeeding  petition  to  the  throne  of  mercy.  Surely 
God  will  not  be  displeased  at  me  for  repeating  over  and  over  again 
that  prayer  which  Jesus  Christ  taught  His  disciples,  provided  ray 
heart  joins  in  the  supplication. 

Next,  you  object  that  our  worship  is  offered  up  in  a  tongue  which 
most  of  the  congregation  do  not  understand.  You  cannot  be  igno- 
rant, sir,  that  the  Latin  was  the  vulgar  language  of  Europe  at  the 
time  when  the  apostles  established  the  great  Western  or  Latin 
Church,  and  is  still  a  common  language  among  educated  persons  in 
every  civilized  country  of  the  world.  Hence  it  was  natural  for  the 
Catholic  Church  to  adopt  this  language  in  her  puhlic  liturgy  as 
Christianity  spread  throughout  the  empire.  But  that  language  grad- 
ually became  obsolete  in  the  decline  of  Roman  greatness,  and  was 
succeeded  by  the  barbarous  dialects  of  hordes  who  invaded  the  em- 
pire ;  so  that  the  Church  did  not  introduce  a  neto  language  into  the 
liturgy,  but  the  peoj^le  departed /y-o>/i  that  tchich  was  the  most  gen- 
eral at  the  time  Chi-istianity  was  preached  to  the  world. 

A  change  of  language  is  but  too  favorable  to  a  change  of  doctrine, 
and  as  the  Church  has  to  preserve  the  same  doctrine  to  the  end  of 
ages,  it  is  proper  that  her  liturgy  should  still  be  performed  in  that 
language  in  which  it  was  originally  established.  Hence,  in  those 
countries  where  the  Greek  language  then  prevailed,  the  pure  Greek 
is  still  retained  in  the  liturgy,  no  less  than  the  Latin  in  other  parts ; 
although  both  have  been  corrupted  or  forgotten  by  the  common 
people  long  ago.  Besides,  in  a  Church  which  is  imlversal  or  cath- 
olic^ spread  more  or  less  over  the  whole  world,  it  is  easy  to  pei'ceive 
the  beauty^  the  ictillty,  and  I  had  almost  said  the  necessity  <jf 
adopting,  or  rather  preserving,  a  uniformity  of  language  in  public 
worship.  It  is  also  a  common  medium  of  communication  between 
the  extremities  of  the  earth,  by  which  those  to  whom  it  was  said  iu 


ANSWER   TO    NIKE   OBJECTIONS.  657 

the  persons  of  their  apostolical  predecessors,  "  Go,  teach  all  na- 
tions," etc,  are  enabled  to  hold  communion  witli  each  otiioi-.  If 
om*  Church  were  the  Kirk  ot"  Scotland  or  the  Establishment  of  Eng- 
land, we  might  adopt  the  Scottish  or  English  dialects,  with  their 
several  peculiarities  of  idiom,  without  much  inconvenience ;  but  as 
she  is  neither  of  parliamentary  nor  of  conventional  institution,  nor 
calculated  for  any  single  section  or  province  of  the  earth  exclusively — 
in  a  word,  as  she  is  the  Catholic  Church — it  is  highly  proper  that 
the  language  of  the  lituigy  should  be  everywhere  the  same;  so  that 
the  Catholic  merchant,  when  he  sails  from  Philadelphia  to  France, 
or  England,  or  China,  may  be  present  at  the  same  sacrifice,  and  of- 
fered up  in  the  same  language,  as  it  is  in  his  native  city.  But  you 
say  the  common  people  do  not  understand  it.  I  grant  that  generally 
they  do  not ;  but  to  remedy  this  inconvenience,  the  pastors  are  en- 
joined by  the  Council  of  Trent  to  explain  from  time  to  time  every 
part  of  it  to  their  flocks,  and  translations  are  in  the  hands  of  the 
laity  in  every  country.  Is  not  this  sufficient  ?  If  it  is  not  sufficient 
in  tiie  liturgy,  how  can  it  be  in  the  Scriptures  ?  And  yet  I  presume 
that  you  yourself  must  remain  satisfied  with  a  translation  of  them, 
although  you  do  not  protest  against  the  sacred  volume  because  you 
are  not  able  to  read  it  in  the  original  Hebrew  and  Greek.  In  every 
religion  that  has  .a  liturgy,  the  office  of  the  priest  is  distinct  from 
that  of  the  people:  thus,  in  the  ancient  law,  the  high-priest  went 
alone  into  the  tabernacle  to  make  atonement  (Levit.  xvi.  17)  ;  and 
thus  Zachary  offered  incense  in  the  temple  by  himself,  while  the 
multitude  prayed  without.  (Luke,  i.  10.)  You  will  tell  me  the  lan- 
guage of  the  priest  and  of  the  people  should  be  the  same ;  and  so  it 
universally  is,  in  the  sermons  and  instructions  addressed  to  the  latter. 
fl3ut  in  the  Catholic  Churcii  public  worship  is  addressed  to  God,  who 
understands  the  language  of  the  heart,  whether  in  Latin  by  the 
priest,  or  in  English,  French,  or  German  by  the  people.  Will  you 
say  that  revelation  affords  no  precedent  for  retaining  an  obsolete 
language  in  the  performance  of  the  liturgy  ?  Then  what  is  the  rea- 
son the  Jews,  after  the  Babylonish  captivity,  when  the  Chaldaic  be- 
came the  vernacular,  still  performed  theirs  in  the  original  Hebrew,^ 
which  the  laity  did  not  understand  ?  And  that  St.  Paul  addressed 
to  the  Romans  an  epistle  in  the  Greek  language,  although  he  knew 
that  they  made  use  of  the  Latin,  and  that  comparatively  few  of  them 
understood  any  other?  And  lastly,  to  recur  to  profane  authority, 
did  not  the  English  Protestants  themselves,  whilst  they  cried  out 
against  the  use  of  an  unknown  language  in  the  Catholic  Church, 
cause  the  Episcopal  liturgy  to  be  performed  in  English,  and  sermons 
to  be  preached  in  the  English  language,  throughout  all  Ireland,  dur- 
ing the  reigns  of  Elizabeth  and  Charles  the  First ;  and  imposed  a 
Aveekly  pecmiiary  mulct  on  the  inhabitants  for  not  attending  a  wor- 
ship, the  language  of  which  they  did  not  understand,  and  which  was 
nevertheless  given  as  a  medium  of  public  instruction  ?  Here  are 
precedents  for  the  use  of  an  unknown  tongue  in  the  liturgy,  from 
both  sacred  and  profane  history.  But  after  all  your  groundless  pro- 
VoL  II.— 42 


658  AKciinisiioi'  hughes. 

testations  .ni^ainst  tlic  laiKjnafje,  \vc  know  it  is  the  lituro^y  itself  that 
you  mean  to  comlenm  ;  and  that  tlie  performance  of  it  in  English 
AVouUl  give  yon  no  other  satisfiiction  than  by  seeming  to  modernize 
a  manner  of  divine  worship,  whose  venerable  antiquity  is  displeasing 
to  its  opi>onents,  whose  institution  is  coeval  with  Christianity,  and 
which,  by  contrast,  exhibits  yours  to  be  modern  indeed. 

Eighthly. — "  You  protest  against  the  Church  of  Rome,  because  (you  say)  she 
believes  the  pardon  of  sins  past,  present,  and  to  come  may  be  sold  by  her  clergy, 
and  that  it  is  in  their  power  unconditionally  to  grant  such  pardons  for  money," 
etc. 

In  this  objection  there  is  a  cloud  of  calumny  condensed  into  the 
compass  of  a  few  words,  of  which  there  is  not  one  founded  on  truth, 
except  the  protest  and  parenthesis.  The  time  was  in  this  country 
when  such  absurdities  might  have  beeji  ascribed  in  honest  ignorance 
of  our  creed  ;  but  that  a  man  Avho  is  able  to  read  our  catechisms 
could  sit  down  at  this  enlightened  day  and  frame,  or  even  copy,  this 
foul  charge,  without  sinning  against  his  better  knowledge,  is  scarcely 
credible.  Charity  itself  is  compelled  to  ascribe  its  origin  to  some- 
thing less  consistent  with  a  generous  and  candid  spirit  than  mere 
ignorance.  How  far  these  observations  are  applicable  to  you,  sir,  I 
will  leave  to  your  own  consciousness  to  determine ;  and  if  it  can 
plead  "  not  guilty,"  so  much  the  better  for  youiself. 

I  shall  proceed,  first,  to  state  the  real  Catholic  doctrine  on  this 
subject,  and  then  to  prove  it,  no  less  from  Scripture  than  from 
reason  and  the  common  nature  of  things. 

The  Church,  then,  does  not  believe  it  to  be  in  the  power 
of  the  priests  to  sell  pardon  for  sins,  nor  to  pardon  future  sin, 
nor  any  sin  whatever,  unconditionally.  She  knows,  indeed,  that  to 
her  ministry  belongs,  by  virtue  of  regular  succession,  the  dispensa- 
tion of  the  mysteries  of  God  (1  Cor.  iv.  1,2);  but  she  knows  that 
among  the  dispensers  it  is  required  "  that  a  man  be  found  faithful," 
and  if  any  of  her  ministers  would  dare  to  make  a  traffic  of  those 
mysteries,  she  would  declare  him  an  unfaithful  dispenser,  and  warn 
the  tiock  against  such  a  hireling  shepherd  as  against  the  destroying 
wolf  But  does  it  follow  because  the  Catholic  clergy,  i.  e.,  priests  and 
bishops,  cannot  sdl  the  pardon  of  sins,  nor  pardon  sin  uncondition- 
ally, that  therefore  they  cannot  absolve  sinners  who  are  disposed  to 
profit  by  tJie  ministry  of  reconciliation  which  was  intrusted  to  the 
apostles  and  their  successors?  (2  Cor.  v.  IS,  19.)  It  seems  that 
your  objection  against  the  forgiveness  of  sins  is  borrowed  from 
Scripture  itselt"  for  we  read  (Mark,  ii.  7)  that  the  scribes  accused 
Christ  of  blasphemy,  and  said,  in  nearly  your  own  words,  "  Who  can 
forgive  sins  but  only  God  ?"  Xow  I  grant  that  the  forgiveness  of 
sins  belongs  essentially  to  God  alone ;  but  does  it  follow  that  He 
caimot  commit  tliat  power  to  His  minister?  Certainly  not.  We 
believe  that  all  the  power  of  the  Church  to  forgive  sins  is  delegated 
by  God.  And  while  you  say  that  the  Deity  alone  can  forgive  sins, 
like  the  scribes  in  the  text,  we  say  so  too,  and  add,  moreover,  that 
so  great  is  His  omnipotence  tliat  He  can  make  even  sinners  the  in- 


ANSWER  TO   NINE   OBJECTIONS.  659 

sfrnments  of  forgiveness;  and  therefore  we  "  glorify  God  that  gave 
such  power  unto  men."  (Matt.  ix.  8.)  Now,  when  the  canting, 
hypocritical  scribes  objected  to  our  Saviour  that  He  exercised  a  pre- 
rogative which  they  pretended  the  Deity  could  not  communicate  to 
man,  what  was  the  drift  of  Christ's  answer  ?  He  performed  a 
miracle  in  their  presence — to  prove  what  ?  Not  that  Pie  foi'gave 
sins  as  being  God — that  required  no  proof,  it  was  their  own  doctrine. 
But  that  they  might  know  that  the  So7i  of  man  has  power  on  earth 
to  forgive  sins,  then  said  He  to  the  man  sick  of  the  palsy,  "  Arise, 
take  up  thy  bed,  and  go  into  thy  house."  (Matt.  ix.  6.)  Hence  you 
must  acknowledge  that  Jesus  Christ  could,  and  actually  did,  forgive 
sins  in  the  capacity  of  His  human  nature.  That  He  communicated 
this  same  power  to  His  Church  appears  also  undeniable,  unless  you 
are  hardy  enough  to  suppose  that  the  God  of  truth  intended  the 
very  contrary  of  what  He  said  in  His  commissions  to  the  apostles. 
What  means  the  promise  of  the  keys  to  St.  Peter,  with  the  assur- 
ance that  whatsoever  he  should  loose  and  bind  on  earth  would  be 
loosed  and  bound  in  heaven?  (Matt.  xvi.  19.)  The  same  is  re- 
peated to  the  apostles  in  general.  (Matt.  xv.  19.)  The  delega- 
tion of  this  power  was  i-atified  in  express  terms  by  Christ  after  His 
resurrection  (John,  xx.  22,  23),  where  He  gives  them  the  subordinate 
mission  that  He  Himself  had  received  from  the  Father,  in  these 
words :  "  As  My  Father  has  sent  Me,  so  also  I  send  you."  The 
power  of  forgiveness  which  He  had  exercised  is  specially  designated  ; 
for  the  text  proceeds :  "  And  when  He  said  this.  He  breathed  upon 
them,  and  He  said  unto  them.  Receive  ye  the  Holy  Ghost,  whose 
sins  YOU  SHALL  FORGIVE,  they  arg.  forgiven  them.,  and  whose  sins  yoit 
shall  retain,  they  are  retained.^''  Now,  sir,  admitting,  as  you  do,  the 
Scripture  to  be  the  inspired  word  of  God,  how  can  you  affirm  that 
Christ  meant  the  very  contrary  of  what  His  words  imply,  by  making 
the  sense  negative  where  His  words  are  affirmative  ?  If  you  had 
the  consistency  even  of  a  deist,  you  would  reject  revelation  as  a 
forgery,  rather  than  make  the  sacred  writings  a  volume  of  nonsense 
by  sucli  arbitrary  interpretation.  Christ  says  to  His  apostles,  "  Whose 
sins  goii  forgive,  shall  be  forgiven  ;"  and  you  say  that  His  mean- 
ing was,  that  those  whose  sins  you  pretend  to  forgive  shall  not  be 
forgiven.  Do  you  suppose  that  Christ,  foreseeing  that  the  millions 
of  persons  who  have  lived  and  died  in  the  Catholic  Church  from  the 
beginning,  would  understand  these  words  in  their  plain  obvious 
sense,  viz.,  that  by  them  He  left  to  His  apostles  and  their  lawful  suc- 
cessors the  power  to  forgive  sins,  would  not  have  supplied  the  nega- 
tive Himself  if  His  meaning  had  not  been  precisely  what  His  words 
express  in  tlie  affirmative  ?  Do  you  think,  seriously  considering  the 
solemn  manner  in  which  Christ  went  about  to  impart  this  power  to 
His  apostles,  that  He  meant  nothing  more  than  what  you  believe  as 
a  Protestant,  which  is,  '•  that  the  minister  may  proclaim  pardon 
freely  to  every  sinner  on  his  heartfelt  repentance  for  sin,  lively  faith' 
in  Christ,  and  steadfast  purpose  to  lead  a  new  life  ?" 

This  proclamation  is  a  nugatory  ministry,  since  the  same  condi- 


660  ARCHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

tional  proclamation  made  by  the  court-crier  or  by  a  child  is  equahy 
beneficial.  But  if  sinnei's  know  that  Christ  has  left  His  ambassadors 
on  earth,  to  whom  was  given  the  word  and  ministry  of  reconcilia- 
tion (2  Cor.  V.  18-20),  tliey  cannot  give  a  more  certain  indication 
of  that  sincere  sorrow  which  you  justly  say  they  must  have,  than  by 
appi'oaching  to  be  reconciled  through  their  ministry.  True  it  is, 
that  so  Hvely  may  be  their  faith  in  Christ,  so  sovereign  their  contri- 
tion for  sin,  that  like  the  lepers  who  were  sent  by  our  Lord  (Luke, 
xvii.  16)  to  show  themselves  to  the  priests,  they  may  be  cleansed 
on  the  way  thither.  But  as  they  cannot  have  the  assurance  of  this, 
since  no  man  knows  whether  he  is  worthy  of  love  or  hatred  (Eccle- 
siastes,  ix.  1),  they  are  still  obliged  to  testify  their  faith  in  the  Sav- 
iour by  showing  their  consciences  to  those  whom  He  has  appointed 
His  delegates  on  earth,  and  to  whom  He  gave  His  word  of  recon- 
ciliation. The  doctrine  of  ministerial  foi-giveness  of  sin  is  not  pe- 
culiar to  Catholics ;  many  learned  Protestants  have  believed  and 
taught  it.  Among  others,  Chillingworth,  the  renowned  defender  of 
Protestant  doctrine  (Serm.  Relig.,  pp.  408-9),  tells  his  people  "  to 
come  to  him  (the  minister),  not  only  with  such  a  mind  as  they  would 
go  to  a  learned  man,  as  one  who  can  speak  comfortable  things  to 
them,  but  as  to  one  that  hath  authority  delegated  to  him  from  God 
Himself  to  absolve  and  acquit  the^n  of  their  sins?''  Such  was  his 
belief  as  a  Protestant,  whilst  you  believe,  as  "  a  Protestant  also," 
that  when  the  sinner  is  already  pardoned — which  the  conditions  you 
prefix  make  a  necessary  consequence — the  minister  has  power  to 
proclaim  the  pardon !  But  if  this  be  all  that  was  meant  by  the 
above  promise  of  Christ  to  His  apostles,  I  see  no  reason  why  it  should 
have  been  made  in  so  solemn  a  manner,  or  indeed  why  it  should  have 
been  at  all ;  for  if  the  sin  be  pardoned,  it  is  pardoned,  and  tiie  minister's 
proclamation  of  the  pardon  does  not  change  the  condition  of  the 
sinner  in  the  least.  But  so  far  from  believing  tiiat  the  clergy  can 
grant  unconditional  pardon  of  sins,  the  Catholic  Church  teaches 
that  unless  the  sinner  is  properly  disposed  to  receive  it,  he  derives 
no  benefit  from  the  absolution  pronounced  by  the  priest,  as  dispenser 
of  the  mysteries  of  God.  These  dispositions  are  three — first,  con- 
trition^ or  sorrow  for  his  sins,  with  a  resolution  to  avoid  sin  in  future  ; 
secondly,  confession  of  those  sins  to  a  regularly  appointed  priest,  as 
to  the  legate  of  Christ,  by  whom  he  is  authorized  to  remit  or  re- 
tain the  sins,  as  the  case  may  require ;  but  this  man  cannot  know 
whether  they  are  to  be  remitted  or  retained  unless  they  are  disclosed 
to  him  by  the  penitent,  hence  the  necessity  of  confession  ;  thirdly, 
satisfaction  to  God,  by  performing  the  temporal  penalty  that  le- 
mains  due  to  sin  after  the  guilt  thereof  and  eternal  punishment  are 
remitted ;  and  to  his  neighbor,  by  restoring  ill-gotten  goods,  etc. 
As  to  future  sins,  she  reprobates  the  doctrine  which  says  they  are 
pardoned,  even  by  God  Himself,  before  they  are  committed.  But  all 
this  notwithstanding,  you  are  not  ashamed  so  calumniously  to  accuse 
her  of  teaching  that  her  clergy  can  sell  pardon  for  sins^  past, 
2jresent,  and  future,  unconditionally. 


ANSWER   TO   NINE   OBJECTIONS.  661 

Now,  if  Christ  has  given  power  to  His  apostles  to  forgive  siits,  as 
I  tliink  I  have  sufficiently  provecf,  it  follows  that  this  remission  is  a 
sacrament,  as,  in  fact,  it  has  been  designated  the  "  sacrament  of 
penance''''  from  the  earliest  ages  of  Christianitj'.  A  sacrament  is 
generally  defined  a  "  visible  sign  of  an  invisible  grace,  ordained  by 
Christ."  Now,  in  penance,  the  outward  forgiveness  of  sins  ordained 
by  Christ,  and  exercised  in  His  name,  is  the  visible  sign — the  actual 
remission  of  those  sins  is  the  invisible  effect,  when  the  person  is 
duly  disposed,  and  this  effect  is  produced  only  by  the  infusion  of 
sanctifying  grace,  consequently  it  is  a  sacrament.  And  this  is  one 
of  the  sacraments  you  elsewhere  say  the  Church  "  appointed,"  and 
against  which  you  protest,  as  being  contrary  to  Scripture !  But  I 
leave  it  to  any  rational  mind  to  decide  whether  I  have  not  proved  it 
to  be  clearly  founded  on  Scripture,  unless  words  in  the  Scripture 
mean  the  very  contrary  of  what  they  signify  elsewhere. 

Besides,  the  eaj-liest  sects  that  separated  from  the  Catholic  Church 
held,  and  those  who  have  not  died  away  still  hold,  that  penance  is  a 
sacrament ;  which  i>roves  that  it  was  considered  so  from  the  be- 
ginning of  Christianity.  Indeed,  if  there  had  ever  been  a  time  in 
which  it  was  not  deemed  a  sacrament,  the  protestations  against  its 
introduction,  or  the  history  of  its  origin,  would  have  come  down  to 
us ;  the  whole  Christian  world  would  not  have  submitted  silently  to 
the  yoke  of  confession,  which  frightens  Protestants  so  much, 
though  I  ai)peal  to  persons  who  have  borne  it  if  they  did  not  find 
"  the  yoke  sweet  and  the  burden  light."  Now,  sir,  if  confession  had 
not  been  taught  by  the  apostles  at  the  time  they  preached  the  cruci- 
fied One  to  the  nations,  common  sense  tells  us  that  kings  and  princes, 
clergy  and  laity,  would  not  have  submitted  tamely  to  a  doctrine 
that  bore  so  hard  on  the  human  passions.  And  is  it  not  a  fact  that 
it  is  believed  even  now  by  the  whole  Catholic  Church,  which  is  still 
more  numerous  itself  than  all  the  denominations  of  Protestants  put 
together  ?  And  is  it  not  a  fact  that  it  was  the  universal  doctrine 
and  practice  of  all  Christendom  at  the  time  Luther  brought  forth  a 
contrary  creed,  under  the  name  of  Teformation  f  which  has  given 
rise  to  the  different  sects  that  disgrace  and  condemn  Protestantism 
at  the  present  day ;  for  truth  cannot  be  so  much  at  variance  with 
itself  as  they  are  with  each  other. 

Nintlily. — "  You  protest  against  the  Ohurch  of  Rome,  because,  you  say,  she  be- 
lieves that  there  is  a  place  for  the  souls  between  heaven  and  hell,  called  purga- 
tory, where  purification  takes  place  after  the  soul  has  left  the  body ;  and  that 
it  can  be  relieved  from  this  place  by  prayers  and  Masses  said  by  the  priest, 
when  duly  paid  for  it,  contrary  to,"  etc. 

There  is  only  one  calumny  in  this  objection,  viz.,  that  by  which 
you  make  the  payment  of  the  priest  a  condition  necessary  to  the 
efficacy  of  the  Mass,  and  to  the  benefit  thence  derived  to  the  suffer- 
ing departed.  The  Catholic  Church  does  not  believe  that  God 
created  any  to  be  damned  absolutely,  notwithstanding  their  co- 
operation with  the  means  of  salvation  which  were  secured  to  them 


662  ARCHBISHOP  HUGHES. 

by  the  death  of  Jesus  Christ ;  uor  any  to  be  saved  absohitely,  unless 
they  co-operate  with  those  means.  *  Hence  she  has  ever  taught  the 
doctrine  which  is  inculcated  in  Scripture,  that  heaven  may  be  ob- 
tained by  all  who  shall  apply  the  means  which  the  Saviour  of  the 
world  has  left  in  His  Church  for  that  end :  in  a  word,  that  every 
man  shall  be  judged  according  to  his  works.  This  doctrine  is  con- 
sonant with  the  attribute  of  justice  which  must  belong  to  the  Deity. 
She  knows  God  is  too  pure  to  admit  any  thing  defiled  into  His 
heavenly  abode  (Apoc.  xxi.  27) ;  and  yet  too  just  and  merciful  to 
punish  a  slight  transgression  with  the  same  severity  as  is  due  to  an 
enormous  crime.  Now,  suppose  two  men  to  sin  against  God  at  the 
same  time,  the  one  by  the  deliberate  murder  of  his  father — for  the 
case  is  possible — and  the  other  by  a  slight,  almost  inadvertent,  false- 
hood ;  and  suppose,  further,  that  they  are  both  to  appear  before  God 
the  next  moment  to  answer  for  the  deeds  done  in  the  flesh,  I  ask 
yourself  whether  it  is  consistent  with  the  idea  we  have  of  divine 
justice  to  think  that  both  will  be  condemned  to  the  same  everlasting 
punishment  ?  If  it  be,  then  there  is  no  more  moral  turpitude  in 
incest  and  parricide  than  in  telling  a  trivial  falsehood,  which  injures 
no  one,  but  still  is  offensive  and  displeasing  to  God.  But  if  it  be  not 
consistent  with  divine  justice,  then  you  must  admit  the  distinction 
of  guilt,  and  consequently  of  punishment.  Now,  that  God  exacts  a 
temporary  punishment  for  sin,  after  the  guilt  and  eternal  punishment 
are  i-emitted,  appears  from  the  testimony  of  His  sacred  word.  St. 
Paul  teaches  that  the  death  of  the  body  is  a  punishment  which  the 
sin  of  our  first  parent  entailed  on  his  progeny ;  and  yet  many  who 
have  been  regenerated  by  baptism  from  that  original  guilt,  never- 
theless die  before  they  have  committed  any  actual  sin  whatever ! 
The  childi-en  of  Israel  had  to  leave  their  bones  in  the  wilderness, 
after  the  forty  years'  sojournment,  as  a  punishment  (inflicted  by  the 
Almighty  Himself)  for  the  sins  which  He  had  expressly  forgiven 
them.  (Num.  xiv.  20,  22.)  David  was  forgiven  his  sin  of  adultery 
and  murder — and  yet  he  was  punished  for  it,  by  the  death  of  his 
child,  Avhora  he  loved  most  tenderly  !  He  sinned  by  numbering  his 
people ;  and  although  it  was  forgiven  to  him,  he  had  still  to  clioose 
his  punishment,  either  war,  famine,  or  pestilence.  If  such  be  the 
dispensation  of  God  to  His  creatures  in  this  world,  why  may  it  not 
be  also  after  death  ?  Will  you  say  it  is  because  the  body  is  the 
subject  of  suffering  in  this  life  ?  This  is  not  exactly  true — the  body 
indeed  is  the  medium,  in  many  instances,  through  which  the  soul  is 
made  to  suffer.  But  God  inflicted  no  corporal  chastisement  on  holy 
David  by  taking  his  child — it  was  the  king's  soul  that  was  touched, 
and  felt,  and  suffered.  Does  not  the  soul  remain  susceptible  of 
suffering  after  death  ;  and  may  not  God,  conformably  with  the  ex- 
amples here  laid  down,  extend  to  it  in  a  future  state  the  same  salu- 
tary dispensation,  for  His  own  just  and  merciful  purposes?  But  you 
will  ask  what  Scripture  I  can  quote  to  show  that  He  really  does  so. 
Now,  suppose  I  were  to  refer  you  to  the  same  rule,  and  demand 
from  you  the  text  by  which  you  feel  warranted  to  proliine  the  Sab- 


ANSWER   TO    NINE   OBJECTIONS.  663 

bath,  and  sanctify  the  Sunday  in  its  stead — what  will  you  have  to 
answer  in  reply  ?  Surely  if  the  authority  of  the  Catholic  Church  is 
sufficient  to  authorize  your  ^7;'«c^/ce  in  the  one  case,  it  is  equally  so 
with  regard  to  my  belief  in  the  otlier.  But  our  situations  are  very 
difterent :  because  I  admit  the  authority  of  the  Church  in  both 
instances,  and  I  shall  prove  that  her  doctrine  of  purgatorj',  so  far 
from  opposing,  is  grounded  on  Scripture  :  whereas  you  reject  the 
Church.  You  make,  .as  you  say,  the  Scripture  the  only  rule  of  your 
faith ;  and  yet  when  the  Scripture  says,  "  Thou  shalt  keep  holy  the 
Sabbath  day,"  you  say  I  will  not  sanctify  the  Sabbath,  but  I  will 
sanctify  the  day  after !  I  will  leave  you  to  reconcile  this  inconsist- 
ency between  your  doctrine  and  your  practice^  and  proceed  to 
prove  the  existence  of  a  middle  state  of  souls  after  death,  called 
purgatory. 

This  tenet  of  belief  is  proved  by  every  text  of  Scripture  in  which 
it  is  implied  that  God  will  render  to  every  man  according  to  his 
works.  Now,  to  resume  the  supposition  made  above,  of  the  person 
who  appears  before  God  defiled  by  an  almost  inadvertent  breach  of 
truth,  I  ask  you  what  would  be  his  tiite  if  you  had  to  judge  him  ? 
The  Scripture  says  that  nothing  defiled  can  enter  into  heaven  ;  and 
that  we  must  give  an  account  of  every  idle  word.  And  on  the  other 
hand,  do  you  think  it  would  be  rewarding  him  according  to  his 
works,  to  send  him  to  the  regions  of  despair,  to  be  tortured  for  an 
eternity — to  the  same  region  of  torture  as  the  deliberate  murderer 
of  his  own  father  ?  What  remains,  then,  but  that  he  be  consigned 
to  that  prison,  from  whence,  the  Scripture  informs  us  (Matt.  v.  26), 
"  He  shall  not  be  released  till  he  have  paid  the  last  farthing." 
Again,  what  place  was  it  in  which  Christ  also  coming,  "  preached  to 
those  spirits  that  were  in  prison  ?"  (1  Petei-,  iii.  19.)  It  cannot  be 
either  heaven  or  hell — because  a  j^risoyi  implies  a  place  of  confine- 
ment, as  well  as  the  possibility  of  a  release.  But  if  heaven  be  a 
prison,  it  is  one  from  which  a  release  cannot  be  desirable  :  from  hell, 
there  is  no  redemption — and  of  course  a  release  is  impossible.  Con- 
sequently, it  must  be  that  place  which  the  Church  has  called  "purga- 
tory." If  this  word  has  any  thing  in  it  peculiarly  offensive,  you  will 
not  be  the  less  a  Catholic  for  rejecting  the  word  purgatory  and 
using  the  scriptural  word  "  prison,"  provided  you  admit  that  such  a 
place  exists  ;  in  which  God,  after  having  forgiven  the  guilt  and  eternal 
punishment  of  their  sins,  causes  the  souls  of  the  imperfect  just  to 
undergo,  nevertheless,  a  temporary  chastisement  (as  David  did  in 
this  lite),  before  admitting  them  into  the  realms  of  felicity.  Now,  if 
this  be  so  (and  you  cannot  deny  it  without  rejecting  motives  of 
credibility  which  ai-e  universally  admitted  on  other  subjects),  is  it 
not  rational  to  believe  that  the  mercy  of  God  will  be  moved  by  the 
prayers  of  His  faithful  servants  on  earth,  who  intercede  in  behalf  of 
their  departed  brethren  ? 

That  the  ancient  Jews  believed  in  this  middle  state,  and  the  effi- 
cacy of  prayers  for  those  who  are  there  detained,  is  proved  from  the 
second  book  of  Machabees,  where  we  find  Judas,  the  pious  general, 


664  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

raising  n,  voluntary  contribution  among  his  soldiers,  to  be  sent  to 
Jerusalem,  that  sacrifice  might  be  offered  for  the  souls  of  tlieir  com- 
panions who  were  slain  in  battle.  After  relating  this  fact,  the  text 
continues,  "  It  is  therefore  a  holy  and  wholesome  thought  to  pray 
for  the  dead  ;  that  they  may  be  loosed  from  their  sins."  (2  Mach. 
xii.  4G )  But  you  will  say  that  Machabees  is  not  canonical  Scrip- 
ture. This  is  not  the  place  to  prove  the  contrary,  at  all  events  you 
must  allow  these  two  books  the  authority  due  to  authentic  historical 
documents;  and  as  such  they  prove  the  belief  of  the  whole  Jewish 
people  on  the  subject  in  question,  since  the  army,  the  general,  and 
the  priests  themselves,  performed  their  several  parts  in  the  transac- 
tion ;  and  that  this  incredulous  people  still  preserve  the  belief  of  their 
fathers  on  this  point,  is  incontrovertible  from  the  writings  and  living 
authority  of  their  rabbi,  at  the  present  day.  In  a  word,  the  economy 
of  Almighty  God  to  His  creatures,  even  in  this  life,  is  conformable 
with  the  doctrine  of  purgatory,  which  is,  moreover,  founded  on  His 
revelation,  as  I  think  I  have  sufKciently  proved.  But  the  inconsist- 
ency of  Protestants  is  such,  that  whilst  some  of  its  members  wish  to 
shut  up  the  Catholic  purgatory  of  souls  defiled  with  slighter  stains, 
others  open  a  general  purgatory,  through  which  they  allow  even  the 
reprobate  to  escape  finally  into  the  mansions  of  everlasting  bliss. 
It  is  enough  to  quote  Dr.  Paley,  who  says  "  that  there  may 
be  very  little  to  choose  between  the  condition  of  some  who  are  in 
hell,  and  others  who  are  in  heaven." — {Moral  and  Political  Phi- 
losojyhy.) 

"Is  there  any  thing  else  you  dislike  in  Popery?  Yes  ;  several  other  points, 
but  particularly  the  reckoning  every  one  who  does  not  submit  to  these  errors 
a  heretic,  and  believing  it  to  be  right  to  persecute  them  as  such  even  unto 
death ;  notwithstanding  wliich,  I  hope,  with  St.  Paul,  always  to  confess  that 
after  the  way  which  they  call  heresy,  so  worship  I  the  God  of  my  fathers, 
believing  all  things  that  are  written  in  the  law  and  the  prophets." 

It  requires  but  a  very  moderate  portion  of  common  sense  to  per- 
ceive how  false  are  your  premises,  and  how  unfounded  your  con- 
clusion. "  The  Church,"  you  say,  "  calls  those  who  do  not  submit  to 
these  errors,  heretics."  Wiiat  errors,  sir  ?  Those  with  the  belief  of 
which  you  accuse  her?  I  have  shown  you  that  she  reprobates  some 
of  them  as  much  as  you  do  yourself  And  she  would  call  you  a 
heretic  no  less  for  submitting  to,  tlian  for  denying  many  of  the 
doctrines,  the  belief  of  which  you  attribute  to  her.  As  for  what  she 
really  believes,  you  should  first  have  shown  it  to  be  unwarrantable, 
before  you  pronounced  it  erroneous:  tiiis  you  have  not  done.  It  lias 
been  attempted  in  vain,  by  the  ablest  polemics  of  Protestantism. 
Hence  tliey  have  ever  Imd  recourse  to  misrepresentation — blending 
impious  tenets  with  Catholic  doctrine,  and  presenting  the  compound 
to  their  hearers  or  readers  as  the  real  creed  of  the  Catholic  Church. 
There  is  no  upright  mind  that  will  not  perceive  the  unfairness  of  contro- 
versy carried  on  in  this  manner,  nor  any  discerning  judgment  that 
will  not  consider  it  a  symptom  of  falsehood  on  the  part  of  those  who 


ANSWER  TO   ^^XE   OBJECTIONS.  665 

make  use  of  it ;  and  of  truth  on  tlie  side  of  those  against  whose 
belief  it  is  put  forth.  For  if  our  doctrine  were  really  contrary  to 
Scripture,  where  Avould  be  the  necessity  for  our  adversaries  to  mix 
falsehoods  with  it,  before  they  can  make  the  Scripture  bear  against 
it  ?  Honesty  requires  that  they  should  take  the  Catholic  doctrine 
as  it  is,  and  then  prove  it  to  be  contrary  to  Scripture.  Now,  sup- 
pose I  were  to  denounce  you,  or  any  other,  as  a  dangerous  citizen, 
because  I  say  you  are  a  thief,  for  example ;  contrary  to  this  Scrip- 
ture, "  Thou  shalt  not  steal."  It  is  evident  that  the  text  will  not 
condemn  you,  unless  I  can  prove  that  you  have  stolen.  But  were 
I  to  leave  this  foul  charge  unsubstantiated,  how  justly  would  I  incur 
the  censure  of  society  !  How  soon  would  I  be  arraigned  (notwith- 
standing my  knowledge  of  the  Scriptures)  as  the  calumniator  of 
your  moral  worth !  And  how  pointedly  would  that  other  prohibi- 
tion of  Almighty  God  bear  ou  my  situation,  when  He  says,  "  Thou, 
shalt  not  hear  false  xcitness  against  thy  neighbor  I''"' 

The  Church,  indeed,  reckons  as  heretics  those  who  do  not  believe 
the  Catholic  doctrine,  both  regarding  faith  and  morals — because  she 
believes  this  doctrine  to  have  been  established  by  Christ  and  His 
apostles,  and  perpetuated  from  age  to  age  by  the  ministry  of  their 
successors.  If  she  be  cori-ect  in  this  belief,  it  follows  that  the  doctrine 
which  contradicts  hers,  cannot  but  be  heretical.  But  if  she  be  not 
correct,  you  must  use  better  arguments  than  mere  protestations 
against  her  doctrine.  However,  in  communions,  the  doctrines  of 
which  are  heretical,  the  Church  makes  a  wide  distinction  between 
those  who,  from  the  circumstances  of  birth  and  education,  may  be 
deemed  invincibly  ignorant ;  and  those  whose  minds  are  more  cul- 
tivated, who  are  dubious  of  the  verity  of  their  own  leligion,  and 
yet  too  indolent  to  investigate,  and  too  much  swayed  by  prejudice 
and  earthly  considerations,  to  embrace  that  which  lias  better  claims 
to  truth. 

It  is  these  latter  that  the  Church  reckons  to  be  heretics.  And 
if  there  had  been  any  thing  really  uncharitable  in  the  epithet,  you 
must  agree  that  St.  Paul  would  not  have  used  it.  (Titus,  iii.  10.) 
If  we  thought  that  the  promises  of  Christ  to  His  Church  could  fail, 
or  that  any  other  religion  could  claim  those  promises,  I  grant  that 
the  Church  would  have  no  right  to  pronounce  even  an  opposite 
belief  heretical — because  if  there  be  no  infalHble  Church,  tlien  all 
religions  are  liable  to  be  wrong.  But  we  believe  that  Christ  did 
establish  an  infallible  Church,  and  as  no  other  Church  but  the  Catho- 
lic can,  or  does,  lay  claim  to  that  infallibility,  we  believe  that  to 
her  alone  belong  those  promises :  ready,  however,  to  become  of 
any  other  denomination  that  can  produce  higher  claims  to  them. 

Hence,  our  religion  is  a  religion  of  faith  founded  on  facts  ;  whilst 
Protestantism,  in  every  shape,  is  a  religion  of  opiino?i.  If  those 
who  differ  from  us,  "  having,  indeed,  the  appearance  of  godliness, 
but  denying  the  power  thereof"  (2  Tim.  iii.  5),  adhere  obstinately 
to  their  opinions  in  opposition  to  our  faith,  the  apostle  cautions  us 
to  avoid  them.     "For  of  these  sort,"  says  he,  "  are  they  who  creep 


666  ARCHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

into  houses,  and  lead  captive  silly  women,  laden  with  sins,  who  are 
led  away  with  divers  desires"  (Ibid.  iii.  6)  ;  "  ever  learning,  and 
never  able  to  come  to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth."  The  last  shameful 
calumny  preferred  against  the  Church  in  your  objections,  is  to  accuse 
her,  as  you  do,  of  believing  it  to  be  right  to  persecute  heretics,  even 
unto  death.  Tht-  accusation  is  false,  and  requires  no  refutation.  It 
is  true  that  persecution  has,  unhappily,  been  resorted  to,  for  different 
political  ends,  both  hy  Protestants  and  by  Catholics:  but  as  I  do 
not  believe  that  such  persecution  is  justified  by  your  creed  ;  so,  I  can 
assure  you  confidently,  it  forms  no  part  of  ours.  The  discussion  of 
this  subject  is  calculated  to  excite  unpleasant  feelings  on  both  sides, 
as  it  will  expose  the  intolerant  cruelty  of  your  religious  ancestors 
and  contemporaries,  no  less  than  mine ;  but  if  you  are  disposed  to 
enter  on  it,  by  way  of  showing  it  to  be  a  principle  of  Catholic  doc- 
trine, I  shall  certainly  retort  the  charge,  and  that,  perhaps,  to  the 
general  disadvantage  of  the  Protestant  cause. 

When  you  make  your  case  similar  to  that  of  St.  Paul  before  Felix, 
and  cite  the  verse  which  the  apostle  tlien  made  use  of,  as  applicable 
to  your  situation,  it  seems  you  do  not  reflect  how  great  is  the  dis- 
parity between  you,  and  how  widely  different  are  your  situations. 
St.  Paul  had  just  refuted  the  false  accusations  on  which  the  Jews 
grounded  their  "  protest"  against  Christianity.  You  protest  against 
the  Catholic  Church,  and  support  your  protestation  likewise  on 
accusations  equally  false,  or  equally  unsupported  by  proof;  and 
although  I  have  no  pretensions  to  the  sanctity  or  inspiration  of  the 
apostle,  or  to  his  ability  in  defending  truth,  still,  if  candor  has  had  any 
share  in  the  perusal  of  the  foregoing  pages,  I  am  persuaded  it  will 
find  in  them  a  refutation  of  your  charges,  and  a  scriptural  justifica- 
tion of  the  real  Catholic  doctrine  on  the  several  points  to  which  you 
objected.  Truth  is  easily  vindicated — it  needs  not  to  recur  to  sophistry 
or  misrepresentation ;  and  if  you,  dear  sir,  and  many  other  well- 
meaning  members  of  your  communion,  could  only  come  to  the  dis- 
cussion with  minds  unprejudiced  by  education — and  superior  to  the 
influence  of  human  respect  and  worldly  considerations — you  would 
see  the  thing  in  a  different  light ;  you  would  become  reconciled  to 
that  Church  from  which  your  fathers  separated  in  the  heat  oi party 
feuds  and  religious  dissension  ;  and  you  would  feel  an  interior 
security  and  peace,  to  which  the  Protestant  bosom  must  be  a  stranger, 
in  that  ocean  of  doubt,  and  uncertainty,  and  improbability,  on 
which  the  whole  Protestant  system  is  floating. 

To  come  to  a  close,  I  subscribe  willingly  to  your  concluding  sen- 
timents, viz.,  that  men,  through  a  perversity  of  will,  often  adhere  to 
a  religion  which  their  understandings,  enlightened  by  truth,  pro- 
nounce to  be  false,  or  at  least  doubtful  and  suspicious.  The  obser- 
vation, which  is  a  just  one,  applies  to  my  situation  as  well  as  yours. 
The  objections  I  received  and  the  answers  I  send  convince  us  that 
our  religions  are  contradictory,  and  consequently  cannot  both  be 
true.  If  mine  be  false,  I  have  no  hope  of  salvation,  unless  through 
my  invincible  ignorance  of  the  verity  of  yours.     If  mine  be  true,  the 


REVIEW    OF   BISHOP    ONDERDONK's   CnAEGE.  667 

same  plea,  and  no  other,  must  plead  your  pardon  before  our  common 
Judge  for  not  embracing  truth,  because  we  both  know  that  without 
truefaith  "  it  is  impossible  to  please  God,^^  and  the  Sci'ipture  in- 
forms us  that  there  is  but  "  o?^e  God,  one/aith^  and  o?ie  bcqytismy 

A  Catholic. 

P,  S. — Without  wishing  to  protract  a  controversy  which  I  had  no 
part  in  commencing,  I  liope  it  will  not  be  deemed  going  too  far  if  I 
request  of  you  a  succinct  and  imequivocal  answer  to  the  following 
simple  questions ;  and  as  they  are  of  vital  importance  to  the  cause 
you  advocate,  they  will  deserve  your  serious  consideration. 

1st.  Has  the  sacred  text  of  Scripture  one  true  meaning,  so  that  a 
•  contradictory  interpretation  must  be  false,  or  has  it  not  ? 

2d.  If  it  has,  is  it  the  word  of  God  we  hear  when  we  hear  the 
Bible  explained  in  that  contradictory  sense? 

3d.  Has  Christ  left  on  earth  any  infallible  means  whereby  that 
true  meaning  of  the  scriptural  text  may  be  ascertained  ? 

4lh.  Wiiether  it  is  or  is  not  possible  even  for  a  sincere  man  to 
wrest  the  Scripture  to  his  own  destruction  ? 

5th.  If  it  is,  whether  Scripture  alone  can  be  a  sufficient  rule  of 
faith  ? 

6th.  Whether  there  is  or  is  not  one  true  and  always  visible  Church 
on  earth  ? 

7th.  If  there  is,  whether  a  religion  that  teaches  a  contrary  doc- 
trine (either  in  faith  or  morals)  is  or  is  not  false?  And  lastly, 
whether  all  men  are  not  bound  to  satisfy  their  consciences  that  the 
religion  to  which  they  belong  is  that  identical  true  Church,  before 
they  can  trust  to  its  doctrines  for  the  faith  which  is  necessary  to  sal- 
vation ? 


A  REVIEW  OF  THE  CHARGE  DELIVERED  MAY 
22,  1833,  BY  THE  RIGHT  REV.  BISHOP  ONDER- 
DONK,  ON  THE  RULE  OF  FAITH. 

PREFACE. 

DuRixG  the  course  of  the  last  summer,  a  long  controversial  letter, 
signed  John  Breckenridge,  was  published  in  a  Presbyterian  periodical 
called  the  Christian  Advocate,  of  this  city.  It  would  be  difficult  to 
find  in  any  production  of  equal  dimensions,  so  much  of  bitter  secta- 
rian zeal  carried  out  into  so  much  of  calumny,  misrepresentation,  and 
abuse  of  the  Catholic  Church  and  its  doctrines.     Like  many  of  his 


668  ARCHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

bretliren,  I  must  believe,  in  charity,  that  the  author  was  profoundly- 
ignorant,  or  positively  misinformed  of  the  subject  which  he  had 
undertaken  to  discuss.  But  his  confidence  was  in  the  ratio  of  his  in- 
competency; and  not  content  with  merely  satisfying  the  doubts  of  a 
member  of  his  own  congregation,  he  must  needs  publish  an  invitation 
to  "Priests  and  Bishops"  to  meet  him  in  the  field  of  controversial 
discussion.  As  the  champion  of  Protestants,  he  stood  forth  against 
the  Catholic  Church,  and,  to  use  his  own  language,  thereby  made  his 
"  disposition  known." 

The  author  of  the  following  pages  felt  it  his  duty  to  accept  the 
proposal.  After  the  arrangement  of  certain  preliminaries,  the  con- 
troversy was  regularly  commeijced  on  a  question  which  must  be 
presupposed  in  every  theological  discussion,  viz. :  "  The  rule  of  faith." 
The  rule  of  faith  is  the  eye,  by  which  it  is  appointed  for  Christians  to 
see  and  discern  the  true  doctrines  revealed  by  Jesus  Christ,  and 
preached  by  His  apostles  to  the  world.  The  result  of  that  discussion, 
so  far,  is  before  the  public.  It  is  not  for  me  to  say  one  word,  in  the 
way  of  opinion,  as  to  the  manner  in  which  ray  opponent  has  sus- 
tained the  Protestant  rule  of  faith,  or  acquitted  himself  in  the  argu- 
ments and  authorities  adduced  to  disprove  the  Catholic  principle 
of  religious  guidance.  He  seems  to  be  highly  satisfied  with  him- 
self 

But  for  some  months  back  there  has  been  a  considerable  under- 
tone of  dissatisfaction  among  the  better  informed  Protestants  gener- 
ally, not  excepting  Presbyterians  themselves.  They  had  never 
suspected  the  strength  of  the  Catholic  position  on  the  rule  of  faith, 
nor  the  weakness  of  their  own.  And  in  this  mood  of  feeling,  they 
ascribed  the  sufferings  of  the  cause  to  the  incompetency  of  the  ad- 
vocate. Even  some  of  the  Protestant  clergy  did  not  hesitate  to  say 
that  Mr.  Breckeni;idge  "  was  not  the  man"  that  should  have  been 
selected — that  he  had  no  business  to  engage  in  such  a  discussion 
without  being  authorized  by  those  whom  he  undertook  to  represent, 
and  in  utter  contempt  of  the  poet's  admonition :  "  Sumite  materlam 
vestris,  qui  scribitis  oequam^  uribus,  et  versate  dui  quid  sene  recusent^ 
quid  valeant  humeri^ 

It  is  not  for  me  to  say  whether  it  was  these  considerations  that 
moved  Bishop  Onderdonk  to  take  up  the  rule  of  faith,  and  make  it 
the  subject  of  his  charge  to  the  assembled  convention  of  the  Prot- 
estant Episcopal  Church  of  Pennsylvania.  The  public  attention  was 
called  in  various  newspapers;  and  not  only  the  charge,  but  also  the 
subject  of  it,  contrary  to  custom,  was  announced  as  something  impor- 
tant and  interesting  at  this  time. 

Now  all  this  was  right  and  fair  enough.  If  the  Bishop  thought 
that  the  Protestant  rule  of  faith  was  suffering  in  the  hands  of  its 
Presbyterian  advocate,  who  will  say  that  he  had  not  a  right  to 
take  it  into  his  own.  But  whether  he  has  succeeded  better,  it  is  for 
the  reader  to  judge.  It  may  have  been  received  at  its  delivery,  and 
on  its  publication,  as  an  ample  and  triumphant  refutation  of  the 
Cathohc  belief  on  the  I'ule  of  faith,  and  as  a  powerful  vindication  ot 


REVIEW   OF   BISHOP   OXDERDONk's   CHARGE.  669 

the  Protestant  principle.  But  viewed  impartially,  under  either  or 
both  of  these  aspects,  I  look  upon  it  as  a  failure. 

The  circumstances  of  the  case  preclude  even  the  propriety  of  an 
apology,  on  my  part,  for  the  brief  review  of  this  charge,  which  I  now 
submit  to  the  public.  I  trust  that,  whilst  on  the  one  hand  I  have  claimed 
and  exercised  the  legitimate  freedom  of  debate,  I  have  not  on  the 
other  used  an  expression  which  can  be  construed  into  a  mark  of  per- 
sonal disrespect  towards  the  author  of  the  "  Charge."  Engaged  in 
a  cause  which  has  nothing  to  dread,  except  from  ignorance  and  dis- 
honesty, I  have  no  reason  to  regret  that  it  has  been  taken  up  by 
Bishop  Onderdonk. 

His  charge  has  been  received  as  a  supplement,  if  not  a  substitute, 
to  the  attempts  of  Mr.  Breckenridge.  If  they  will  only  abide  by 
the  rules  for  the  controversy  agreed  upon  between  the  latter  gentle- 
man and  myself,  I  have  no  objection  to  their  union  of  strength  in 
the  same  production,  with  the  signature  of  either.  But  if,  on  account 
of  the  diversity  of  tactics,  they  should  prefer  separate  ground,  even 
be  it  so ;  and  still  I  shall  find  means  to  reply  to  them  both. 

A  REVIEW,  ETC. 

The  position  assumed  by  the  Bishop  in  his  charge  on  the  rule  of 
faith,  and  on  which  the  whole  train  of  his  reasoning  depends,  is  by 
no  means  calculated  to  give  the  reader  correct  conceptions  of  the 
real  state  of  the  question.  He  represents  it  as  a  controversy  "be- 
tween two  parties  that  build  on  different  foundations, — the  Protestant 
on  Scripture — the  Catholic  on  tradition," and  on  "Scripture  as  inter- 
pieted  by  tradition  ;  that  sense  only  being  allowed  which  the  Church 
of  Rome  declares  to  be  the  one  always  received." 

The  introduction  continues  to  develop  the  principles  involved, 
respectively,  in  these  "  two  different  foundations,"  until  the  issue  is 
established,  on  the  seventh  page,  "  between  Scripture  and  tradition, 
as  distinct  and  op2)Oslnff  claimants."  And  again,  same  page,  "  The 
issue,  therefore,  is  between  tradition  and  Scripture — which  is  the 
most  secure  means  of  preserving  truth  ?" 

Here  terminates  the  exordium.  The  case  being  stated,  according 
to  the  respective  views  of  the  "  two  parties,"  the  charge  proceeds  to 
maintain  Scripture  partly  against,  and  partly  as  only  superior 
to  tradition.  Analogies  are  instituted,  evidences  adduced,  argu- 
ments constructed,  and  inferences  drawn,  until  the  whole  charge 
winds  up  with  the  conclusion,  "that  the  only  final  resort  is  to 
Scripture." 

If  the  question,  as  laid  down  in  the  exordium  of  the  charge,  pre- 
sented to  the  public  the  real  views  of  the  Catholic,  or  the  real  state 
of  the  case;  if  the  human  analogies  introduced  \\Qve  justly  applica- 
ble to  the  principles  of  a  divinely  revealed  religion,  then  I  should 
find  little  to  object  to  in  the  entire  production.  Reasoning  from 
the  premises  which  were  laid  down  by  himself,  the  Bishop  passes  on 
with  a  train  of  evidences  bearing  on  \\\o?,q  premises,  and  in  an  easy, 


670  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

mild,  dignified  style  of  controversy,  such  as  his  standing  and  charac- 
ter gave  us  reason  to  expect.  But,  if  the  premises  on  which  both 
his  reasonings  and  conclusions  are  founded,  be,  hi  theinselves  defec- 
tive, then,  like  an  edifice  without  a  foundation,  the  whole  must  fall 
to  the  ground. 

The  reader,  who  would  weigh  the  merits  of  the  question  at  issue, 
must  carry  his  mind  to  a  much  more  enlarged  view  of  the  subject 
than  is  presented  in  the  document  now  under  consideration  ;  he 
must  embrace  the  whole  question,  and  then  he  will  perceive  that  the 
Catholic,  as  a  "party,"  represents  a  society  of  Christians,  agreeing 
in  one  faith,  existing  in  all  nations  and  all  ages,  from  the  days  of 
Christ,  teaching  always  and  everywhere  the  same  revealed  truths, 
and  inheriting  \is  principles  and  its  name  by  regular  succession  from 
the  apustles.  He  will  perceive,  on  the  other  hand,  that  a  Protestant, 
as  a  "  pai'ty,"  represents  as  many,  or  as  few,  as  he  may  think  proper, 
of  the  various  societies  of  Christians  who  separated  from  the  great 
Catholic  society  in  the  sixteenth  century  !  These  societies  did  not 
exist  previous  to  the  event  which  is  called  the  "  Reformation  ;" 
since  that  event  they  have  multiplied,  and  are  now  numerous.  They 
have  assumed  the  various  names  by  which  they  are  distinguished, 
and  we  always  call  them  by  the  name  which  they  have  thought  proper 
to  assume.  On  this  principle,  the  author  of  the  charge  would  wil- 
lingly Call  us  "  Catholics ;"  "  but  as  the  members  of  our  Church 
claim  for  their  communion  exclusive  catholicity,  it  cannot  be  con- 
ceded.'''' But  why  not  ?  The  bishop  will  surely  admit  that  the  name 
Catholic  was  ours  at  the  period  of  the  Reformation ;  it  was  ours 
by  ?t.  prescription  of  at  least  a  thousand  years ;  and  since  the  Refor- 
mation we  have  done  nothing  to  forfeit  it.  We  call  all  denominations 
by  the  name  which,  on  separating  from  our  Church,  or  going  out 
from  each  other,  they  have  been  pleased  to  "assume;"  and  should 
we  not,  in  our  turn,  be  called  by  the  name  which  we  possess,  not  by 
"assumption,"  but  by  immemorial  inheritance?  But,  says  the 
charge,  you  claim  it  "exclusively."  Certainly:  but  the  fault  lies 
not  with  us;  the  "exclusion"  rests  with  those  who  went  forth  from 
our  communion  at  the  period  of  separation,  and  by  the  vei-y  fact  ot 
assuming  new  doctrines  and  new  names,  testified  to  the  world  that 
they  were  not  "  Catholics,"  against  which  appellation  they  virtually 
protested,  and,  on  that  account,  called  themselves  Protestants. 

Now,  the  Bishop  "  disclaims  all  intention  of  giving  offence,"  by 
withholding  from  us  the  name  of  "  Catholic,"  and  substituting 
that  of  "  Romanist ;"  and,  I  am  sure,  the  Bishop  was  perfectly  sin- 
cere in  the  remark.  Accordingly,  it  is  not  to  the  offensiveness  of 
the  term  that  I  take  exception,  but  to  its  imperiousness.  "  Ro- 
manist" does  not  represent  the  ground  on  which,  as  a  member  of 
the  great  universal  Christian  society,  alluded  to  "above,  it  is  my 
privilege  to  take  my  stand.  The  term  gives  us  but  a  sickly  and  re- 
flected light  on  Protestant  minds,  even  a  despicable  idea,  of  a  Catholic. 
As  a  Catholic,  when  called  upon  to  defend  the  principles  of  my  re- 
ligion, I  can  appeal  to  all  nations  and  ages  to  support  me ;  I  can  visit 


REVIEW   OF  BISHOP   ONDERDONk's   CHARGE,  671 

every  civilized  country  under  the  sun,  pass  from  America  to  Europe, 
from  Europe  to  Africa,  from  Africa  to  Asia  ; — I  can  ask  the  livitTg, 
interrogate  the  dead,  and  tlie  tombs  of  eighteen  centuries  will  bear 
testimony  that  the  name  Catholic  is  not  an  assumed  appellation,  but 
the  hereditary,  indisputable,  and  exclusive  title  of  that  society  of 
Christians  to  which  I  belong.  On  what  plea  of  justice,  therefore, 
can  tlie  author  of  the  charge  attempt  to  withhold  from  the  Catholic 
the  name  to  which  he  is  entitled  ?  If  Episcopalians  can  so  manage 
the  argument  as  to  make  it  appear  that  they  are,  at  the  same  time, 
Catholics  and  Protestants,  then  let  them  enjoy  the  double  honor. 
But,  even  then,  our  claim  will  stand  good. 

The  Catholic,  consequently,  is  made  to  dwindle  in  Protestant  esti- 
mation, when  he  is  deprived  of  his  real  name,  and  described  by  the 
appellation  "  Romanist."  The  word  is  in  bad  odor.  It  represents 
him  as  an  isolated,  almost  insignificant  being,  who,  instead  of  being 
a  member  of  the  great  apostolical  and  universal  society  of  Christians, 
is  compelled  to  stand  at  the  gates  of  a  single  city,  waiting  for  direc- 
tions as  to  what  he  shall  believe — a  mere  *•'  Romanist."  Such  is  the 
macerated  idea  which  the  first  page  of  the  Bishop's  charge  conveys 
of  a  Catholic,  and  which  pervades  the  whole  production.  The 
"Catholic  Church"  is  a  term  whose  signification  is  determined  by 
general  history  ;  and  history  would  not  understand,  if  Protestants 
were  to  say  that  they  are  Catholics. 

The  "  parties,"  then,  between  whom  the  charge  prosecutes  its 
discussion  on  the  rule  of  faith,  are  the  Catholic,  on  the  one  side,  wbo 
adopts  for  his  guidance  that  principle  which  has  been  so  universally 
and  apostolically  held,  viz.,  the  whole  word  of  God^  as  expounded 
by  the  Church;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  the  "Protestant,"  who 
contends  that  the  whole  word  of  God  is  contained  in  the  written,  vol- 
ume of  inspiration — as  expounded,  not  by  the  Church,  but  by 
himself  Protestants  and  Catholics,  therefore,  as  the  Bishop  justly 
observes,  starting  under  the  guidance  of  principles  so  different,  have, 
in  one  respect,  no  common  ground  ;  but,  in  another,  there  is  the  one 
which  no  human  intellect  can  justly  decline — common  sense,  and  the 
deductions  of  sound  reasoning  ;  and  I  agree  with  him,  when  he  says, 
"that  to  these  must  be  our  appeal  in  trying  this  fundamental 
issue." 

"  Protestants,"  continues  the  charge,  "  admit  the  Scriptures  with 
out  (any)  authoritative  restrictions  of  their  sense,  leaving  them  to 
be  interpreted  like  other  anciejit  books.''''  This  rule  of  interpretation 
presents  to  my  mind  consequences  which  i-ecoil  with  destruction  on 
the  Scriptures  themselves.  It  seems,  at  first  sight,  a  very  rational 
process,  but  the  reader  will  recollect  that  the  Scriptures  are  essen- 
tially different  from  all  "  other  ancient  books."  The  Scriptures,  ex- 
cept in  so  much 'as  they  are  merely  historical,  relate  to  the  divine 
economy  in  the  supernatural  order  and  agency.  They  testify  of 
things  purely  spiritual.  They  abound  with  miracles  and  inysteries, 
which  the  human  mind  is  utterly  unable  to  comprehend  ;  where, 
then,  are  "  other  ancient  books"  to  be  found  which  bear  any  resem- 


672  ARCHBISHOP  HUOpES. 

blance  to  tlie  sacred  Scriptures  ?  The  inspired  volume,  considered  in 
reference  to  its  origin,  tlie  matter  which  it  treats  of,  the  end  it  pro- 
poses, has  no  parallel — it  is  like  the  creation.  There  is  nothing  of 
its  own  nature  wherewith  it  could  be  compared. 

Supposing,  then,  that,  according  to  the  principle  laid  down  in  the 
chaj-ge,  we  undertake  to  interpi-et  this  volume  as  we  do  "  other 
ancient  books."  If  I  read  ancient  history  it  presents  nothing  for  my 
understanding  but  what  my  understanding  is  able  to  comprehend. 
The  meaning  of  the  author  is  indeed  sometimes  obscure  enough,  but 
generally  it  is  intelligible.  The  matter,  however,  is  of  no  kind  of 
importance,  and  whether  I  mistake  the  sense  or  not^  does  not  affect 
the  well-being  of  my  soul,  either  in  time  or  in  eternity.  If  I  read 
ancient  poetry,  it  is  to  gather  up  the  riches  of  the  poet's  imagination, 
and  of  the  language  in  which  he  clothed  it ;  but  I  laugh  at  the  fables 
of  his  mythology;  and  the  miraculous  feats  of  his  Juno,  the  thunder 
of  his  Jupiter,  are  mere  verba  et  voces.  In  neither  history  nor  poetry, 
therefore,  am  I  obliged  to  believe  any  thing  but  what  I  can  iinder- 
stand.  If,  then,  I  interpret  the  Scriptures  as  "other  ancient  books" 
are  interpreted,*!  shall  soon  be  as  the  Rationalists  of  Germany,  who 
have  literally  proceeded  on  the  rule  of  interpretation  laid  down  in 
the  charge. 

Again,  the  Protestant  rule  of  scriptural  interpretation  is  mani- 
festly more  disorderly  in  its  consequences  than  that  by  which  "  other 
books"  are  interpreted.  No  parent  would  place  the  works  of 
Homer  or  of  Livy  in  the  hands  of  his  imeducated  son,  in  the  hopes 
that  the  mere  unaided  perusal  of  them  would  make  him  acquainted 
with  the  sense :  a  tutor  is  provided,  who  will  explain  to  him  what  is 
obscure,  instruct  him  in  the  figures  of  speech  used  by  the  author, 
and  in  the  allusions  that  may  be  made  to  customs  long  since  obsolete, 
or  incidents  which  are  but  hinted  at.  But  in  the  Protestant  mode 
of  interpreting  Scripture,  although  the  charge  allows  the  reader  to 
consult  tradition  as  a  help^  yet  the  ultimate  appeal  must  be  to  Ms 
reason^  which  is  to  be  exercised  upon  Scripture  as  upon  "  other 
ancient  books."  This  being  the  case,  it  does  not  require  the  gift  of 
prophecy  to  foresee  the  consequences.  But  the  views  of  the  subject 
presented  in  the  charge  does  not  render  justice  to  the  "  foundation," 
as  it  is  called,  on  which  the  Catholic  builds.  The  hypothesis  laid 
down  by  the  Bishop  is,  that  the  Protestant  looks  to  the  Scripture 
with  the  naked  eye,  whereas  the  Catholic  views  it  only  through  the 
medium  of  tradition.  And  starting  from  this  point,  he  tells  us  that 
"  the  issue  is  between  tradition  and  Scripture."  Which  is  the  most 
secure  means  of  preserving  truth  ? 

But  this  statement,  I  reply,  does  not  represent  the  question  fairly, 
Catholics  never  admit  this  supposed  hostility  between  Scripture  and 
tradition.  They  contend  that  the  doctrines  of  Christianity  first  de- 
livered by  oral  tradition^  in  the  preaching  of  the  apostles,  are  in 
perfect  accordance  with  what  these  same  apostles  or  evangelists 
afterwards  consigned  to  writing.  Consequently  we  deny  the  exist- 
ence of  that  distinction  by  which  the  charge  places  Scripture  and 


EEVIEW   OF   BISHOP    ONDEEDONK's    CHARGE.  673 

•     * 

tradition  ia  opposition  to  each  other;  we  hold  that  truth  is  most 
securely  preserved  when  both  are  retained,  and  both  conspire  to  its 
maintenance. 

The  question,  then,  is  whether  Catholics  are  less  secure  in  building 
on  the  foundation  of  Scripture  and  tradition  than  Protestants  are  in 
building  on  the  Scripture  alone^  since  they  reject  tradition  erdirely. 

But  before  I  proceed  to  investigate  the  merits  of  this  question  in 
opposition  to  the  Bishop's  reasoning  and  arguments,  I  must  detine 
the  meaning  of  tradition  as  understood  in  the  Catholic  Church. 
Tradition,  ift  its  theological  sense  (and  in  that  sense  alone  we  now 
consider  it),  is  that  testimony  which  establishes  the  truth 
OF  A  FACT,  A  DOGMA,  OR  CUSTOM.  Thus  the  apostlcs  in  the  first 
preaching  of  Christianity,  are  witnesses  who  bear  testimony  by  oral 
tradition.  The  miracles  operated  by  Christ,  the  doctrines  which 
Christ  inculcated,  the  general  facts  of  Christianity,  were  the  objects 
f  of  this  oral  testimony  or  tradition.  They  propagated  the  belief  of 
the  same  doctrines  wherever  they  preached,  and  their  converts 
became  competent  and  credible  witnesses  to  testify  ichetfier  or  jiot 
the  apostles  had  itistructed  them  in  the  belief  of  any  particular 
doctrine.  The  Christians,  then,  including  their  pastors,  appointed 
by,  and  succeeding  to,  the  apostles — existing  in  different  countries, 
speaking  different  languages — divided  by  national  and  local  interests 
— are  already  found,  at  the  death  of  the  apostles,  competent  to  be,  not 
only  the  witnesses,  but  the  guardians  of  the  doctrines,  in  which  they 
had  been  established  by  those  heralds  of  salvation.  They  expected 
no  new  revelation.  No  corruption  of  doctrine  could  take  place,  ex- 
cept by  the  addition  of  something  new^  or  the  rejectiofi  of  something 
which  they  had  received  from  the  begitming.  Neither  could  be 
accomplished  utiknown  to  them^  and  as  often  as  the  attempt  was 
made,  so  often  did  tradition  lift  up  her  voice  in  testimony,  either 
that  the  doctrine  which  was  assailed  had  always  been  believed,  or 
that  the  tenet  proposed  had  never  been  believed  before.  Thus,  in 
the  case  of  Arius,  who  denied  the  divinity  of  Jesus  Christ.  The 
whole  Christian  Church  assembled  by  its  bishops  at  the  Council  of 
Nice,  and  instead  of  disputing  with  Arius  on  the  meaning  of  those 
passages  of  Scripture,  on  whose  perverted  interpretation  he  laid  the 
foundation  of  his  heresy ;  they  simply  bear  testimony  to  the  fact 
that  the  doctrine  which  Arius  rejected  was  the  doctrine  held  in  all 
the  Churches  of  all  the  countries  to  which  they  respectively  belonged. 
This  testimony,  delivered  by  each  in  the  council^  was  the  attestation 
o^  fact,  a  mere  oral  traditioh'  but  when  these  Fathers  subscribed 
the  creed  which' contains  the  testimony,  it  became  written  as  well 
as  oral  tradition.  That  instrument  became  thenceforward  a  focus 
of  traditional  testimony,  into  which  the  scattered  rays  of  evidence 
had  been  collected  by  those  who  could  testify  as  to  the  belief  of 
every  portion  of  the  Christian  Church.  This  is  tradition  ;  and  this 
has  been  the  rule  by  which  every  doctrinal  decision  of  tlie  Church 
has  been  governed  since  the  days  of  the  apostles. 

Does  the  charge,  then,  do  justice  to  the  meaning  of  tradition^  when 
Vol.  II.— 43 


674  ARCHBISHOP    HUGHES, 

its  autlior  applies  to  it  terms  such  as  "  hearsay  evi(3ence ;"  and 
ilhistrations,  such  as  "  the  mistakes  which  his  hearers  might  make  in 
repeating  the  substance  of  tlie  discourse  to  tlieir  absent  friends,  and 
which  tile  printed  record  of  it  would  immediately  correct  ?"  There 
is  no  parity  in  the  two  cases.  The  apostles  taught  that  the  belief 
of  the  doctrines  which  they  proclaimed  xoas  necessary  to  salvation. 
Consequently  the  iirst  Christians  held  it  as  a  duty,  on  which  the  wel- 
fare of  tlieir  souls  depended  for  eternity,  to  know  what  those  doc- 
trines were.  With  this  st^te  of  the  case  the  charge  has  not  a  single 
trait  of  correspondence.  Its  delivery  was  confined  to  one  Church. 
It  was  a  sound  which  rang  in  the  ears  of  the  audience ;  but  once  it 
was  submitted  as  an  essay  on  the  rule  of  faith,  neither  the  speaker 
nor  the  audience  regarded  it  as  of  vital  importance.  It  was  heard 
with  attention  by  some,  with  indifference,  perhaps,  by  others ;  and, 
in  all  probability,  there  were  comparatively  fe\Y  present  qualified  by 
mind  and  education  to  give  a  correct  verbal  report  of  it  to  their  ab-> 
sent  friends.  And  yet  the  mistakes  which  "  some  of  his  hearers" 
might  make  in  such  a  report,  is  the  illustration  by  which  the  Bishop 
would  exhibit  the  fallacy  of  tradition.  Now,  the  tradition  which 
forms  a  part  of  the  Catholic  rule  of  faith  is  not  the  mere  report  ot 
one  individual,  nor  of  one  congregation,  nor  of  one  city,  nor  of  one 
province,  nor  yet  of  one  nation.  It  is  the  united  testimony  of  all  the 
portions  of  the  Church  at  any  given  period.  The  object  of  that  tes- 
timony is  not  the  substance  of  an  essay  on  an  abstract  question  ; 
but  it  is  some  public  fact  on  which  it  is  impossible  for  the  witnesses 
themselves  to  be  deceived,  and  on  which  it  would  have  been  equally 
impossible  for  them  to  deceive  others.  The  illustration,  therefore, 
selected  by  the  Bishop  is  so  little  calculated  to  give  a  correct  idea 
of  tradition,  that  did  I  not  know  him  to  be  incapable  of  such  an  in- 
tention, I  should  have  regarded  it  as  burlesque.  "The  Protestant," 
says  the  charge,  "  takes  the  word  of  God  from  the  mouth  of  God," 
— "  the  Catholic  from  the  mouth  of  the  Church,  or  rather  a  Church, 
one  of  the  several  Churches  in  Christendom."  On  this  distinction 
depends  a  great  portion  of  the  Bishop's  subsequent  reasoning  on  the 
rule  of  faith  ;  and  I  would  remark,  with  great  deference,  that  this 
distinction  is  by  no  means  founded  in  reality.  For,  in  the  first  place, 
the  Protestant  takes,  or  professes  to  take,  the  word  of  God  I'rom  the 
Bible — and  takes  it,  as  reflected  on  his  mind  through  the  medium 
of  his  private  opinion,  or  of  the  religious  training  which  his  mind  has 
received  from  education  and  prejudice.  Every  sect  has  its  school  of 
tradition,  no  less  than  the  Catholic.  If  the  proposition,  that  "  Prot- 
estants take  the  word  of  God  from  the  mouth  of  Go"d,"  were  correct, 
it  would  be  most  favorable  to  the  Quakers  and  Unitarians,  who  have 
less  to  do  with  traditionary  discipline  than  any  other  Protestant  de- 
nomination. But  even  in  reference  to  them  it  requires  to  be  qualified. 
Secondly,  the  distinction  between  "  the  Church,  and  a  Church, — 
one  of  the  several  Churches  in  Christendom," — appears  to  me  equally 
unfounded.  Throughout  the  whole  charge,  whenever  the  Bishop 
speaks  of  his  own  communion,  he   unhesitatingly  uses  the  definite 


REVIEW   OF   BISHOP   ONDERDOIJk's   CHAEGE.  675 

article,  the  Church.  Tiie  Bishop  knows  that  Jesus  Christ  instituted 
but  one  Church — so  far  as  unity  has  reference  to  doctrine.  The 
Church  at  Coi-inth  was  not  the  Church  at  Ephesus,  Jerusalem,  or 
Rome,  if  we  admit  the  geographical  distinction ;  but  considered  as 
to  doctrine,  they  were  all  but  one  and  the  same  Church.  And 
hence,  I  find  it  strange  that  the  "charge"  should  recognize  "  several 
Churches  in  Christendom."  They  are  even  enumerated  (page  8), 
where  we  are  told  that  "the  Greek,  Armenian,  Syrian,  and  Coptic 
Churches  do  not  agree  with  the  Church  of  Rome."  But  these  par- 
ticular Churches  did  agree  until  the  period  of  their  separation,  and 
•were  portions  of  the  Church.  The  Church  continued,  although  they, 
by  adopting  new  doctrines,  fell  away  from  its  communion.  The 
Greek,  for  example,  denied,  among  other  things,  the  procession  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  from  the  Father  and  the  Son  ;  and  yet  the  Bishop 
speaks  of  the  "Greek  communion"  as  one  of  the  "  several  Churches 
in  Christendom." 

With  this  correction  of  the  premises  laid  down  in  the  charge,  I 
shall  now  proceed  to  maintain  the  Catholic  rule  of  faith  in  opposition 
to  all  the  arguments  and  reasoning  which  the  Bishop  has  arrayed 
against  it.  I  shall  also  examine  the  Protestant  principle,  and  show 
that  it  is  incompetent  to  the  preservation  of  truth.  In  both,  I  shall 
use  those  moral  evidences  which  usually  govern  the  human  mind,  viz. : 
reason,  history,  and  revelation. 

It  is  now  eighteen  hundred  years  since  Christianity  was  preached 
to  the  world.  It  is  admitted  by  the  Bishop  himself,  I  should  suppose, 
that  the  doctrines  of  Christianity  preached  and  established  by  the  apos- 
tles have  been  preserved  by  some  society  of  Christians,  and  transmit- 
ted in  some  way  from  age  to  age  until  the  present  day.  If  they  were 
not,  then  all  the  promises  of  Christ  to  His  Church  have  failed.  His  doc- 
ti'ine  has  disappeared  from  the  world,  His  revelation  has  been  lost, 
and  no  nexc  revelation  has  been  given  in  its  stead.  But  if,  on  the 
other  hand,  they  were  preserved,  then  it  becomes  manifest  that  it 
was  not  and  could  not  be  by  the  Scripture  alone,  but  by  Scripture  and 
tradition — that  is,  the  Catholic  rule  of  faith. 

The  means  appointed  by  the  Son  of  God,  and  appointed  without 
any  limitation  as  to  time  or  place,  for  the  propagation  of  His  religion, 
was  oral  tradition.  The  conmiission  was,  "  Go,  teach  all  nations ; 
preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature."  Accordingly  they  went  and 
taught,  and  preached,  and  converted  the  world  by  oral  traditions, 
sustained,  of  course,  by  the  miraculous  gifts  which  they  had  received 
for  that  purpose..  The  commission  to  teach  and  preach  the  gospel 
passed  to  their  successors,  and  so  continued,  without  chasm  or  inter- 
ruption, down  to  the  present  day,  and  so  will  continue  to  the  end  of 
the  world.  Heaven  and  earth  sliall  pass  away,  but  the  M'ords  of 
that  commission  shall  not  pass  away.  The  express  reference  of  that 
commission  is  to  tradition,  oral  tradition.  This  is  the  fact,  and  this 
being  the  fact,  the  argument  which  it  furnishes  in  favor  of  tradition 
ought  to  convince  those  who  believe  in  the  divinity  and  veracity  of 
Jesus  Christ.     To  Him,  futurity  \s 2,'?,  present.    Ke/oresaio  the  conse- 


676  AKcnBisHOP  hughes. 

quences  which  would  flow  from  the  commission.  The  Bishop  de- 
scribes them  in  page  8  of  the  charge,  where  he  says  that  tradition 
"  is  obviously  an  imperfect  channel,  an  open  stream,  receiving  other 
currents,  such  as  fancies,  opinions,  and  prejudices  of  various  kinds  at 
every  point  of  its  progress ;  and  having  in  its  track  hidden  springs 
of  weak  motives  to  concede  or  to  modify  truth,  which  currents  and 
springs  must  unavoidably  mingle  strange  waters  with  the  stream  of 
tradition."  The  awful  dilemma,  then,  to  which  this  statement  re- 
duces the  Christian,  is  to  believe  that  either  the  Bishop  is  entirely 
mistaken  in  this  description,  or  that  Christ,  foreseeing  these  conse- 
quences, took  no  precaution  against  them. 

It  may  be  said  that  the  Scriptures  were  given  to  correct  (and  this 
is  a  leading  feature  in  the  charge)  these  ruinous  consequences  of  tra- 
dition. But  this  supposition,  although  it  may  satisfy  Protestants, 
does  not  meet  the  necessities  of  the  case.  The  principle  required  for 
the  preservation  of  Christian  truth  is  one  of  prevention^  and  not  of 
cure — an  antidote,  and  not  a  remedy.  And  yet,  one  of  the  principal 
benefits  ascribed  to  Scripture  throughout  the  charge  is,  that  it  served 
to  call  back  the  first  Christians  who  had  strayed  away  by  following 
tradition.  But  this  again  presents  a  consequence  of  which  the  infidel 
will  not  be  slow  to  avail  himself,  viz. :  that  tradition,  by  wliich  Christ 
and  the  apostles  taught,  should  have  led  its  disciples  into  error,  and 
then  that  Scripture  should  have  been  given  to  recall  them  to  truth! 

Again,  conceding,  for  argument,  that  the  written  word  of  God 
was  given  to  rectify  the  errors  of  tradition,  then  the  remedy  should 
have  been  as  extensive  as  the  evil  which  it  was  intended  to  cure. 
The  author  of  the  charge  is  too  well  acquainted  with  ecclesiastical 
antiquity  to  suppose  that  this  was  the  case.  We  have  unquestion- 
able testimony  to  show  that,  after  two  centuries  from  the  time  of 
Christ,  there  were  nations  established  and  existing  in  the  know- 
ledge of  His  doctrines,  "  without  the  ttse  of  letters  or  of  ink.'''*  Ifj 
then,  the  apostles  found  it  necessary,  as  the  charge  asserts  {passim)^ 
to  write  to  the  Churches  of  Rome,  Philippi,  Galatia,  Thessalonica, 
to  correct  or  prevent  the  evil  consequences  of  tradition,  what  be- 
came of  the  other  Churches  of  the  world,  to  whom  no  such  epistles 
were  ever  written?  Tradition  was  everyichere  ;  Scripture  was  only 
in  a  few  cities.  Now,  if  the  dampness  of  error  spread  over  the  foot- 
steps of  tradition,  as  the  charge  labors  to  show,  even  during  the 
lives  of  the  apostles,  the  few  tracts  sent  by  a  few  of  the  apostles  to 
a  few  of  the  churches,  in  the  form  of  single  copies,  could  not  dispel 
the  general  gloom.  The  whole  hypothesis,  therefore,  is,  in  my 
opinion,  calculated  to  throw  doubt  on  the  purity  of  Christian 
doctrine  in  the  apostolic  age  itself;  and,  if  the  Bishop's  reasoning 
proves  any  thing,  it  certainly  proves  less  for  the  Protestant  rule  of 
faith  than  it  does  agai?ist  Cliristianity.  According  to  this  hypothe- 
sis, the  Scriptures  were  given  to  extricate  the  disciples  from  the 
snare  into  which  the  commission  of  Christ,  to  teach  and  preach, 
that  is,  to  instruct,  by  oral  tradition,  had  betrayed  them  ;  and  even 
this  deliverance  was  only  seat  to  &few  cities,  while  all  the  rest  of 


REVIEW   OF   BISHOP   ONDERDONk's   CHARGE.  C77 

tlie  Christian  worid  was  left  to  the  supposed  erroneous  guidance  of 
tradition. 

But  on  what  evidence  does  the  Bishop  maintain  this  supposed  er- 
roneousness  of  tradition  ?  I  confess  I  cannot  see  any,  except  his 
own.  He  tells  us  (page  13)  that  "  the  very  fact  that  Scripture 
was  added  to  oral  teaching,  proves  that  the  latter  was  not  relied 
on  as  an  infallible  method  of  perpetuating  the  gospel."  This  ob- 
servation does  not  at  all  affect  the  Catholic  rule  of  fliith,  against 
which  it  is  directed ;  because  that  rule  comprises  both  Scripture  and 
tradition.  Neither  is  the  reasoning  conclusive.  It  could  be  said, 
with  equal  propriety,  that  "  the  very  fact  that  another  gospel  was 
added  (by  St.  John)  proves,  that  Scripture  and  tradition  both  (with- 
out this)  were  not  relied  on  as  an  infallible  method  of  perpetu- 
ating the  gospel."  No  such  argument  can  stand  the  test  of  logical 
criticism;  and  the  charge,  assuming  it  as  genuine,  draws  out  conclu- 
sions from  it.  "  And  if  tradition,"  it  continues,  "  was  thus  deemed, 
by  inspired  men,  incompetent  to  the  secure  transmission  of  the  gos- 
pel itself,  it  is  gratuitous,  incongruous,  I  had  almost  said  absurd,  to 
allege  that  it  could  transmit  securely  the  interpretation  of  the  gos- 
pel." All  this  depends  on  the  word  if.  But  there  is  a  stronger  ar- 
gument on  the  other  side,  viz. :  that  the  "  method" — the  only 
method,  of  which  there  is  any  recorded  evidence,  appointed  by  the 
Redeemer  of  men,  for  the  secure  transmission  and  secure  interpreta- 
tion of  the  gospel — is  tradition.  This  is  not  an  hypothesis  depending 
on  an  if  :  it  is  a  fact ;  and  being  a  fact,  it  overturns  the  whole 
structure  .of  what  the  Bishop  calls  the  general  disproof  of  tra- 
dition. 

The  charge  next  proceeds  to  "  adduce  particular  examples  of  both 
the  aiding  and  correcting  of  tradition  by  Scripture."  First  instance, 
St.  Paul  to  the  Thessalonians  (1  Tliess.  iv.  10,  11),  in  which  the 
apostle  exhorts  them,  in  writing,  to  do  what  he  had  commanded 
them  by  tradition.  This  was  perfectly  natural,  that  when  absent, 
and  writing  to  his  converts,  he  should  encourage  them  to  be  faithful 
in  doing  as  he  had  instructed  them  to  do.  This  example  shows  the 
Catholic  rule  of  taith,  viz.,  the  concurrence  of  both  Scripture  and  tra- 
dition on  the  same  points  of  doctrine  or  of  duty ;  and  I  do  not  see 
the  soundiiess  of  the  reasoning,  by  wiiich  the  Bishop  infers  from  this, 
that,  '''•therefore,  tradition  was  not  beyond  the  aid  of  Scripture,  and, 
of  course,  was  not  infallible."  As  well  might  it  be  said  by  the  infi- 
del, using  the  Bishop's  premises,  the  epistle  of  St.  Paul  preserved  in 
the  Church  of  Ephesus,  was  "  aided"  by  the  tradition  of  St.  John, 
and,  therefore,  was  not  infallible.  The  reasoning,  in  both  ca.ses,  is 
illogical;  although,  in  both  cases,  the  premises  are  true. 

The  second  example  (1  Thess.  v.  1,  2)  adduced  by  the  Bishop,  is 
that  of  St.  Paul,  writing  in  a  subsequent  epistle,  to  correct  the  false 
interpretation  given  by  the  Thessalonians  to  a  passage  of  his  first 
epistle  touching  the  day  of  the  Lord.  The  rebuke,  therefore,  was 
not  directed  against  tradition,  as  held  in  the  Catholic  Church,  but 
against  private  and  erroneous  interpretation ;    and,   consequently, 


678  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

against  that  very  rule  of  faith  which  the  Bishop  was  recomniending. 
If  St.  Paul  had  been  present  at  Thessalonica,  he  would  have  cor- 
rected this  false  interpretation  by  tradition ;  and,  after  the  demise 
of  all  the  apostles,  the  same  local  error  would  be  corrected  by  the 
Catholic  tradition  of  the  whole  Church,  touching  the  point  in  ques- 
tion. It  is  not  to  the  imperfection  of  tradition  that  St.  Paul  charges 
the  error,  which  plainly  appears  in  the  fact  admitted  by  the  Bishop 
himself,  that  in  this  very  epistle,  the  apostle  places  tradition  on  the 
same  authoritative  equality  with  Scripture  itself,  and  in  the  same 
order  as  in  the  creed  of  Pius  the  Fourth  :  "  Stand  fast ;  and  hold 
the  traditions  which  ye  have  learned,  whether  by  word  or  by  our 
epistle." 

The  inspired  apostle  commands  Christians  to  hold  tradition.  The 
Protestant  rule  of  taith  says,  "  No ;  we  hold  Scripture  alone ;"  and 
the  Bishop  condemns  that  which  the  apostle  emphatically  enjoined. 
Which  is  right  ? 

The  third  instance  furnished  in  the  charge  is  that  in  which  St. 
Paul  repeats,  in  writing  to  the  Corinthians  (1  Cor.  xi.  20-34),  what 
he  had  previously  taught  them  by  tradition ;  and  this  is  what  the 
charge  first  designates  as  the  "  correction  of  tradition  by  Scripture." 
A  little  further  (p.  16)  this  "  correction"  is  next  changed  into  "  con- 
demnation"— a  "  glaring  condemnation."  If  this  be  reasoning,  I 
confess  I  do  not  understand  what  the  word  means. 

In  the  succeeding  paragraph  (same  page)  the  traditions  of  the 
apostle  are  represented  as  having  become,  in  "  three  or  four  years," 
so  feeble  as  to  leave  them,  the  Corinthians,  to  act  as -if  "mad." 
How  lamentable,  then,  must  have  been  the  situation  of  the  other 
churches  founded  by  the  apostles,  when  it  is  recollected  that  they 
received  no  Scripture,  some  of  them,  for  hundreds  of  years  after  the 
demise  of  the  apostles!  But,  on  the  very  same  page,  the  autlior  of 
the  "  charge"  testifies,  that  thus  far  the  Corinthians  stood  in  the 
traditiotis,  which  ice  have  just  been  told  had  become  "so  feeble  as  to 
leave  them  to  act  as  if  mad." 

The  Bishop  next  passes  to  St.  Luke.  He  wrote  his  gospel,  be- 
cause "it  seemed  good  to  liim  also  to  write  unto  him  (Tlieophilus), 
that  he  might  know  the  truth  of  those  words  in  which  he  had  been 
instructed."  But,  certainly,  there  is  no  argument  against  tradition 
found  in  this  exordium  of  the  evangelist.  St.  Luke,  the  author  of 
this  gospel,  was  himself  the  disciple  of  tradition  ;  and,  although 
inspired  to  commit  to  writing,  he  assigned  as  his  motive  for  so  do- 
ing, not  the  defects,  which  the  charge  imputes  to  tradition — not  the 
correction,  but  the  confirmation  of  tradition',  and  because  "it 
seemed  good  to  him  also  to  write." 

The  next  instance  adduced  in  the  charge  is  from  the  epistle  to 
the  Romans,  in  which  the  apostle  testifies,  as  the  Bishop  himself 
emphatically  acknowledges,  that  the  Romans  were  instructed  by 
tradition,  and  walking  under  its  guidance,  "  were  filled  with  all 
KNOWLEDGE,  and  able  to  instruct  one  another.'''' 

I  really  cannot  see  by  what  process  of  reasoning  the  Bishop  can 


REVIEW   OF   BISHOP   ONDERDONk's   CHAEGE.  679 

draw  from  this  passage  an  inference,  either  condemnatory  or  un- 
favorable to  tradition. 

The  rest  of  the  particular  examples  given  by  the  Bishop  consists 
of  detached  expressions,  on  which  no  conclusion  prejudicial  to  tradi- 
tion can  be  established,  and  a  recapitulation  of  what  had  preceded ; 
and  here  the  testimonies  against  tradition  close — without  furnishing 
one  single  argument,  I  mean  a  genuine  argument,  ironx  the  holy 
Scripture.  In  no  case  are  the  faithful  cautioned  against  it — in  no 
case  are  errors  imputed  to  it,  but  on  the  contrary,  in  several  instances, 
the  Christians  are  enjoined  to  cling  to  it  with  equal  tenacity  as  to  the 
written  word  itself. 

Let  us  now  look  for  the  testimonies  which  the  charge  itself  fur- 
nishes in  favor  of  tradition  ;  for  the  Bishop  does  not  entirely  reject 
it,  but  merely  contends  that  it  is  an  "  open  channel,"  receiving 
adulterated  and  adulterating  currents  at  every  point  of  its  progress. 
The  reason  assigned  for  this  is,  that  tradition  was  an  open  stream, 
whereas  Scripture  was  a  "  conduit,  a  close  aqueduct;"  a  comparison, 
by  the  way,  belonging  rather  to  rhetoric  than  to  theology,  since  the 
Bishop  acknowledges  candidly  that  we  take  the  Scriptures  themselves 
on  TRADiTioxAL  AUTHORITY.  Tradition,  then,  is  the  witness  on 
whose  testimony  we  receive  the  holy  Scriptures  as  the  written  word 
of  God.  But  we  have  just  been  told  that  tradition  is  not  to  be  de- 
pended on.  The  Protestant  rule  of  faith  is  the  Scripture  alone,  and 
the  charge  admits  that  the  Scripture  is  received  on  the  authority  of 
tradition,  thereby  founding  the  Scripture  on  a  basis  which  it  labors 
to  prove  fallible. 

How  brietj  alas,  is  the  distance  from  this  position  to  the  conclusion 
of  the  deist,  viz. :  that  the  inspired  volume  is  not  to  be  received  as 
inliillible,  since  it  is  sustained  only  by  fallible  tradition.  From  this, 
the  Christian  reader  will  perceive  how  difficult  it  is  to  assail  the 
Catholic  rule  of  faith  without  disturbing  the  foundations  of  Christi- 
anity. I  am  sure  the  Bishop  had  no  such  intention — that  in  com- 
posing and  delivering  his  charge  he  never  dreamt  of  the  consequen- 
ces involved  in  its  principles ;  but  I  am  equally  persuaded  that  the 
train  of  his  reasoning,  logically  prosecuted,  would  lead  to  the  very 
brink  of  the  conclusions  on  which  infidelity  commences  the  founda- 
tion of  her  system. 

But,  in  fact,  there  are  several  passages  in  the  charge  having  direct 
reference  to  tradition,  which  I  find  it  diflicult  to  reconcile  with  one 
another.  In  page  8,  it  is  a  stream  in  which  "  strange  waters,  at 
every  point  of  its  progress,  must  unavoidably  tniugle.''''  In  page  4, 
"  it  is  the  authority  on  which  we  receive  the  Scriptures  themselves.'''' 
In  pages  13,  14,  15,  16,  et  passim,  it  has  such  a  tendency  to  error 
that  the  apostles  are  obliged  to  write  epistles,  to  aid  or  correct  it, 
within  THREE  OR  FOUR  years  from  its  primitive  establishment.  In 
page  23  the  charge  tells  us  that, '"  in  the  Jirst  century  sound  Christian 
tradition  was  regarded  as  divine  truth  !  And  such,  of  course,  it 
continued  as  long  as  it  remained  sound."  It  may  be  said  that  these 
different  quotations,  by  being  taken  out  of  the  context,  are  j^erverted, 


680  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

but  to  this  I  answer  that  they  are  different  predicates  of  the  same 
subject,  and  therefore  are  not  unfairly  presented. 

The  remainder  of  the  charge  has  reference  to  the  rules  of  private 
interpretation,  and  to  the  awful  responsibility  which  rests  upon  those 
who  exercise  that  right.  In  tracing  the  efforts  of  the  charge  to 
prove  the  utter  fallibility  of  tradition,  I  anticipated  the  superior  argu- 
ment by  which  the  infallibility  of  the  Protestant  rule  of  faith  would 
be  established.  But  I  was  disappointed,  and  in  the  following  ad- 
mission I  discovered  tl)at  not  even  a  claim  to  infallibility  is  asserted 
in  connection  with  the  Scripture  itself  as  a  principle  of  religious 
guidance. 

"  A  due  appreciation  of  the  fact,"  says  the  charge,  "  that  the  dis- 
creet exercise  of  our  judgment  in  articles  of  faith  is  part  of  our 
probation,  will  guard  us  against  yielding  to  the  deception  which 
sometimes  tempts  us,  when  we  find  that  only  moral  certainty  can 
be  attained,  not  infallible  certainty,  in  either  the  evidexces  ot 
Scripture  or  its  interpretation,"  (Page  27.)  Here,  then,  is  the 
candid  admission  of  the  Bishop  that  the  religion  of  a  Protestant  is 
necessarily  the  religion  of  mere  opinion^  for  it  requii-es  no  tedious 
demonstration  to  show  that  what  is  less  than  infallible  authority  on 
the  one  hand,  producing  no  "  infallible  certainty"  on  the  other,  is 
not,  and  cannot  be  any  thing  more  than  opinion.  A  discreet  judg- 
ment is  made  the  arbiter  of  the  Pi-otestant's  creed  !  As  there  is  no 
infallible  certainty  to  be  found  either  in  the  evidence  of  Scripture  or 
its  interpretation,  the  Presbyterian  advocate  of  the  Protestant 
rule  of  faith  undertook  its  defence  on  a  different  principle.  He  laid 
it  down  as  a  matter  of  course,  that  "  there  is  an  infallible  rule  of 
faith  appointed  by  Christ  to  guide  us  in  mattei"S  of  religion,  and  for 
the  purpose  of  determining  disputes  in  the  Church  of  Christ."  This 
the  charge  denies,  and  the  actual  condition  of  Protestant  Christianity 
corresponds  with  the  consequences  of  that  denial.  It  is  a  system  ot 
opinion,  and  the  principle  of  religious  guidance  which  it  has  adopted 
is  incapable  of  producing  any  thing  else.  Seeing,  then,  that  the 
Bishop  relinquishes  all  claim  to  infallibility  among  Protestants,  and 
denies  it  also  to  the  Catholic  rule  of  belief — the  question  arises 
whether  Christianity  is  reduced  to  that  state  of  destitution  that  no 
man  can  be  certain  what  are  the  doctrines  which  Jesus  Christ  re- 
vealed to  the  world,  except  so  far  as  he  is  casually  blessed  with 
"  a  discreet  judgment,"  and  fortunate  in  his  individual  "  exercise" 
of  it. 

The  principle  on  which  the  Catholic  builds  his  faith  is  the  infallible 
promise  of  Jesus  Christ.  It  is  admitted  by  Protestants  that  faith 
is  essentially  necessary  to  salvation,  as  without  faith,  says  St.  Paul, 
it  is  impossible  to  please  God.  "  He  that  believes  not  shall  be  con- 
demned" is  the  declaration  of  the  Redeemer  Himself.  But  ca?i  the 
Christian  believe,  unless  he  knows  what  doctrines  have  been  revealed 
for  his  belief  ?  And  how  can  he  know  what  doctrines  have  been 
revealed,  unless  the  Son  of  God  has  appointed  for  his  guidance  an 
infallible  rule  of  faith  ?     The  charge  agrees  that  Protestants  have 


REVIEW   OF   BISHOP    ONDERDONk's   CHARGE,  68 1 

only  "  moral  certainty,"  and  it  is  an  absolute  truth  that  if  the  Saviour 
appointed  a  rule  of  faith  at  all,  it  is  kssextially  infallible. 

But  it  may  be  well  to  state  Avhat  is  meant  by  that  formidable 
word  infallibility.  '  The  infallibility  of  the  Church  is  that  superin- 
tendence of  the  Holy  Spirit  promised  hy  the  Saviour  of  the  world, 
for  the  teaching  of  all  truth,  and  the  preservation  of  all  the  essential 
doctrines  of  revelation,  whether  appertaining  to  faith  or  morals.  In 
other  words,  infaUibility  is  that  special  providence  of  God  by  which 
He  fulfils  the  promise  He  made  to  the  Church,  that  notwithstanding 
the  passions,  the  ignorance,  the  depravity  of  men,  still  "  the  gates  of 
hell  should  not  prevail  against  her."  The  grounds  of  thisintiillibility 
have  been  laid  down  by  a  Protestant  Episcopal  bishop,  whose  words 
I  shall  borrow  :  "  When  Christ  spoke  first  to  St.  Peter,  He  sealed 
His  speech  with  a  powerful  jyroniise  of  perpetuity,  saying : '  Thou 
art  Peter,  and  on  this  rock  I  will  build  My  Church,  and  the  gates  of 
hell  shall  not  prevail  against  it.'  (Matt.  xvi.  28.)  When  He  spoke 
generally  to  all  the  rest  of  the  apostles,  '  Go,  teach  all  nations,  bap- 
tizing them'  (Matt,  xxvii.  19),  He  added  a 2yro7nise  to  the  same  effect, 
'  And  lo !  I  am  with  you  all  days,  even  to  the  end  of  the  world.' 
The  first  of  these  promises  assui-es  us  of  the  continuance  of  the 
Church,  because  it  is  built  upon  a  rock.  The  rain  descended,  and 
the  floods  came,  and  the  winds  blew,  and  beat  against  that  house, 
and  it  fell  not,  for  it  was  founded  on  a  rock.  The  Church  of  Christ 
is  the  house  of  Christ.  As  a  wise  man  He  has  built  it  on  a  rock, 
and  what  is  so  built  shall  not  fall.  The  latter  of  these  promises  gives 
not  only  an  assurance  of  the  continuance  of  the  Church,  but  also  the 
cause  of  that  continuance,  which  is  the  presence  of  Christ.''''  (Dr. 
Pearson's  Exposition  of  the  Creed,  4th  edition,  page  342.) 

Now  Christ  would  not  be  present  with  the  Church,  if  the  Church 
were  capable  of  leading  us  into  error  ;  or,  in  other  words,  since  Christ 
is  with  the  Church,  therefore  the  Church  is  infallible.  This,  then, 
is  the  essential  attribute  of  the  Church  of  Christ ;  and  as  this  was 
the  case  when  Dr.  Pearson  wrote,  so  it  follows  that  it  had  been  the 
case  before  the  Reformation,  since  the  Church  of  Christ  always 
existed,  whereas  Protestantism  did  not  exist  before  the  sixteenth 
century.  Here  is  a  succinct  proof  of  the  infallibility  of  the  Church, 
sustained  not  only  by  the  very  nature  of  the  case,  but  also  by  the  tes- 
timony of  her  adversary.  I  might  multiply  evidences,  if  time  and 
space  permitted.  Is  it,  then,  as  Protestants  have  been  taught  to  sup- 
pose, absurd  or  incongruous  to  believe,  as  Catholics  do,  in  the  infal- 
libiUty  of  the  Church,  the  pillar  and  ground  of  the  truth  ?  But  how 
has  this  Church,  sustained  by  the  promise,  and  guided  by  the  pres- 
ence of  Christ,  continued  to  teach  His  doctrines  in  all  ages  ?  Not  by 
Scripture  alone — not  by  tradition  alone,  after  the  Scriptures  were 
received  ;  but  by  Scripture  and  tradition  together,  as  mutual  helps 
and  aids  to  each  other  ; — by  Scripture,  as  the  inspired  written  word 
of  God  ;  and  by  tradition,  as  the  inspired  unwritten  word  of  God,  as 
the  everlasting  witness  bearing  testimony  to  the  doctrines  preached 
by  Christ  and  His  apostles,  and  to  the  authenticity,  inspiration,  and 


682  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

unchangeable  meaning  of  the  Scriptures.  For  most  of  these  ends 
tradition  is  necessary,  and  admitted  by  Protestants  themselves. 
They  hold  the  Scriptures  are  the  inspired  word  of  God  no  less  than 
we  ;  and  for  this  article  of  Christian  belief  they  have  to  depend  on 
the  infallibility  of  tradition.  Now  Christ  has  declared  that  those 
who  believe  not  shall  be  condemned  ;  and  this  belief  constitutes  "  that 
faith,  without  which,  the  apostles  tell  us,  it  is  impossible  to  please 
God."  But  what  is  faith  ?  "  Faith,"  says  Dr.  Tillotson,  "  is  an 
assent  to  a  thing  on  the  authority  of  God ;  or,  wliich  is  all  one,  an 
assent  to  a  truth  upon  divine  revelation?''  Faith  is,  therefore,  that 
homage  of  the  human  intellect  by  which  we  believe  a  doctrine,  not 
because  we  understand  it,  but  because  God  has  proposed  it  to  our 
belief  The  testimony  on  which  we  believe  it  must  be  infallible, 
otherwise  we  can  never  know,  with  absolute  certainty,  whether  God 
has  revealed  it  or  7iot.  This  testimony  is  what  constitutes  the  rule 
of  faith,  whether  it  be  the  Scripture  alone,  interpreted  by  each  indi- 
vidual for  himself,  as  the  Protestants  suppose,  or  the  concurrent 
voice  of  Scripture  and  tradition,  as  held  by  the  Catholic  Church. 
"  When,  therefore,"  says  Dr.  Tillotson,  "  we  inquire  tchat  is  the  rule 
of  Christian  faith,  the  meaning  is,  by  what  way  and  means  the 
knowledge  of  Christ's  doctrine  is  conveyed  certain  down  to  us, 
who  live  at  the  distance  of  so  many  ages  from  the  time  of  its  first 
delivery." 

But  the  author  of  the  "  charge"  has  absolutely  excluded  tradition 
from  the  "  ways  and  means"  of  finding  out  this  knowledge  of  Christ's 
doctrine.  He  sends  those,  M^ho  are  willing  to  abide  by  his  principles, 
to  the  private  interpretation  of  the  Scripture,  tells  them  to  exercise 
a  "  discreet  judgment,"  and  cheers  them  with  the  hope  of  attaining 
"  moral  certainty"  as  to  the  doctrines  of  Christ;  but,  at  the  same 
time,  advises  them  that  "  infallible  certainty"  is  not  to  be  hoped  lor  ! 
In  other  words,  if  he  will  permit  me  to  follow  up  his  reasoning  to  its 
logical  consequences,  he  tells  them  that  if,  exercising  a  discreet 
judgment  in  the  interpretation  of  the  Scriptures,  they  come  to  the 
conclusion  that  Christ  is  not  God,  they  are  "  morally  certain"  that 
they  are  not  wrong  ;  but  if,  on  the  other  hand,  exercising  "  a  dis- 
creet judgment,"  they  come  to  an  opposite  conclusion,  they  are  not 
"  infallibly  certain"  that  they  are  right !  In  plain  language,  that 
Christ  has  made  a  revelation,  made  the  belief  of  it  necessary  to  sal- 
vation, and  yet  left  no  means  whereby  to  ascertain,  with  "  infallible 
certainty,"  what  it  is  !  The  Bishop  is  willing  to  accept  the  Scri})- 
ture  from  the  hands  of  tradition  ;  but,  having  received  the  gift,  he 
impugns  the  testimony  of  the  giver  !  But,  according  to  his  views 
of  the  lule  of  faith,  it  is  impossible  for  the  Protestant  to  say  (except 
with  the  belief  of  ojnnion),  whether  any  particular  doctrine  has  or 
has  not  been  revealed  by  the  Redeemer  of  men.  He  may  say,  in- 
deed, as  his  act  of  faith  :  "  Oh,  my  God,  I  believe  this,  because,  if 
my  interpretation  be  correct,  it  is  contained  in  Thy  written  word  ; 
and  of  this  I  have  a  '  moral  certainty'  that  my  interpretation  is  coi*- 
rect,  because  I  firmly  believe  that  I  have  interpreted  in  the  exercise 


REVIEW    OF   BISHOP    ONDERDONk's   CHARGE.  683 

of  a  '  discreet  judgment.'"  This  is  the  strongest  language  wliich, 
according  to  the  principles  hiid  down  in  the  charge,  an  E|jiscopalian 
is  authorized  to  use  in  making  an  act  of  belief  in  any  doctrine  of 
Christianity.  And  this  language  the  Unitarian,  the  Baptist,  the 
Piesbyterian,  the  Swedenborgian,  and  the  Universalist  may  use  in 
reference  to  the  doctrine,  or  want  of  doctrine,  peculiar  to  each,  with- 
out violating  one  single  iota  of  the  rule  of  faith  mentioned  by  the 
Bi>hop. 

The  hand  that  inflicts  a  blow  on  tradition,  wounds  Christianity. 
The  Bishop  founded  an  influence  against  tradition,  on  the  ground 
tliat  its  "channel  was  the  human  mind,"  without  reflecting  that,  in 
reference  to  the  point  at  issue,  even  Scripture  cannot  avail,  until  its 
interpretation  begins  to  flow  in  the  same  "  channel."  He  compares 
Scripture  and  tradition  to  two  chains,  one  having  only  a  few,  the 
other  an  almost  infinite  number  of  successive  links ;  the  antiquity 
of  certain  scriptural  manuscripts  is  the  proof  of  the  former;  the 
average  duration  of  adult  life,  taken  at  forty-five  years,  for  each  suc- 
cessive generation  since  the  time  of  Christ,  is  assumed  as  the  proof 
of  the  latter.  But  the  very  existence  and  antiquity  of  those  manu- 
scripts can  be  ascertained  only  by  the  testijnony  of  tradition ;  and, 
on  the  other  hand,  the  chain  of  tradition  is  by  no  means  weakened 
by  the  number  of  its  links.  One  would  suppose,  by  this  description, 
that  the  generations  of  Christians  that  have  preceded  us  to  the 
shores  of  eternity,  pursued  eadi  other  in  that  regular,  distinct,  and 
successive  order,  which  we  observe  in  the  waves  of  the  ocean :  they 
approach  and  spread  themselves  on  the  sandy  beach ;  but  the  least 
reflection  will  convince  the  reader  that  this  was  not  the  case.  Death 
is  daily  taking  away  from  the  ranks  of  men.;  yet  society  stills  exists 
in  its  mature  condition.  We  talk  of  generations,  ages,  epochs,  and 
centuries ;  but  society,  whether  civil  or  religious,  knows  none  of 
these  artificial  divisions  of  time.  It  has  a  continuous  moral  exist- 
ence, which  even  death  cannot  interrupt ;  and,  this  being  the  case, 
I  cannot  see  even  a  breach  in  the  descent  of  tradition,  which,  like 
society,  is  universal,  continuous,  and  unbroken.  It  is  true  that  even 
Catholic  writers  sometimes  indulge  a  metaphor,  by  calling  tradition 
"a  chain,"  composed  of  successive  links;  but,  strictly  speaking,  the 
only  link  in  the  history  of  the  human  race,  is  that  which  connected 
the  descendants  of  Noah  with  their  antediluvian  forefathers. 

So  that  even,  according  to  the  analogies  of  human  existence,  and 
the  laws  of  moral  evidence  that  govern  the  human  mind  in  other  re- 
lations, I  would  say,  in  opposition  to  the  Bishop's  theory,  that,  even 
apart  from  its  divine  origin,  tradition  is  a  most  important  and  essen- 
tial witness  in  the  evidence  of  Christian  doctrines.  Without  it,  no 
man  can  be  certain  what  those  doctrines  are ;  still,  it  is  not  because 
it  is,  by  its  very  character,  philosoijhically  considered,  so  well 
adapted  to  the  preservation  of  Chiislian  truth,  and  the  prevention 
or  correction  of  error,  that  it  obtains  my  consideration  and  confi- 
dence ;  but,  because  Jesus  Christ,  the  infallible  Teacher,  selected 
tradition  as  the   ordinary  means  for  the  propagation,  transmission, 


684:  ARCHBISHOP  HUGHES. 

and  preservation  of  His  doctrine.  When,  therefore,  the  Catholic 
hearkens  to  the  voice  of  tradition  and  the  Church,  as  well  as  of  the 
Scriptures,  he  does  it  on  the  principle  that  he  ia  obeying  the  blessed 
Redeemer,  just  as  the  child  obeys  God  by  obeying  his  parents,  as 
God  commands.  If  the  doctrines  of  Christ  have  been  committed  to 
writing,  he  rejoices  the  more.  Tradition  assures  him  that  this  was 
by  inspiration  ;  and  in  the  constant,  universal,  and  uniform  teaching 
of  the  Church,  to  which  the  Spirit  of  truth  was  promised  by  her 
Founder,  he  recognizes,  not  "  Scripture  and  tradition,  as  opposing 
claimants,"  but  as  different  kinds  of  witnesses,  blending  their  united 
evidence  in  testimony,  that  the  doctrines  which  he  believes^  are  the 
doctrines  revealed  by  Christ,  and  preached  by  the  apostles.  This  is 
his  rule  of  faith.  He  holds  it  as  infallible,  inasmuch  as  it  was  appointed 
by  God  ;  and,  therefore,  his  faith  is  stronger  than  death ;  he  sees  this 
union  of  Scripture  and  tradition  divinely  established,  so  that  in  the 
language  of  the  inspired  writer,  in  reference  to  another  subject,  they 
are  no  longer  "  two,  but  one ;"  and  he  remembers  the  prohibition, 
"  What,  therefore,  God  has  joined  together,  let   not   man  put 

ASUNDER." 

PmiiADEIiPHIA,  1833. 


LETTER 

TO  THE  MEMBERS  OF  THE  CENTRAL  COUNCIL  OF  THE   ASSOCIA- 
TION FOR  THE  PROPAGATION  OF  THE  FAITH. 

Gentlemen — The  spiritual  interests  of  the  diocese  of  New  York, 
the  administration  of  which  has  been  recently  confided  to  me,  by 
involving  the  necessity  of  my  visiting  Europe,  gave  me  an  oppor- 
tunity of  making  known  to  the  zealous  directors  of  the  great  Associa- 
tion what  fruit  we  have  already  derived,  and  hope  still  to  derive  from 
the  aid  their  charity  affords  us.  If  your  work,  sanctioned  by  the 
Sovereign  Pontiff,  is  everywhere  regarded  as  raised  up  by  God  to 
constitute,  in  our  day,  the  glory  of  the  Church,  and  become  the 
visible  providence  of  the  remote  and  indigent  parts  of  Christ's  king- 
dom, in  the  United  States  especially  these  considerations  draw  down 
blessings  upon  it.  Nowhere,  perhaps,  has  it  effected  more  good 
than  in  our  infant  churches.  Formerly  the  faith  illumined  only  the 
sea-coast  of  this  vast  country  :  now,  the  Catholic  emigrant,  turn  his 
steps  and  fix  his  abode  where  he  will,  is  sure  to  find  bishops,  priests, 
and  the  aid  of  religion.  The  diocese  of  New  York  is  not  insensible 
to  this  blessed  change.     I  regret  my  inability  to  lay  before  you  now 


CATHOLICnT   IN   NEW   YORK.  685 

more  than  a  very  meagre  outline  of  its  actual  situation.  The  terri- 
tory included  in  my  jurisdiction  is  more  extensive  than  England  and 
Wales  ;  it  contains  over  two  millions  of  inhabitants.  Originally 
settled  by  a  colony  of  Dutch,  it  was  long  subject  to  the  laws  passed 
in  Netherland  against  the  Catholics.  New  York  subsequently 
changed  masters  without  our  faith  finding  a  relief  from  oppression  ; 
the  penal  laws  of  England  but  substituted  their  terrible  rigor  for 
what  had  hitherto  weighed  down  the  children  of  the  Catholic  Church. 
Thus  heresy  endeavored  in  these  parts  to  stifle  Catholicity  in  its 
cradle.  The  aged  here  still  remember  the  time  when  they  assembled 
to  hear  Mass  in  the  house,  and  under  the  protection,  of  the  Spanish 
consul.  As  soon  as  their  poverty  permitted,  they  purchased  a  barn, 
the  modest  sanctuary  that  a  God,  born  in  a  manger,  did  not  disdain 
to  inhabit.  Later,  in  I'i'Se,  they  undertook  the  erection  of  a  small 
church,  the  first  reared  in  the  diocese,  and  this  was  completed  only 
by  aid  from  abroad. 

When  the  first  Bishop  of  New  York  took  possession  of  his  See,  in 
1816,  the  diocese  contained  only  three  churches,  four  priests,  and 
sixteen  thousand  Catholics.  Since  then,  that  is  to  say,  in  twenty 
years,  we  count  in  the  same  mission,  fifty-eight  priests,  fifty-four 
churches,  and  forty-nine  stations  where  the  holy  sacrifice  is  ofifered 
and  the  sacraments  administered  at  stated  times.  The  Catholic 
population  is  estimated  at  200,000.  New  York  city  and  its  environs 
contain  90,000.  With  a  more  numerous  clergy  there  is  eveiy  reason 
to  believe  that  conversions  would  multiply  and  piety  flourish  still 
more. 

Till  now,  the  losses  of  the  sanctuary  have  been  repaired  only  by 
supplies  lent  us  by  Europe.  Fifteen  months  since  we  laid  the  foun- 
dation of  a  diocesan  seminary,  to  the  support  of  which  we  devote 
the  funds  allotted  to  us  by  the  Association.  This  project  had  already 
excited  the  solicitude  of  Bishop  Dubois,  early  in  his  episcopate,  in 
1826.  But  the  building  was  scarcely  completed  when  it  became  a 
prey  to  the  flames.  In  one  hour  the  fruit  of  long  years  of  labor  and 
sacrifice  was  swept  away. 

The  means  of  recruiting  the  priesthood  being  annulled,  the 
laborers  no  longer  suflice  for  the  harvest.  Churches  raised  in  various 
parts,  by  the  pious  generosity  of  our  brethren,  remain  without 
pastors ;  the  faithful  who  built  them,  in  the  sweat  of  their  brow,  ask 
the  permanent  presence,  or  at  least  frequent  visits,  of  a  priest.  How 
often,  during  my  la^t  pastoral  visits,  have  their  entreaties  moved  me 
to  tears  !  "  It  is  true,"  they  said,  "  we  meet  on  Sundays  at  the  time 
of  Mass,  we  recite  the  prayers  of  Mass,  the  rosary,  etc.,  together  ; 
but  when  we  look  to  the  altar,  no  minister  of  God  is  standing  there, 
clad  in  his  priestly  garments,  raising  his  voice  and  hands  to  h«aven, 
ofiering  the  Victim  of  propitiation  for  us." 

Happy  Christians  of  Europe,  you  have  had  but  to  receive  from  the 
faith  of  your  ancestors  those  religious  edifices  and  institutions  which 
have  been  handed  down  to  you  as  a  rich  inheritance.  But  for  us 
the  past  has  done  nothing.     It  is  for  our  weakness  to  undertake  all, 


686  AKCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

create  all,  at  the  same  time  that  we  must  preserve  and  maintain. 
May  the  good  already  effected  by  your  aid,  interest  and  increase 
your  charity  in  favor  of  our  immense  necessities. 

Accept,  etc., 

'h  JOHN  HUGHES,  Bishop  of  Basileopolis, 
Administrator  of  the  Diocese  of  New 
York. 
Pakis,  1840. 


REFLECTIONS   AND  SUGGESTIONS, 

IN  REGARD  TO  WHAT  IS  CALLED  THE  CATHOLIC    PRESS  IN  THE 
UNITED    STATES. 

It  is  complimentary  to  the  liberal  institutions  of  America,  wliero 
no  distinction  of  religious  creed  is  recognized  by  the  Government, 
that  there  are  more  Catholic  periodicals,  of  one  name  or  another, 
published  in  this  country,  than  there  are  among  the  English-speak- 
ing Catholics  of  the  whole  world  besides.  Now,  even  in  this  country, 
the  date  of  the  origin  of  these  Catholic  periodicals  is  within  the 
memory  of  men  who  have  hardly  attained  more  than  the  meridian 
of  human  life. 

A  growth  of  periodical  literature  so  rapid,. may  naturally  be  sup- 
posed to  contain  the  tares  as  well  as  the  wheat  of  laborious  planting, 
and  of  a  prematurely  expected  reaping  of  the  harvest. 

Accordingly  there  has  been  observable  in  the  mode  of  conducting 
these  periodicals,  a  certain  amount  of  rivalship,  involving,  at  the 
same  time,  a  very  considerable  amount  of  mutual  hostility  between 
one  periodical  and  another,  so  that  the  benefits  to  religion  which 
might  have  resulted  from  something  resembling  unity  of  purpose, 
and  a  right  understanding  of  the  principle  of  a  Catholic  press,  have 
been  so  thoroughly  neutralized,  that  it  is  becoming  a  question 
among  its  supporters,  whether  it  has  not  already  done  more  harm 
than  good  to  the  Catholic  community.  \ 

The  writer  of  this  remembers  when  there  was  only  one  paper  that 
could  be  classed,  directly  or  indirectly,  under  the  head  of  a  Catholic 
journal,  in  the  United  States.  It  was  published  in  New  York.  It 
professed  to  defend  the  Irish  character  against  obloquy,  which  was 
then  as  abundant  as  it  is  now.  It  was  called  the  Shamrock.  Inci- 
dentally, it  was  Catholic,  in  so  far  as  the  Irish  were  assailed,  princi- 
pally on  account  of  their  religion.  This  was  succeeded,  if  the  writer 
mistakes  not,  by  the  Truth- Teller. 

The  first  really  Catholic  paper,  and  which  happily  survives,  though 


THE   CATHOLIC   PRESS.  687 

feebly  supported,  is  the  Catholic  MisceUany,  of  Charleston,  founcled 
by  the  eminent  Bishop  Enghmd.  Throughout  all  times  this  paper 
has  sustained  itself  amidst  great  trials,  witli  a  dignity  and  erudition 
such  as  have  not  been  surpassed  by  any  Catholic  periodical  in  the 
country.  In  the  mere  news  department,  it  had  little  to  offer  that 
would  be  interesting  to  the  Catholics  of  the  North,  except  what 
would  have  been  a  repetition  of  matters  with  Avhich  they  had  been 
previously  familiar.  But  in  its  editorial  department,  whether  as  re- 
gards tlie  purity  of  the  English  language,  the  dignity  of  style,  the 
force,  and  at  the  same  time  elegance  of  argument,  in  dealing  with  an 
adversary,  no  Catholic  periodical  published  in  the  United  States  has 
yet  surpassed  the  Charleston  Catholic  Miscellany. 

Since  then  we  have  seen  the  rise  of  many  Catholic  journals, 
and  the  failure  of  more  than  a  few,  Those  that  survive  are  be- 
fore the  mind  and  under  the  eye  of  the  Catholic  people  of  the  United 
States.  Without  invidious  comparison,  it  may  be  said  that  each 
has  its  strong  phase  of  merit,  and  its  sinister  aspects  of  possible  in- 
jury to  the  cause  which  it  professes,  and  by  a  confiding  people  is 
supported  to  advocate. 

The  only  ground  on  which  the  writer  of  this  paper  would  feel  him- 
self authorized  to  present  his  views  in  relation  to  the  Catholic  press, 
is  a  ground  of  zeal  and  interest  for  the  universal  harmony  and  union, 
not  only  in  faith,  but  also  in  charity,  of  all  the  scattered  members  of 
the  Chui'ch  of  God,  who  are  to  be  found  spread  over  the  surface  of 
this  now  great  empire,  extending  from  the  southern  boundaries  of 
Canada  to  the  northern  limits  of  Mexico,  and  from  the  Atlantic  to 
the  Pacific  Ocean.  These  Catholics  are  not  homogeneous  in  the  or- 
der of  natural  birth,  inasmuch  as  not  all  have  been  born  in  any  one 
country ;  but  they  are  homogeneous  in  the  supernatural  order,  by 
which  God  has  provided  that  they  should  be  spiritually  born  into 
the  one  Church,  which  js  not  the  Church  of  any  nation,  but  of  all  na- 
tions without  distinction — holy,  Catholic,  apostolical. 

One  of  the  greatest  calamities  that  could  fall  on  the  Catholic  peo- 
ple of  the  United  States  would  be,  if  allusions  to  variety  of  na- 
tional origin  should  ever  be  allowed  to  distract  their  minds  from 
that  unity  of  hope  and  mutual  charity  which  results  from  the  com- 
munion of  saints. 

For  some  time  past  it  has  been  observable  that  this  so-called 
Catholic  press  has  exhibited,  especially  in  the  North,  divergencies 
well  calculated  to  excite  attention,  if  not  alarm.  On  the  one  side, 
it  has  been  assumed  that  the  success  of  religion  in  this  country  de- 
pends on  the  continuous  influx  of  emigrants,  especially  those  of  Irish 
origin,  and  that  religion  vanishes  in  proportion  as  the  Celtic  feeling 
dies  out  in  this  country  ;  that  the  national  character  of  the  Ameri- 
can people,  and  more  particularly  as  it  affects  the  "  first  and  second 
generation  of  emigrants,"  is  hostile  to  the  Catholic  religion  ;  that  the 
best  method  of  perpetuating  the  faith  in  this  country,  st»  far  as  the 
Celtic  race  is  concerned,  is  to  keep  up  and  perpetuate  a  species  of 
Irishmen  in  connection  with  the  faith. 


688  AECHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  has  been  assumed  with  equal  confidence, 
but  not  on  any  better  foundation,  that  our  holy  faith  will  labor  un- 
der great  disadvantages,  and  can  hardly  be  expected  to  make  much 
impression  on  our  countrymen,  until  it  can  be  presented  under  more 
favorable  auspices  than  those  which  surround  foreigners.  In  short, 
that,  if  it  were  rightly  understood,  its  principles  are  in  close  har- 
mony with  those  of  our  Constitution  and  laws ;  that  it  requires  only 
a  skilful  architect  to  dovetail  the  one  into  the  other,  and  to  show 
how  the  Catholic  religion  and  the  American  Constitution  would 
really  fit  each  other  as  a  key  fits  a  lock ;  that  without  any  change 
in  regard  to  faith  or  morals,  the  doctrines  of  the  Catholic  Church 
may  be,  so  to  speak,  Americanized — that  is,  represented  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  attract  the  attention  and  win  the  admiration  of  the 
American  people.  Now,  in  the  opinion  of  the  writer,  the  prevalence 
of  either  of  these  two  systems  would  be  disastrous  to  the  cause  of 
the  Church. 

The  Church  is  not  a  foreigner  on  any  continent  or  island  of  this 
globe.  The  Church  is  of  all  nations,  and  for  all  nations,  as  much  as  the 
sunbeams  of  heaven,  which  are  not  repudiated  as  foreign  under  any 
sky.  In  fact,  truth,  no  matter  by  whom  represented,  is  at  liome  in 
all  climes ;  and  this  not  simply  in  matters  of  religion,  but  in  matters 
of'history,  arts,  and  sciences. 

It  may  be  admitted  that  if  the  twelve  apostles,  when  they  carried 
the  fliith  of  Christ  to  the  different  nations,  had  been  natives  of  the 
several  countries  in  which  they  propagated  Christianity,  the  success 
of  their  mission,  according  to  the  limited  range  of  earthly  wisdom, 
might  have  been  greater  than  it  was.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  their 
success,  the  constancy  of  their  testimony,  and,  for  the  most  part, 
their  martyrdom,  gave  evidence  that  they  were  men  sent  of  God, 
and  not  sent  by  other  men  merely  like  themselves. 

And  so  it  has  been.  Those  who  had  received  the  faith  in  one 
country,  carried  it  forth  in  their  hearts  and  on  their  lips,  under  a 
divine  commission  to  those  of  other  nations  who  had  not  as  yet  re- 
ceived it ;  bearing,  at  the  same  time,  as  became  witnesses  for  Christ, 
their  lives  in  their  hands.  The  apostles  were,  by  national  origin, 
Jews;  they  became  Christians  by  the  grace  of  divine  faith;  they 
did  not  carry  their  Judaism  to  be  established  in  other  countries,  but 
only  their  faith.  And  throughout  the  whole  tenor  of  ecclesiastical 
history  this  same  order  has  prevailed.  The  faith,  once  established, 
became,  to  a  certain  extent,  indigenous  in  the  several  countries 
which  had  been  the  theatre  of  their  labors. 

But  in  the  annals  of  Church  history  there  has  never  been  a  coun- 
try which,  in  its  civil  and  social  relations,  has  exhibited  so  fair  an 
opportunity  for  developing  the  pracUcal  harmonies  of  Catholic  faith, 
and  of  Catholic  charity,  as  the  Unitea  States.  Whoever  would  take 
the  pains  to  examine  how,  under  the  influence  of  the  Catholic  prin- 
ciple, representatives  of  all  nations  have  been  blended  into  a  unity, 
unexampled  in  the  history  of  the  world,  need  only  trace  the  order 
of  succession  among  the  bishops  and  priests  of  the  United  States. 


THE   CATHOLIC   PRESS.  689 

Not  to  speak  of  the  priesthood,  if  we  confine  our  remarks  to  the 
episcopacy,  the  highest  test  under  which  nationalties  could  be  pro- 
fanely brought  into  comparison  with  Catholic  sentiment  and  order, 
we  may  cite  a  few  instances  of  the  Sees  that  have  been  longest  es- 
tablished. Tiie  first  bishop  of  Baltimore  was  an  American.  His 
coadjutor,  who  survived  him  but  a  short  time,  was  also  an  American. 
The  next  bishop  of  that  See  was  a  Frenchman.  His  successor  was 
an  Englishman,  and  was  succeeded  by  an  Amei"ican  again,  who  in 
turn  has  been  succeeded  by  an  Irishman.  The  first  bishop  who  lived  to 
preside  in  the  See  of  New  York  was  an  Irishman.  His  successor 
was  a  Frenchman,  and  his  successor  is  again  an  Irishman.  The  first 
bishop  of  Richmond  was  an  Irishman ;  his  successor  is  an  American. 
The  first  bishop  of  Cincinnati  was  an  American ;  the  second  is  an 
Irishman.  The  first  bishop  of  St.  Louis  was  a  Frenchman ;  the 
second,  an  Italian  ;  the  third,  an  Irishman.  The  first  bishop  of 
Natchez  was  an  American  ;  the  second,  a  Belgian.  The  first  bishop 
of  Charleston  was  an  Irishman;  the  second,  an  American.  The  first 
bishop  of  Louisville  (formerly  Bardstown)  was  a  Frenchman  ;  the 
second  ,an  American.  Tlie  first  bishop  of  Boston  was  a  Frenchman ; 
second  and  third,  Americans. 

This  is  quite  enough  to  show  that  the  Church  of  God,  in  feeling 
as  well  as  in  faith,  selects,  as  vacancies  occur,  the  prelate  most  likely 
to  advance  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  utterly  regardless  of  such  con- 
temptible things,  when  they  are  foisted  into  the  spiritual  order,  as 
nationalities.  The  first  bishop  of  Nashville,  of  Wheeling,  of  Coving- 
ton, of  Erie,  of  Buffalo,  of  Albany,  of  Portland,  of  Newark,  are  all 
Americans  by  birth  ;  and  all  of  them,  we  may  say,  appointed  by  the 
imanimous  suffrages  of  their  seniors  in  the  episcopacy,  who  forgot 
their  own  several  birth-places  in  determining  the  most  suitable  pre- 
lates for  these  different  Sees. 

If  we  turn  our  attention  to  the  priesthood,  it  will  be  seen  that 
neither  pains  nor  expenses  have  been  spared  to  train  up  and  intro- 
duce into  the  sanctuary  of  the  Church  such  young  men,  natives  of 
the  country,  as  may  have  exhibited,  from  time  to  time,  apparent 
evidences  of  vocation  to  the  sacred  ministry.  The  bishops  of  foreign 
birth  are  precisely  those  who  held  this  great  purpose  nearest  to  their 
hearts.  The  venerable  bishop  of  Bardstown,  was  very  successful  ia 
his  efforts  to  accomplish  this  object.  The  bishops  of  St.  Louis  were- 
equally  zealous,  but  perhaps  not  quite  so  successful.  Indeed  the- 
prelates  of  all  parts  of  this  country  have  labored  with  equal  industry 
and  zeal  to  encourage  vocations  to  the  ecclesiastical  state  among  the- 
promising  young  men  of  the  country. 

Now  supposing  that  Catholics  of  foreign  birth,  the  "  first  and 
second  generation  of  emigrants,"  should  or  could  go  forth,  following 
the  course  of  the  sun  in  search  of  the  el  dorado  of  independent 
agricultural  life,  where  every  man  might  repose  under  his  own  vine 
and  fig-tree  (that  is,  in  case  he  should  ever  have  a  vine  or  a  fig-tree 
to  repose  under),  as  poetically  imagined  in  the  organ  of  the  Buftaloi 
Convention,  in  its  original  thema,  not  in  its  discordant  variations^ — 
Vol.  II.— 44 


690  AKCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

supposing  all  this,  what  then  ?  Why  this  :  the  bishops  and  priests 
of  the  eastern,  northeastern,  and  northwestern  dioceses,  whether  of 
a  native  or  foreign  birth,  will  have,  among  other  considerations, 
hardly  Catholics  enough  left  to  keep  the  grass  from  growing  green 
in  the  vestibules  of  the  churches  built  by  the  departed  "  neglected 
first  and  second  lost  generation  of  emigrants."  But  then,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  presence  of  foreigners  having  been  removed,  the 
bishops  and  priests  will  have  ample  time  to  address  their  ministry  to 
those  who  are  to  the  "  manor  born." 

Now,  in  view  of  these  facts,  neither  clergy  nor  laity  can  afford, 
as  Catholics,  to  have  any  distinction  drawn  among  them  in  our 
periodicals,  as  among  natives  and  foreigners.  In  the  Catholic  Church 
there  are  no  natives.  There  is  the  nativity  of  baptism  subsequent  to 
the  natural  birth.  There  is  the  adoption  by  grace  of  every  soul, 
"whether  introduced  into  her  communion  during  the  period  of  infancy 
or  in  adult  life.  Neither  are  there  foreigners  in  the  Church  of  God 
— it  is  one  Lord,  one  faith,  one  baptism. 

It  may  be  added  that  something  analogous  happens  in  relation  to 
the  country  itself.  There  is  a  civil  or  political  nativity  provided  for 
by  the  laws,  by  complying  with  the  conditions  of  which,  those  who 
wish  to  make  this  country  their  perpetual  abode  are  recognized 
before  the  law  as  citizens ;  and  the  stigma  or  calamity,  if  such  it  be, 
of  having  been  born  on  foreign  soil  is  thenceforward  lemoved  and 
"wiped  away. 

If,  therefoi*e,  the  law  of  the  land  has  blotted  out  the  distinction 
between  a  native-born  and  a  nationalized  citizen,  why  should  it  be 
kept  up  in  periodicals  professing  to  be  guided  by  the  spirit  and 
charity  of  the  Catholic  Church  ? 

Tins  is  unbecoming.  This  is  not  Catholic.  This  ought  to  be  left 
to  our  enemies.  We  shall  still  be  weak  enough  when  we  shall  be 
most  intimately  united  for  the  purpose  of  resisting  the  hostile 
pressure  from  without. 

The  Catholics  of  the  United  States  have  been  sorely  tried  within 
the  last  few  years  by  the  assaults  made  upon  them  on  account  of 
their  religion.  True,  the  sword  of  hostility  seemed  directed  against 
foreigners,  but  when  the  occasion  required,  it  was  found  double- 
edged.  It  has  been  said,  that  previous  to  the  late  outbreak  of  this 
feeling,  what  was  considered  to  l)e,  at  least,  a  portion  of  the  Catholic 
press,  had  given  great  offence  to  our  Protestant  fellow-citizens  by  its 
arrogant  and  sometimes  insolent  tone  and  invective.  Here  there  is 
a  mistake.  The  papers,  though  advocating  Irishism,  to  which  this 
reproach  would  apply,  were  never  recognized  by  the  legitimate 
authorities  of  the  Church  as  Catholic  papers.  But  the  Protestant 
community  could  not  understand  any  such  distinction.  And  whilst 
the  conductors  of  such  papers  may  have  merited  such  a  reproach  in 
their  imprudent  and  improper  course,  it  conveys  an  indirect  compli- 
ment, to  the  effect  that  Irish  and  Catholic  must  be  one  and  the  same. 
Within  the  last  eight  or  ten  years  no  small  portion  of  this  supposed 
Catholic  press  has  been  under  the  special  guidance  of  editors  born 


THE   CATHOLIC   PKE6S.  691 

on  the  soil,  but  who  had  entered  into  the  Church  at  a  matured 
period  of  life.  In  dealing  with  their  fellow-citizens  on  topics  of 
religious  controversy,  dogmas  of  faith,  doctrines,  and  even  discipline, 
they  have  claimed  the  right  and  exercised  it  of  speaking  with  a 
plainness,  a  frankness,  a  boldness  in  the  ear  of  their  countrymen 
which  few  persons  trained  from  infancy  in  the  Catholic  Church  would 
have  felt  wananted  to  employ.  The  spirit  of  the  Catholic  Church 
is,  indeed,  a  spirit  of  strength  and  energy — neither  of  which  is  im- 
paired by  the  use  of  the  most  charitable  language. 

The  divergency  of  views  presented  in  some  of  these  periodicals, 
and  to  which  allusion  has  been  made  in  a  foregoing  portion  of  this 
article,  requires  some  little  development.  The  actual  condition  of 
the  Catholic  Church  in  this  country  is  a  problem  of  deep  interest  not 
only  to  ourselves,  but  also  to  our  co-religionists  in  Europe.  Some- 
times exaggerated  views  of  the  progress  of  religion  in  the  United 
States  are  conveyed  in  our  periodicals,  so  Chat  our  brethren  in  Europe 
become  almost  elated  in  view  of  the  Church's  anticipated  triumph. 
Then,  again,  other  accounts  suggest  only  discouragement  and  almost 
despair.  We  may  take  the  following  as  a  specimen  of  this  latter 
misrepresentation.  A  paper,  which  is  supposed  to  have  considerable 
circulation  both  here  and  in  Ireland,  has  recently  published  the 
following  deceptive,  if  not  malicious,  statement : 

{From  the  American,  Gelt,  Septerriber  27th,  1856.] 

"  We  have  concluded  to  transfer  to  our  fifth  page  the  particulars  of  the  late 
abominable  prize  fight,  or  manslaughter,  in  the  neighborhood  of  this  city.  We 
do  so  with  feelings  of  deep  disgust  and  humiliation.  The  names  of  nearly  all 
the  actors  in  that  brutal  conflict  suggest  only  too  plainly  their  paternity.  In 
New  York,  as  in  San  Francisco,  Ireland,  where  sheriffs  of  counties  are  this  year 
wearing  white  gloves,  to  commemorate  calendars  without  criminals — this  same 
Ireland  has  here  and  on  the  Pacific,  the  discredit  of  swarming  the  great  cities 
with  a  horde  of  hardy,  vulgar  ruffians,  unmatched  in  any  former  state  of 
society.  Most  of  these  wretches  are  young  men  bom  here  or  in  the  English 
manufacturing  towns,  of  Irish  parents.  Such  was  the  notorious  Sullivan,  such 
was  the  Kelly  in  this  last  tragedy.  Surely,  surely,  some  one  has  a  terrible 
account  to  give  of  our  neglected  first  and  lost  second  generation  in  the  English 
and  American  cities." 

The  author  of  the  above  remarks,  which  are  at  the  same  time 
insolent  and  untrue,  seems  disposed  to  whine  over  moral  results 
which  he  himself  had  contributed  in  no  small  degree  to  bring  about. 
If  he  had  chosen,  he  might  have  selected  many  names,  of  the  first 
and  second  generation,  against  whom  there  is  no  reproach,  but  who, 
on  the  contrary,  do  honor  both  to  religion  and  to  the  country  which 
gave  them  birth.  But  the  editor  in  question  is  a  theorist ;  and  he 
is  in  the  habit  of  subordinating  the  tacts  of  a  case  to  the  fancies  of 
his  mind.  In  statistics  he  will  never  boggle  at  a  mistake  of  two  or 
three  millions  in  estimating  the  Celtic  race  on  this  continent.  So, 
also,  it  suits  his  absurd  idea  to  exaggerate,  if,  indeed,  that  were 
possible,  the  miseries  of  the  Irish  emigrants,  as  they  may  be  found 
in  the  cellars  and  garrets  of  New  York.     Now  the  truth  is  best  on 


692  ARCHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

questions  of  this  kind.  That  many  of  these  emigrants  have  to 
undergo  a  certain  amount  of  hardship  and  trial  after  their  arrival 
iu  this  country  is  unquestionable.  But  this  is  incident  to  their  transi- 
tion from  one  country  to  another.  And  it  is  but  truth  to  say  that 
their  abode  in  the  cellars  and  garrets  of  New  York  is  not  more 
deplorable  nor  more  squalid  than  the  Irish  hovels  from  which  many 
of  them  had  been  "  exterminated."  And  it  is  truth  to  say  that  in 
their  actual  condition  they  are  surrounded  by  appointments  of 
civilization,  and  even  the  comparative  comforts  of  a  temporary  home, 
which  by  no  means  await  them,  even  in  the  contingency  (wliich  will 
never  happen)  that  the  philanthropy  of  a  convention  in  Buffalo 
should  be  able  to  pluck  to  the  surface,  from  the  fertile  depths  of 
Illinois  prairies,  a  township  to  be  called  St.  Patrick's.  It  is  humiliat- 
ing that  an  editor,  professing  to  be  a  Catholic,  should  select  infamous 
names,  connected  with  infamous  and  brutal  transactions,  and  fling 
them  in  the  face  of  Ireland,  and  of  the  Catholic  clergy  in  English 
and  American  cities,  as  proofs  that  the  second  generation  of  Irish 
Catholics  is  lost.  This,  we  have  already  said,  is  untrue.  1st.  The 
names  mentioned,  by  the  writer's  own  showing,  though  they  may 
be  of  Irish  descent,  are  not  of  Irish  birth.  2d.  They  could  be 
counted,  at  best,  not  as  a  fair  specimen  of  the  second  generation,  but 
as  the  lowest  and  most  degraded  exceptions  in  regard  to  its  general 
character.  3d.  We  all  know  that  Ireland  itself  has  more  than  once 
furnished  notorious  characters  of  the  same  class — that  is,  bullies  for 
the  ring.  4th.  We  know  that  a  generation,  even  in  Ireland,  the 
debris  of  the  famine,  were  rapidly  becoming  a  curse  to  the  country, 
when  the  war  with  Russia  presented  an  outlet  which  relieved  the 
nation  from  the  dangers  of  their  presence.  Again,  we  may  add 
that  it  is  all  nonsense  for  any  writer  to  assume  or  pretend  that  there 
is  nothing  but  piety  and  religion  in  Ireland.  We  would  be  the  last 
to  deny  the  hereditary  constancy  of  the  Irish  people  in  clinging  to 
their  religion  and  practising  its  precepts.  But,  alas!  it  must  be 
admitted  that  the  same  vices  that  prevail  in  this  country,  are  found 
also  in  the  large  cities  of-Ireland,  and,  indeed,  in  the  large  cities  of 
all  other  countries,  whilst  in  proportion  to  the  population  the 
aggregate  of  misery  in  those  European  cities  is  greater  than  it  is 
here. 

If  the  writer  of  the  above  extract  had  been  pleased  to  look  around 
him  in  the  city  of  New  York,  he  could  easily  have  discovered  that 
neither  is  the  first  generation  neglected,  nor  the  second  lost.  He 
could  have  reported  to  his  countrymen  in  Ireland  or  elsewhere,  that 
within  his  own  memoiy,  and  under  his  own  eyes,  colleges,  seminaries, 
convents,  schools,  altogether  ranging  from  the  highest  education  to 
the  very  humblest  elements  of  learning,  have  sprung  up  around  him. 
He  could  have  reported  that  within  the  same  circle  there  are  not 
fewer  than  two  hundred  and  fifty  ladies  and  gentlemen,  the  great 
majority  of  whom  are  devoted  to  God,  in  a  religious  life,  who  are 
directly  or  indirectly  engaged  in  imparting  Catholic  instruction, 
blended  with  secular  and  useful  knowledge.     He  could  have  reported 


THE   CATHOLIC   PRESS.  693 

that  they  have  under  their  care  an  average  of  from  12,000  to  15,000 
Catholic  pupils.  This  is  mentioned  inasraucli  as  the  editor  in  ques- 
tion is  on  the  spot,  and  he  can  verify  tlie  statement.  Now  it  is 
equally  certain  that  efforts  of  a  similar  kind,  perhaps  even  greater, 
have  been  going  on  in  the  large  cities  of  England  and  America. 
And  yet  he  has  been  pleased  to  overlook  all  this,  and  to  wave  the 
bad  reputation  of  two  or  three  ruffians,  such  as  may  be  found  in  any 
country,  in  the  face  of  Ireland,  and  of  the  clergy  of  the  large  cities 
of  Europe  and  America,  to  prove  that  the  first  generation  is  neglect- 
ed, and  the  second  lost. 

No  doubt  many  are  lost,  but  against  this  there  is  no  infallible 
preventive  in  any  country.  The  editor  says  that  some  one  will 
have  a  terrible  account  to  render.  This  account  will  not  fall  exclu- 
sively on  any  one  individual.  But  the  editor  himself  might  reflect 
as  to  whether,  in  his  publications  of  former  times,  he  may  not  have 
contributed  to  the  result  he  deplores  and  exaggerates.  Has  he  any 
recollection  of  having  warned  the  Catholics  of  both  the  first  and 
second  generations,  against  contributing  one  farthing  towards  the 
relief  or  restoration  of  our  Holy  Father  Pope  Pious  IX.,  lest,  for- 
sooth, our  Protestant  fellow-citizens  might  suspect  Catholics  of  lov- 
ing God  and  their  Church  more  than  he  and  Kossuth,  and  other 
pseud o- patriots,  professed  to  love  what  they  call  Uberty  ?  But  this 
is  only  one  instance  of  the  manner  in  which  journalists,  supported 
exclusively  by  Catholics,  tamper  with  their  principles,  alienating 
them  from  the  strict  and  simple  observance  of  their  religion,  under 
the  plea  of  making  them  freemen. 

In  reference  to  this  topic  of  the  actual  condition  of  the  Catholic 
Church  in  this  country,  it  is  necessary  to  make  just  discriminations 
before  arrivino:  at  fixed  conclusions.  That  the  Catholic  reliijion  has 
lost  not  a  tew  ot  the  first  generation,  and  still  more  of  the  second,  is 
undeniable.  But  is  this  the  only  country  in  which  such  things  have 
happened?  Are  we  not  inundated  with  reports  of  apostasies  in 
various  parts  of  Ireland  itself?  We  know  the  agencies  by  which 
these  temporary  apostasies  are  brought  about.  The  progressive  and 
awfully  persuasive  powers  of  starvation  render  even  a  false  religion, 
which  offers  bread  and  Bibles,  less  odious  fi'om  day  to  day,  to  the 
wretched  beings  wh'o  have,  at  last,  no  alternative  but  a  choice 
between  death  and  falsehood. 

The  loss  to  the  faith  in  this  country  is  of  a  somewhat  analogous 
character.  Among  grown  up  and  instructed  Catholics,  an  instance 
of  deliberate  apostasy — that  is,  renouncing  the  Catholic  faith,  and 
professing  some  other  nominal  creed — is  exceedingly  rare.  But  in 
vast  numbers  of  instances  the  parents  of  children  who  had  emigrated 
to  this  country,  died  before  they  were  able  to  make  any  provision 
for  their  unhappy  offspring.  In  other  instances,  they  lived,  or  rather 
languished,  under  the  trials  incident  to  their  condition,  without 
havmg  the  ability  to  imbue  the  minds  of  their  children  with  the 
principles  of  Christian  doctrine.  The  consequence  has  been,  that 
these  children,  taken  charge  of  by  the  public,  grew  up  entirely  igno- 


694  ARCHBISHOP  HUGHES. 

rant,  and  sometimes  ashamed  of  the  creed  of  their  fathers.  Under 
similar  circumstances,  similar  results  would  occur  in  any  country ; 
and  no  one  who  is  impartial,  will  for  a  moment  pi-etend  that  results 
of  this  kind  are  necessarily  an  evidence  of  the  withering  influence 
which  some  of  our  editors  suppose  to  be  exercised  on  the  growth  of 
Catholicity,  by  the  civil  and  political  institutions  of  the  United 
States.  There  is  a  sense  in  which  the  Church  may  be  said  to  have 
lost  those  children,  but  a  truer  form  of  expression  would  be  to  say, 
that  she  had  never  gained  them — inasmuch  as  the  providence  of 
God  permitted  that  they  never  had  an  opportunity  of  knowing  their 
religion.  Consequently,  in  their  case,  there  has  been  no  such  thing 
as  a  renunciation  of  the  doctrines  of  Catholic  faith,  with  which  it  was 
their  misfortune  never  to  have  been  acquainted. 

If,  on  the  other  hand,  we  turn  our  attention  to  what  would  be  a 
much  truer  test  of  the  progress  of  the  Catholic  religion,  there  are 
abundant  evidences  to  show  that  it  is  not  retrograding.  If  we  can 
point  to  instances  in  every  State,  in  every  diocese,  almost  in  every 
parish,  so  called,  in  which  Protestants  of  the  most  cultivated  minds, 
most  unblemished  personal  characters,  have  borne  their  testimony, 
actuated  necessarily  by  the  grace  of  God,  to  the  overwhelming 
evidences  of  the  truth  of  the  Catholic  religion  ;  if  this  testimony  has 
not  been  in  theory  only,  but  reduced  to  practice,  by  their  renounc- 
ing doctrines  in  which  they  had  been  reared,  and  embracing  those 
of  the  one,  holy.  Catholic,  and  apostolic  communion,  at  the  sacritico 
of  temporal  interests,  of  long  and  cherished  friendships,  rising  by 
that  same  grace  of  God  superior  to  the  tyranny  of  human  respect ; 
then  who  will  say  that  our  religion  is  not  making  progress  in  the 
United  States,  or  that  there  is  essentially  any  thing  in  its  require- 
ments incompatible  with  the  genius  iand  feelings  of  the  American 
people?  Compare  these  witnesses,  who  in  mature  life  bear  such 
testimony  to  the  truth  of  the  Catholic  religion,  which  they  embrace, 
with  the  alleged  falling  oflf  of  the  unfortunate  oiFspring  of  emigrants 
or  others,  who  really  never  had  an  opportunity  of  knowing  what 
that  faith  is,  and  who  consequently  never  could,  as  a  moral  act,  re- 
nounce it,  and  the  impartial  reader  will  be  enabled  to  judge,  so  far 
as  the  power  and  honor  of  the  Catholic  religion  are  concerned,  how 
the  balance  might  be  adjusted  between  loss  and  gain. 

Now  it  is  certain  that  the  converts  to  the  Catholic  faith  in  the 
United  States  are  very  numerous;  and  in  point  of  res{)ectability, 
many,  if  not  all  of  them,  entitled  to  rank  in  the  first  class  of  Ameri- 
can citizens — natives  of  the  soil. 

Should  we  not,  in  gratitude  to  God,  but  in  deep  humility  at  the 
same  time,  feel  great  satisfaction  at  this  result  ?  Those  persons 
give  a  species  of  worldly  standing  to  our  religion,  which,  however, 
its  divine  Founder  did  not  leave  to  be  dependent  on  the  great  ones 
of  the  earth.  Among  professional  men,  officers  of  the  army  and  of 
the  navy,  lawyers,  physicians,  jurists,  geologists,  merchants,  etc.,  etc., 
including  a  very  considerable  number  of  Protestant  clergymen,  the 
Catholic  Church  has  welcomed  to  her  fold,  and  taken  to  her  bosom,  no 


THE   CATHOLIC   PRESS.  695 

small  number  of  distinguished  converts.  Of  these,  one  of  the  earliest 
and  most  universally  known,  is  the  learned  Dr.  Brownson,  editor  of 
our  only  Catholic  Review  on  this  continent.  His  reputation  as  a 
writer  is  European  as  well  as  American  ;  and  whilst  he,  in  his  zeal, 
is  sanguine  of  hope,  that  the  predispositions  of  his  countrymen,  whom 
he  knows  well,  are  especially  adapted  to  the  reception  of  the  Catholic 
religion,  we  fear  that  the  reality  will  not  correspond  with  the  antici- 
pation. That  the  great  mass  of  the  American  people  are  actuated 
by  a  general  sense  of  justice,  or  perhaps  what  might  be  better  ex- 
pressed by  the  words  "  fair  play,"  towards  Catholics  and  their  re- 
ligion, is  most  freely  and  cordially  admitted.  That  there  is  any 
thing  especial  in  the  national  character  of  the  country,  predisposing 
it  to  direct  sympathy  with  our  holy  faith,  is  a  proposition,  the 
evidences  for  the  belief  of  which,  history  has  hitherto  concealed. 
But,  unfortunately,  history  has  brought  to  Tight,  in  one  place 
or  another,  all  over  the  country,  instances  which  prove  but  too 
well  that  the  American  people  have  inherited,  even  in  their  political 
freedom,  the  prejudices  of  their  ancestors.  Convents  have  been 
burned  down,  and  no  compensation  offered  to  their  scattered  inmates 
for  the  injustice  done  them,  or  by  way  of  repairing  the  broken  faith 
of  a  sovereign  State,  that  had  ass+imed  to  protect  them  in  their 
legitimate  rights  of  life  and  property.  Catholic  phurches  have  been 
burned  down,  while  whole  neighborhoods  have  been,  under  the  eye 
of  pubUc  officers,  reduced  to  ashes.  People  have  been  burned  to 
death  in  their  own  dwellings,  or,  if  they  attempted  to  escape,  have 
been  shot  down  by  the  deadly  messenger  of  the  unerring  rifle. 
Crosses  have  been  pulled  down  from  the  summit  of  God's  sanctuary. 
Priests  liave  been  tarred  and  feathered.  Ladies  have  been  insulted 
for  no  crime,  except  that  of  having  devoted  themselves  to  the  service 
of  their  divine  Master  in  a  religious  state,  in  the  hope  of  conferring 
aid  or  consolation  on  their  fellow-beings. 

These  things  are  undeniable ;  they  are  history.  God  forbid  that 
we  should  implicate  the  great  mass  of  our  fellow-citizens  in  the  dis- 
honorable responsibility  of  such  transactions  as  these.  They  were 
the  work  of  what  is  called  mobs;  and  mobs  occasionally  carry  out 
their  lawless  and  violent  purposes  in  all  countries.  But  we  confess 
our  disappointment  at  not  having  witnessed  a  prompt  and  healthy 
true  American  sentiment  in  the  heart  of  the  community  at  large,  in 
rebuke  of  such  proceedings,  and,  so  far  as  reparation  was  possible, 
in  making  it  to  the  injured  parties  whom  they  had  failed  to  protect. 

The  learned  editor  of  the  Hevieic,  so  far  from  being  discouraged 
at  the  gloomy  prospect  pictured  forth  by  one  or  two  others  in  re- 
gard to  the  prospective  decline  of  the  Catholic  religion,  from  the 
period  when  European,  especially  Irish  emigration,  shall  have  ceased, 
or  been  sensibly  diminished,  is,  on  the  other  hand,  buoyant  in  his 
anticipations  of  the  progress  which  the  Church  is  destined  to  make, 
as  soon  as  she  will  be  more  generally  and  more  widely  represented 
by  natives  of  the  soil,  and  less  so  by  foreigners,  who  indeed,  in  a 
worldly  point  of  view,  must  appear  under  disadvantages. 


696  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

If  one  portion  of  what  is  called  the  Catholic  press  insist  upon  it, 
that  our  holy  religion  is  mainly  dependent,  or  destined  hereafter  to 
depend  on  foreign,  even  Irish  emigration,  we  must  look  upon  such 
notions  as  a  mockery,  delusion,  and  a  snare.  Emigrants  arrive  on 
these  shores  under  the  infallible  destiny  of  dying  out,  and  leaving  no 
successors,  except  such  as  may  descend  on  our  wharves,  day  by  day, 
from  the  ship's  side.  To  suppose  that  the  Celtic  race  can  perpetuate 
a  Celtic  posterity  on  this  continent,  is  just  as  absurd  as  to  imagine 
that  the  grains  of  wheat  which  had  been  hermetically  sealed  within 
the  cerements  of  an  Egyptian  mummy  for  two,  three,  or  four  thou- 
sand years,  without  the  extinguishment  of  its  natural  life,  "  accord- 
ing to  its  kind,"  and  transplanted  to  this  land,  even  in  our  own  day, 
confided  to  the  fertile  soil  by  the  expectant  husbandman,  should 
produce  in  his  fields  an  Egyptian  crop  instead  of  an  American  har- 
vest. We  M'ould  beg,  therefore,  all  Catholic  editors  to  leave  out 
any  anticipations  or  speculations  in  regard  to  the  perpetuation  of  any 
specific  race  within  these  United  States.  So  far  as  we  are  Catholics, 
and  especially  Catholics  born  under  British  domination,  we  had  no 
country  until  we  arrived  on  these  shores. 

By  the  British  constitution  we  Avere  entitled  by  natural  birth  to 
the  full  protection  of  its  laws;  but  the  very  laver  of  regeneration 
which  wiped  away. the  stain  of  original  or  actual  sins,  was  construed, 
by  that  anti-Catholic  government,  crime  enough  to  sink  us  into 
degradation.  So  that  the  rights  to  which  we  were  entitled  by  natu- 
ral birth  were  being  washed  away,  whilst  the  soul  was  being  cleansed 
from  defilement  by  the  rites  of  our  baptism. 

We  h.ave  renounced  British  domination  ;  and,  thank  God,  the 
gates  of  a  country,  which  professes  to  acknowledge  the  equality  of 
men,  have  been  thrown  open  to  us. 

But  it  does  not  follow  that  we  have  renounced,  or  that  our  pos- 
terity ever  shall  renounce,  the  fidelity  which  we  owe  to  God  and  our 
holy  faith,  and  in  the  assertion  of  which  we  are  warranted  by  the 
American  Constitution. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  anticipations  of  some  zealous  Catholics  who 
are  not  of  Celtic  origin,  appear  to  us,  and  we  make  the  avowal  with 
regret,  too  sanguine  in  regard  to  the  future  success  of  the  Catholic 
Church  in  the  United  States.  Among  these  is  Dr.  Brownson. 
In  the  last  number  of  his  JReview  is  found  the  following  para- 
graph : 

"  When  the  end  we  have  to  consult  is  not  simply  to  hold  our  own,  but  to  ad- 
vance, to  make  new  conquests,  or  to  take  possession  of  new  fields  of  enterprise, 
we  must  draw  largely  upon  young  men  whose  is  the  future.  These  Catholic 
young  men,  who  now  feel  that  they  have  no  place  and  find  no  outlet  for  their 
activity,  are  the  future — the  mei^  who  are  to  take  our  places,  and  carry  on  the 
work  committed  to  us.  We  must  inspire  them  with  faith  in  the  future,  and 
encourage  them  to  live  for  it.  Instead  of  snubbing  them  for  their  inexperience, 
mocking  them  for  their  greenne&s,  quizzing  them  for  their  zeal,  damping  their 
hopes,  pouring  cold  water  on  their  enthusiasm,  brushing  the  flower  from  their 
young  hearts,  or  freezing  up  the  well-springs  of  their  life,  we  must  renew  our  own 
youth  and  freshness  in  theirs,  encourage  them  with  our  confidence  and  sympathy. 


THE   CATEIOLIC    PRESS.  697 

raise  them  tip  if  they  fall,  soothe  them  when  they  fail,  and  cheer  them  on  al- 
ways to  new  and  nobler  efforts.  Oh,  for  the  love  of  God  and  of  man,  do  not  dis- 
courage them,  force  them  to  be  mute  and  inactive,  or  suffer  them,  in  the  name 
of  Catholicity,  to  separate  themselves  in  their  affections  from  the  country  and  her 
glorious  mission  !  Let  them  feel  and  act  as  American  citizens  ;  let  them  feel  that 
this  country  is  their  comitry,  its  institutions  their  institutions,  its  mission  their 
mission,  its  glory  their  glory.  Bear  with  them,  tread  lightly  on  their  involun- 
tary errors,  forgive  the  ebullitions  of  a  zeal  not  always  according  to  knowledge, 
and  they  will  not  refuse  to  listen  to  the  counsels  of  age  and  expwience :  they 
will  take  advice,  and  will  amply  repay  us  by  making  themselves  felt  in  the 
country,  by  elevating  the  standard  of  intelligence,  raising  the  tone  of  moral 
feeling,  and  directing  public  and  private  activity  to  just  and  noble  ends."       ^ 

We  confess  our  inability  to  comprehend  or  appreciate  the  mean- 
ing of  this  paragraph  according  to  the  words  in  which  it  is  expressed. 
The  Catholic  young  men  of  this  country  have  had,  so  far  as  we 
know,  every  encouragement  to  realize  the  ideal  of  the  eloquent  re- 
viewer ;  and  it  is  a  matter  of  great  consolation  to  know  that  hun- 
dreds of  them,  even  in  this  city,  are  co-operating  in  various  ways  to 
correspond  with  the  programme  laid  down  for  them  in  the  foregoing 
remarks.  They  are  generally  most  active  in  promoting  Avorks  of 
charity.  Many  of  them  belong  to  pious  associations,  Rosary  socie- 
ties, the  admirable  association  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  and  other  de- 
vout sodalities.  But  when,  or  where,  or  by  whom  they  have  been 
hindered  from  doing  the  work  assigned  them,  or  have  had  the 
"flower  brushed  from  their  young  hearts,"  is  quite  a  secret  and  a 
mystery  to  us.  We  are  equally  in  the  dark  as  to  any  reason  why 
the  distinguished  reviewer  should  use,  in  the  depth  of  his  zeal,  the 
following  solemn  and  emphatic  language :  "  Oh,  for  the  love  of 
God  and  of  man,  do  not  discourage  them,  force  them  to  be  mute  and 
inactive,  or  suffer  them,  in  the  name  of  Catholicity,  to  separate 
themselves  in  their  affections  from  the  country  and  her  glorious 
mission !"  We  cannot  imagine,  from  a  retrospect  of  nearly  forty 
years,  when,  or  where,  or  how,  or  by  whom,  any  thing  has  been 
brought  about  which  would  warrant  this  almost  awful  ejaculation. 
But  no  matter ;  it  is  a  relief  and  a  consolation  to  believe  that  one 
who  knows  his  country  and  his  countrymen  so  well  as  Dr.  Brown- 
son,  should  cherish  such  hopeful  anticipations  of  the  future  in  regard 
to  the  Church  of  God.  We  could  hope,  but  we  cannot  say  that  we 
believe,  the  general  picture  which  he  has  drawn  can  be  realized. 

We  regret  exceedingly  that  many  persons,  at  least  so  we  have 
been  told,  are  dissatisfied  with  some  of  the  views  put  forward  by  Dr. 
Brownson  ;  and  we  would  regret  it  the  more,  if  in  reality  he  had 
given  occasion  for  this  dissatisfaction,  by  viewing  the  whole  question 
from  something  like  what  might  be  called  an  original  stand-point. 
At  all  events  there  is  this  to  be  said,  that  if  we  have  Catholic  wri- 
ters at  all,  their  heads  and  their  hands,  their  thoughts  and  their 
pens  must  be  guided,  not  by  another,  but  by  themselves,  in  their 
individual  capacity,  and  under  their  individual  responsibility.  It 
may  be  added  further,  that  the  liberty  of  the  press  on  all  subjects  is 
not  to  be  questioned  in  a  country  like  this.     At  the  same  time,  there 


99^  AECHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

is  a  censorship  in  this  as  well  as  in  other  nations.  The  difference  is, 
that  in  other  countries  the  censorship  of  the  press,  through  the  me- 
dium of  government  agents,  is  exercised,  in  general,  previously  to, 
or  simultaneously  with,  the  publication  of  an  article  ;  here,  it  comes 
after.  There,  it  is  the  judgment  of  an  individual  who  acts  under 
state  authority ;  here,  it  is  the  censure  of  many  individuals  acting 
each  one  under  the  dictation  of  his  own  private  judgment.  Catholic 
editoi's,  therefore,  need  not  be  surprised  if,  when  they  trespass  too 
largely  on  the  feelings  of  their  subscribers,  the  circulation  of  their 
periodicals  should  be  occasionally  abridged. 

We  should  be  exceedingly  sorry  if  any  thing  of  this  kind  should 
occur  in  the  case  of  Brownson's  Memew.  It  is  known  to  himself,  at 
least,  that  several  paragraphs  in  his  writings  have  not  been  such  as 
to  merit  our  poor  approbation.  But  we  are  told  by  astronoiners 
that  there  are  spots  on  the  stin.  And  if  he  has  written  and  pub- 
lished some  things  that  might  be  offensive,  he  has  written  many 
others  that  are  destined  to  perish  never.  When  he  and  all  of  us 
shall  have  been  consigned  to  the  dust,  writers  amongst  those  who 
are  to  succeed  us  will  go  forth  among  the  pages  of  his  Catholic  He' 
view^  "  prospecting,"  as  they  say  in  California,  for  the  best  "  dig- 
gings." Nor  will  they  be  disappointed,  if  they  have  tact  and  talent 
for  profound,  philosophical,  literary,  and  religious  "mining."  But 
they  will  not  give  him  credit. 

But  even  should  all  other  portions  of  his  works  pass  away,  there  is  one 
declaration  of  his  that  the  writer  quotes  from  memory,  which  is  des- 
tined to  be  quoted  throughout  Christendom,  just  as  long  as  the  dec- 
laration of  Fenelon,  on  a  certain  occasion,  when  he  condemned 
some  of  his  own  writings,  because  they  were  disapproved  by  the  head 
of  the  Catholic  Church.  The  circumstances  and  tiie  persons  differ 
from  each  other  in  several  respects.  Fenelon  was  an  archbishop ; 
Brownson  is  a  layman.  Fenelon  condemned  what  he  had  written ; 
nothing  that  Brownson  has  written  has  been  condenmed.  But  the 
declaration  to  which  we  have  referred,  and  which  is  imperishable, 
was  the  honorable  and  gratuitous  proclamation  from  Brovvnson's 
own  pen  when  he  embraced  the  Catholic  faith — when  he  had  al- 
ready acquired  a  philosophical  and  literary  reputation  sufficient  to 
make  a  proud  man  vain — he  did  not  hesitate  to  give  an  example  of 
humility  that  will  be  an  edification  to  the  Catholics  of  future  ages  as 
well  as  of  the  present,  in  stating  that  he  "had  brought  nothing  into 
the  Catholic  Church,  except  his  sins."  Now  there  is  no  great  elo- 
quence in  this  language  ;  it  amounts  to  a  mere  truism ;  for  whether 
it  be  the  infant  of  three  days  old,  or  the  adult  convert  to  the  faith, 
it  is  all  the  same.  Brownson  brought  much  to  the  Catholic  faith ; 
but  his  humility  would  permit  only  the  foregoing  declaration  to  be 
put  on  record. 

We  do  not  think,  therefore,  that  the  Catholics  of  New  York  and 
of  the  United  States  can  afford  to  see  Brownson's  Review  languish- 
ing or  dying  out  for  want  of  support.  Suppose  there  are  passages 
in  it  which  some  of  us  may  not  have  approved  of,  what  of  that  ? 


THE  CATHOLIC   PRESS.  699 

There  is  not  even  among  these  a  single  passage  from  the  perusal  of 
which  a  judicious  reader  may  not  have  gleaned  knowledge  and  infor- 
mation. It  has  been  useful ;  and  we  think  it  destined  to  become 
more  and  more  useful,  as  its  learned  editor  shall  be  more  and  more 
cheered  in  his  labors  by  the  hearty  support  of  Catholic  patronage. 

We  have  other  nominally  Catholic  papers  published  in  New  York, 
one  being  what  is  called  the  Archbishop's  organ.  Of  course,  it  is  to 
be  assumed  that  the  Archbishop's  organ  can  never  be  out  of  har- 
mony with  all  that  is  advantageous  to  Catholicity.  And  yet  it  has 
not  been  faultless.  One  thing,  however,  we  must  say,  that  during  a 
period  of  several  years,  when  the  mania  of  revolution  and  red  re- 
publicanism was  prevalent  all  over  Europe,  and  extensively  sympa- 
thized with  by  many  of  the  people  of  this  country,  the  Freevicui's 
Journal  never  deviated  from  the  principles  of  justice,  and  truth,  and 
order,  and  social  interests;  and  that,  in  fact,  events  have  justified 
its  course  and  its  foresight.  There  is  another  paper,  called  the  Irish 
American.  If  you  should  meet  an  "Irish  American"  and  an 
"Amkricax  Celt"  side  by  side  on  the  public  way,  you  would  be 
exceedingly  puzzled  to  distinguish  between  them. 

There  is  a  difference,  however.  The  American  Celt  is  a  man  de- 
termined to  battle  his  way  through  life  in  this  country,  and  to  per- 
petuate his  race,  with  its  instincts  and  habits,  through  all  future  times. 
The  Irish  American,  on  the  contrary,  thinks  that  plausibility  is  the 
best  policy  which  emigrants  can  adopt  in  this  land.  He  and  his 
partner,  though  of  different  creeds,  are  still  of  the  same  country. 
He  makes  known,  from  time  to  lime,  for  the  edification  of  his 
readers,  that  they  never  quarrel  on  the  subject  of  religion,  and  the 
moral  of  his  editorial  would  be,  "  Go  thou,  and  do  likewise."  He 
does  not  say  that  there  is  a  sufficient  amount  of  religion  between 
him  and  his  partner  to  quarrel  about ;  but  whenever  some  nasty 
bigot  writes  a  scurrilous  article,  lampooning  the  Catholics  in  all 
the  relations  of  life,  our  Irish  American  is  sure  to  claim  a  little  space 
in  the  vulgar  newspaper  that  has  published  the  insults ;  and  then 
there  is  nothing  more  adroit  than  the  manner  of  his  approach.  An 
idea  of  his  communications  may  be  formed  from  the  ibllowing  im- 
perfect imitation  : 

Sir — I  read  your  article  against  tlie  Catholics,  I  regret  deeply  that  you 
haven't  a  better  opinion  of  us.  And  now,  with  profound  respect,  I  would 
humbly  beg  leave  to  say,  that  /  am  a  Catholic,  though  my  partner  is  a  Pro- 
testant ;  that  I  do  not  believe  what  you  have  said  about  our  religion,  and  that 
I  really  am  sorry  that  you  have  not  a  more  kind  and  charitable  opinion 
of  us. 

(Signed)  Editor  op  the  Irish  American. 

A  letter  like  this  awakens  a  response  from  the  calumniator  of  the 
Catholics,  through  the  columns  of  his  vile  newspaper  which  had 
elicited  the  communication.  So  that  the  whole  business  becomes  a 
double  advertisement.  The  response  will  be  to  the  effect  that  the 
Irish  American  is  a  very  sensible  man,  entirely  disabused  of  the  er- 
rors of  the  religion  which  he  professes — emancipated  from  the  super- 


700  AKCHBISHOPr  HUGHES. 

stitions  of  his  creed  and  the  control  of  his  clergy ;  in  short,  that  if  all 
Catholics  were  like  an  Irish  American,  the  people  of  this  country- 
could  get  along  with  them. 

The  heading  of  our  article  implied  that  we  should  offer  sugges- 
tions as  well  as  reflections  in  regard  to  what  is  called  the  Catholic 
Press.  This  we  shall  do  with  great  diffidence ;  but  so  far  as  de- 
pends on  us,  with  a  determination  that  they  shall  not  be  disregarded, 
at  least  in  reference  to  the  spiritual  interest  of  our  own  diocese  ark) 
of  the  people  committed  to  our  care. 

1. — We  advise  that  Catholic  periodicals  abstain  from  every  thing  hav- 
ing even  a  tendency  to  infringe  on  the  regular  ecclesiastical  authority, 
by  which  God  has  been  pleased  to  appoint  that  HisX]!hurcli  should 
be  governed ;  that  they  shall  not  presume  to  draw  odious  compari- 
sons, and  publish  them,  between  the  clergy  of  one  section  of  the 
country  and  those  of  another ;  that  they  shall  not  arrogate  to  them- 
selves the  position  of  oracles  or  umpires,  to  decide  where  is  merit  and 
where  is  demerit ;  that  they  shall  not  single  out  a  clergyman  for  pre- 
mature panegyric,  simply  because  he  is  a  patron  of  this  or  that  jour- 
nal, wliilst  they  pass  over  in  silence  other  clergymen,  oftentimes  of 
more  than  equal  worth.  In  short,  that  they  be  careful  in  regard 
to  every  topic  of  this  kind. 

2d. — We  respectfully  suggest  that,  if  they  are  religious  papers, 
Catholic  doctrine  and  the  politics  of  the  country  be  not  blended 
together  in  the  same  columns ;  for  too  many  of  them  have  exhibited 
great  industry  in  scattering  the  seeds  of  Catholic  doctrine  in  the 
spring-tide,  and,  unfortunately  for  the  honor  of  the  creed  which  they 
profess  to  serve,  have  been  seen  with  equal  industry  among  the 
reapers,  not  of  religion,  but  of  politics,  in  the  time  of  harvest.  Of 
course,  individually,  editors  as  well  as  clergymen  have  a  full  right 
to  cherish,  and  express,  and  exercise  their  political  opinions  in  re- 
gard to  all  public  questions.  But  a  political  paper  ought  to  cling 
to  its  profession  ;  and  we  say  the  same  of  a  religious  paper,  es- 
pecially a  Catholic  journal.  If  it  be  a  Catholic  journal,  political  par- 
tisanship should  be  scrupulously  excluded  from  its  columns.  It  is 
only  when  these  papers  exhibit  a  disposition  to  realize  an  amphibi- 
ous life — now  Catholic,  and  now  political — that  they  become  danger- 
ous in  the  estimation  of  the  American  people,  who  cannot,  it  appears, 
get  over  the  notion  that  because  they  are  partly  Catholic,  their 
politics  are  'suggested  or  dictated  by  the  ecclesiastical  authorities  of 
the  Church. 

3d. — We  would  say  that  the  Church  has  no  politics  ;  that  an  edi- 
tor in  his  department,  even  whilst  professing  to  promote  the  interests 
of  religion,  should  remember  the  immense  responsibility  attaclied  to 
his  position.  It  is  much  greater  than  that  of  the  merchant  who  deals 
in  material  things. 

And,  finally,  that  the  Catholics  of  New  York,  and  of  the  United 
States,  are  bound  by  every  sacred  obligation,  which  they  mutually 
owe  to  each  other,  to  their  families,  to  their  pastors,  to  the  whole 
Church  of  God,  to  frown  promptly  and  indignantly  upon  any  news- 


THE  CATHOLIC   PRE8S.  701 

paper  that  attempts,  whether  intentionally  or  not,  to  sow  discord 
among  them.  This  I  know  to  be  their  own  feeling  in  the  diocese  of 
New  York.  The  pastor  of  a  congregation  will  be  of  one  nation — 
his  flock  may  be  composed  of  several.  Can  they  afford  to  be  divided 
from  each  other,  or  to  have  the  apple  of  discord  thrown  among  them  ? 
A  great  number  of  Catholic  families  are  composed  of  mixed  origin, 
so  far  as  natural  birth  is  concerned.  The  husband  was  born  in  one 
country,  the  wife  in  another,  and  the  children  perhaps  in  another 
still.  Can  editors,  professing  to  conduct  Catholic  papers,  be  per- 
mitted to  infuse  mutual  distrust  and  discord  into  such  peaceful  and 
affectionate  domestic  circles,  so  as  to  excite  prejudice  in  the  minds 
of  the  children  against  their  parents,  or  in  the  minds  of  parents 
against  their  children  ?  In  brief,  are  the  union,  happiness,  charity, 
family  ties  of  a  united  Catholic  people  to  be  disturbed,  or  even 
trifled  with,  at  the  discretion,  or  rather  indiscretion,  either  of  this 
editor  or  of  that  other  ?  We  trust  not.  The  Catholic  people  have 
it  in  their  own  hands  to  keep  their  editors  in  the  straight  way — at 
least  so  far  as  the  interests  of  religion  and  the  peace  of  the  Catholic 
community  are  concerned.  And  the  time  may  not  be  far  distant 
when  it  will  be  their  duty  to  exercise  this  power,  by  withdrawing 
their  sup])ort  from  any  paper,  the  moment  it  shall  have  given  circula- 
tion to  doctrines  calculated  to  impair  the  Christian  charity  and 
mutual  support,  without  distinction  or  comparison,  by  whicK  the 
faithful  of  this  diocese  have  been  so  long  and  so  happily  held  to- 
gether. 

It  has  not  escaped  the  observation  of  reflecting  men,  that,  during 
a  recent  period  of  very  considerable  political  excitement,  the  Catho- 
lics, as  a  body,  have  borne  themselves  with  great  modei'ation  and 
dignity.  They  are  increasing  in  numbers,  increasing  in  wealth,  in- 
creasing in  intelligence,  and  may  we  not  believe  and  hope  that  they 
are  increasing  also  in  piety  and  attachment  to  their  religion  ?  They 
take  but  an  abstemious  part  in  the  great  questions  which  have 
threatened  the  disruption  of  the  country.  They  have  entire  confi- 
dence that  the  general  wisdom  and  patriotism  of  the  American  people 
will  be  quite  sutticient  to  preserve  the  Constitution  and  Union  of  the 
United  States,  and  to  maintain  those  principles  of  civil  and  religious 
equality,  for  which  their  noble,  heroic  ancestors  made  such  ample 
(and  in  their  intentions),  everlasting  provision. 

Under  such  happy,  civil,  social,  and  political  circumstances,  is  it  to 
be  imagined  that  Catholics  themselves  shall  disturb  the  divine  union, 
whether  as  to  faith  or  charity,  which  ought  to  distinguish  the  Church 
of  Christ  ?     God  forbid  ! 

»I«  JOHN,  Archbishop  of  New  York. 
November,  1856. 


702  ARCHBISHOP  HUGHES. 


PASTORALS. 


JOHN,  by  the  grace  of  God  and  the  approbation  of  the  Holy 
Apostolic  See,  Bishop  of  New  York,  to  the  Reverend  Clergy 
and  faithful  Laity  of  the  Diocese,  peace  in  Christ  and  sal- 
vation. 

Reverend  Brethren  and  Beloved  Children  in  Christ — Amidst 
the  cares  for  the  present  which  press  on  the  mind  of  your  Bishop, 
he  would  not  fulfil  the  duty  of  his  office,  if  he  could  be  thoughtless 
or  indiiFerent  ^yith  regard  to  the  future  welfare  of  the  •flock  com- 
mitted to  his  charge.  A  bishop  of  the  Church  must  form  his  ideas 
of  episcopal  duty  in  harmony  with  the  great  purpose  of  tlie  Son  of 
God,  in  laying  the  foundations  and  arranging  the  order  of  perpetuity 
in  the  Christian  society.  Hence  the  bishop,  who  is  but  the  delegated 
pastor,  representing  the  true  Shepherd  of  our  souls,  must  be  solici- 
tous for  the  things  of  the  future  as  well  as  for  the  present ;  and  of 
all  things  that  can  thus  interest  his  mind,  the  most  important,  beyond 
comparison,  is  the  providing  for  a  succession  of  those  who  are  to 
discharge  the  office  of  dispensers  of  the  mysteries  of  God  towards 
His  faithful  people. 

In  the  hope  of  discharging  the  duties  of  our  peculiar  station  in 
this  regard,  at  the  present  time,  we  are  forced,  reverend  and  beloved 
brethren,  to  involve  you  in  a  partnership  of  our  episcopal  solicitude 
and  responsibility.  Personally,  we  have  but  the  power  of  invoking 
your  aid  and  co-operation ;  for  if  the  means  to  accomplish  those 
things  which  are  necessary  for  the  welfare  of  the  Church  wei'e  at 
our  disposal,  we  should  unquestionably  employ  them,  without  feeling 
obliged  to  call  upon  you  for  co-operation  and  support.  But  in  the 
order  of  God's  merciful  providence  in  His  Church,  the  priests  of  the 
sanctuary  are  the  coadjutors  of  the  bishop,  and  the  glory  of  taking 
part  with  the  pastors  and  with  Christ  Himself,  in  applying  the  means 
of  redemption  to  present  and  future  generations  of  mankind,  is  ex- 
tended so  as  to  come  within  the  reach  of  the  faithful  themselves, 
according  to  their  zeal  and  circumstances. 

Jesus  Christ  our  Saviour  has  died  for  the  redemption  of  our  race. 
But  He  has  ordained  that  the  merits  of  His  death  should  be  applied 
to  the  souls  of  believers  according  to  an  order  which  He  has  been 
pleased  to  appoint — an  order,  too,  which  involves  all  the  high  an<l 
holy  exercises  of  zeal,  charity,  the  love  of  God,  and  the  other  virtues 
which  constitute  the  essence  of  His  divine  religion.     He  could  un 


PASTORALS.  ,  703 

questionably  have  provided  for  the  salvation  and  sanctification  of 
men  without  the  help  of  human  agency.  But  He  was  pleased 
rather  so  to  appoint  the  administration  of  heavenly  things,  that 
all  those  who  believed  in  His  name  should  have  it  in  their  j)ower  to 
take  part  in  the  great  work  for  which  He  became  man  and  for 
which  He  died  upon  the  cross.  Hence,  to  carry  on  His  own  ministry 
in  an  outward  form.  He  took  from  the  multitude  of  believers  twelve, 
whom  He  endowed  with  ministerial  powers,  and  designated  as 
apostles  or  messengers,  to  convey  not  only  the  tidings  of  redemption, 
but  also  to  discharge  the  ministerial  agency  by  which  it  was  to  be 
obtained.  From  these  twelve  He  selected  one  as  the  chief  and 
prince  of  the  ecclesiastical  hierarchy.  Thus,  during  His  own  life  and 
ministry  on  earth,  He  constituted  that  glorious  and  everlasting 
Church  of  which  it  is  our  happiness  to  be  members.  The  prince 
and  the  apostles  appointed  by  Him  have  never  been  without  succes- 
sors to  carry  on  the  great  coinmission  which  they  had  received,  and 
which  they  were  to  transmit,  as  they  have  transmitted,  to  their 
associates  and  successors. 

Here  is  an  outline  of  that  great  and  miraculous  work  of  God — the 
Apostolic  and  Catholic  Church.  And  to  those  who  will  here  observe 
the  manner  of  its  operation,  it  will  appear  evident  that  at  all  times 
God  inspired  and  directed  the  thoughts  of  the  episcopal  body  to- 
wards the  continuation  of  the  priesthood,  and  through  their  ministry, 
the  sanctification  of  the  foithful.  Nay,  the  priesthood  themselves, 
by  the  same  divine  grace,  have  always  been  zealous  to  see  new 
candidates  for  the  levitical  order  of  the  Clirislian  altar  arising  around 
them,  to  become  their  assistants  and  successors  in  laboring  for  the 
salvation  of  mankind. 

Neither  has  that  divine  Spirit,  which  presides  over  the  destiny  of 
the  Church,  ceased  to  fill  the  minds  of  the  faithful  themselves  with 
the  same  zeal  for  the  continuation  of  the  preaching,  the  doctrine, 
the  mysteries  and  sacraments  which  are  appointed  as  the  ordinary 
means  of  man's  salvation. 

It  is  thus,  reverend  brethren  of  the  clergy,  and  beloved  children  of 
the  laity,  that  through  the  fidelity  of  zealous  pastors  and  faithful  people 
now  resting  in  the  bosom  of  their  God,  the  blessings  of  the  CathoHc 
faith  and  ministry  have  descended  even  to  us ;  and  we  should 
neither  be  sufiiciently  grateful  for  this  inestimable  benefit,  nor 
sutticiently  sohcitous  for  the  discharge  of  our  own  actual  duty,  if 
we  could  remain  indifferent  to  the  desolate  condition  of  those  who 
are  to  succeed  us,  were  no  means  taken  to  make  them  partakers  of 
the  same  spiritual  advantages.  It  is  on  this  account  that  we  have 
resolved,  by  the  divine  blessing,  to  undertake  the  establishment  of  a 
Theological  Diocesan  Seminary  near  the  episcopal  See,  and  for  the 
diocese  of  New  York.  We  need  not  remind  you,  beloved  brethren, 
of  the  destitute  situation  of  many  parts  of  this  diocese,  as  regarded 
the  supply  of  missionary  priests,  until  within  a  recent  period.  It 
has  been  our  consolation  to  witness  within  the  last  few  years  an 
increase  of  priests,  by  which  the  number  has  been  more  than  doubled  j 


704:  ARCHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

yet  even  this  increase  has  not  been  equal  to  the  wants  of  the  faithful 
in  many  remote  districts  of  the  diocese,  and  it  is  to  be  feared  that 
many  souls  have  passed  from  tliis  life,  perishing,  because  there  was 
no  one  to  break  to  them  the  bread  of  life.  Neither  has  it  been 
owing  to  any  settled  or  united  effort  on  the  part  of  all  to  provide  a 
supply  of  clergy  equal  to  the  wants  of  the  faithful,  and  the  increase 
already  alluded  to,  has  taken  place.  But  God  Himself  seems  to  have 
taken  pity  on  our  condition,  and  by  means  altogether  providential, 
to  have  prepared  and  sent  His  own  laborers  into  His  vineyard.  This 
should  encourage  us  in  the  hope  that  He  will  give  a  special  benedic- 
tion to  our  poor  efforts  towards  the  training  and  preparing  of  can- 
didates for  the  holy  ministry  of  our  altars. 

Trusting,  therefore,  to  His  goodness  and  to  your  co-operation,  we 
have  determined  to  commence  forthwith  the  foundation  of  a  Tiiko- 
LOGicAL  Diocesan  Seminaky  for  the  Diocese  of  New  York. 
To  enable  us  to  accomplish  the  undertaking,  we  must  appeal,  as  we 
now  do,  in  the  name  of  our  God  and  of  His  holy  Church,  to  you,  be- 
loved brethren,  for  your  contributions  and  support.  You  have 
never  been  known  to  repel  or  refuse  the  claim  of  charity,  whenever 
fairly  presented  in  the  name  of  our  holy  faith.  Many  of  the  churches 
of  these  extended  United  States,  even  to  the  remotest  borders,  are 
indebted  to  your  zeal  for  liberal  contributions  ;  and  though  in  the 
House  of  God  there  are  no  strangers  or  foreigners,  still  I  cannot 
allow  myself  to  suppose  that  a  great  work,  especially  destined  to 
promote  the  progress  of  religion  in  your  own  diocese,  will  not  be 
estimated  by  you  according  to  its  peculiar  importance.  The  object 
is  not  to  build  a  church,  but  it  is  rather  to  build  up  the  living  stones 
of  the  sanctuary  of  our  God.  It  is  to  prepare  a  perpetual  succession 
for  the  ministry  of  our  altars ;  it  is  to  enable  young  men  who  are 
called  of  God  to  devote  themselves,  according  to  their  vocation,  to 
His  service ;  it  is  to  prepare  and  multiply  those  who  will  be  builders 
of  many  churches, — the  instructors  of  your  children  and  their  children 
in  the  ways  of  eternal  life, — the  apostles  of  the  faith  of  Christ  to 
succeeding  and  remote  generations, — the  guides  of  the  living  and  the 
consolers  of  those  who  are  about  to  sleep  in  Christ — in  a  word,  the 
perpetuators  of  that  divine  ministry  of  which  Christ  is  the  author, 
and  which  He  appointed  to  extend  and  multiply  until  the  consumma- 
tion of  ages. 

In  this  great  undertaking  I  confide  with  entire  reliance  in  the 
zeal  and  co-operation  of  the  reverend  clergy  of  the  diocese.  To  them 
it  would  be  superfluous  that  I  should  say  one  single  word  on  the  im- 
portance of  the  undertaking  ;  and  I  know  that  as  far  as  their  means 
or  their  influence  can  extend,  they  can  have  no  other  ideas  on  the 
subject,  than  those  it  is  proper  for  their  Bishop  to  entertain.  The  few 
remaining  observations  that  I  have  to  make  may  be  addressed  to  you, 
beloved  children  of  the  laity.  You  are  interested  by  our  common  hopes 
of  salvation  ;  but  you  are  peculiarly  interested!  in  the  hopes  of  preserv- 
ing your  posterity  to  the  faith  of  Cln-ist,  in  which  you  have  been  brought 
up,  and  for  which  many  of  your  fathers  have  gloriously  suffered.  You 


PASTORALS.  Y05 

see  how  the  Church  and  the  faith  of  God  are  assaulted  by  the  numer- 
ous self-appointed  ministers  of  error  on  every  side.  You  see  your 
holiest  doctrines  misrepresented.  You  see  how  many  are  they  who 
advocate  false  doctrine  which  is  popular,  and  how  few  in  comparison 
speak  aloud  for  the  truth,  which  is  unpopular ;  and  seeing  these 
things,  it  is  necessary  that  I  should  picture  to  you  the  consequences 
to  your  children,  and  to  your  children's  children,  if  there  be  not 
placed  on  the  watch-towers  of  the  Church  of  God  numerous  and 
faithful  sentinels,  to  instruct  and  encourage  those  who  are  within, 
and  to  give  warning  against  the  assaults  of  those  who  attack  from 
without.  I  do  not  inquire,  then,  whether  you  will  contribute  for 
the  foundation  of  the  New  York  Diocesan  Theological  Seminary ; 
but  I  inquire  whether  you  will  contribute  promptly,  generously, 
and  universally,  according  to  your  means. 

It  will  not  be  in  my  power  to  wait  upon  you  personally,  and  if  it 
were,  I  am  sure  that  you  yourselves  would  not  wish  it.  But  I  shall 
wait  upon  you  through  some  of  the  reverend  clergy,  who  have  de- 
votedh'  volunteered  their  services  in  aid  of  the  undertaking.  They 
will  call  upon  you,  and  I  entreat  you  to  receive  them  as  you  would 
receive  me.  The  respected  pastors  of  your  congregations  will  call 
upon  you,  and  I  shall  immediately  commence  this  new  foundation 
in  the  confidence  with  which  your  fidelity  and  zeal  have  inspired. 
But  in  the  mean  time  I  urge  and  entreat  every  Catholic  in  the 
diocese  who  may  be  called  upon,  to  remember  his  obligations  to 
contribute  to  a  work  so  essential  to  the  extension  of  that  Catholic 
Church  of  which  he  is  a  member.  Let  the  rich  subscribe  largely  ; 
let  the  poor  also  be  generous  according  to  their  means ;  let  every 
one  who  has  zeal  for  religion  be  anxious  to  have  his  name  inscribed 
on  the  book  of  contributions.  From  the  moment  that  the  seminary 
shall  have  been  completed,  it  shall  be  a  perpetual  obligation  that 
on  eveiy  Friday  the  holy  sacrifice  of  the  Mass  shall  be  ofi'ered 
for  those   who  have  contributed  to  its  erection,  both  living  and 

dead. 

• 
Given   at  New   York,  ou   the   Feast   of  St.  Anne,   July   26th, 
1844. 

<h  JOHN,  Bishop  of  New  York. 


JOHN,  by  the  grace  of  God,  and  the  appointment  of  the  Holy 
Apostolic  See,  Bishop  of  New  York,  to  the  Reverend  Clergy 
and  Laity  of  the  Diocese,  health  and  benediction. 

The  holy  season  of  Lent,  dearly  beloved  brethren,  is  approach- 
ing, as  an  acceptable  time,  in  which  God  will    hear  those  who,. 
Vol.  II. — 45 


706  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

M'ith  compunction  of  heart,  will  invoke  His  mercy,  and  He  will  help 
them  in  the  day  of  tlieir  salvation.  It  is  especially  a  time  of  pen- 
ance, in  which  the  Church  utters  forth  the  voice  of  Him  who  re- 
deemed her  with  His  own  blood,  to  the  ends  of  the  earth,  calling  on 
her  children,  in  His  name,  to  do  penance,  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
is  at  hand.  It  is  a  time  for  all  to  have  recourse  to  God  our  Saviour, 
with  our  whole  heart,  in  fiisting,  and  weeping,  and  mourning ;  and 
not  only  should  we  endeavor  to  repair  the  past  by  contrition  and  peni- 
tential exercises,  but  we  should  also  prepare  our  hearts  to  partici- 
pate in  the  solemn  joys  of  the  paschal  season,  by  a  worthy  com- 
munion. It  would  be  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  by  the  mere 
exterior  act  of  fasting,  we  should  fulfil  our  obligations  to  Almighty 
God,  or  correspond  in  the  solemn  observance  of  this  season,  with  the 
intention  of  our  holy  Mother  the  Church.  The  Jews,  indeed,  fasted 
according  to  the  letter  of  the  precept ;  but  God  answered  them  with 
a  reproach,  uttered  by  His  prophet,  because  in  the  day  of  their  fast 
their  own  will  was  found.  Fasting  in  the  right  spirit  of  the  Church, 
that  is,  Avith  deep  sorrow  for  our  sins,  and  an  earnest  desire  to  be 
reconciled  with  our  offended  God,  will  subdue  and  humble  the  proud 
passions  that  too  often  reign  in  our  hearts.  Piide  will  give  place 
to  humility ;  almsdeeds  will  succeed  to  covetousness ;  Christian 
peace  in  the  soul,  to  strife  with  our  neighbor  ;  charity  to  each,  in- 
stead of  anger,  hatred,  or  revenge  towards  any.  Should  we  neglect 
these  interior  exercises  of  the  soul,  God  will  question  us  in  the  lan- 
guage of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  "Is  this  the  fast  which  I  have  chosen? 
saith  the  Lord." 

But  we  must,  above  all  things,  renounce  our  sins,  and  resolve  on 
a  new  life  for  the  time  to  come.  Rend  your  hearts,  and  not  your 
garments;  and  be  ye  converted  to  the  Lord  your  God.  Make  to 
yourselves  a  new  heart  and  a  new  spirit.  The  voice  of  the  Church 
calling  thus  on  you  is  that  of  a  trumpet  sounding  in  Zion,  proclaim- 
ing guilt  on  one  side,  and  the  tender  mercies  of  your  God  on  the 
other.  How  many  examples  are  set  before  you  at,this  time,  even 
though  you  be  the  greatest  of  sinners,  reminding  you,  by  special  in- 
stances, that  He  wills  not  the  death  of  the  sinner,  but  that  rather  he 
should  be  converted  and  live  !  To-day,  therefore,  if  you  hear  His 
voice,  harden  not  your  hearts;  but  in  profound  compunction  and 
sorrow,  humble  yourselves  bef  )re  the  throne  of  His  forgiveness,  as 
was  done  by  a  David  and  a  Magdalen,  and  even  by  the  repentant 
malefactor  on  the  cross.  Let  the  priests  of  His  sanctuary,  in  obe- 
dience to  ancient  injunction,  lift  up  their  voice  between  the  vestibule 
and  the  altar,  and  cry  aloud,  "  Spare,  O  Lord,  spare  Thy  people,  and 
give  not  Thy  heritance  to  be  trodden  under  foot." 

Prepare  yourselves,  beloved  brethi-en,  for  the  sacraments  of  recon- 
ciliation and  peace,  whicii  God  has  provided  for  you  in  His  holy 
Church.  Profoundly  penitent  for  your  sins,  prepare  yourselves  from 
the  beginning  for  an  humble  and  sincere  confession  of  them  to  those 
whom  He  has  appointed  as  dispensers  of  His  mysteries — as  ambassa- 
dors and  ministers  of  His  mercy. 


PASTORALS.  707 

We  a<ldress  you  at  this  time,  not  merely  to  remind  you  of  tlie  disposi- 
tions with  which  you  should  all  unite  in  approaching  the  Father  of  mer- 
cies and  the  God  of  all  consolation,  bat  also  to  make  known  to  you  our 
whole  mind  in  reference  to  matters  connected  with  our  episcopal  ad- 
ministration, in  which  we  have  endeavored  to  consult  and  provide 
for  your  dearest  spiritual  interests.  The  very  great  increase  of  our 
chuiches,  congregations,  and  clergy,  as  well  as  the  immense  extent 
of  the  diocese,  have  rendered  it  impossible  for  one  bishop  to  superin- 
tend its  administi'ation  with  that  detail  of  pastoral  vigilance  which 
the  duties  of  our  office  require.  Accordingly,  at  the  last  Provincial 
Council  of  Baltimore,  we  submitted  to  the  assembled  prelates  the 
circumstances  of  our  diocese,  praying  them  to  unite  with  us  in  solicit- 
ing the  Holy  See  for  the  appointment  of  one  or  two  Episcopal  Sees 
•within  the  limits  of  our  present  jurisdiction.  They  united  with  us  in 
that  supplication,  with  a  view  that  our  burden  might  be  diminished, 
and  your  spiritual  welfare  more  efficiently  provided  for.  We  have 
not  received,  as  yet,  any  official  account  of  the  confirmation  of  the 
Acts  of  the  Council  by  the  Holy  See. 

In  anticipation,  however,  of  these  happy  changes,  it  will  not  be 
unseasonable  for  us  to  give  you  a  brief  outline  of  what  has  taken 
place  in  the  diocesp  under  our  charge,  of  the  means  by  which  it  has 
been  accomplished,  of  the  advantages  to  religion  which  have  re- 
sulted from  it,  and  of  subjects  still  calling  for  your  zeal  and  charity, 
and  which  we  cannot  too  strongly  recommend  to  your  Christian 
devotion. 

When  we  were  charged,  by  the  supreme  authority  of  the  Chui'ch, 
with  the  administration  of  the  diocese  of  New  York,  in  1839,  the 
number  of  clergymen  in  the  mission  wsls  between  forty  and  fifty. 
There  was  not,  at  that  time,  either  a  seminary  for  the  education  of 
candidates  for  the  holy  ministry,  or  a  college,  or  a  religious  house  of 
education  for  the  youth,  male  or  female,  of  our  growing  Catholic 
population.  Without  some,  at  least,  of  these,  it  seemed  to  us  that 
the  existence  of  religion  Avas  precarious  for  want  of  clergymen — its 
diftusion  and  development  impossible.  Under  this  conviction  an  ec- 
clesiastical seminaiy  was  commenced  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
diocese,  which  has  continued  until  the  present 4^irae.  The  location, 
however,  was  found  to  be  too  remote  from  the  city,  and  the  semina- 
rians with  their  teachers  were  transferred,  in  the  autumn  of  1841,  to 
St.  John's  College,  at  Fordham,  where  it  has  continued  either  in  one 
building  or  another  of  that  establishment,  until  it  has  taken  posses- 
sion of  the  building  lately  erected  expressly  and  permanently  for 
its  use. 

It  was  also  at  the  close  of  the  year  1839,  that  what  is  now  St. 
John's  College,  with  its  premises,  was  purchased.  It  consisted  then, 
as  to  buildings,  of  the  single  main  edifice  and  two  wings,  roofed, 
but  interiorly  not  half  finished.  The  contributions  received  from  the 
diocese  for  the  accomplishment  of  this  undertaking  scarcely  amounted 
to  thirteen  thousand  dollars,  a  sum  less  than  one-eighth  of  what  has 
been  expended  on  it,  up  to  the  present  time,  in  the  way  of  improve- 


7Q8  AECHBI3H0P   HUGHES. 

ments  of  the  grounds,  domestic  furniture,  collegiate  appurtenances, 
and  additional  buildings.  In  this  estimate  of  its  cost,  must  of  course 
be  included  the  expense  of  supporting  it  during  the  first  years  of  its 
probation,  while  its  pupils  were  hardly  more  numerous  than  the 
teachers  and  professors  provided  for  their  instruction. 

It  was,  in  part,  by  expenditures  like  these,  that  in  five  short  years 
St.  John's  College  rose,  from  the  condition  of  an  unfinished  house  in 
a  field,  to  the  cluster  of  buildings  of  which  it  is  now  composed;  and 
from  an  obscure  Catholic  school,  beginning  with  six  students,  to  the 
rank  and  privileges  of  a  university !  What  was  our  object,  dearly 
beloved  brethren,  in  this  undertaking?  It  was,  that  the  Catholic 
parents  of  this  diocese  and  elsewhere,  who  could  afford  it,  should 
have  an  opportunity  of  educating  their  sons  with  safety  to  their  fiiith 
and  morals,  and  yet  so  as  to  qualify  them  to  take  an  honorable  part 
in  the  more  elevated  walks  of  public  and  social  life.  This  was  our 
object;  and  so  ti\r,  considering  the  circumstances,  this  object  has 
been  attained  to  a  degree  of  success  beyond  our  most  sanguine  ex- 
pectations; for  we  deeni  it  an  evidence  of  Almighty  God's  approval, 
that  a  numerous,  learned,  pious,  and  zealous  community  of  the  illus- 
trious Society  of  Jesus — a  society  especially  instituted  for  the  impart- 
ing of  a  high  order  of  Christian  education  to  youth — should  have  been 
found  willing  to  take  charge  of  it  permanently.  That  distinguished 
society  has  furnished  the  best  teachers,  both  in  secular  and  sacred 
knowledge,  that  the  Church  has  ever  known.  The  world  has  fur- 
nished no  other  body  of  men  to  be  compared  with  them ;  hence,  the 
world's  jealousy  in  their  regard.  To  this  community  we  have  trans- 
fen-ed  the  College  of  St.  John.  We  would  not  so  have  transferred 
it,  had  we  not  been  persuaded  that  the  objects  of  its  foundation,  as 
a  Catholic  college,  would  be  thereby  more  certainly  and  more  last- 
ingly promoted,  than  they  could  be  by  any  other  body  of  teachers, 
whom  it  would  be  in  our  power  to  place  at  its  head.  We  transferred 
it  as  it  stood,  for  this  purpose,  and  no  other ;  and  with  the  express 
imderstanding  that,  if  at  any  future  time  that  purpose  should  cease 
to  be  carried  out,  it  should  then  be  restored  on  the  same  terms  to 
the  Bishop  of  New  York,  for  the  time  being.  The  college,  indeed, 
was  in  debt  to  a  large  amount ;  and  considering  how  small  compara- 
tively was  the  aggregate  contributed  for  its  establishmeot  in  the 
diocese,  it  is  impossible  that  it  should  have  been  otherwise.  In  ac- 
cepting the  college,  therefore,  the  Fathers  have  accepted  the  debt 
incurred  by  us  in  making  it  what  it  is.  It  could  not,  consistently 
with  justice,  have  been  transferred  on  any  other  condition ;  but  of 
the  principal  of  that  debt,  or  the  interest,  not  one  farthing  belongs  to 
us,  or  shall  ever  be  applied  to  our  use. 

We  now  come  to  speak  of  St.  Joseph's  Thelogical  Seminary,  the 
Church  of  our  Blessed  Lady,  connected  with  it,  and  the  portion  of 
the  grounds  which  we  have  not  transferred,  but  which  we  retain  as 
diocesan  property,  having  been,  so  far,  paid  for  by  the  charitable 
contributions  of  the  clergy  and  laity  of  the  diocese.  As  regards 
this  institution,  our  intention  is,  that  the  Bishop  of  New  York  shall, 


PASTORALS.  ^09 

» 

at  all  times,  be  its  immefliate  superior  and  administrator ;  but  yet 
so  thnt  the  other  bishop  or  bishops  within  the  limits  of  what  was 
called  the  diocese  at  the  period  of  its  erection,  shall  be  equally  enti- 
tled to  participate  in  its  benefits  for  the  ecclesiastical  education  of 
his  or  their  young  clergy. 

The  seminary  now  is  entirely  completed,  furnished  for  its  use,  and 
occupied.  The  chapel,  too,  completed  as  to  the  interior,  and  as  to 
the  exterior  also,  except  the  spire.  The  cost  of  both  together  has 
been  between  thirty-seven  and  thirty-eight  thousand  dollars  ;  the 
aggregate  amount  of  collections  received  from  the  different  pastors 
and  congregations  of  the  diocese  is  $25,71Y.'71.  This  is  indeed  a 
large  sum,  and  speaks  honorably  for  the  zeal  and  charity  of  the 
clergy,  and  the  flocks  committed  to  their  care.  With  a  just  appre- 
ciation of  the  importance  to  religion  of  such  an  institution,  with  a 
zeal  for  God's  house  worthy  of  their  sacred  profession  and  holy  min- 
istry, they  forwarded  to  us  the  several  amounts  composing  this  large 
aggregate.  Yet,  beloved  brethren,  we  would  not  have  any  one  sup- 
pose that  this  was  done  for  us,  or  for  our  sake.  Your  offerings  have, 
Ave  trust,  been  sanctified  by  a  holier  motive.  In  placing  them  on  the 
altar,  you  have  been  doing  something  for  God's  honor  and  glory, 
for  His  holy  Church,  for  your  own  souls,  for  yourselves  and  your 
children ;  nay,  for  future  generations.  Our  part  in  this  work  has 
been  the  toil,  and  anxiety,  and  responsibility,  which  were  insepara- 
ble from  our  efforts  to  carry  it  on.  Others  more  competent  might 
have  accomplished  the  undertaking  more  successfully ;  and  if  they 
had  presented  themselves,  we  should  have  rejoiced  at  being  relieved 
from  the  burden.  We  took  it  on  ourselves,  because  the  wants  of  re- 
ligion, present  and  future,  required  that  something  of  the  kind 
should  be  done,  and  there  appeared  to  us  no  other  mode  of  accom- 
plishing it.  The  difference  between  the  cost  of  the  seminary  and 
church  and  the  amount  of  collections,  has  been  made  up  in  part  by 
a  loan  on  bond  and  mortgage  of  ten  thousand  dollars ;  for  the 
balance  we  are  still  personally  responsible. 

Notwithstanding  innumerable  discouragements,  in  the  progress  of 
these  undertakings,  it  cannot  but  be  consoling  to  every  member  of 
the  Chuich,  that  religion  has  made  very  considerable  progress 
within  the  period  under  review  ;  the  congregations  have  more  than 
doubled  in  number,  and  become  larger  in  themselves,  during  that 
period;  between  fifty-five  and  sixty  new  churches  have  been  erected; 
the  number  of  the  clergy  ministering  to  the  wants  of  the  faithful,  has 
been  increased  from  about  forty  to  a  hundred  and  twenty;  houses 
of  religious  and  enlightened  training  have  been  established  for  the 
education  of  our  female  children;  and  so  far,  we  have  great  reason 
to  be  thankful  to  the  Almighty  God  for  the  blessings  which  He  has 
vouchsafed  to  bestow  upon  our  united  exertions.  For  ourselves,  be- 
loved brethren,  we  have  to  remark,  that  our  having  had  to  meet  the 
current  annual  expenses  of  the  theological  seminary  for  the  last 
seven  years,  without  any  aid  from  the  diocese  for  that  purpose,  has 
involved  us  in  other  and  more  serious  responsibilities  of  debt,  which 


710  AECHBISHOP  HUGHES. 

prudence  and  a  proper  regard  to  our  official  station  in  the  Church 
forbid  us  to  disregard. 

To  sustain  the  college  during  the  first,  second,  and  third  years  of 
its  existence — to  sustain  the  seminary  up  to  the  present  time,  we 
have  expended  the  pious  contributions  of  our  Catholic  brethren  in 
Europe,  received  through  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  tlie 
Faith,  To  the  same  purpose,  content  for  our  own  part  with  food 
and  raiment,  we  have  devoted  whatever  could  be  spared  from  the 
allowance  for  our  support,  and  for  the  expenses  of  our  office.  It  has 
been  by  giving  these  resources  without  stint  or  reckoning,  that  we 
have  been  enabled  to  support  the  seminary  during  this  period,  at 
an  expense  of  from  twenty-five  to  thirty-five  hundred  dollars  per  an- 
num. For  a  considerable  portion  of  this  expenditure  we  are  still 
personally  responsible.  We  hope,  however,  to  be  able,  in  a  few 
years,  to  discharge  this  obligation.  But  the  further  annual  support 
of  the  seminary  is  a  burden  which  we  cannot  undertake  to  sustain 
any  longer,  unless  aided  by  the  zealous  co-operation  of  the  clergy 
and  laity  of  the  diocese.  We  direct,  therefore,  that  after  the  read- 
ing of  this  our  pastoral  letter,  and  public  notice  given,  with  suitable 
recommendation  of  the  object  on  one  or  two  Sundays  previous,  a 
public  collection,  for  this  purpose,  shall  be  taken  up  on  the  third 
Sunday  of  Lent,  in  all  the  churches  of  the  diocese. 

We  have  said  above  that  these  contributions  for  general  purposes 
of  religion  have  been  creditable  to  the  zeal  and  charity  of  our  flock. 
We  may  set  them  down  as  amounting  to  about  forty  thousand  dollars 
during  the  period  to  which  we  have  referred.  Yet  how  insignifi- 
cant is  this  sum — how  inadequate  to  the  wants  of  religion — how 
small  in  itself  compared  with  the  population  of  the  diocese,  if  we  were 
all  united  and  zealous  in  our  effijrts  to  promote  our  holy  religion ! 
One  cent  per  week  from  each  member  of  the  Church,  according  to 
the  estimated  number  of  our  population,  would  be  sufficient  to  raise 
an  amount  of  more  than  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  in  a  single  year! 
For  ourselves,  beloved  brethren,  we  are  almost  exhausted  by  tlie 
magnitude  of  what  has  been  undertaken  and  so  far  accomplished. 
We  desire  to  continue  our  eflToris  in  the  same  cause ;  but  it  must  be 
with  a  greater  distribution  both  of  the  labor  and  of  the  responsi- 
bility. We  see  around  us  many  serious  obstacles  to  the  progress  of 
our  holy  religion.  Let  us  call  your  attention  to  a  few.  First.  In  this 
city  for  instance,  our  poor  people,  in  their  sickness,  are  obliged,  at  great 
expense  to  themselves  or  their  friends,  to  go  into  public  infirmaries, 
in  which  the  prevailing  sympathies  of  religion  are  adverse  to  their 
faith.  Should  there  not,  then,  be  established  among  ourselves  an  hos- 
pital, under  the  care  of  our  Sisters  of  Charity  ?  Could  it  not,  if 
once  established,  be  supported  by  the  same  means  which  are  now 
expended  elsewhere  ?  Second  :  How  many  of  our  orphan  cliildren, 
especially  male  children,  are  now  sent  either  to  the  Long  Island 
farms  or  to  the  Protestant  asylums,  to  be  brought  up  in  hatred  of 
that  religion  which  was  the  only  and  last  consolation  of  their  dying 
parents  1     How  many  others,  after  having  been  maintained  and  edu- 


PASTORALS, 


\        ni 


cated  in  our  own  asylums,  are  lost  by  the  boys  having  been  bound 
out  to  trades,  and  the  girls  for  domestic  service  in  families — and 
from  that  time  forgotten  by  the  charitable  friends  of  their  childhood, 
except  as  names  found  in  the  records  of  their  indentures!  Ought 
this  to  be  so  ?  Ought  not  some  means  of  preserving  and  instructing 
them  in  various  branches  of  useful  and  profitable  industry,  under 
the  same  religious  protection  that  shielded  them  in  their  infancy 
and  childhood,  be  adopted  ?  Again,  how  many  are  thei'e — children 
of  living,  but  unknown  parents — who  perish  through  ignorance  of 
religion,  its  duties  and  precepts  ?  Who  will  be  able,  in  any  ade- 
quate measure,  to  provide  for  them,  unless  we  encourage  among  us 
the  presence  of  religious  men  and  devoted  women,  who  will  be 
auxiliaries  to  our  pastors  in  the  work  of  general  and  individual 
instruction  in  the  Christian  doctrine  ? 

Thousands  of  beauteous  buds,  from  which  the  Church,  in  happier 
times,  would  have  anticipated  rich  fruits,  are  thus  nipped  and  blasted 
before  our  eyes,  and  we  Catholics  look  on  with  folded  arms,  deceiv- 
ing ourselves  by  taking  it  for  granted  that  it  is  a  matter  of  course, 
that  it  cannot  be  otherwise.  Alas !  how  great  are  our  apprehen- 
sions, that  unless  the  Catholic  people,  parents  especially,  rouse  them- 
selves to  efforts  greater  than  have  yet  been  made  for  the  purpose  of 
remedying  these  evils,  hundreds  and  thousands  of  these  children 
will  be  lost;  for  without  some  remedy,  how  wilPthey  be  able  to  re- 
sist the  hostile  influences  of  the  wealth,  the  immorality,  and  the 
irreligion,  or  false  religion,  by  which  they  are  surrounded  ? 

These  are  evils  which  we  witness  from  day  to  day — which  we 
meditate  on  at  night ;  but  for  which  it  will  require  the  united  and 
pei'severing  efforts  of  all  to  find  a  remedy.  But  there  is  one  species 
of  moral  calamity  falling  on  a  most  deserving  class  of  our  Catholic 
people,  which  cries  aloud  for  the  interference  of  the  charitable  and 
good.  It  is  that  calamity  to  which  poor  female  domestics  are  ex- 
posed, when  they  find  themselves  here  in  New  York,  or  its  vicinity, 
without  employment,  without  home,  without  friends,  without  money. 
God  help  them!  What  is  to  become  of  them  in  such  circumstances? 
We  would  not  venture  to  repeat  all  that  has  been  communicated  to 
us  on  this  subject.  Could  not  something  be  done  to  provide,  at 
least,  a  temporary  shelter— a  house  of  protection  for  such  persons  ? 
Among  all  the  admirable  charities  which  we  had  occasion  to  visit 
last  year,  in  Europe,  not  one  struck  us  more  forcibly  than  that  of  the 
house  of  correction  for  virtuous  but  destitute  female  domestics, 
founded  in  Dublin,  under  the  administration  of  the  Sisters  of  Mer- 
cy. The  vastly  greater  importance  of  such  an  asylum  in  this  city, 
was  one  of  the  reasons  why  we  invited  a  small  community  of  that 
admirable  order  to  come  to  New  York.  They  are  now  happily 
among  us,  almost  unknown,  it  is  true  ;  but  yet  rendering  great  ser- 
vice to  religion,  by  giving  Christian  instruction  to  many  who  require 
it,  by  going  among  the  sick  poor,  comforting  them,  and  mitigating 
by  the  gentle  influence  of  kind  spiritual  advice,  the  sad  afflictions  of 
poverty  and  suffering  combined.     But  as  yet  no  adequate  scope  has 


712  AKCIIBISHOP  HUGHES. 

been  aiForded  for  the  full  exercise  of  their  blessed  vocation.  A  house 
of  protection  for  destitute  females  is  still  wanting.  In  Dublin  such 
persons  of  virtuous  character  have  a  refuge  under  the  care  of  the 
good  Sisters  of  Mercy,  in  such  trying  circumstances.  Then,  during 
their  stay,  which  was  only  until  they  can  find  a  place  at  service, 
they  are  instructed,  sometimes  taught  to  read  or  write  during  a  por- 
tion of  the  day.  Work,  sufficient  to  defray  the  expenses  of  their  board, 
is  provided  for  them  ;  and  so  approved  is  this  charity  in  Dublin,  that 
many  of  the  best  families  are  in  the  habit  of  applying  to  the  Sisters 
for  female  servants.  Might  not  such  a  house,  under  their  direction, 
be  established  among  us?  Would  not  such  an  establishment  be 
liailed  by  the  fathers,  mothers,  brothers,  sisters  of  our  Catholic  com- 
munity ?  Would  it  not  be  hailed  by  the  whole  class  of  female  do- 
mestics themselves — a  class  to  whom  religion  in  this  country,  and 
especially  in  this  city,  owes  a  debt,  the  extent  of  which  will  not  be 
known  until  the  day  of  universal  reckoning,  when  God  shall  open 
the  account  between  the  rich  and  poor,  setting  forth  what  either 
shall  have  done  for  His  glory. 

The  enumeration  of  these  wants,  beloved  brethren,  at  one  and 
the  same  time,  is,  perhaps,  calculated  to  discourage  us ;  but  we 
ought  to  reflect  that  most  of  them,  if  not  all,  require  only  to  be 
commenced ;  and  that,  after  they  are  once  in  operation,  they  will 
support  themselves.  Our  fault  has  been  that  we  have  not  had  the 
large  views  or  the  Christian  courage  and  confidence  which  faith  and 
charity  ought  to  inspire.  As  a  Catholic  community,  we  are  like 
those  unthrifty  husbandmen,  who,  panting  for  shade,  neglect  to 
plant  out  young  trees,  which,  once  planted,  would  take  root,  shoot 
out  their  branches  more  vigorously  from  year  to  year,  and,  in  a 
little  time,  yield  refi'eshing  coolness  from  the  heat  and  burden  of  the 
day.  We  are  convinced  that  with  a  little  public  support  at  the 
commencement,  these  establishments — the  house  for  the  orphan  girls 
who  are  bound  out  from  the  asylums,  and  that  for  the  male  orphans, 
the  hospital  under  the  Sisters  of  Charity,  and  the  house  for  the  tem- 
poiary  protection  of  female  domestics — would  each  and  all  support 
themselves.  For  this  last  class  something  must  be  done  with  as  little 
delay  as  possible.  The  calamities  that  have  fallen  upon  unhappy  Ire- 
land, are  but  another  reason  why  not  another  moment  should  be  lost. 
We  have  thought  of  recommending  that  the  whole  month  of  May, 
which  is  beautifully  called  in  Catholic  devotion,  "The  Month  of  Mary," 
be  set  apart  for  efforts  to  accomplish  this  purpose;  and  we  urge  upon 
you,  beloved  brethren,  to  take  this  most  important  charity  into  your 
deepest  consideration.  After  the  holy  season  of  Easter,  we  shall 
suggest  further,  the  plan  by  which  it  seems  to  us  the  undertaking 
will  be  made  easy,  and  the  accomplishment  of  it  successful. 

We  have  opened  this  address  to  you,  beloved  brethren,  by  ex- 
horting you  to  put  on  the  spirit  and  the  works  of  penance,  as  it  be- 
comes all  those  who  are  conscious  of  having  offended  God.  Let  us 
close  it  by  recommending  to  you,  most  earnestly,  to  sanctify  your 
fasting  by  youi'  liberality  to  God's  poor  and  sufftring  creatores. 


PASTORALS.  713 

How  much  are  we  degenerated  from  the  charity,  if  not  the  faith,  of 
those  times  in  which  St.  Basil  did  not  hesitate  to  declare,  addressing 
his  flock,  "The  bread  which  you  waste  belongs  to  the  poor;  the 
cloak  you  lay  up  in  your  wardrobe,  the  shoes  that  rot  in  your  house, 
belong  to  him  who  is  barefoot.  Tlierefore,  you  injure  as  many  per- 
sons as  it  is  in  your  power  to  relieve.  You  call  the  man  thief  who 
steals  a  coat ;  what  name  does  he  deserve  who  refuses  to  clothe  the 
naked  when  he  can  ?  You  give  not  from  your  own,  but  from 
the  common  stock.  The  world  belongs  to  all ;  not  exclusively  to 
the  rich.  You  pay  a  debt;  not  a  gratuity."  The  Almighty  Ilim- 
self  commanded  tenderness,  even  to  meaner  creatures,  so  as  to  for- 
bid the  muzzling  of  the  ox  that  was  treading  out  the  corn  ;  and 
thus  the  Holy  Scriptures  say,  "  The  just  man  considers  the  brute 
creatures,  but  the  wicked  are  cruel."  And  again,  "  This  was  the 
crime  of  Sodom :  they  opened  not  their  hand  to  the  poor  and 
indigent." 

But  we  need  not,  beloved  brethren,  multiply  evidences  from  the 
inspired  writings  to  prove  to  you  the  obligation  of  Christian  charity. 
You  know  it  is  that  of  which  our  blessed  Redeemer  has  said,  that 
on  it  hangeth  the  whole  law  and  the  prophets.  The  apostle  tells  us, 
that  even  martyrdom,  if  that  were  possible,  without  charity,  would 
profit  nothing.  We  exhort  you,  then,  to  mingle  mercy  for  the  poor 
with  penitential  exercises,  such  as  this  holy  season  enjoins.  We  ex- 
hort you,  if  you  have  been  dead  in  sin,  to  struggle  earnestly  for 
a  renovation  of  spiritual  life ;  to  remember  the  infinite  merits  of 
Jesus  Christ,  whose  sorrows,  sufferings,  and  death  for  your  sins,  the 
Church  will  soon  commemorate ;  in  order,  that  having  died  to  your 
transgressions,  you  may,  by  a  worthy  participation  of  the  holy 
Eucharist,  in  the  paschal  solemnities,  be  prepared  to  rejoice  in  His 
resurrection,  and  in  the  glory  which  is  to  be  the  inheritance  of  all 
who  shall  have  obeyed  His  precepts,  and  enjoyed  of  the  fulness  of 
His  mercy. 

And  now,  the  peace  of  God,  which  surpasseth  all  understanding, 
keep  your  hearts  and  minds  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord. 

Given  at  New  York,  this  10th  day  of  February,  1847. 

•h  JOHN  HUGHES,  Bishop  of  New  York. 
By  order  of  the  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop, 

James  R.  Bayley,  Secretary. 


714  AECHBISHOP   HUGHES. 


CIRCULAR. 

To  the  VeneraT)le  Clergy  and  the  Laity  of  the  Archdiocese  of  New 
York,  Health  and  Benediction. 

Dearly  Beloved  Brethren  and  Children  in  Christ : 

The  elevation  of  the  See  of  New  York  to  the  rank  and  dignity  of 
a  metropolitan  Church  should  have  been  announced  to  you  in  a  for- 
mal pastoral  letter,  if  the  occupations  incident  to  a  preparation  for 
the  voyage  had  not  rendered  it  impossible  previous  to  my  departure. 
I  cannot,  however,  embark  without  addressing  you,  even  in  a  hur- 
ried manner,  some  parting  words  of  affection  and  gratitude  for  the 
past,  as  well  as  of  encouragement  for  the  time  to  come.  During 
my  absence,  the  Very  Rev.  Felix  Varela,  pastor  of  Transfiguration 
Church  (now  absent  on  account  of  weak  health),  the  Very  Rev. 
John  Raffeiner,  pastor  of  the  Holy  Trinity  Church,  Williamsburgh, 
and  the  Very  Rev.  John  Loughlin,  rector  of  the  Cathedral,  are 
vicars-general,  with  all  necessary  powers  of  administration.  Should 
any  contingency  arise  requiring  it,  they,  or  either  of  them,  will  act 
under  the  advice  of  the  Right  Rev.  Dr.  McClosky,  Bishop  of  Al- 
bany, who  has  kindly  consented  to  add  this  to  the  many  cares  of  his 
own  extensive  and  prosperous  diocese.  In  regard  to  temporal  mat- 
ters, I  have  invested  my  esteemed  secretary,  the  Rev.  James  Roose- 
velt Bayley,  with  all  legal  powers  necessary  for  the  transaction  of 
them.  On  these  two  subjects,  I  am  happy  to  say,  I  have  no  parting 
anxieties. 

I  may  add  also,  that  I  have  great  consolation  in  reviewing  the  re- 
sults of  labors  in  which  you  have  all  taken  part  with  me  for  the  last 
twelve  years.  Besides  many  new  churches,  there  have  sprung  up 
among  us  several  litei'ary,  religious,  and  charitable  institutions. 
Their  fervor,  and  zeal,  and  devotion  to  the  divine  principle  of  order 
and  subordination  to  the  authorities  appointed  for  the  rule  of  the 
Church  of  God,  have  filled  us  all  with  encouragement  for  the  future, 
as  well  as  consolation  for  the  past  and  present.  I  trust,  also,  that 
they  are  severally  contributing  their  mite  to  the  general  improve- 
ment of  the  rising  generation,  and  conferring  their  portion  of  benefit 
on  the  community  at  large.  I  regret  deeply  that  for  want  of  means 
the  noble  orphan  asylum,  erected  on  Fifth  avenue  and  Fifty-first 
street,  must  still  remain  untenanted,  although  it  is  entirely  finished, 
and  ready  for  the  reception  of  the  four  or  five  hundred  orphans  who 
are  waiting  the  happy  day  when  they  can  be  admitted  as  its  inmates. 
Still,  we  must  put  our  trust  in  God,  who  has  not  yet,  in  twenty-five 
years,  permitted  that  destitute  family,  or  the  Sisters  of  Charity,  who 
take  care  of  them,  to  experience  want.  Neither  is  this  likely  to 
happen,  unless   New   York    should  unexpectedly  fall   away  from 


PASTOEALS.  715 

the  benevolence  and  liberality  hitherto  extended  to  the  destitute 
orphans. 

I  am  happy  to  be  able  to  announce  to  you  that  the  danger  of  sale 
of  two  Catholic  churches  in  this  city,  to  which  their  embarrassments 
exposed  them,  has  now  passed  away.  I  have  experienced  consider- 
able difficulty  in  borrowing  money  for  the  relief  of  these  churches, 
during  the  crisis  through  which  they  have  just  passed.  Several 
moneyed  institutions,  in  which  the  funds  of  our  poor  people  are 
largely  invested  or  deposited,  have  manifested  a  very  unexpected 
distrust  when  it  was  announced  that  Catholic  church-property  was 
to  constitute  security.  Perhaps  this  distrust  was  as  justified  on  their 
part  as  it  was  unexpected  on  ours.  And  yet  no  moneyed  corpora- 
tion in  this  city  or  diocese  has  ever,  to  my  knowledge,  lost  a  far- 
thing of  principal  or  interest  in  their  dealings  with  Catholics  in  regard 
to  churcli-property.  Indeed,  heretofore  our  misfortune  was  that 
loans  were  too  easily  obtained ;  and  this  ebb  of  our  credit,  in  what 
may  be  called  the  money-market,  should  teach  us  caution  and  wis- 
dom in  conducting  our  Church  affairs  for  the  time  to  come.  As 
most,  if  not  all,  the  Catholic  churches  are  now  able  to  diminish  the 
capital  of  their  debt  from  year  to  year,  I  would  suggest  to  those 
who  have  the  management  of  their  fiscal  concerns  to  make  their  de- 
posits in  the  Emigrant  and  Industrial  Savings  Bank,  in  order,  that 
although  the  sum  which  each  will  be  able  to  put  aside  will  be  small, 
yet  the  aggregate  will  enable  us,  in  any  case  of  emergency,  to 
appeal  to  the  books  of  that  institution  for  a  basis  of  credit  which 
may  perchance  remove  such  scruples  as  we  have  hitherto,  without 
succe.<8,  had  to  encounter. 

It  may  not  be  out  of  place  to  urge  upon  you  the  necessity  of  pro- 
viding for  the  primary  education  of  your  children,  in  connection  with 
the  principles  of  our  holy  religion.  I  think  the  time  is  almost  come 
when  it  will  be  necessary  to  build  the  school-house  first,  and  the 
church  afterwards.  Our  fellow-citizens  have  adopted  a  system  of 
general  education  which  I  fear  will  result  in  consequences,  to  a  great 
extent,  the  reverse  of  those  which  are  anticipated.  They  have  at- 
tempted to  divorce  religion,  under  the  plea  of  excluding  sectarianisms 
from  elementary  education  and  literature.  There  are  some  who  seem 
to  apprehend  great  mischief  to  the  State,  if  the  children  in  our  public 
sjhools  should  have  an  opportunity  of  learning  the  first  elements  of 
the  Clu'istian  doctrine  in  connection  with  their  daily  lessons.  Hap- 
pily they  require  of  us  only  to  contribute  our  portion  of  the  expense 
necessary  for  the  support  of  this  system.  This,  as  good  citizens,  we 
are  bound  to  do;  especially  as  we  are  not  compelled  to  send  our 
children  to  such  schools,  to  receive  the  doubtful  equivalent  which  is 
to  be  given  for  the  taxes  collected.  I  hope  that  the  friends  of  edu- 
cation may  not  be  disappointed  in  their  expectations  of  benefit  from 
this  system,  whilst  for  myself,  I  may  be  allowed  to  say  that  I  do  not 
regard  it  as  suited  to  a  Christian  land,  whether  Catholic  or  Protest- 
ant, however  admirably  it  might  be  adapted  to  the  social  condition 
of  an  enlightened  paganism. 


716  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

I  shall  not  lose  any  opportunity  that  may  offer  of  promoting  the 
prospective  purpose  here  indicated  of  providing  Catholic  education 
for  Catholic  children. 

In  conclusion,  dearly  beloved  brethren,  I  need  not  exhort  you  to 
persevere  with  that  watchfulness  and  zeal,  which  your  vocations 
as  ministers  of  Christ  and  as  heads  of  Christian  families  respectively 
imposes.  I  trust  my  absence  will  not  be  long,  and  that  having  in- 
voked the  blessing  of  our  Holy  Father,  the  Pope,  on  myself  and 
this  great  diocese  committed  to  my  care,  I  shall  return  in  a  few 
months,  to  enter  again  with  more  zeal  on  the  completion  of  what  is 
already  commenced,  and  to  commence  what  may  still  be  necessary 
for  your  highest  spiritual  interest,  the  good  of  religion,  and  the  gloiy 
of  God.  And  now,  recommending  myself  to  your  fervent  prayers, 
and  invoking  on  you  the  benediction  of  the  Most  High — Farewell. 

Given  at  New  York,  this  15th  day  of  November,  1850. 

4"  JOHN,  Archbishop  of  New  York. 
By  order  of  the  Most  Rev.  Archbishop, 
J.  R.  Baylky,  Secretary. 


PASTORAL. 

JOHN,  by  the  Grace  of  God  and  the  appointment  of  the  Holy  See, 
Archbishop  of  New  York,  to  the  Clergy  and  Laity  of  the  Dio- 
cese, Benediction  and  Grace,  through  Christ  our  Lord. 

Dearly  Seloved  Brethren  and  Children  in  Christ : 

By  a  special  rescript,  dated  "Rome,  May  1st,  1851,"  our  Holy 
Father,  the  Pope,  through  his  Eminence  Cardinal  Frasoni,  prefect 
of  the  Sacred  Congregation,  was  pleased  to  grant  our  request,  that 
the  time  for  gaining  the  plenary  indulgence  of  the  Jubilee  sliould 
be  prolonged  in  favor  of  this  archdiocese  until  the  end  of  the  present 
year. 

The  conditions  for  gaining  the  spiritual  benefits  proposed  in  this 
special  exercise  of  the  powers  which  Jesus  Christ  has  bequeathed  to 
His  Church,  when  His  representative  on  earth,  our  Holy  P"'ather, 
Pius  the  Ninth,  proclaimed  the  Jubilee  of  last  year,  may  be  com- 
plied with  during  any  two  weeks  which  the  pastors  of  the  several 
congregations  shall  designate,  each  for  his  own  flock,  between  the 
first  of  October  and  the  last  of  December.  As  no  one  can  gain  the 
benefit  of  an  indulgence  (which  is  a  remission  of  the  temporal  pun- 
ishment due  to  actual  sin  after  its  guilt  and  eternal  punishment  have 
been  remitted)  unless  he  is  in  a  state  of  grace,  so  an  essential  con- 
diti(m  as  qualifying  us  for  obtaining  the  indulgence,  is  the  worthy 
I'eception  of  the  Saci;3,ments  of  Penance  and  the  Holy  Eucharist. 
No  pains  will  be  spared  by  the  pastors,  therefore,  in  impressing  on 


PA8TOEAL8.  717 

their  flocks  the  importance  and  necessity  of  this  act  of  preparation 
for  gainins:  the  indulgence  of  the  Jubilee.  In  God,  judgment  and 
mercy  are  like  His  other  attributes,  infinite.  But  in  seasons  like  the 
present,  when  the  treasures  of  the  Church  are,  so  to  speak,  thrown 
open  to  all  the  faithful,  we  may  say  with  the  Apostle,  "  that  mercy 
exalteth  itself  above  judgment."  (James,  ii.  13.)  In  a  similar 
sense,  the  object  of  our  Saviour's  coming  on  earth  is  set  forth  by 
the  inspired  writer :  "  To  give  knowledge  of  salvation  to  His 
])eople,  unto  the  remission  of  their  sins,  through  the  bowels  of 
the  mercy  of  God;  in  which  the  Spirit  from  on  high  hath  visited  us, 
to  enlighten  them  that  sit  in  darkness,  and  in  the  shadow  of  death ; 
to  direct  our  feet  in  the  way  of  peace."  (Luke,  i.  78.)  It  is  in  sea- 
sons like  this  that  our  Lord,  speaking  by  the  voice  of  His  Church, 
renews  in  an  especial  manner  His  invitation  of  mercy  :  "  Come 
to  Me,  all  you  that  labor  and  are  heavily  laden,  and  I  will  refresh 
you."  (Matt.  xi.  28.)  And  again,  the  prophet  Isaias  says:  "The 
Lord  waiteth  that  He  may  have  mercy  on  you."     (xxx.  T8.) 

Now  the  Sacrament  of  Penance,  under  the  new  Law,  is  the  or- 
dinary means  or  channel  through  which  God  exercises  mercy  to- 
wards the  penitent  in  the  forgiveness  of  his  sins.  By  a  worthy  re- 
ception of  this  sacrament,  the  soul  is  rescued  from  the  guilt  and 
everlasting  punishment  of  its  iniquity ;  is  rehabilitated  and  endowed, 
through  the  merits  of  Jesus  Christ,  with  a  new  life  of  grace  and 
peace.  Then  it  is  in  a  condition  to  gain  the  spiritual  benefits  of  an 
indulgence,  even  a  plenary  indulgence  ;  that  is,  an  acquittal  of  the 
entire  temporal  penalty  which  would  otherwise  have  to  be  under- 
gone, either  in  this  world  or  in  the  purifying,  though  not  etei'nal, 
fires  of  the  world  to  come. 

These  things  the  pastors  will  impress  on  all  their  people,  beseech- 
ing them  with  the  Apostle:  "For  Christ  we  beseech  you,  be  ye 
reconciled  to  God."  •  (2  Cor.  v.  20.)  The  promises  of  God  in  favor 
of  penitents  should  be  brought  before  them  in  an  especial  manner  at 
this  time  :  "  But  if  the  wicked  do  penance  for  all  his  sins  which  he 
hath  committed,  and  keep  all  My  commandments,  and  do  judg- 
jnent  and  justice,  living  he  shall  live,  and  shall  not  die."  (Ezech. 
xviii.  21.) 

The  following  are  the  other  conditions  which  we  have  judged  it 
expedient  to  prescribe  for  gaining  the  indulgence : 

1st.  To  visit  three  churches  at  their  choice,  when  it  is  convenient 
for  them  to  do  so ;  or,  their  own  church  three  times,  reciting  de- 
voutly, at  each  visit,  the  Litany  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  once,  or  the 
Lord's  Prayer  and  the  Hail  Mary  seven  times,  for  the  intention  of 
our  Holy  Father,  the  Pope. 

2d.  All  who  have  the  means  of  doing  so  should  give  alms,  either 
to  the  pool*,  or  for  some  religious  or  charitable  object. 

3d.  The  third  condition  will  be  to  observe  one  of  the  Fridays  or 
Wednesdays,  within  the  two  weeks,  as  a  day  of  fast. 

The  pastors,  of  course,  will  understand  that  religious  communities 
and  persons  confined  by  sickness,  or  otherwise  unable  tO  make  the 


718  ARCHBISHOP  HUGHES. 

prescribed  visits,  are  dispensed  from  the  obligation  of  doing  so. 
Also  that  members  of  religious  communities  are  dispensed  from  the 
condition  of  giving  alms. 

The  pastors  of  the  congregations  will  read  to  their  respective  flocks 
the  papal  Indult  proclaiming  the  Jubilee,  and  this  circular,  on  the  first 
Sunday  after  it  shall  have  reached  them.  We  recommend  to  them 
to  select  the  time  for  the  Jubilee  in  their  respective  congregations, 
BO  as  that  they  shall  be  enabled  to  aid  each  other. 

Given  from  our  residence,  New  York,  September  24th,  1851. 

+  JOHN,  Archbishop  of  New  York. 

By  order  of  the  Most  Rev.  Archbishop, 

James  R.  Bayley,  Secretary. 


CIRCULAR. 
To  the  Clergy  and  Laity  of  the  Diocese  of  New  York. 

Dearly  Bdoved  Brethren  : 

I  have  been  addressed,  orally  and  in  Avriting,  by  many  indi- 
viduals desirous  of  knowing  whether,  in  my  opinion,  it  would  be  ex- 
pedient to  forward  petitions  to  the  Legislature  of  this  State  in  rela- 
tion to  the  pi'oject  of  a  law  now  before  that  body,  regarding  the 
mode  of  preserving  religious  and  charitable  Catholic  property  in  this 
State.  It  would  be  impossible  for  me  to  give  a  special  and  detailed 
answer  to  each  of  those  who  have  sought  to  know  my  opinion  on 
this  subject.  I  will  therefore  give  a  general  reply  through  a  public 
medium,  which  I  hope  will  be  sufficient. 

I  do  not  deem  it  necessary  to  multiply  petitions  in  regard  to  the 
matter  in  question.  Our  fellow-citizens  of  diflTerent  denominations 
appeal  from  time  to  time  to  the  civil  authority  of  the  State,  for  such 
enactments  as  may  enable  them  to  secure  their  religious  and  charita- 
ble property  in  accordance  with  their  own  peculiar  wishes  and  rules 
of  discipline.  The  Catholics  have  never  crossed  their  path  on  such 
occasions  with  any  remonstrance  or  interference  whatever  ;  and  al- 
though they  have  the  right  to  remonstrate  against  the  passage  of 
any  law,  it  would  hardly  be  in  accordance  with  the  courtesies  of 
good  neighborhood  for  them  to  exercise  it,  in  our  regard,  in  a  mat- 
ter which  afftcts  Catholics  alone.  So  far  as  I  am  informed,  they 
have  not  interfered  in  the  matter ;  and  I  have  no  apprehension  that 
the  Legislature  of  the  State,  if  there  be  nothing  in  our  request  in- 
consistent with  their  obligations,  will  be  less  liberal  towards  us  than 
towards  any  other  portion  of  their  constituents.     And  for  my  own 


PASTORALS.  _  719 

part,  I  should  prefer  that  the  bill  should  be  rejected  on  its  own  demerits, 
than  that  it  should  seem  to  have  been  carried  by  any  amount  of  pe- 
titions. The  object  of  the  bill  is  to  invest  the  Catholic  Archbishop 
of  New  York,  and  his  successors,  or  any  other  bishop  or  minister  in 
the  State,  to  hold  in  trust  property  which  has  been  created  or  set 
apart  for  religious  or  charitable  uses.  It  has  been  alleged  that  by 
such  an  act,  the  Legislature  would  recognize  ecclesiastical  officers. 
But  this  the  Legislature  has  done  over  and  over  again.  By  the 
laws  of  the  State,  the  Catholic  Bishop  of  New  York  and  his  succes- 
sors are  recognized  in  one  act  as  ex-officio  President  of  the  Board  of 
Trustees  of  St.  Patrick's  Cathedral.  In  another  act,  the  Catholic  Bishop 
of  New  York,  for  the  time  being,  and  the  Mayor  of  Brooklyn,  for 
the  time  being,  are  ex-officio  members  in  administering  the  trust  of 
the  late  Cornelius  Heany,  entitled  the  Brooklyn  Benevolent  Society. 
Again,  it  has  been  objected  that  such  a  trust  would  confer  on  the 
Bishop  a  dangerous  amount  of  power,  which  might  be  abused.  In 
regard  to  this  objection,  the  fact  is  that  the  law  would  only  diminish 
and  regulate  a  power  which  the  Catholic  Bishops  have  already  to 
an  extent  which  is  more  than  agreeable  to  themselves.  The  Bishops 
of  New  York,  Albany,  and  Buffalo  are  now  legally  the  owners  in 
fee-simple  of  nearly  all  the  religious  and  charitable  property  ex- 
isting within  their  respective  ecclesiastical  jurisdictions.  The  Catho- 
lics, for  whose  benefit  this  property  is  held,  have  no  apprehensiona 
as  regards  its  security ;  but  the  bishops  themselves  feel  it  as  an  op- 
pression to  be  the  owners,  \n  fee-sivvple,  of  such  an  amount  of  pi'o- 
perty ;  and  it  would  be  an  additional  security  to  the  people,  as  well 
as  a  relief  to  the  prelates,  or  others  circumstanced  as  they  are,  if 
some  general  law  were  passed,  by  which  it  might  be  transmitted  iu 
trust  to  their  successors,  without  the  necessity  of  providing  against 
contingencies  which  result  from  the  uncertainties  of  life  and  of  last 
wills  and  testaments.  If  some  person  should  imagine  that  this 
could  be  accomplished  by  local  trustees,  to  be  elected  from  time  to 
time,  as  is  usually  the  case  among  Protestant  denominations,  our 
answer  is,  that  if  we  are  entitled  to  religious  equality  before  the  law, 
we  should  be  allowed  to  hold  and  manage  our  religious  and  chari- 
table  property  m  conformity  with  our  own  ecclesiastical  discipline, 
and  not  that  of  our  neighbors. 

Under  these  circumstances,  the  enactment  of  the  law  which  is  now 
under  the  consideration  of  the  Legislature,  would  be  a  great  relief 
and  advantage  to  the  whole  Catholic  body  of  the  State  of  New 
York.  Neither  would  it  infringe,  in  my  opinion,  on  the  rights  of 
our  fellow-citizens  of  other  denominations.  Such  an  enactment  has 
already  been  passed  by  several  State  legislatures.  I  may  mention 
those  of  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  Illinois,  and  Kentucky. 

It  is  not  a  little  strange,  that  while  Protestants,  so  far  as  I  am  aware, 
have  not  interfered  to  prevent  the  passage,  or  at  least  the  impartial  con- 
sideration, of  the  bill  now  before  the  Legislature  of  New  York,  certain 
persons  of  Buffalo  and  Rochester,  calling  themselves  Catholics,  have 
forwarded  to  Albany  their  special  remonstrances.     This  is  another 


720  AECHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

reason,  in  my  opinion,  why  we  should  not  enter  on  the  course  of 
multitudinous  petitioning.  The  very  circumstances  of  the  case  will 
make  it  apparent  to  the  Legislature,  that  all  Catholics  in  the  State 
of  New  York,  who  are  worthy  of  the  name,  desire,  and  would  feel 
grateful  for  the  passage  of  such  a  law,  although  they  should  not 
deem  it  more  than  they  have  a  right  to  obtain.  As  for  the  pre- 
tended Catholics  of  Buffalo  and  Rochester,  I  know  them  well.  They 
are  under  the  misguidance  of  a  few  obscure  chieftains  of  faction, 
whose  consequence  in  their  wards  or  townships  would  be  annihilated 
if  they  did  not  jiropagate  the  idea,  among  dupes  more  ignorant  than 
themselves,  that  their  pastors  are  a  corporation  of  scoundrels,  and 
their  venerable  Bishop  a  special  and  particular  rogue.  These  chief- 
tains may  number  in  all  about  eighteen.  Their  dupes  are  I  know  not 
how  many.  They  call  themselves  Catholics  ;  but  then  the  faith  has  de- 
parted from  thetn,  except  as  a  shadowy  remembrance,  which  makes 
cowards  of  them  still ;  so  that  they  have  not  the  courage  openly  to 
declare  themselves  Protestants.  The  Church  would  gain  by  their 
forsaking  her;  and  their  adhesion  to  any  Protestant  sect  would  be  an 
acquisition  not  much  to  be  boasted  of.  Whatever  rights  the  laws 
have  secured  to  them,  are  not  to  be  interfered  with  by  any  new  law 
which  should  be  passed  for  the  protection  of  the  rights  of  the  great 
body  of  true  Catholics  throughout  the  State  of  New  York.  That 
their  remonstrance  abounds  with  falsehood,  I  am  morally  certain, 
although  I  have  not  seen  its  contents ;  but  I  know  them  so  well — I 
have  so  many  of  their  letters,  proving  that  they  hesitate  at  no  false- 
hood which  may  serve  their  malignant  pui'poses. 

It  is  hardly  possible  that  the  enlightened  Legislature  of  New  York 
can  ba  at  all  imposed  upon  by  such  fractions  of  a  faction ;  and  it 
would  be  conferring  upon  them  the  distinction  which  they  covet, 
if  we  were  to  deem  their  remonstrance  important  enough  to  be 
counteracted  by  the  petitions  to  which  it  would  be  no  difficult  mat- 
ter to  have  appended  the  names  of  hundreds  of  thousands,  who  are 
Teally  what  they  call  themselves,  sincere  members  of  the  Catholic 
Church. 

There  certainly  could  be  no  harm  iu  forwarding  petitions,  as  is 
not  unusual  in  such  cases ;  but,  for  my  own  part,  I  do  not  think  it  ne- 
cessary. We  have  no  reason  to  doubt  the  justice  and  the  liberality 
of  the  Legislature  in  our  regard,  more  than  in  regard  to  any  other 
denomination. 

I  remain  your  faithful  friend  and  servant  in  Christ, 

4«  JOHN,  Archbishop  of  New  York. 

New  YoKk,  March  16tli,  1853. 


PASTORALS.  721 


CIRCULAR. 


Reverend  Brethren  of  the  Clergy,  and  dearly  Beloved   Children 
of  the  Laity,  Health  and  Benediction  in  Christ  our  Lord. 

It  has  been  communicated  to  us,  that  certain  persons,  claiming  to 
be  ministers  of  religion,  have  thought  it  proi:)er  to  preach  in  the  pub- 
lic streets,  in  such  a  manner  as  to  excite  against  us  the  hatred  of 
our  fellow  citizens  who  are  not  Catholics.  The  object  of  this  com- 
munication is  to  request  you  to  avoid  all  such  preachings,  and  to 
leave  the  parties  who  approve  of  them  to  the  entire  and  perfect  en- 
joyment of  their  choice.  The  Catholic  community  of  New  York 
have  merited  well  of  their  fellow-citizens  by  their  uniform  modera- 
tion and  respect  for  the  laws  of  their  countrv,  and  the  authorities  of 
its  government.  I  fear  that  this  system  of  street-preaching  is  in- 
tended as  a  snare,  and  I  hope  that  no  Catholic  will  allow  him- 
self to  be  caught  thereby.  Let  eveiy  man  who  chooses  to  preach 
in  the  public  streets,  preach  as  often  and  as  long  as  he  will.  But  as 
for  you,  dear  brethren,  shun  the  space  in  which  his  voice  can  be 
heard,  lest,  owing  to  human  infirmity,  a  reasonable  and  just  indigna- 
tion might  tempt  any  one  of  you  to  exhibit  symptoms  of  impatience 
or  resentment,  which  would  be  a  signal  to  your  enemies,  in  conse- 
quence of  which  the  laws  and  rules  of  peace  and  good  order  might 
be  violated. 

I  do  not  wish  you  to  understand,  dearly  beloved  brethren,  that 
you  should  degrade  yourselves  one  iota  below  the  highest  grade  of 
American  citizenship.  If  there  be,  as  it  has  been  insinuated,  a  con^ 
spiracy  against  the  civil  and  religious  rights  which  are  secured  to 
you  by  our  Constitution  and  laws,  defeat  the  purpose  of  that  con- 
spiracy by  a  peaceful  and  entirely  legal  deportment  in  all  the  rela- 
tions of  life.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  should  such  a  conspiracy  arise, 
unrebuked  by  the  public  authorities,  to  a  point  really  menacing  with 
destruction  any  portion  of  your  property,  whether  your  private- 
dwellings,  your  churches,  your  hospitals,  orphan  asylums,  or  other 
Catholic  institutions,  then,  in  case  of  any  attack,  let  every  man  be- 
prepared,  in  God's  name,  to  stand  by  the  laws  of  the  country,  and 
the  authorities  of  the  city,  in  defence  of  such  rights  and  property.. 
It  is  hardly  to  be  supposed  that  such  a  contingency,  under  our  free 
and  equal  laws,  can  possibly  arise.  Nevertheless,  symptoms  of  so- 
baneful  a  purpose  are  not  by  any  means  wanting.  The  consequences,, 
in  so  populous  and  wealthy  a  city  as  New  York,  of  a  collision  be- 
tween parties,  having  for  its  basis  or  stimulant  the  spite  of  religious- 
hatred,  whether  in  the  attack  or  in  the  defence,  would  be  incon- 
ceivably disastrous.  You,  dearly  beloved  brethren,  will  be  careful 
to  avoid  even  the  appearance  of  offence  in  regard  to  measures  that 
might  lead  to  such  a  result.  But  if,  in  spite  of  your  forbeai-ance,,  in 
Vol  II.— 46 


722  AECHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

should  come,  then  it  will  be  lawful  for  you  to  jjrove  yourselves  worthy 
of  the  rightsof  citizenship  with  which  you  are  invested,  by  a  noble  de- 
fence of  your  own  property,  as  the  same  is  declared  by  the  laws  of 
the  country. 

^  JOHN,  Archbishop  of  New  York. 

New  York,  Dec.  15, 1853. 


CIRCULAR. 

To  the  Clergy  and  Laity  of  the  Diocese  of  New  York,  Health  and 
Benediction. 

Beloved  Brethren — In  our  efforts  to  meet  the  wants  and  sus- 
tain the  interests  of  religion  in  the  diocese  over  which  we  are  placed, 
we  have  constantly  relied  on  your  zealous  co-operation,  in  which 
hope  we  have  not  at  any  time  been  disappointed.  Among  these  wants 
the  Diocesan  Seminary  is  the  institution  on  the  maintenance  of 
which  the  interests  of  religion  principally  depend.  That  institution  is 
very  dear  to  us,  and  ought  to  be  so  to  you  all.  Tiie  buildings,  in- 
cluding the  chapel  of  our  Blessed  Lady,  were  projected  on  a  large 
scale,  corresponding  with  the  extent  of  the  diocese  then  committed  to 
our  care  ;  and  although  that  diocese  has  been  since  divided,  and  the 
progress  of  religion  immensely  increased  by  the  appointment  of  the 
Bisliops  of  Albany,  Buffalo,  Brooklyn,  and  Newark,  it  is  a  consola- 
tion to  know  that  in  each  of  these  new  bishoprics  there  are  zealous 
and  devoted  priests  who  received  their  ecclesiastical  training  in  St. 
Joseph's  Seminary  at  Fordham. 

During  the  early  period  of  the  seminary,  annual  contributions  were 
received  in  larger  or  smaller  amounts  from  all  the  congregations  of 
this  State,  and  such  as  belonged  to  our  jurisdiction  in  the  State  of 
New  Jersey.  Since  the  divisions,  we  have  had  to  rely  on  the  con- 
tributions of  the  faithful  within  the  present  diocese  of  New  York. 
You  will  hardly  be  surprised  to  learn  that  the  amount  thus  contrib- 
uted has  fallen  short  of  meeting  the  annual  expenses  of  the  semi- 
nary, and  we  trust  that  this  consideration  will  excite  in  you  a  re- 
newed zeal  and  liberality  on  the  occasion  of  the  seminary  collec- 
tion this  year.  This  is  the  more  necessary,  as  tiie  new  arrangements 
which  we  have  adopted  will  entail  additional  expense.  The  repairs 
of  the  edifice,  and  still  more,  the  completion  of  the  seminary  chapel, 
which  we  ardently  desire,  will  require  a  considerable  outlay. 

Hitherto  we  have  had  to  depend  on  the  Jesuit  Fathers  of  St. 
John's  College  for  the  teaching  of  theology  and  philosophy,  and  for 
the  government  and  administration  of  the  house.  It  is  with  great 
pleasure  that  I  acknowledge  how  deeply  we  are  indebted  to  those 


PASTORALS.  ■723 

venerable  fathers  for  the  assiduity,  the  zeal,  the  efficiency,  and  un- 
tiring devotion  with  which  they  discharged  every  trust  confided  to 
them.  Religion  in  this  diocese  is  under  deep  obligations  to  them 
for  their  disinterested  labors  in  superintending  St.  Joseph's  Semi- 
nary. Still,  it  could  hardly  be  expected,  nor  was  it  ever  intended  that 
St.  Jose])h's  Seminary  should  not,  at  some  time,  be  provided  with  teach- 
ers and  superiors  trained  up  in  the  house,  or  otherwise  secured,  who 
should  release  it  from  dependence  upon  extrinsic  aid.  The  experiment 
which  we  are  now  about  to  make  has  this  object  in  view.  With  a 
renewed  zeal  and  co-operation  of  the  clergy  and  faithful  in  the  sup- 
port of  the  seminary,  we  hope  to  see  some,  at  least,  of  our  young 
ecclesiastics  devoting  themselves  to  a  deeper  and  more  thorough 
course — spending  a  longer  time  in  the  study  of  theology,  and  con- 
bining,  as  they  advance,  the  duty  of  teaching  with  that  of  applica- 
tion ;  by  all  which  they  will  be  enabled  to  take  a  higher  rank  in 
theological  science,  and  impart  a  desirable  elevation  to  the  whole 
course  of  ecclesiastical  studies.  The  time  seems  to  have  arrived  for 
making  in  practice  this  experiment,  the  accomplishment  of  which 
has  ever  been  one  of  the  dearest  objects  of  our  desire.  The 
seminary,  under  the  blessing  of  God,  has  been  the  means  of  multi- 
plying our  clergy  to  an  extent  nearly,  if  not  quite  equal  to  the  watits 
of  the  diocese.  Of  course,  then,  a  longer  time  can  be  afibrded  to  the 
present  seminarians  for  the  completion  of  their  studies.  The  number 
need  not  be  so  great  as  it  as  been  heretofore.  At  this  time  the 
plan  on  which  the  seminary  is  to  be  henceforth  conducted,  will  not 
permit  it  to  be  carried  on  with  as  much  economy  as  heretofore. 
But  should  this  experiment  be  successful,  we  hope  that  great  ad- 
vantages to  religion,  under  evei-y  point  of  view,  will  result  from  it. 
It  is  most  desirable  that  among  our  clergy  there  should  be  found 
some  of  more  extensive  theological  information,  and  ecclesiastical 
learning  in  all  its  departments,  than  it  has  been  possible  to  acquire 
under  the  disadvantages  which  the  wants  of  the  mission  constantly, 
entailed  upon  us. 

On  the  importance  of  sustaining  an  ecclesiastical  seminary  it  is  not 
necessary  for  us  to  enlarge,  addressing,  as  we  do,  devoted  pastors 
and  faithful  people,  who  have  already  appreciated  that  institution 
according  to  its  merits;  both  for  time  and  for  eternity.  Without  a 
faithful  and  well-educated  priesthood,  religion  is  exposed  to  every 
peril.  From  such  a  priesthood  the  aged  derive  the  consolations  of 
their  holy  faith ;  the  young  are  imbued  with  a  knowledge  of  those 
principles  of  eternal  life  which  will  secure  them  against  the  errors 
and  dangers  by  which  they  are  surrounded.  In  short,  the  priest- 
hood is  essential  for  the  propagation  and  perpetuation  of  our  holy  reli- 
gion. In  contributing  liberally  then,  dearly  beloved  brethren,  to 
the  support  of  our  Diocesan  Seminary,  you  contribute  to  the  end 
w'hich  our  blessed  Saviour  had  in  view  in  the  institution  of  the 
Church,  and  in  the  appointment  of  those  who  were  to  carry  on  the 
office  of  His  own  priesthood,  according  to  the  order  of  Melchisedech. 
In  supporting  the  Diocesan  Seminary,  you  secure  to  yourselves  and 


724  ARCHBISHOP  HUGHES. 

to  your  children,  and  even  to  those  who  are  not  yet,  but  will  bo 
members  of  the  Church,  all  the  spiritual  advantages  resulting  from 
the  ministry  of  Christ  continued  through  that  of  the  priests  whom 
He  has  appointed. 

We  exhort  you  then,  dearly  beloved  brekhren  of  the  clergy,  to 
impress  these  great  considerations  on  the  attention  of  the  respective 
flocks  over  which  you  are  placed.  You  will  read  on  the  Sunday 
previous  to  that  appointed  for  the  annual  seminary  collection 
throughout  the  diocese  this  our  circular ;  and  make,  at  the  same 
time,  such  remarks  in  favor  of  the  object  we  have  in  view  as  your 
zeal  and  charity  may  prompt  you  to  utter.  Among  the  many  insti- 
tutions of  religion  and  of  charity  now  in  the  diocese,  there  is  not  one 
which  the  clergy  and  people  ought  to  have  more  at  heart  than  the 
Diocesan  Seminary ;  there  is  not  one  which  depends  so  absolutely, 
not  only  for  its  support,  but  also  for  its  very  existence,  on  the  liber- 
ality and  heartiness  of  their  annual  contributions.  The  pastor  of 
each  congregation  will  be  pleased  to  make  a  return  to  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Preston  of  the  amount  collected  in  his  church,  within  the  week  fol- 
lowing the  Sunday  on  which  it  will  be  taken  up.  Thus  we  shall  be 
enabled  to  know  the  aggregate  amount  contributed  for  the  com- 
ing year,  and  to  regulate  matters  of  improvement  and  of  economy 
accordingly. 

+  JOHN,  Archbishop  of  New  York. 

By  order  of  the  Most  Rev.  Archbishop, 

Thomas  S.  Pkeston,  Secretary. 
New  Yobk,  September  20, 1855. 


PASTORAL. 

JOHN,  by  the  Grace  of  God,  and  the  appointment  of  the  Holy  See, 
Archbishop  of  New  York,  to  the  Clergy  and  Laity  of  our 
Diocese,  Benediction  and  Grace  through  Christ  our  Lord. 

Dbably  Beloved  Brethren  and  Children  in  Christ — ^A 
solemn  occasion  is  approaching,  in  which  it  is  undei'stood  that  it 
would  be  agreeable  to  our  Holy  Father,  the  Pope,  to  be  surrounded 
by  as  many  of  the  prelates  of  the  Church  as  possible.  Under  these 
circumstances,  we  proceed  directly  to  the  Eternal  City,  to  testify  in 
person  to  his  Holiness  on  your  part,  as  well  as  on  our  own,  that  the 
successor  of  St.  Peter  has  not  children  more  sincere  or  devoted  in 
recognizing  and  sustaining  with  filial  reverence  the  high  prerogative 
of  his  office,  as  Supreme  Pastor  of  the  Catholic  Church,  than  the 
unworthy  Archbishop,  the  zealous  clergy,  and  faithful  laity  of  the 
diocese  of  New  York.  We  leave  to-day  at  noon.  Unable  to  sleep, 
we  devote  the  hours  of  the  night  to  this  brief  farewell  address.  We 
hope  to  be  among  you  soon  again ;  but  whatever  be  our  lot,  we  shall 
carry  you  in  our  affections  and  in  our  heart.     We   rccommeii<l 


PASTORALS.  ?5S3 

onreelves  to  the  prayers  of  all,  but  especially  to  those  of  the  clei-gy, 
of  those  who  are  consecrated  to  the  religious  state,  and  of  the  orpiians. 

There  are  certain  topics  to  which,  before  leaving,  it  is  proper  we 
should  call  your  attention.  You  have  witnessed  the  happy  coni- 
inencement  and  conclusion  of  the  first  Provincial  Council  of  New 
York.  Its  decrees,  if  approved  by  the  Holy  See,  will  extend  to  the 
whole  Province. 

In  the  mean  time,  however,  each  Bishop  will  no  doubt  address 
the  clergy  and  people  committed  to  his  care,  in  language  suited  to 
their  wants  and  circumstances.  The  following  are  the  regulations 
which,  in  discharge  of  our  own  special  duty  to  you,  we  deem  it  ex- 
pedient to  promulgate,  viz. : 

1st.  From  this  time  henceforth,  ii}  the  diocese  of  New  York,  the 
bans  of  matrimony  are  to  be  published  in  the  usual  form,  j^revious 
to  the  celebration  of  marriage.  In  this,  j'ou,  dearly  beloved 
brethren  of  the  laity,  will  see  an  additional  security  provided  by  the 
Church  to  guard  the  safety  and  protect  the  honor  of  holy  matrimony. 
In  this  provision  you,  and  those  most  nearly  and  dearly  related  to 
you,  have  the  most  vital  interest.  It  is  true,  that  dispensations  from 
this  publication  may  be  granted ;  but  in  every  such  case  the  reasons 
must  be  solid  and  substantial,  and  no  distinction  can  be  made  be- 
tween rich  and  poor.  It  is  not  to  be  denied  that,  in  a  community 
like  ours,  the  sacredness  of  holy  marriage  has  often  been  most  de- 
plorably trifled  with.  Our  hope  is  that  this  may  be  prevented  in 
future. 

2d.  Our  Holy  Father,  Pope  Pius  IX,  in  his  affliction  because  of 
the  calamities  which  beset  the  Church,  and  in  his  anxiety  that  we 
should  all  turn  more  ardently  to  God,  has  granted  to  the  Christian 
world  the  benefits  of  a  Jubilee.  Avail  yourselves,  dearly  beloved 
brethren,  of  this  sacred  occasion  to  make  more  and  more  certain 
your  peace  with  God,  by  a  hearty  contrition  and  sincere  confession 
of  your  sins,  as  well  as  by  a  strict  compliance  with  the  other  conditions 
necessary  to  obtain  the  graces  of  a  true  reconciliation  with  your 
Creator,  and  the  indulgences  of  the  Jubilee. 

The  time  of  the  Jubilee  in  this  diocese  will  be  from  the  first 
of  November  of  this  year,  till  the  first  of  February,  1855. 
The  conditions  will  be,  first,  a  worthy  reception  of  the  Sacra- 
ments of  Penance  and  the  Holy  Eucharist,  for  it  is  known  to  you 
that  persons  not  in  a  state  of  grace  are  incapable  of  receiving  the 
benefit  of  an  indulgence.  A  second  condition  is,  to  fast  once  during 
the  Jubilee,  on  any  Friday  you  yourselves  may  select.  Another 
condition  is,  that  you  should  give  some  alms  to  the  poor,  according  to 
your  means.  A  fourth  condition  is,  that  those  who  reside  in  the 
thickly-peopled  portion  of  the  city  shall  visit  three  several  churches, 
and  there  ofier  up  some  prayer  or  prayers  in  accordance  with  the 
intentions  of  the  Pope.  These  intentions  are,  the  exaltation  of  our 
Holy  Mother  the  Church;  the  safety  of  the  Apostolic  See  itself; 
the  removal  of  heresy ;  and  charity,  union,  and  harmony  among 
Christian  States  and  nations.     The  prayers  to  be  said  at  each  visit, 


726  AECIFBISHOP    HUGHES, 

are,  either  the  Litany  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  once,  or  tlie  Lord's 
Prayer  and  the  Hail  Mary  seven  times. 

The  churches  to  be  visited  in  the  city  are,  the  Cathedral,  th*» 
Church  of  the  Nativity,  and  that  of  the  Holy  Redeemer,  under  the 
care  of  the  Redemptorists.  In  the  suburbs  of  the  city,  and  through- 
out the  other  parts  of  the  diocese,  three  several  visits  to  the  same 
church,  praying  as  often,  in  accordance  with  the  intention  of  our 
Holy  Father,  will  suffice  to  gain  the  indulgences  of  the  Jubilee — 
the  other  essential  conditions,  above  referred  to,  having  been  pre- 
viously observed. 

The  alms  which  the  faithful  shall  oifer  during  the  Jubilee  we 
Avish  to  be  appropriated  as  follows :  In  the  country  and  in  the 
8ubui-bs  of  the  city,  we  direct  that  they  shall  be  appropriated,  at  the 
discretion  of  the  pastor,  for  the  establishment  of  schools,  or  the 
support  of  orphans.  But  we  foi'bid  the  appropriation  of  such  alms 
to  the  building  of  churches  or  the  payment  of  their  debts.  In  the 
city,  we  direct  that  all  alms  of  the  faithful  shall  be  given  to  the 
Sisters  of  Mercy,  to  be  applied  by  them  in  the  works  of  charity  to 
which  they  are  so  assiduously  devoted.  We  charge  the  conscience 
of  the  laity  and  clergy  with  the  execution  of  this  our  desire. 

It  is  not,  dearly  beloved  brethren,  that  the  Sisters  of  Mercy  are 
dearer  to  us  than  other  communities  who  labor  with  equal  zeal  in 
the  service  of  our  Lord.  But  there  are  many  things  which  espe- 
cially recommend  their  works  of  mercy  to  the  charity  of  the  faithful. 
Their  object  is  to  protect  the  innocent,  virtuous,  and  destitute  of 
their  own  sex  from  the  dangers  to  which  they  are  exposed  in  a  city 
like  New  York.  In  this  they  know  no  distinction  of  creed.  And 
if  it  has  happened  that  more  Catiiolics  than  Protestants  have  found 
shelter  and  protection  under  their  roof,  it  is  only  because  more  of  the 
former  than  of  the  latter  have  sought  such  protection.  But  their  door 
and  their  hearts  are  equally  open  to  all.  And  it  is  with  pleasure 
that  we  say  that  they  have  received  fi-om  many  Protestants,  not 
only  encouragement,  but  substantial  assistance.  The  purpose  of 
their  charity  is  not — to  outward  appearance — so  much  to  do  good 
as  to  anticipate  and  prevent  evil.  Now  this  prevention  of  evil  is 
something  of  which  men  cannot  take  cognizance.  It  is  sotnething 
to  be  revealed  only  on  the  day  of  judgment.  We  have  ascertained, 
not  from  them,  but  through  their  chaplain,  that  the  number  of  sick 
poor  whom  they  have  often  visited,  administering  both  consolation 
and  relief,  is  between  one  and  two  thousand.  The  number  of  poor 
virtuous  girls  whom  they  have  been  enabled  to  place  in  situations, 
is  eight  thousand  six  hundred  and  eighty-tive.  The  number  to 
whom  they  have  aflbrded  protection  in  the  House  of  Mercy,  two 
thousand  three  hundred  and  twenty-three.  The  number  in  their 
house,  at  present,  is  one  hundred  and  ten.  We  mention  these  things, 
dearly  beloved  brethren,  to  show  you  that  in  directing  the  alms  of 
the  Jubilee  to  the  Sisters  of  Mercy,  your  charity  will  not  be  mis- 
placed. 

3d.  In  separating  oureelves  from  yau  for  a  time,  our  heart  would 


PASTORALS.  Y27 

be  sad  indeed,  if  we  did  not  hope  to  be  useful  in  promoting  the  inter- 
ests of  charity  and  humanity,  even  during  our  absence.  We  have 
often  seen,  with  inexpressible  sorrow,  that  among  the  lost  to  virtue 
there  are  ^  many  who,  in  the  time  of  repentance,  have  not  the  good 
fortune  to  be  under  the  protection  of  the  Sisters  of  Mercy,  or  any 
other  Sisters.  What  is  to  become  of  them  ?  Can  nothing  be  done 
for  them?  When  a  shipwreck  occurs  on  the  ocean,  how  slight  is 
the  plank  or  spar  which,  with  the  blessing  of  God,  may  be  the  means 
of  saving  more  than  one  precious  life !  And  so  in  the  moral  order. 
Misfortune,  not  less  than  depravity,  has  much  to  do  with  the  ship- 
wreck of  female  virtue.  Shall  we  throw  out  a  spar  or  plank  to  save 
one,  even  though  it  should  be  only  one  out  of  a  hundred,  desirous  to 
return  to  hope  and  life  ? 

Many  circumstances  have  combined,  of  late,  to  convince  us  that 
Almighty  God  has  mercies  here  in  store  for  even  some  of  this  class. 
These  circumstances  we  need  not  detail.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  the 
Sisters  of  the  Good  Shepherd  have,  more  than  once,  offered  to  take 
charge  of  such  persons  in  this  city ;  that  we  have  been  importuned 
to  authorize  collections  for  the  object ;  that  offers  of  a  liberal  kind, 
prompted  by  charity,  for  this  or  some  similar  object,  have  been 
made  ;  that,  in  fact,  after  years  of  hesitation  on  our  part,  we  have  at 
last  been  almost  compelled  to  give  our  consent  to  the  founding  of  a 
Magdalen  Asylum  in  New  York,  under  the  charge  of  the  Sisters  of 
the  Good  Shepherd. 

If,  however,  the  class  of  persons  whom  we  seek  to  rescue  from 
a  life  of  wretchedness,  as  well  as  infamy,  be  as  numerous  as  has  been 
reported  to  us,  any  measures  for  their  relief  must  be  projected  on  a 
scale  corresponding,  in  some  degree,  with  the  magnitude  of  the  evil 
to  be  remedied.  We  have  made  known,  accordingly,  that  we  shall 
not  sanction  the  undertaking  until  a  definite  sum  shall  have  been 
contributed  for  that  purpose.  It  was  our  intention  to  devote  our- 
selves personally  to  this  work ;  but  now,  in  anticipation  of  several 
months  absence,  we  confide  it  to  the  charity  and  zeal  of  the  pastors 
and  laity  of  the  city.  It  would  be  a  great  consolation  to  us,  if,  be- 
fore returning,  we  should  learn  that  this  important  charity  had 
found  such  favor  with  those  who  can  accomplish  it  as  would  warrant 
us  in  engaging  the  Sisters  of  the  Good  Shepherd  to  come  and  take 
charge  of  it. 

4th.  For  several  years  past  you  have  been  desirous  of  witnessing, 
at  least,  the  commencement  of  the  "New  St.  Patrick's  Cathe- 
DEAL,"  projected  on  a  scale  corresponding  with  the  immense  Cath- 
olic population,  and  the  present  as  well  as  prospective  magnitude  of 
the  city  of  New  York.  We  deem  it  expedient  to  postpone  this 
great  undertaking  yet  for  a  year  or  two.  The  new  cathedral  itself 
is  not  absolutely  needed  for  some  time.  Besides,  the  precise  grades 
of  the  streets  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  proposed  location  have  not 
been  determined. 

In  the  mean  time,  with  some  funds  which  have  been  collected, 
we  hope  to  construct  two  new  churches  in  locahties  where  they  are 


728  ARcnBisHOP  hughes. 

much  wanted.  In  anticipation  of  tliese  several  objects, 'we  are  re- 
luctantly compelled  to  prohibit  all  collections  in  this  diocese,  from 
the  first  day  of  November  next,  except  for  purposes  of  religion 
or  charity  within  and  belonging  to  the  diocese  itself.  You  will  be 
our  witness,  dearly  beloved  brethren,  that  in  this  we  are  not  actu- 
ated by  any  narrow-mindedness  or  uncharitable  feeling.  You  are 
equally  witnesses  that  for  the  last  eight  years  your  charity  has  been 
heavily,  and  almost  day  by  day,  taxed  for  calamities  and  wants  in 
other  portions  of  the  Church.  It  is  time  we  should  have  a  respite  ; 
it  is  time  we  should  have  an  opportunity  to  provide  for  our  own 
•wants.  Accordingly,  we  prohibit,  as  above,  any  and  all  collections, 
from  the  last  day  of  this  month,  except  for  the  purposes  of  religion 
within  the  diocese.  Any  case  of  exception  will  be  attested  in  wri- 
ting by  us,  when  here,  or  by  our  vicar-general  in  our  absence,  and 
will  be  warranted  only  by  some  calamity  occurring  to  our  brethren 
of  the  faith  elsewhere.  This  regulation  must  remain  in  force  till 
the  new  cathedral  shall  be  completed. 

Finally,  beloved  brethren,  we  exhort  you  to  renovated  zeal  for 
your  own  sanctification,  and  for  that  of  your  children,  and  those 
committed  to  your  care.  The  peace  of  Christ,  which  the  world  can 
neither  give  nor  take  away,  be  with  you. 

Giveri  at  New  York,  the  llih  day  of  October,  A.  D.  1854,  and 
the  seventeenth  year  of  our  Episcopacy. 

•J*  JOHN,  Archbishop  of  New  York. 

By  order  of  the  Most  Reverend  Archbishop, 

Thomas  S.  Preston,  Secretary. 


SPEECHES. 


SPEECH  AT  A  DINNER  GIVEN  IN  LIVERPOOL,  JUNE  10,  1851. 

[The  health  of  the  Most  Reverend  Archbishop  Hughes  having  been  proposed, 
the  Archbishop  replied  as  foUows.] 

Mr.  Chairman  and  Gentlemen — I  feel  too  much  oppressed  with 
the  honor  which  you  have  done  me  to  be  able  to  find  utterance  for 
the  sentiments  with  which  my  heart  is  moved  upon  this  occasion. 
I  consider  it  as  my  peculiar  good  fortune,  on  this  visit  to  Europe, 
that  the  first  night  I  landed  upon  European  soil  I  had  the  unex- 
pected honor  and  pleasure  of  being  introduced  to  you  in  your  festive 


SPEECHES.  729 

assembly,  the  Catholic  Club  of  Liverpool ;  and  it  is  a  happy  termi- 
nation to  my  pilgrimage  in  Europe,  that  the  last  night  of  my  stay 
is  spent  as  this  evening  is  about  to  pass.  Since  then,  as  your 
chairman  has  well  remarked,  it  has  been  ray  duty  to  preach — 
to  attempt  to  preach — in  diiferent  places  ;  and  it  is  quite  true  that 
I  might  have  travelled  through  all  the  countries  of  the  globe,  from 
the  rising  to  the  setting  of  the  sun,  and  wherever  the  language 
which  it  is  mine  to  speak  is  understood,  I  should  have  found  those 
who  would  have  needed  no  introduction  from  the  moment  I  had 
first  spoken  the  truths  of  the  one  holy  Catholic  faith.  That  faith 
is  not  British,  it  is  not  national,  it  is  not  provincial,  it  is  not  whig,  it 
is  not  tory,  it  is  not  democrat  or  democratic  ;  but  it  is  Catholic,  divine 
— made  for  mankind,  and  not  for  provinces  or  nations  alone.  It  is 
like  the  light  of  heaven,  in  itself  colorless ;  and,  notwithstanding 
its  identity — notwithstanding  that  it  is  like  the  atmosphere,  which 
is  the  medium  of  light,  untainted  in  itself — it  comes  and  identifies 
itself,  reproduces  itself,  in  our  hearts  without  disturbing  national 
character,  without  oversetting  individual  temperament.  For  every 
one — for  every  preacher  is  somewhat  distinct  and  different  in 
his  manner  from  another ;  and  it  seemed  as  if  the  one  laith 
would  take  the  color  of  the  medium  of  the  speaker  through 
which  it  passes  to  the  audience ;  but  then  you  behold  the 
phenomenon.  It  is  analogous  to  that  beautiful  art  you  wish  at 
this  moment  to  revive,  which  is  found  in  your  great  old  painted 
windows  of  stained  glass,  where  you  see  every  little  piece  give  color 
to  that  light  which  is  uncoloi'ed  outside  ;  and  although  it  is  beauti- 
ful to  gaze  upon  for  its  variety  and  combination,  yet  afterwards  the 
audience  that  is  assembled  find  it  blending  and  uniting  again  inside, 
so  that  the  colors  again  disappear  in  the  pure  light.  So  the  living 
unity  of  the  faith,  notwithstanding  the  medium  of  the  preachers 
through  whom  it  is  communicated,  burns  the  same  in  every  heart 
as  it  is  in  itself,  and  as  it  came  from  God.  It  is  unnecessary, 
and  perhaps  it  would  not  be  becoming  in  me,  to  follow  out 
any  contrast  in  regard  to  this ;  but  one  thing  I  know  with  regard 
to  those  who  are  separated  from  the  unity  of  the  Catholic  faith,  and 
it  is  this,  that  in  order  to  ascertain  differences  they  need  not  travel 
at  all.  Everywhere  sects  are  separated  one  from  the  other, 
and  in  some  sects  party  is  separated  from  party,  and  in  each 
party  subdivisions  ;  so  that,  in  order  to  find  variety  and  differences, 
it  is  altogether  unnecessary  for  men  to  leave  their  own  homes  and 
their  own  connections. 

Gentlemen,  your  chairman  has  spoken  of  me  with  so  much  eulogy, 
you  will  have  to  excuse  me  if  I  say  some  few  words  with  regard  to 
myself  He  has  alluded  to  circumstances  connected  with  my  Euro- 
pean and  Irish  origin,  and  he  has  made  use  of  those  circumstances 
for  a  purpose  which  it  is  well  befitting  an  Englishman  to  do; 
for,  to  tell  the  truth,  if  the  old  axiom  which  has  had  credit 
amongst  nations  heretofore  be  correct,  that  in  union  there  is  sli-ength, 
I  conceive  that  every  man  who  loves  the  strength  of  the  British 


730  ARCHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

empire  must  deplore  the  spectacle  which  its  guardians  now  exhibit, 
when  they  are  spending  day  after  day  legislating  two-thirds  against 
one-third  by  way  of  cementing  union.  He  has  alluded  to  Ireland, 
and  I  might  from  that  singularly  unfortunate  country  draw  facts  of 
history  in  corroboration  of  the  view  which  he  has  presented.  You 
know  that  for  a  long  time  the  mind  of  Ireland  was  pared  down  to 
one-eighth  at  the  very  most.  It  was  held  that  unless  men  belonged 
to  a  class,  which  numbered  about  one-eighth  of  the  population,  no 
matter  what  gifts  of  intellect  God  had  bestowed  upon  them,  no 
matter  what  capacity  they  possessed  to  lead  armies  or  guide  the 
deliberations  of  senates,  unless  they  were  found  within  the  limited 
circle  of  the  fortunate  one-eighth,  they  could  not  serve  their  country. 
And  yet,  for  old  Ireland's  sake,  permit  me  to  make  a  remark  in  passing, 
that,  out  of  that  eighth  of  the  mind  of  Ireland,  most  of  you  will 
recollect  your  battles  and  the  deliberations  of  your  senates  have  had 
no  little  ornaments — your  Burkes,  your  Sheridans,  not  to  speak  of 
the  living  great  man  (and  I  call  him  so,  although  he  has  never  been 
kind  to  the  country  of  his  birth) — your  Wellington.  I  say  if 
Ireland,  out  of  the  eighth  of  her  intellect,  produced  so  many 
men  for  England,  what  might  she  not  have  produced  if  she  had  been 
kindly  treated,  and  advantage  taken  of  the  superabundance  of  in- 
tellect with  which  that  unfortunate  country  abounds  ?  As  for 
myself,  it  is  true  I  was  born  in  Ireland,  and  it  is  equally  true  that 
I  am  proud  of  ray  birthplace.  But  I  was  not  of  the  fortunate 
number ;  and  although  the  scenery  that  first  met  my  young  eye 
might  be  as  charming  to  me  as  to  others  at  the  age  of  boyhood, 
when  every  thing  was  bright ;  and  although  I  can  remember  still 
every  line  and  curvature  of  the  horizon,  which  was  to  me  at  the 
time  the  end  of  the  world,  nor  did  I  dream  of  the  world  beyond ; 
still,  when  I  became  master  of  the  unhappy  secret  that  I  was  not  to 
be  upon  an  equality  with  others  of  my  countrymen,  the  beauty  of 
the  scenery  faded,  and  I  thought  there  must  be  something  beyond 
the  horizon.  It  was  one  of  those  unfortunate  secrets  the  communica- 
tion of  which  removes  the  bliss  of  ignorance,  and  I  found  I  was  under 
a  State  which  made  distinctions  amongst  her  children — which  was  a 
mother,  and  perhaps  more  than  a  mother,  to  some,  and  a  stepmother 
to  the  rest ;  and  I  found  the  rights  of  ray  birth — for  I  suppose  the 
rights  of  my  birth  as  a  British  subject  would  have  been  rec- 
ognized— that  those  rights  of  ray  birth  had  been  washed  out  by 
the  rites  of  my  baptism,  for  I  was  baptized  a  Catholic,  and  that 
was  the  ground  of  my  disqualification. 

Of  course,  as  soon  as  opportunity  presented  itself,  I,  like  other 
drift-wood  from  that  old  wreck,  floated  away  on  the  western  wave, 
and  found  another  land,  far  beyond  the  horizon  that  I  have  alluded 
to,  and  there,  though  I  had  no  claim  on  her  hospitality,  that  strange 
parent  took  me  to  her  bosom  and  treated  me  as  her  child,  and  soon 
ranked  me  in  honors  amongst  her  own  most  favored  and  first-born. 
My  career  has  since  been  humble,  undistinguished  by  any  thing 
which  could  merit  the  distinction  that  you  have  conferred  upon  me 


SPEECHES.  731 

this  evening.  But,  whatever  it  has  been,  I  can  say  this  of  those 
who  differ  from  me  in  religion — although  it  has  been  my  duty  often- 
times to  meet  them  on  those  unhappy  controversies  which  are  the 
duty  of  jiersons  engaged  in  the  ecclesiastical  state  in  this  age — still, 
I  must  and  do  say,  so  far  as  I  know  the  general  opinion  and  feeling 
of  my  fellow-citizens,  there  has  been  no  honor  ever  conferred  on  me, 
no  elevation,  in  which  they^id  not  seem  to  take  pleasure.  I  can 
imagine  how  bigots  amongst  them — for  there  are  some  there  too — 
I  can  imagine  how  they  would  stare  at  the  man  who  would  call  in 
question  my  right  to  call  myself  by  the  title  the  Head  of  the  Church 
has  conferred  on  me,  and  even  if  he  did,  it  would  only  be  on  paper  ; 
but  they  would  never  talk  about  legislating  upon  the  subject,  to 
punish  me  for  calling  myself  what  they  say  I  have  a  right  to  do, 
because  it  is  admitted  in  America,  and  I  did  think,  until  I  came  last 
to  England,  that  it  was  admitted  here,  that  religion  was  free,  and 
that  there  was  freedom  of  conscience  ;  and  after  that  is  recognized, 
the  Americans,  although  you  may  quiz  them  on  many  peculiarities, 
are  too  strict  in  their  logic  to  admit  a  jM-inciple  and  then  attempt  to 
cut  off  the  consequences.  They  are  not  a  people  to  tell  you,  here 
we  have  opened  a  fountain,  and  then  say,  but  the  water  must  not 
flow.  They  are  not  a  people  to  tell  you,  winter  is  past,  and  now  we 
proclaim  universal  spring,  but  the  flowers  must  not  grow.  When 
they  admit  a  principle  they  admit  its  consequences;  and,  therefore, 
admitting  the  universal  right  of  man  in  that  country  to  serve  and 
worship  God  according  to  the  dictates  of  his  conscience,  they  are  too 
logical,  I  have  said,  and  too  just  to  quarrel  with  the  consequences, 
however  much  some  of  them  may,  in  their  own  way,  deplore  them 
as  evidences  of  the  progress  of  that  awful  thing  to  so  many — the 
spread  of  Popery. 

The  Archbishop  adverted  to  the  progress  of  the  faith  in  these 
countries,  and  urged  how  firm,  in  the  tace  of  all  hostile  legislation, 
those  distinguished  accessions  ought  to  make  the  faithtul.  For 
liimselti  if  any  thing  could  add  to  the  pleasure  he  felt  on  that  occa- 
bion,  it  would  be  the  circumstance  that  their  chairman  was  one  of 
the  most  distinguished  of  these.  It  was  thus  they  (the  Catholics  of 
Liverpool)  and  the  Catholic  religion  would  resist  all  the  legislation 
directed  against  both.  He  (the  Archbishop)  did  not  know  that  the 
Catholic  Church  had  asked  from  Britain  a  single  favor  or  grant  of 
any  kind ;  or  if  it  did,  it  was  only  the  iavor  that  it  might  be  j)er- 
mitted  the  loan  of  a  few  letters  of  the  alphabet  for  a  word  instead 
of  Mellipotamus.  He  had  been  under  the  persuasion  that  the  alpha- 
bet was  not  theirs  to  withhold — that  it  was  somewhat  common 
property ;  but  if  they  would  seek  to  deny  that  poor  favor,  and  if 
they  would  legislate  on  such  a  subject,  why  that  was  their  atiair. 

Again,  referring  to  the  recent  conquest  of  the  Church — the  conquest 
of  men  who  adorned  all  that  they  supported,  and  wlio  had  resigned 
honors,  and  wealth,  and  respect  to  pass  over  to  that  faith,  and  asso- 
ciate with  those  men  who  were  the  despised  of  every  rabble,  the 
contempt  of  eveiy  legislator,  the  enemy  of  every  statesman — he  (the 


732  ARCHBISUOP   HCGHES. 

Ai'chbishop)  thought  he  could  comprehend  that  enmity,  but  until 
time  contiimed  the  truth,  he  would  forbear  to  state  what  he  believed. 
Now  was  really  their  period  of  triumph,  because,  all  their  great 
interests  being  arrayed  against  the  Church,  they  found  it  was  joined 
by  all  the  best  men  amongst  its  opponents,  while  they  saw  that  they 
had  no  reason  to  fear.  To  be  sure,  they  sometimes  gave  their  op- 
ponents an  equivalent  in  the  person  oi^a  recruit  from  their  ranks. 
For  every  one  hundred  good  men,  they  gave  them  one  Gavazzi. 

[To  the  toast  of  "  The  United  States,"  he  replied :] 

I  regret,  Mr.  Chairman  and  gentlemen,  there  is  not  some  one 
here  from  the  United  States,  in  a  civil  capacity,  who  could  respond, 
as  no  doubt  he  would  with  grateful  feeling,  to  the  compliment 
which  you  have  paid  to  his  country  and  to  mine.  In  times  like  the 
present  it  might  almost  be  considered  as  treason  to  drink  so  cordially 
the  health  of  the  United  States,  which  are  looked  upon  by  many  as 
having  some  pretensions  to  rivalship  in  many  of  the  relations  of 
social,  commercial,  if  not  of  political  pre-eminence.  I  can  only  say, 
in  reply,  that,  if  this  be  treason,  we  are  guilty  of  treason  too,  some- 
times ;  for  I  can  bear  testimony  to  the  tact  that,  in  many  public 
meetings  in  the  United  States,  the  health  of  the  Queen  of  England 
is  drank  with  great  enthusiasm.  If  would  be  a  very  delightful  ex- 
perience to  \vitness  the  extension  of  what  we  call  charity  and  social 
love  amongst  nations.  But  the  principle  of  modern  times  has  had 
for  its  results  the  severing,  to  a  great  extent,  I  will  not  say  of  nations, 
but  of  communities  and  individuals.  The  old  common,  or  at  least 
the  old  public  law  of  Christendom,  when  Christendom  professed 
one  religion,  aimed  at  combining  national  interest,  harmonizing 
national  feeling,  for  the  common  good  of  the  whole  race.  The 
interruption  of  that  system  has  been  to  divide  nations,  and  to 
divide  communities  and  individuals.  I  shall  not  enlarge  upon  this ; 
but  I  will  say,  as  regards  myself  and  the  office  which  I  hold,  how- 
ever unworthily  I  fill  it,  it  is,  on  proper  occasions,  the  duty  of  that 
office  to  soothe  asperities,  and,  as  much  as  possible,  consistent  with 
right  and  justice,  to  bring  nations  as  well  as  individuals  into  harmony 
and  peace. 

This  toast  alludes  to  the  institutions  of  the  United  States,  and 
speaks  of  them  as  founded  on  the  true  principles  of  religious  freedom. 
I  acknowledge  and  proclaim  the  truth  of  this  attribute  with  regard 
to  the  United  States.  But  when  I  do  so  I  must,  at  the  same  time, 
correct  an  impression  which  is  abroad  in  the  world,  that  religious 
freedom  has  been  the  result  of  that  system  of  religion  which  even 
now  takes  measures  against  us,  because  we  do  not  admit  it.  Reli- 
gious freedom  is  a  subject  of  great  debate,  and  whenever  there  is  a 
controversy  between  a  Catholic  and  a  Protestant,  the  Protestant  is 
sure  to  claim  religious  freedom  as  a  cry  that  is  popular,  and  of  right 
belongs  to  his  side.  So  far  as  the  United  States  are  concerned,  I 
must  qualify  the  cry  very  much,  and  I  will  tell  you  how  religious 


SPEECHES.  733 

freedom  occurred  there.  In  some  former  times  it  was  not  here  in 
England,  as  the  Puritans  found,  for  they  went  to  America  for  the 
purpose  of  enjoying  it ;  but  they  never  meant  it  should  be  enjoyed 
by  any  but  themselves,  and  they  began  to  be  as  intolerant,  and  far 
more  persecuting,  than  the  country  from  which  they  fled.  There 
were  other  colonies,  for  at  that  time  the  provinces  were  settled  ac- 
cording to  religious  caste,  and  we  had  one  Catholic  colony,  for  which 
I  will  claim  the  honor  of  having  set  the  first  example  of  religious 
freedom  which  is  known  on  the  pages  of  universal  history.  That 
was  the  colony  of  Maryland,  to  which  the  persecuted  Quaker  of 
Massachusetts  and  the  persecuted  Presbyterian  of  Virginia  fled 
from  the  opposite  States  as  to  a  place  of  refuge,  and  in  which  they 
found  their  rights  immediately  recognized,,  and  they  Avere  placed 
upon  an  equality  with  those  who  inherited  the  charter,  as  on  the 
common  right  of  being  a  religious  community  which  fled  from  per- 
secution. Time  went  on,  and  there  was  no  such  thing  in  the  prov- 
inces as  religious  freedom.  When  they  came  to  think  they  had 
lived  long  enough  to  set  up  housekeeping  for  themselves,  they  met, 
and  amongst  other  things  the  question  of  religion  came  up.  And 
do  you  know  why  they  have  religious  freedom  now  ?  Because  they 
could  not  agree  on  any  one  religion  that  should  be  predominant. 
That  is  the  true  history.  But  I  will  do  them  the  justice  to  say,  as  I 
said  before,  that  having  admitted  the  principles,  they  have  been 
faithful  to  the  consequences;  and  at  this  day,  barring  and  abatinsr  a 
little  common  prejudice  which  results  from  ignorance,  which  no  law 
can  reach,  the  Catholic  has  the  same  rights  in  Massachusetts,  Vir- 
ginia, and  Pennsylvania  as  the  Quaker  had  originally  in  the  latter, 
or  the  Presbyterian  in  the  former,  or  the  Episcopalian  in  Virginia. 
The  rights  are  common,  and  therefore  they  don't  claim  any  credit ; 
and  I  would  take  from  the  Protestants  the  merit  of  proclaiming  re- 
ligious freedom,  for  I  have  read  a  good  deal,  and  to  this  day  I  never 
found  a  single  instance  where  Protestantism  granted  religious  free- 
dom where  it  was  in  its  power  to  withhold  it.  I  never  heard  of 
such  an  instance  ;  and  I  will  give  up  any  argument  that  I  may  under- 
take if  you  can  show  to  me  in  history  a  nation  which  had  become 
Protestant,  and  which  had  granted  religious  freedom.  And  in  the 
United  States  it  has  not  been  a  concession  oflTered  to  a  great  principle, 
but  it  is  the  result  of  stern  necessity,  because  they  could  not  agree 
amongst  themselves. 

Now,  when  we  deny  religious  freedom  as  the  work  of  Protestant- 
ism, it  is  objected  to  us  :  What  kind  of  freedom  have  you  at  Rome  ? 
That  does  not  justify  the  comparison.  In  Rome  the  people  had  only 
one  religion  ;  they  never  had  any  other  since  it  became  Christian. 
The  people  did  not  want  religious  freedom,  and  never  asked  it. 
There  were  no  petitions  of  the  people,  or  demands  for  it,  and  they 
did  not  want  it.  For  though  now  and  then  some  of  them  left  the 
old  religion,  they  did  not  remain  at  Protestantism  of  any  form,  ex- 
cept when  it  was  their  advantage,  but  went  at  once  into  infidelity. 
But  look  at  France,  with  thirty-three  millions  of  inhabitants,  and 


734:  ARCHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

two  and  a  half  millions  of  Protestants ;  did  anybody  ever  hear  that 
the  two  and  a  half  were  treated  with  less  favor  than  the  remainder 
of  the  thirty-three  millions?  Look  at  Belgium,  where  the  Pro- 
testant clergyman  had  a  larger  State  allowance  than  the  Catholic 
priest  from  the  public  budget,  because  they  knew  he  had  a  wife  and 
family  to  support.  Look  at  Catholic  Poland,  when  there  were  eight 
Catholic  bishops  in  the  diet.  The  question  was  on  the  freedom  of 
the  Unitarians,  who  were  hunted  by  the  Protestants  of  Germany, 
and  every  bishop  of  the  eight  had  a  veto  on  the  law  which  would 
admit  religious  freedom,  and  not  one  of  the  eight  thought  proper  to 
exercise  it.  Why  should  they  pretend  to  institute  comparisons 
between  the  liberality  of  these  Catholic  nations  and  countries  broken 
up  by  the  events  of  time  into  so  many  different  sects,  and  in  which 
toleration  is  a  necessity  ?  And  why  should  they  infer  from  that 
that  toleration  should  be  proclaimed  where  there  is  but  one  religion, 
and  where  men  want  no  other?     It  is  unjust. 

But  to  revert  to  the  United  States.  It  was  but  justice  to  that 
country  to  declare  that  when  it  proclaimed  the  principle  of  religious 
freedom,  it  acted  up  to  its  consequences  with  extraordinary  exacti- 
tude, and  whatever  error  was  there  tolerated,  they  at  least  put  truth 
upon  an  equal  basis. 


BANQUET  AT  THE  ASTOR  HOUSE,  MONDAY,  JULY  31st,  1851 

[The  following  is  the  correspondence,  which  is  given  in  full,  as  an  historical 
document  of  much  interest]  — 

To  his  Grace^  the  Archbishop  of  New  York : 

Most  Reverend  .and  Dear  Sir — In  the  name  of  the  Catholics,  and  other 
gentlemen  of  New  York,  we  beg  to  congratulate  you  on  your  safe  and  happy 
return  among  iis. 

We  have  watched  with  attention  and  deep  interest  the  steps  of  your  recent 
European  journey ;  and  we  have  been  exceedingly  gratified  in  hearing  of  you, 
not  only  defending  the  Catholic  faith  as  a  bishop,  but  winning  esteem  for  the 
spirit  and  laws  of  our  country,  both  by  your  expositions  of  our  constitutional 
liberties,  and  your  vindications  of  our  national  dispositions. 

In  the  honors  that  you  have  received  abroad  we  have  felt  ourselves  honored  ; 
and  now,  on  your  return,  it  is  as  an  expression  of  the  sentiment  of  New  York, 
that  we  most  respectfully  and  most  earnestly  invite  you  to  depart  from  your 
usual  custom  in  such  matters,  by  accoptiijg,  at  as  early  a  day  as  may  suit  your 
convenience,  of  a  public  dinner  in  honor  of  your  auspicious  return. 

We  are,  Most  Reverend  Sir,  your  very  obedient  and  humble  servants, 

Hargous  Brothers,  Edward  W.  Tiers,  T.  Donnelly,  Thomas  E.  Davis,  T. 
Jas.  Glover,  Felix  I ngoldsby, Charles  M.Connolly, Matthew  01  well,  J.Mathews, 
Duncan  Kennedy,  Wm. &  Jolin  O'Brien,  O'Connor  &  Purcell,  Charles  OConor 


SPEECHES.  735 

John  Milhau,  John  McKeon,  Bernard  Smyth,  Gregory  Dillon,  R.  Hogan,  Thomas 
Andrews,  J.  A.  O'Reilly,  Peter  McLaughlin,  James  Leary,  D.  &  J.  Devlin,  Dr. 
James  Sweeney,  Edward  Hart,  Bartliolomew  O'Connor,  James  W.  Walsh,  John 
McMenomy,  Patrick  Dolan,  Martin  Waters,  Patrick  McConnick,  Henry  J  En- 
nis,  D.  Carohn,  D.  R.  Harrison,  Andre%v  Carrigan,  Peter  McLoughlin,  James 
Moore,  P.  L.  Rogers,  Thomas  Boyle,  Edw.  Roche,  Sen.,  James  Lynch,  Jos. 
Regan,  Brooklyn,  James  Malone,  James  Murphy,  Thomas  Carroll,  Henry 
Erben,  John  E.  White,  Hugh  Bradley,  Dr.  John  O'Reilly,  John  Costigan.  Al- 
bany, John  Hanrihan,  John  Allen,  Hiram  Anderson,  Edward  Mcllroy, 
Francis  Byrnes,  Michael  O'Beime,  Thomas  W.  Kelly,  Capt.  James  Moore, 
James  McElvaney,  P.  Mulvehill,  Capt.  Patrick  Kerrigan,  Thos.  Maher,  Dr.  Geo. 
Forde,  J.  Tonnelle,  J.  S.  Tonnelle,  Andrew  Clark,  John  Johnston,  Walter  Magee, 
Christopher  C.  Holmes,  L.  J.  White,  John  Clark,  William  McGrorty,  Timothy 
O'Brien,  Peter  O'Hara,  Michael  Flannelley,  Thos.  O'Conor,  John  B.  Lasala,  L.  S. 
Suarez,  L.  Duberceau,  L.  P.  Barre,  A.  Mox'het,  Peter  Poirier,  A.  Patrullo,  F.  del 
Hovo,  Hy.  de Courcy,  L.B.  Binsse,  Dr.  Donatien  Binsse,  C.  Gignoux,  F.  A.  Bruguiere, 
Ed"V.  Thebaud,  John  P.  Nesmith,  Bartlett  Smith,  Dr.  Cosme  Brailly,G.  V.  Hecker, 
Aguirre  &  Galwey,  James  B.  Nicholson,  Hugh  Kelly,  Francois  Delluc,  John 
D'Homergue,  John  Wadsworth,  A.  A.  Alvord,  J.  V.  Huntington,  A.  G.  Spencer, 
Van  Brugh  Livingston.  Wm.  McArthur,  John  Higgins  &  Co.,  Thomas  Devine, 
Peter  Murray,  James  KeUey,  N.  C.  Ely,  Robt.  J.  Dillon,  Michael  Burke,  C.  S. 
Sloane,  Judge  Lynch,  Jas.  O'Brien,  Brooklyn,  Joseph  Fisher,  John  Geo.  Gotts- 
berger,  F.  A.  Kipp,  J.  V.  Fowler,  Joseph  Murphy,  Dr.  Wm.  Power,  Thomas 
Martin,  Henry  Shields,  Hugh  McNally,  Owen  McCabe,  John  Gibbons,  Dennis 
MuUins,  Bernard  Reilly,  Edward  Fox,  Patrick  Daly,  "Thos.  Wheelan,  John  E. 
Devlin,  John  Lynch,  Patrick  Dolan,  Patrick  Meehan,  Dan'l  Sweeney,  John  H. 
Kelly,  Peter  J.  Murthe,  J.  A.  McMaster,  John  McCarthy,  Charles  Waters,  Peter  B, 
McGlynn,  Jacob  Bogart,  Francis  Fitzsimmons,  Joseph  Britton,  Thomas  Ennis, 
Charles  Waters,  Jr.,  Dr.  Wm.  Murray,  Patrick  Kelly,  James  M.  Bard. 

REPLY. 

New  York,  July  8th,  1851. 

To  P.  A.  Sargous^  Ch.  O'  Conor,  J.  B.  Lasala,  T.  Donnelly,  etc'. 

GentIjEMEN — In  reply  to  your  invitation  to  accept  a  public  dinner  on  as 
early  a  day  as  may  be  convenient  to  me,  I  beg  leave  to  say  that  I  accept  and  ap- 
preciate most  highly  the  compliment  which  you  propose  to  confer,  offered  as  it 
is  by  so  many  respectable  members  of  my  own  flock,  as  well  as  esteemed  neigh- 
bors and  fellow-citizens. 

The  21st  instant,  which  has  been  suggested  as  most  convenient  to  you,  will  be 
entirely  convenient  to  me  also.  Thanking  you  for  this  great  mark  of  your 
kindness,  I  remain,  gentlemen,  your  devoted  friend  and  humble  servant, 

^  JOHN  HUGHES,  Archbishop  of  New  York. 


THE  BANQUET. 

The  chairman,  Mr.  Hargous,  proposed,  "Our  illustrious  and  be- 
loved guest,  the  Archbishop  of  New  York.  We  reverence  the 
prelate — we  are  proud  of  the  man !"  To  which  the  Archbishop 
replied : 

Mk.  President  and  Gentlemen — Were  I  to  say  that  I  did  not 
feel  much  affected,  not  only  by  the  occasion,  but  by  the  highly  flat- 
tering terms  in  which  our  respected  chairman  has  proposed  my 
health,  and  the  manner  in  which  it  has  been  received  by  you,  I 


T36  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

would  act  as  I  am  not  accustomed  to  do — I  would  conceal  what  I  really 
thought.  For  I  confess  I  feel  much  affected  by  this  extraordinary 
testimony  of  your  kindness  towards  mc.  I  have  been  absent  about 
seven  months  from  the  scene  of  my  labors — from  the  home  of  my 
affections — from  the  people  to  whom  I  am  bound  by  every  tie  of  sta- 
tion and  feeling  ;  and  although  I  have  had  every  thing  to  make  a 
foreign  sojourn  agreeable,  still,  with  the  setting  sun,  ray  eyes  con- 
tinually turned  towards  the  west.  I  have,  indeed,  received  marks  of 
distinction  and  kindness  abroad,  which  I  cannot  easily  forget,  from 
those  on  whom  I  had  no  claim  ;  from  the  representatives  of  my  own 
country  Avhen  in  Paris  and  in  Rome ;  from  all  I  have  received  marked 
attention  which  I  cannot  forget,  and  for  which  I  am  not  ungrateful. 
But  I  am  not  surprised  that  a  bishop  or  an  archbishop  of  the  city 
of  New  York,  the  great  commercial  metropolis  of  this  country — the 
city  which  is  supposed  to  possess  the  greatest  wealth  and  the  great- 
est social  refinement ;  I  am  not  surprised  that  a  bishop  having  a 
title  from  such  a  city  should  be  received  with  siich  honor,  no 
matter  how  unworthy  of  it  he  may  have  been  individually.  At 
all  events,  I  never  received  honor,  except  in  connection  with 
the  city  with  which  I  am  connected  as  a  dignitary  of  the  Catholic 
Church.  Although  I  felt  gratified,  I  was  sensible  that  the  honor 
was  not  for  me  alone,  but  for  the  city  from  which  I  came,  and  the 
country  which  it  is  my  privilege  to  call  my  home.  But,  gentlemen,  to 
have  been  welcomed  as  I  have  been  by  you;  to  find  so  many  of  my  own 
flock,  of  almost  every  nation  (for  ours  is  a  universal  flock),  clustering 
around  me  to  welcome  me  back ;  to  find  cordially  joining  with  them 
80  many  of  their  fellow-citizens — men  distinguished  among  their 
count«-ymen ;  to  find  'such  a  welcome  among  people  who  are  not 
blind  to  my  shortcomings  as  well  as  to  my  partial  success,  this  in- 
deed is  an  honor  and  a  compliment  far  beyond  the  foreign  hospi- 
tality Avhich  I  have  met  with. 

Your  chairman  has  alluded  in  too  flattering  terms  to  the  success  of 
the  labors  in  which  1  have  been  engaged  since  the  time  when,  with- 
out any  choice  or  wish  of  mine,  I  was  placed  at  the  head  of  this 
important  diocese.  You  are  all  aware  that  the  first  mission — to  use 
a  word  now  ^ery  much  abused — of  a  bishop  is  to  study  and  promote 
the  cause  of  religion  and  education,  the  things  which  are  necessary 
for  the  welfare  of  our  fellow-man  in  time  and  eternity,  and  from 
which,  whether  successful  or  unsuccessful,  I  am  conscious  I  never 
deviated.  When  I  was  sent  to  this  diocese,  that  want  had  been  to 
a  certain  extent  supplied.  But  circumstances,  the  increase  of  the 
Catholic  body,  whether  by  emigration  or  from  other  sources,  was  so 
great  and  so  constant,  that  we  had  hardly  time  to  deliberate ;  we 
had  to  go  on  from  one  enterprise  to  another,  and  to  raise  additional 
temples  for  the  worship  of  God. 

Hence,  I  have  been,  as  it  were,  by  trade,  a  kind  of  church-builder, 
since  I  came  to  this  diocese.  Yet  it  was  not  I  alone  who  did  this :  I 
only  projected,  gave  an  impulse  to  it ;  and  if  there  be  any  honor  or 
compliment  paid  to  me  for  so  doing,  it  is  not  to  be  undivided.     You 


8Pep:ches.  737 

all  know  that  you,  with  the  great  body  of  ray  clergy,  have  stood  by 
me  in  every  enterprise ;  and  but  for  their  efforts  it  would  not  be  in 
the  power  of  the  chairman  to  speak  as  he  has  done. 

Another  important  want,  which  it  is  the  duty  of  a  Clnistian 
bishop  to  look  after,  is  the  education  of  his  flock ;  and  I  confess  that 
my  thoughts  were  from  the  beginning  constantly  directed  towards 
the  means  of  providing  the  opportunities  of  a  Christian  education  for 
the  poor  people  committed  to  my  care.  Leaving  aside  all  that 
hasty  newspaper  writers,  whether  influenced  by  prejudice,  or  having 
no  time  to  inquire  what  was  true  and  what  was  false,  have  said  upon 
the  subject,  I  say  that  from  the  beginning  my  views  never  extended 
beyond  the  people  for  whom  I  am  in  my  spiritual  capacity  respon- 
sible to  God.  I  defy  any  man  living  to  say  that  I  interfered  with 
the  education  of  any  but  ray  own  flock;  and,  although  the  contrary 
has  been  imputed  to  me,  the  man  is  unborn  who  can  say  that  I 
wished  to  do  more  than  toproraote  the  education  of  the  people  com- 
mitted to  my  own  care. 

And  in  this,  thanks  be  to  God,  we  have  some  consolation  ;  for  it 
might  occur  to  some  to  say,  "  Why  cannot  you  be  satisfied  witli 
what  satisfies  every  one  else  ?"  To  this  I  will  simply  say  that  the 
Catholic  is  not  satisfied  with  the  education  of  the  intellect  alone,  be- 
cause he  knows  that  man  is  a  moral  and  responsible  being,  and  the 
scope  of  his  education  ought  to  embrace  his  interest  in  the  world  to 
come  as  well  as  in  tWs  world.  Here,  therefore,  although  I  do  not  find 
fault  with  those  who  differ  from  me,  I,  in  my  capacity  as  a  pastor  of 
the  Church,  say  that  education  ought  not  to  be  separated  from  relig- 
ion ;  and  when  I  say  religion,  I  use  the  term  in  the  bx'oadest  and 
most  comprehensive  sense;  for  I  say  the  religion  of  the  most  objec- 
tionable denomination  in  the  country,  blended  with  school  education, 
would  be  better  than  no  religious  teaching  at  all.  This  is  my  opin- 
ion ;  and  I  suppose  I  have  a  right  to  entertain  an  opinion  in  this 
free  country.  I  know  of  no  religion  that  does  not  teach  the  account- 
ability of  man  to  God,  at  least  in  the  distinction  between  truth  and 
falsehood  under  the  solemnity  of  an  oath.  Upon  such  a  basis  can 
be  reared  an  education  which  contemplates  not  merely  the  interests 
of  this  life,  but  of  that  other  which  follows  it.  I  have  labored,  there- 
fore, in  my  humble  way  for  my  people,  and  with  the  help  of  God  I 
intend  to  labor  on, 

I  have  been  the  instrument  in  establishing  something  of  a  higher 
order,  or  classical  education,  but  simply  with  a  view  that  high  edu- 
cation may  not  be  left  without  those  principles  which  serve  as  a  bal- 
ancing power  between  the  contending  interests  of  this  world  and 
those  of  the  world  to  come.  In  all  these  things,  gentlemen,  I  agree 
with  the  chairman.  To  a  certain  extent  we  have  been  successful,, 
although  laboring  under  difiiculties  which  perhaps  no  other  people 
have  had  to  contend  with.  I  need  not  tell  you  that  our  churches 
were  almost  sunk  in  debt,  and  that  the  claims  upon  us  were  every 
day  increasing ;  that  new  churches  were  required ;  colleges  and. 
charitable  institutions  for  the  sick,  the  needy,  and  the  orphans  ;  and 
VoL.II.-47  ^ 


T38  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

that  in  the  midst  of  these  embarrassments  news  readied  us  of  the 
distress  of  Ireland,  which,  for  a  time,  suspended  our  operations.  I 
know  that  for  myself  I  put  every  thing  aside  for  the  time  being,  and 
appealed  to  our  brethren  for  contributions.  And  I  would  be  unjust 
if  I  confined  the  remark  to  our  own  people;  they  were  more  intimately 
related,  it  is  true,  by  the  sacred  bonds  of  Christian  faith  and  Catho- 
lic communion  to  the  sufferers ;  the  appeal  made  to  them  was  the 
strongest;  and  I  can  bear  testimony  that  while  England  was  en- 
gaged in  building  barren  walls  for  an  unsatisfactoiy  kind  of  educa- 
tion, suffering  meanwhile  the  poor  to  die  by  the  wayside,  until  the 
population  of  the  country  became  reduced  by  one-fourth  of  its  for- 
mer number ; — in  this  country  the  appeal,  as  I  said,  was  not  made 
in  vain,  and  the  cry  of  distress  met  with  a  benevolent  response,  until, 
forgetting  for  the  time  all  differences  of  creed,  the  whole  country 
became  alms-givers ! 

Here  were  some  of  the  difficulties  which  impeded,  but  did  not 
altogether  arrest  our  undertakings.  Amidst  all  these  embarrass- 
ments I  have  called  upon  you  without  hesitation  ;  and  it  is  my  pride 
and  pleasure  to  say,  and  to  have  said,  whether  here  or  on  the  Seven 
Hills  of  Rome,  that  in  time  of  need  I  never  called  upon  you  in  vain; 
and  I  have  no  doubt  you  will  all  agree  with  me,  that  among  those 
by  whom  I  have  been  sustained,  no  one  did  so  with  more  cheerful- 
ness than  the  distinguished  chairman  who  was  appointed  to  pre- 
side over  this  banquet.  I  have  said  that,  by  profession,  I  have  been 
a  kind  of  church-builder  ;  but  the  necessities  of  that  occupation  com- 
pelled me  to  go,  occasionally,  near  the  borders  of  what  is  called  the 
money-market,  to  borrow  money  for  paying  debts ;  and,  above  all, 
the  debts  due  to  mechanics,  who  want  their  money,  and  should 
never  be  kept  out  of  it.  I  have  often  had  occasion  to  call  on  many 
of  you ;  but,  among  others,  I  never  called  on  Mr.  Hargous,  that  he 
did  not  immediately  present  me  his  check  for  the  required  amount 
without  note  or  security.  I  will,  now  then,  gentlemen,  in  conclusion, 
give  you  the  health  of  our  respected  chairman,  "  Mr.  1Iaug\3us  !" 


[The  Archbishop  also  replied  to  the  ninth  toast,  "  The  (ktholic  Hierarchy 
of  England  and  Ireland,"  as  follows.] 

Gentlemen — The  sentiment  that  has  just  been  proposed  has  been 
received  by  you  with  that  deep  sympathy  and  cordiality  which 
become  men  who  are  friends  of  civil  and  religious  liberty,  and  I  have 
very  little  doubt  that  the  hierarchy  of  England  and  Ireland  will 
receive  some  solace  in  their  anxiety  when  they  understand,  by  our 
proceedings  here  to-night,  that  there  is  a  country  in  which  civil  and 
religious  liberty  were  early  acknowledged  and  early  practised,  as 
well  as  professed. 

I  have  been  among  them  during  my  travels  abroad,  but  my  stay 


SPEECHES.  739 

was  not  long  enough  to  allow  me  to  appreciate  the  many  virtues 
which  adorn  that  distinguished  order  of  men — men  who,  at  a  moment 
when  every  press  was  toul-mouthed  against  them,  when  truth  had 
no  chance  in  the  contest  against  error,  for  error  has  a  multitude  of 
chances  as  far  as  this  case  is  concerned,  were  calm  and  unmoved  in 
the  consciousness  of  their  own  truth,  and  the  truth  of  the  great 
principles  Mhich  they  professed — men  whose  conduct  has  been 
characterized  by  a  patience  and  magnanimity  which  have  never 
changed,  no  matter  what  the  circumstances  by  which  they  were 
surrounded,  and  no  matter  what  the  station  to  which  God  has 
appointed,  and  which  in  itself  is  a  high  eulogium  on  their  Christian 
merit. 

England,  no  less  than  this  country,  professes  to  be  a  counti-y  of 
civil  and  religious  liberty — it  is  blazoned  upon  the  standard  of  Eng- 
land, and  it  would  have  its  Catholic  subjects  kneel  down  upon  theii 
knees,  thanking  the  government  for  emancipation  which  they  art 
now  taking  back,  while  they  leave  that  lying  standard  floating  in 
the  air.  I  am  acquainted  with  the  merits  of  this  case,  I  have  made 
myself  acquainted  with  it  in  Rome,  England,  and  Ireland,  and  I 
must  say  that  a  sillier  pretence  for  a  grave  assembly  like  the  British 
Parliament  to  legislate  upon,  the  world  has  never  known.  The  very 
thing  which  has  been  done  was  contemplated  before,  and  the  minis- 
ters of  the  government  spoke  of  it  as  a  thing  which  the  Pope  had  a 
right  to  do  ;  and  yet  they  cry  out  aggression  !  What  aggression  ? 
Did  the  Pope  ask  any  of  their  palaces?  Did  the  Pope  ask  their 
old  cathedrals,  the  only  classic  ornament  of  the  middle  ages  which 
they  could  boast  of  ?  No ;  he  simply  asked  that  they  should  rec- 
ognize them  as  Englishmen,  and  that,  as  such,  they  should  allow 
them  the  free  exercise  of  their  religious  privileges  and  rights.  And 
for  this  it  is,  for  the  use  of  a  title,  that  they  have  stirred  up  the 
whole  nation  to  the  depths  of  its  bigotry  ;  for  this  they  have  made 
war  upon  the  parchment  sheet  of  a  poor  old  man  upon  the  banks  ot 
the  Tiber.  And  ever  since  the  beginning  of  February,  five  hundred, 
and  I  know  not  how  many  more.  Englishmen,  who  compose  the 
House  of  Commons — besides  those,  any  number  of  dukes  and  lords 
in  the  other  house — have  been  legislating  and  torturing  their  brains 
to  raise  an  effectual  barrier  against  the  thought  of  that  old  man  and 
the  expression  of  his  will  sent  forth  ;  and  in  spite  of  the  wooden 
walls  of  England  it  is  there,  and  they  will  not  get  rid  of  it  easily. 

I  recollect,  on  a  former  occasion,  it  was  necessary  for  me  to  speak 
or  write  against  the  public  press  of  New  York,  or  at  least  that  por- 
tion of  it  that  called  itself  so,  and  at  that  time  it  occurred  to  me 
that  nothing  was  stronger  than  falsehood  except  truth,  and  I  have 
always  regarded  that  idea  as  a  maxim  from  my  youth.  But  when 
I  was  in  London,  and  read  the  papers  day  after  day,  and  saw  this 
question  of  "  Papal  aggression"  turned  inside  out  and  upside  down, 
1  thought  that  truth  was  stronger  than  falsehood  in  London.  In 
the  mean  time,  while  there  was  excitement  on  every  side,  I  found 
the  utmost  composure  and  quiet  among  the  poor  bishops ;  and  ex- 


740  AECEIBISHOP   HUGHES. 

amining  the  legislation  which  was  in  view,  I  found  that  it  amounted 
to  this,  that  when  they  shall  have  passed  their  bill  of  pains  and 
penalties,  it  shall  be  legal  for  every  one  to  call  them  by  their  titles 
except  themselves.  There  are  altogether  no  less  than  five  and 
thirty  bishops  who  by  this  law  are  not  allowed  to  call  themselves 
by  the  title  by  which  Protestants  and  Jews,  Presbyterians  and 
Methodists -throughout  the  British  empire  have  a  right  to  call  thera, 
and  will  call  them  too.  But  they  have  gone  further  than  this,  for  if  a 
man,  though  he  can  call  them  by  such  titles,  should,  in  the  abundance 
of  his  charity  and  love  for  humanity,  make  such  a  distribution  of 
his  property  as  would  leave  in  trust  to  them  the  means  of  supplying 
the  orphan  with  bread,  the  orphan  is  to  be  deprived  of  bread,  and 
the  property  goes  to  the  government  if  it  is  left  to  them  under  the 
forbidden  titles;  and  so  that  government  of  civil  and  religious  liberty 
steps  in  between  the  man  of  humane  feelings  and  says,  "  Take  care, 
if  by  mistake  you  leave  your  wealth  to  a  man  under  such  a  title  it 
will  come  into  the  exchequer" — an  exchequer  certainly  that  has  need 
of  it. 

I  say  I  had  the  pleasure  of  making  the  acquaintance  of  several  of 
those  bishops  of  Ireland,  who  are  the  successors  of  other  bishops  for 
fourteen  hundred  years,  and  who  now  find  themselves  amid  a  pauper 
population,  themselves  scarcely  wealthier  than  the  very  beings  whom 
they  attempt  to  relieve  from  their  scanty  means,  and  I  found  them 
supported  by  one  hope,  and  preaching  peace,  as  the  venerable  Arch- 
bishop of  Dublin  has  done,  till  endurance  was  taxed  to  its  utmost. 
And  here  I  cannot  but  repeat  the  memorable  words  of  that  venei*- 
able  prelate,  in  reference  to  the  lat€  legislation  of  England :  "  Strike 
out  our  titles,  if  you  please,  from  your  statute  books,"  said  he ; 
"  they  are  recorded  in  heaven." 

This  is  their  feeling,  and  it  is  the  feeling  which  I  observed  in 
Rome.  They  have  no  concern  for  any  thing  further,  having  done 
their  duty,  and  they  would  be  the  last  to  give  an  insult  to  any 
nation. 

While  I  refer  to  this  topic,  I  must  state  that  in  all  my  intercourse 
with  the  high  dignitaries  of  that  city,  I  found  universal  testimony 
borne  to  the  honorable  and  gentlemanly  character  of  our  gallant 
navy  officers;  and  if  I  asked  about  their  demeanor,  the  answer  would 
be  this:  "That  while  they- had  been  pestered  witli  officious  English 
and  French  intermeddlers,  the  American  always  behaved  like  a 
gentleman,  and  was  respected  because  he  would  not  allow  himself 
to  be  insulted,  nor  would  he  take  sides  with  this  party  or  that  in 
the  local  controversies  of  the  country,  leaving  the  question  to  the 
people  who  had  the  deepest  interest  in  it." 

If,  Mr.  President,  that  British  Government  understood  its  own 
interest,  it  would  know  that  among  the  best  preservers  of  order, 
promoters  of  industry,  and  supporters  of  that  integrity  of  individual 
character,  without  which  society  is  in  danger,  are  those  very 
bishops  against  whom  they  legislate.  Oh,  liow  those  bishops  have 
whispered  patience  in  the  ears  of  the  discontented,  and  consoled  him 


SPEECHES.  741 

whose  manly  form  was  sin  sing  for  want  of  that  protection  from 
government,  which  should  always  i-egard  its  subjects  with  a  paternal 
feeling.  If  they  are  wise,  and  I  give  them  no  certificate  for  wisdom, 
they  would  cultivate  peaceful  relations  with  our  clergy,  and  permit 
the  Catholic  people  to  enjoy  their  religion,  and  the  Catholic  bishops 
to  breathe  the  free  air  of  heaven  without  restraint  upon  their  riglits. 
In  doing  this  they  might  perhaps  promote  the  contentment  of  the 
Catholics ;  and  if  that  was  ever  necessary,  it  is  necessary  at  the 
present  moment.  If  doctrines  of  a  subversive  order  have  infected 
the  British  isles  with  their  contagion,  a  wiser  minister  would  know 
that  those  very  bishops,  against  whom  they  level  all  the  force  of  the 
law,  have  been  the  cause  of  the  preservation  of  society  from  the 
anarchy  which  otherwise  might  have  been  the  consequence. 

I  have  been  rebuked  by  the  public  press,  which  knows  nothing  of 
me,  for  daring  to  speak  against  certain  parties  in  Europe  who  aim  at 
the  destruction  of  society  there,  and  who  call  themselves  reformers 
of  the  social  system.  I  have  been  called  to  account,  and  because  I 
could  not  sympathize  with  these  men  and  their  principles,  forsooth, 
I  have  been  told  that  I  was  no  friend  to  freedom  or  liberty.  When 
men  are  imbued  with  the  idea  of  destroying  their  fellow-men  by 
every  means, — and  this  is  no  calumny,  for  it  is  avowed  by  them- 
selves,— can  I  do  otherwise  than  denounce  and  condemn  them  ?  A 
little  incident  will  illustrate  the  character  of  this  class.  A  traveller 
through  Europe  has  at  times  occasion,  as  every  traveller  has,  to  go 
into  a  barber's  shop,  where,  in  the  course  of  a  conversation  upon 
polities,  he  is  told  that  there  is  no  freedom  as  things  exist,  that  the 
government  is  not  republican,  that  the  true  republic,  which  will  soon 
triumph,  dwells  with  this  barber  and  his  fellows,  and  that  the 
"  people"  should  come  into  power  before  perfect  liberty  can  be  estab- 
lished. 

"  Ah,  yes,"  says  the  traveller,  "and  when  this  triumph  comes,  and 
you  get  the  upper  hand,  you  will  establish  the  guillotine." 

"  Oh,  no,"  replies  the  barber,  "  we  shall  have  no  need  of  the 
guillotine  ;  it  will  not  be  necessary,  our  kj)ives  will  do  the  work." 
And  while  saying  this  he  flourished  his  razor  most  unpleasantly 
about  the  traveller's  head.  Now  these  are  the  feelings  and  this  is 
the  character  of  the  men  at  the  head  of  the  so-called  revolutionary 
movements  in  Europe,  and  do  you  think  that  I  could  admit  such  to 
compare,  or  place  themselves  on  an  equality  with  the  founders  of 
this  great  empire — with  American  citizens  who  are  at  once  sovereigns 
and  subjects — subject  to  law,  and  order,  and  justice,  and  free  govern- 
ment, and  as  jealous  in  protecting  the  rights  and  privileges  of  their 
fellow-sovereigns  as  they  would  be  of  their  own  ?  I  am  in  favor  of 
freedom  like  all  other  men  ;  but  then  freedom  is  a  lawful  end,  and 
it  should  be  obtained  by  lawful  means,  and  not  by  shoemakers* 
knives.  No,  I  know^  of  but  one  country  that  has  won  its  fi-eedom 
with  honor,  whose  liberators  left  characters  as  pure  and  as  briglit  as 
the  stars  upon  their  banner — they  were  the  founders  of  this  empire  ; 
and  I  have  no  idea  that  men,  whether  leaders  or  subordinates,  when 


742  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

they  adopt  and  sanction  every  unlawful  means,  should  be  permitted 
to  rise  to  an  equality  with  that  great  man  whose  effigy  presides  at 
our  festival  to-night.  I  have  no  idea  that  they  should  dip  tlieir  flag 
in  blood,  which  even  in  Rome  saved  one  of  her  most  magnificent 
edifices  from  the  destruction  to  which  it  wafi  doomed  by  men  pro- 
fessing to  be  the  apostles  of  liberty.  That  edifice,  the  College  of 
the  Propaganda,  was  saved  by  the  American  minisier,  Mr.  Cass, 
who  interposed  the  banner  of  this  republic,  which  was  respected  as 
it  should  have  been. 

If,  Mr.  President,  the  British  empire  is  fiee  from  contagion  ot 
this  kind,  a  contagion  with  which  portions  of  Europe  have  been,  and 
still  are,  afflicted ;  I  repeat,  sir,  she  owes  much  to  those  holy  men 
against  whom  she  is  making  laws.  It  is  very  true  that  in  all  things 
which  England  has  undertaken  she  has  succeeded,  except  in  the 
government  of  Ireland  ;  and  although  ray  friend,  Mr.  Dillon,  was  not 
prepared  to  speak  upon  this  subject,  I  think  I  can  explain  the  great 
cause  of  this  failure.  The  English,  with  all  their  experience  as  pilots, 
have  never  been  able  to  guide  Erin's  bark  on  her  proper  course. 
They  have  denounced  the  vessel  and  abused  the  crew,  and  applied 
the  national  oath  right  heartily  to  each.  The  sails  were  out  of 
order,  and  the  vessel  would  not  obey  the  helm ;  but  they  had  not 
the  justice  or  magnanimity  to  explain  the  true  reason,  which  is,  that 
they  always  kept  her  head  to  the  storm,  no  matter  from  what  point 
of  the  compass  it  came.  If  England  would  recognize  the  rights  of 
all  Catholics,  as  well  as  the  rights  of  the  rest  of  her  subjects,  justice 
would  at  length  be  done  to  Ireland.  In  conclusion,  I  may  be  per- 
mitted to  say  that  I  have  no  doubt  that  the  manner  in  which  you 
have  received  this  toast,  will  afford  no  small  cause  of  consolation 
and  pleasure  to  the  distinguished  hierarchy  it  was  intended  to 
honor. 


MEETING    IN    FAVOR    OF    THE    IRISH   CATHOLIC     UNIVERSITY, 
NOVEMBER  18,  1853. 

The  Most  Reverend  Archbishop  Hughes  moved  the  fourth  reso- 
lution : 

Resolved,  That  in  the  deep  harmony  of  unanimous  feelings  which  tlie  late 
penal  enactments  of  the  British  Parliament  have  producad  among  the  bishops, 
the  clergy,  and  Catholic  people  of  England,  Ireland,  and  Scotland,  and  in  the 
founding  of  an  Irish  Catholic  University  at  this  timo,  we  recognize  a  sign  of 
hope  and  pledge  that  the  Celtic  race  in  the  United  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain 
and  Ireland  will  be  as  lasting,  as  ineradicable,  as  indestructible  as  the  empire 
itself  under  which  they  live,  whilst  we  have  a  higher  pledge  that  the  Catholic 
religion  will  survive  even  that  catastrophe,  happen  when  it  will. 


SPEECHES.  743 


THE   AECHBISHOP'S    SPEECH. 


It  may  be  anticipated  by  some,  from  the  tenor  of  the  resolution 
just  read,  that  I  am  about  to  launch  into  a  philippic  against  the 
government  and  people  of  Great  Britain.  This,  however,  is  not  my 
intention.  It  is,  indeed,  difficult  for  a  man  to  divest  himself  of  the 
feelings  which  would  be  natural  when  he  looks  back  to  the  land  of 
his  nativity,  and  tlie  oppression  which  has  afflicted  that  land  on 
account  of  the  religion  which  is  still  his  consolation.  I  do  not  say 
I  am  devoid  of  this  natural  feeling.  At  the  same  time,  it  is  the 
duty  of  every  Christian,  and  still  more  the  duty  of  one  in  my  posi- 
tion, to  divest  himself  of  every  uncharitable  sentiment,  even  towards 
those  from  whom  he  has  received  the  most  injury.  Hence,  there- 
fore, if  sometimes  the  gushing  feeling  prompts  resentment,  we  have 
at  least,  as  a  resource,  to  turn  it  from  individuals  to  abstractions, 
and  if  we  hate  England,  not  to  hate  EngHshmen  as  such,  but  to 
hate  what  we  may  call  the  abstraction  of  the  nation,  in  its  corporate 
capacity — something  that  it  is  not  a  crime  to  hate.  Neither  would 
I  hold  the  living  generation  in  the  high  places  of  British  power  ac- 
countable for  the  crimes  committed  by  their  dead  ancestors. 
Neither  would  I  expect  of  them  to  be  able  to  remedy  all  the  evils 
of  a  long  course  of  perverse  legislation ;  but  I  would  expect  of 
them,  in  their  day,  according  to  the  measure  of  their  capacity,  to  be 
iust  in  their  legislation,  and  to  be  equitable  in  their  administration 
of  the  laws.  And  it  is  because  they  are  not  so,  that  I  hold  the 
present  government  of  that  country  guilty,  not  of  the  crimes  of 
their  ancestors,  but  of  their  own  ;  and  these  are  enough,  heaven 
knows,  to  constitute  a  dreadful  responsibility  before  another 
tribunal. 

It  is  impossible  for  any  one  to  be  familiar  with  the  tone  of  the 
English  press,  within  the  last  i'ew  years — its  vaticinations  of  the 
gradual  disappearance  of  the  Celtic  race,  and  the  almost  savage 
joy  with  which  it  looks  for  their  extinction — without  feeling  the 
blood  of  humanity  roused  into  a  more  rapid  current  through  the 
heart.  Take  up  the  London  Times  for  instance,  and  the  papers  that 
imitate  its  tone,  and  you  will  see  in  every  column,  couched  in  the 
most  finished  style  of  English  grammar  and  rhetoric,  blasphemy 
against  the  providence  of  God,  in  relation  to  this  subject.  They 
affect  to  distinguish  the  empire  into  two  great  classes — the  Anglo- 
Saxon  and  the  Celtic ;  and  although  they  have  no  very  clear  ideas 
of  the  origin  or  identity  of  either,  yet  if  you  happen  to  belong  to 
the  plundered  class,  it  is  quite  probable  that  you  will  be  put  down 
as  a  Celt.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  you  are  a  man  capable  of  entering 
into  some  desperate  villany — the  stealing  of  provinces  in  India,  or 
elsewhere — and  you  proceed  with  energy  in  such  enterprises,  and 
are  successful,  then  you  are  entitled  to  rank  as  an  Anglo-Saxon. 
And  if,  as  one  of  the  results  of  bad  government,  famine  should  de- 
populate the  land,  as  it  has  done  in  Ireland,  they  will  whine  a  little 


744  AECHBISnOP   HUGHES. 

over  it,  and  say  it  is  the  providence  of  God — that  it  is  a  great 
calamity,  to  be  siii-o,  but  that,  on  the  whole,  this  melting  away  ol 
the  Celtic  race,  and  opening  of  space  and  opportunity  for  the  influx 
of  the  Anglo-Saxon,  is  rather  to  be  rejoiced  at  than  the  contrary, 
although  in  itself  it  is  lamentable.  And  if,  in  consequence  of  that 
bad  government,  landlords  become  depraved  and  heartless,  and  they 
come  as  auxiliaries  of  famine,  and  turn  out  the  inhabitants  to  perish 
by  the  wayside,  or  to  emigrate  to  foreign  lands,  they  will  tell  you 
it  is  certainly  a  frightful  thing  to  ^ee  the  extinction  of  a  whole 
people  ;  but  still,  the  lands  are  getting  cleared,  and  space  is  made 
for  the  new  and  fitter  occupancy  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  ;  while  the 
good-for-nothing  Celt  will  be  turned  to  account  when  scattered  from 
his  kindred,  and  placed  in  a  position  where  he  must  exert  himself 
more  than  he  did  at  home.  I  have  said  these  writers  have  no  clear 
conception  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  or  Celtic  races.  The  Celts,  as  far  as 
we  know,  are  the  least  fortunate  subjects  of  the  British  government 
in  the  British  islands.  In  England,  you  find  them  in  the  moun- 
tains of  Wales.  There  are  some  of  them,  however,  in  other  places, 
indeed  almost  everywhere.  In  Scotland  they  are  chiefly  in  the 
highlands  ;  and  in  Ireland — although  even  there  they  are  not  un- 
mixed—rin  the  good  old  Celtic  Catholic  province  of  Connaught. 
But,  in  truth,  it  would  be  absurd  to  pretend  to  trace  a  line  of  races 
among  the  British  people  ;  and,  although  it  may  seem  foreign  to 
the  topic  before  us,  the  resolution  I  proposed,  notwithstanding, 
renders  it  necessary  I  should  dissipate  some  of  the  false  impressions 
made  by  such  papers  as  the  London  Times^  on  this  subject  of  races. 
The  whole  thing  is  founded  on  fallacy  ;  and,  although  the  feeble  voice 
of  one  individual  is  impotent  when  it  is  arrayed  against  a  power 
which  lies  by  steam,  and  which  by  one  single  puff — or  at  least  by 
successive  puflTs — from  its  iron  throat,  can  send  out,  in  a  morning, 
forty  thousand  falsehoods,  for  the  utterance  of  which  it  feels  no  re- 
morse of  conscience — for  the  steam-press  has  no  conscience  ;  at 
the  same  time,  with  equal  power,  the  press  will  repeat  what  I  say  in 
refutation  of  falsehood,  whatever  that  may  be  worth. 

I  say,  then,  it  is  the  most  difficult  thing  in  the  world,  by  any  di- 
rect line,  to  find  out  the  Anglo-Saxon  race.  Permit  me  to  tell  you 
why.  The  first  knowledge  of  English  history  we  have,  is  of  the 
island  being  invaded  by  the  Romans,  who  kept  possession  until 
their  soldiers  were  wanted  in  other  provinces.  Next  the  Picts,  the 
Scots,  the  men  from  North  Britain,  were  ready  to  conquer  them 
again  from  another  quarter;  and  being  unable  to  defend  themselves, 
they  called  on  the  Saxons  to  help  them.  The  Saxons  finding  it 
profitable,  changed  their  position,  and  from  allies  became  invaders 
and  invited  the  Angles  and  other  German  tribes  to  their  assistance. 
The  Britons  were  thus  subjugated  by  the  Saxons  and  Angles  com- 
bined, and  hence  the  origin  of  the  term  Anglo-Saxon.  But  even 
the  Britons,  with  their  Anglo-Saxon  conquerors,  could  not  defend 
themselves  against  the  Danes,  who  came  in  a  few  ships  ami  con- 
quered  them    both  ;   and   now  they  became   Danish- Anglo-Saxon- 


SPEECHES.  745 

Britons.  And  what  next?  I  inquire  of  history,  which  is  as  open  to 
me  as  it  is  to  the  London  Times,  and  I  come  to  the  battle-field  of 
Hastings,  where  the  Frenchman,  William  of  Normandy,  with  sixty 
thousand  men,  whipped  the  pretended  Anglo-Saxons,  conquered 
and  subjugated  them.  Where  was  the  Anglo-Saxonism  of  England 
then?  What  became  of  it?  I  will  tell  you.  The  French  con- 
queror, and  his  adherents,  put  a  yoke  on  its  neck,  and  a  bit  in  its 
mouth,  and  a  saddle  on  its  back,  mounted  the  saddle,  and  have  not 
ceased  to  check  or  spur,  to  impel  or  restrain,  according  to  their 
interests,  the  subjugated  animal,  down  to  the  present  day.  Since 
then,  where  do  you  find  the  type  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  element 
among  the  people  of  England  ?  In  the  workshops  of  the  country  ; 
in  the  iron,  and  copper,  and  coal  mines ;  in  the  foundries  of  Bir- 
mingham ;  among  the  calico-printers  of  Manchester,  and  the  knife- 
grinders  of  Leeds  and  Sheffield  !  No  doubt  they  have  figured 
more  conspicuously,  but  still  in  a  subordinate  rank,  in  other  depart- 
ments of  State.  They  have  been  employed  to  man  the  navy  and 
to  swell  the  ranks  of  the  army.  But  the  governing  power — the 
engineering  of  the  nation's  fortunes,  has  remained  in  the  hands,  not 
of  the  Anglo-Saxon,  but  of  the  Anglo-Norman,  or  Anglo-French 
race.  I  am  perfectly  aware  that  the  French  dynasty  did  ncrt  long 
continue.  But  the  powers  of  the  three  great  departments  of  gov- 
ernment— legislative,  executive,  and  judiciary — remained  in  the 
hands  of  the  descendants  of  the  Anglo-Norman  conquerors.  They 
have  the  judiciary  and  the  executive  power,  for  they  have  the  ap- 
pointment of  generals  and  commanders,  and  other  dignitaries ;  and 
if  the  nation  is  great — and  great  it  is — I  deny,  in  the  face  of  all  the 
newspapers,  that  it  is  owing  to  Ang^o-Saxon  energy  or  enterprise. 
As  long  as  it  was  Anglo-Saxon,  it  was  conquered  by  one  people 
after  another ;  in  fact,  it  seemed  as  if  any  nation  could  conquer  it. 
So  much  for  the  Anglo-Saxon. 

And  here  I  cannot  help  alluding  to  the  fulsome  praise  which  has 
been  bestowed  on  that  race,  on  recent  occasions,  that  have  attracted 
the  notice  of  the  world.  We  all  know  that  the  distinguished  Hun- 
garian, who  had  been  the  very  poet  of  insurrection  and  rebellion  on 
the  continent  of  Europe,  the  moment  he  was  liberated  from  prison, 
and  landed  in  England,  became  the  teacher  of  tame  submission — 
the  eulogist  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race — and,  lik«  the  lowest  Orange- 
man of  the  north  of  Ireland,  must  needs  have  his  fling  at  Jesuitism 
and  the  Pope.  Anglo-Saxonisin  was  the  theme  of  his  eulogy.  He, 
the  man  who  forgot  the  advocates  of  his  own  principles — the  man 
who  was  recreant  in  the  first  hour  of  his  freedom  to  those  who 
risked  their  lives  in  the  cause — that  man  forgot  every  thing  in  his 
panegyric  but  the  English,  who  had  crushed  the  same  principles  in 
their  own  dominions.  It  was  not  in  good  taste.  Neither  was  it  in 
good  taste  to  blaspheme  against  heaven  and  shock  the  knowledge 
of  mankind,  when  he  called  the  country  of  the  oppressors  of  Ire- 
land ^^  a.  paradise,"  forsooth. 

Oh,  it  must  have  been  exceedingly  gratifying  to  John  Bull,  as  in 


746  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

the  indulgence  of  his  self-complacency,  one  layer  after  another  of 
this  Hungarian  blarney  was  laid  upon  him.  He  felt  so  comfortable 
that  he  never  dreamt  there  was  any  thing  but  truth  in  it.  He  never 
thought,  while  he  enjoyed  the  application  of  this  soft  composition 
to  his  cheek,  the  Hungarian  understood  it  as  an  operation  only  pre- 
liminary to  a  shave.  Smith  O'Brien  was  as  brave  a  man  as  ever 
Kossuth  was,  and  Thomas  Meagher  was  as  eloquent ;  and  these  men 
are  forgotten.  The  man  who  claims  to  have  risked  his  fortune  for 
principles  for  which  they  risked  theirs,  turns  round  to  bespatter 
their  tyrants  with  praise.  However,  he,  too,  had  his  fling  at  the 
Pope  and  Jesuitism,  and  his  praise  for  the  Anglo-Saxons.  I  hope 
that,  should  he  ever  again  afflict  his  unfortunate  country  by  his 
presence,  except  as  a  private  citizen,  Catholic  Hungary  will  remem- 
ber his  speech  at  Southampton. 

We  return,  then,  from  this  topic  to  that  with  which  we  set  out — 
the  imaginary  existence  of  an  Anglo-Saxon  race  in  Great  Britain. 
No  such  race  exists.  And  if  it  did,  it  would  be  a  wuel  use  of  its 
power  to  anticipate  with  joy  the  melting  away  of  a  large'  portion  of 
the  inhabitants  of  the  British  islands.  But  there  is  a  reason  for  it. 
When  the  press  speaks  of  the  Celts,  it  means  the  Catholic  portion 
of  that  race,  and  it  actually  gloats  over  the  prospect  of  seeing  them 
driven  away,  until  Ireland  shall  be  as  desolate  of  inhabitants  as  the 
hunting-grounds  of  the  Western  Indian.  They  contemplate  with 
pleasure  any  providence  of  God  that  may  drive  the  people  away. 
But  the  people,  Celts  though  they  may  be,  I  trust  will  be  as  inde- 
structible as  the  government  which  ignores  their  rights.  I  need 
not  say,  in  regard  to  the  gentleman  whom  I  have  named,  that,  had  he 
made  use  of  the  knowledge  which  he  possessed — for  he  is  a  learned 
man — he  would  have  known  that  the  very  municipal  rights,  and  the 
very  things  he  praised  in  the  British  constitution,  were  of  Catholic 
origin  ;  and  that  nothing  has  been  added  to  them  since.  They  were 
the  work  of  Alfred  the  Great,  the  Catholic  monarch,  who,  according 
to  the  most  probable  accounts,  received  his  education  in  Ireland. 
He  would  have  known  that  the  common-law  trial  by  jury,  and  all 
the  elements  of  British  and  American  freedom  (for  they  are  of  the 
same  origin),  grew  up,  or  had  already  grown  up  under  Edward 
the  Confessor;  and  he  would  have  known,  and  did  know,  that  when 
the  British  barons,  with  an  archbishop  at  their  head,  wrung  from 
the  pusillanimous  John  what  is  called  the  Magna  Cliarta,  they 
gained  nothing  new,  but  only  got  back,  under  more  solemn  guaran- 
tees, the  Catholic  liberty  which  the  nation  enjoyed  under  Edward 
the  Confessor,  If  the  people,  so  bepraised  by  the  Hungarian,  are 
distinguished  for  learning,  it  is  because  they  appropriated  to  them- 
selves those  univ"tersities  which  the  Catholics  in  their  love  of  science 
had  founded  in  England.  Knowing  these  things,  he  would  have 
been  silent  if  he  was  disposed  to  be  just. 

The  Catholic  religion  has  done  every  thing  for  education.  If  you 
strike  from  Europe  the  colleges  and  universities  founded  by  Catholics, 
you  will  leave  the  face  of  Europe  a  desert;  you  would  scarcely  liud 


SPEECHES.  747 

schools  worth  naming ;  all  which  shows  sufficiently  that  if  Ireland 
has  not  the  means  of  education  there  is  a  reason  for  it,  and  a  reason 
that  reflects  no  credit  on  former  governments  of  England,  nor  on 
the  present.  Samson's  strength  was  in  his  hair  ;  the  strength  of  the 
Catholic  Church  was  in  its  pi-operty,  and  for  that  reason  its  property 
was  taken  from  it  in  one  fell  swoop.  All  was  taken  fi-om  it ;  and 
after  the  property  was  thus  taken,  and  it  was  without  means,  in 
came  the  legislature  to  adopt  their  next  policy,  which  was  to  put 
out  the  eyes  of  its  victims — to  deprive  them  of  knowledge — to 
bring  them  down  until  they  should  be  brutitied,  and  have  no  tradi- 
tion or  memory  of  the  injustice  of  which  they  were  the  victims. 
Was  it  not  felony  for  the  Church  to  teach  and  instruct  Catholics? 
"Was  it  not  a  felony  for  a  Catholic  to  go  abroad  to  be  educated  ? 
Was  it  not  felony  for  him  to  return  ?  Were  not  these  the  laws  of 
Great  Britain  towards  Ireland  for  generations?  And  it  is  the  prov- 
idence of  God  and  the  strong  power  of  divine  faith  which  prevented 
that  government  from  being  successful.  They  only  dimmed,  they 
did  not  destroy,  the  vision  of  those  to  whom  they  denied  light. 
They  treated  the  Catholics  as  a  besieged  city,  and  cut  oif  the  foun- 
tain of  knowledge  from  them ;  and  yet,  by  the  sustaining  influence 
of  the  faith,  there  was  no  lack  of  teachers.  Young  men,  prompt  to 
devote  themselves  to  the  propagation  of  the  faith,  went  abroad, 
studied  in  foreign  colleges,  and  came  home  educated,  to  put  them- 
selves under  the  sentence  which  consigned  them  to  the  gibbet  for 
no  other  cause. 

Among  the  exiled  priests  driven  out  by  Elizabeth's  persecutions 
was  Dr.  Allen,  of  Oriel  College,  Oxford.  He  immediately  conceived 
the  design,  although  entirely  destitute  of  means,  of  founding  a  college 
at  Douay,  for  the  education  of  priests,  by  whom  the  work  of  the 
ministry  might  be  carried  on  in  England,  even  at  the  risk  of  life. 
The  first  encouragement  was  an  appropriation  by  Pope  Gregory 
the  Thirteenth,  the  same  who  reformed  the  calendar  for  the  Anglo- 
Saxons  and  the  rest  of  the  nations.  The  Pope  gave  to  Dr.  Allen 
one  hundred  crowns  yearly,  as  an  endowment,  and  from  that  small 
beginning  it  continued  to  flourish  and  increase,  until  it  became  capa- 
ble of  educating  a  large  number  of  ecclesiastics.  But  not  only  in 
Douay,  but  in  Rheims,  Rouen,  Valladolid,  and  in  other  places, 
colleges  sprung  up  in  which  English  and  Irish  students  qualifled 
themselves  to  be  hanged,  when  they  came  home  priests  and  scholars. 
In  this  way,  notwithstanding  all  the  disadvantages,  education  was 
kept  up  to  a  certain  extent.  Undoubtedly  the  efiects  of  ignorance 
■were  stamped  on  the  Irish  people,  for  without  education  elevation  is 
almost  impossible.  No  doubt  they  were  deteriorated  during  the  lapse 
of  many  years  ;  but  notwithstanding  that,  the  love  of  science  became 
a  passion  with  the  Irish  people.  As  proof  of  this,  I  will  say  that  no 
nation  in  the  world  ever  exhibited  the  same  delicate  regard  for 
education  as  the  Irish  exhibited  in  those  days  in  their  attention  to 
"  poor  scholars,"  a  characteristic  peculiar  to  that  country.  Let  any 
one  read  the  story  of  Carlton,  entitled  the  "  Poor  Scholar,"  and  he 


748  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

will  find  that  the  Poor  Scholar  was  the  adopted  child  of  every  family, 
for  no  other  reason  but  that  he  "  loved  the  learning."  This  was  in 
spite  of  police  and  laws.  The  same  love  of  learning  gave  rise  to  the 
despised  "hedge  schools,"  showing  that,  in  spite  of  all  legislation  of 
a  corrupt  government,  they  could  not  extinguish  the  thirst  for 
knowledge  in  Ireland ;  and  if  that  be  the  case  up  to  the  present 
time,  and  if  at  length  the  sword  of  persecution  has  been  thrown 
away,  and  legislative  strategy  is  now  employed  to  accomplish  wliat 
the  sword  could  not ;  in  commencing  the  university  at  this  time, — 
when  the  Catholics  of  the  empire  are  again  rising  in  intelligence  and 
in  property,  and  when  the  press  is  now  open  to  them,  as  it  was  not 
formerly,  and  especially  under  the  guidance  of  the  illustrious 
hierarcliy  now  in  the  British  empire, — I  do  believe  that  we  may  see 
a  sign  and  pledge  that,  so  long  as  that  empire  shall  last,  there  shall 
be  no  annihilation  of  the  Celtic  race,  as  we  have  already  a  higher 
warrant  for  believing  in  the  perpetuity  of  the  Catholic  faith.  I  say 
at  this  time,  because  there  is  something  peculiar  in  the  time.  It 
might  be  asked,  if  education  is  required,  why  did  not  the  bishops 
take  steps  fifty  years  ago  ?  Or  why  should  they  not  allow  the 
colleges  which  the  government  at  last  provided ;  why  not  allow 
them  some  chance  ?  I  say,  on  the  contrary,  that  there  is  something 
significant  in  the  very  time  when  the  hierarchy  and  people  of  Ireland 
have  been  inspired  with  the  thought  of  founding  a  university  where 
they  can  educate  their  sons  without  bartering  their  souls  for  the 
advancements  and  honors  of  this  world.  The  country  is  just  pass- 
ing through  a  famine — the  country  is  desolated  by  disease  conse- 
quent upon  famine — the  country  is  reduced  to  the  lowest  point,  and 
it  is  precisely  at  that  point  that  she  should  be  made  to  see  the 
work  of  God,  There  is  something  more,  in  the  circumstance  that 
the  idea  was  suggested  by  the  Holy  Father.  The  British  govern- 
ment employed  every  means  in  their  power  to  obtain  his  ai)jn-oval 
of  their  plan  ;  at  one  time  by  threats  and  at  another  by  the  offer  of 
great  advantages.  And  it  was  precisely  the  moment  when,  by 
British  intrigue  and  treachery,  the  Holy  Father  was  an  exile,  which 
was  selected  to  obtain  a  favorable  answer  in  approval  of  the  Queen's 
colleges ;  in  return  for  which,  England  might  have  carried  him 
back  to  Rome,  as  she  had  carried  his  predecessor,  Pius  VII;  But, 
showing  that  the  Pope  is  guided  by  a  wisdom  other  than  that  of 
human  governments,  at  the  risk  of  his  life,  at  the  risk  of  the  fortunes 
of  the  Church,  so  far  as  connected  with  his  person,  contemning  all 
that  England,  appeased,  could  do  for  him,  and  all  tliat,  exasperated, 
she  might  effect  against  him  ;  that  was  the  very  moment  when  he 
said  to  the  government  of  England,  as  John  the  Baptist  said  to 
Herod,  "Ti  is  not  laicful."  But  if  this  was  not  lawful,  what  was 
to  be  done  ?  The  Holy  Father  recommended  the  bishops  to  try 
and  establish  a  university  like  that  of  Louvain  in  Belgium. 

Notwithstanding,  therefore,  the  predictions  of  the  London  Thnes, 
and  its  anticipated  annihilation  of  the  Irish  race,  I  augur  from  this 
circumstance  that  Ireland  lives,  and  will  live.     "  The  maiden  is  not 


SPEECHES.  749 

dead,  bnt  sleepeth,"  and  at  the  voice  of  the  Sovereign  Pontiff  and 
of  the  Irish  hierarchy  she  awakes  to  the  consciousness  of  new  vitality 
and  energy,  which  will  prompt  her  to  accomplish  great  and  influ- 
ential purposes  in  the  world.  The  first  movement  will  be  the  Irish 
Catholic  University,  from  which,  as  in  former  times,  learned  and 
pious  men  will  go  forth — if  they  go  forth  at  all  from  their  own  dear 
shores — to  spread  the  light  of  science  and  religion  in  the  North  and 
the  South,  in  the  East  and  the  West.  I  anticipate  no  such  conse- 
quences, therefore,  as  those  which  the  English  press  has  predicted  in 
reference  to  the  Celtic  race  and  the  Catholic  religion  ;  and  I  say, 
once  for  all,  that,  in  my  humble  opinion,  civil  governments,  if  they 
would  attend  to  their  own  business,  to  their  own  specific  duties,  and 
discharge  them  fully  and  honestly,  would  have  enough  to  do  without 
turning  schoolmaster.  Society  is  so  constituted  that  government  is 
a  separate  department.  The  family  is  sovereign  in  its  own  sphere 
as  much  as  the  State  ;  and  so  I  may  say  of  the  school,  because,  if  the 
government  undertakes  education,  it  steps  in  at  the  second  stage  of 
family  responsibility.  It  assume's  things  contrary  to  nature,  namely, 
that  the  parents,  to  whom  God  has  given  such  an  instinct  of  affec- 
tion, are  incajjable  of  promoting  the  interests  of  their  children,  and 
that  government,  forsooth  !  must  come  in  and  take  care  of  them. 
Whence  is  this  derived  ?  It  is  surprising  to  me  how  it  is  considered 
an  evidence  of  liberty.  It  commenced  as  a  digested  system  in  de- 
spotic Prussia,  with  a  sovereign  who  thought  he  could  manipulate 
society  as  he  pleased — King  William  Frederick. 

What  was  the  object  of  that  sovereign  ?  ■  It  was  to  mould  the 
rising  generation  into  conformity  with  the  principles  of  his  dynasty 
and  tl)e  interests  of  his  family.  Thence,  under  another  form,  it 
found  its  way  to  France,  and  became,  under  the  late  government,  a 
potent  political  means  of  perpetuating  despotism.  From  such  a  de- 
scent I  augur  no  good.  I  have  studied  the  system  long.  I  have 
battled  against  it  with  an  honest  heart,  and  sincere  convictions  that 
in  doing  so  I  was  promoting  the  good  of  my  country  and  the  good 
of  my  fellow-citizens.  If  time  permitted,  I  could  show  many  signs 
of  its  workings  lately,  even  in  this  country,  where  it  is  perhaps  the 
least  hurtful,  which  are  by  no  means  favorable.  I  agree  with  the 
eloquent  gentleman  M'ho  preceded  me.  I  would  not  force  on  any 
man  a  principle  or  system  of  education  which  he  was  not  willing  to 
accept.  I  have  no  idea  of  that ;  but  I  say,  in  the  present  situation 
of  the  world,  the  man  must  be  short-sighted,  indeed,  who  does  not 
see  the  approaching  evils  to  society  fi-om  godless  popular  education. 

I  will  call  attention  to  a  fact  which  is  of  recent  occurrence,  and, 
no  doubt,  novel.-  It  is,  that  among  the  Protestant  clergy  of  this  city, 
but  a  iew  days  ago,  an  agreement  was  made,  that  since  the  people 
would  not  come  to  the  church,  they  must  bring  the  church  to  the 
people.  Churches  they  have  in  abundance.  In  their  churches  there 
is  no  want  of  room,  and  it  is  an  easy  courtesy  to  provide  a  stranger 
with  a  seat.  It  is  not  for  the  want  of  churches,  nor  the  want  of 
church  room,  that  they  go  into  the  streets  to  preach,  but  it  is  for 


750  ARCHBISHOP  HUGHES. 

want  of  the  people.  The  explanation  is,  as  they  say,  that  for  fifteen 
or  twenty  years  past  revivals  have  become  exceedingly  rare — that 
the  Holy  Spirit  has  not  visited  their  churches.  Perhaps,  when 
they  said  this,  it  did  not  occur  to  them  that,  if  the  divine 
Spirit  has  not  visited  their  churches,  the  public  schools  have,  and 
the  consequence  is  their  churches  have  been  thinned  ;  the  people, 
the  masses,  have  not  been  found  in  them,  and  hence  the  clergy  must 
go  after  the  people  where  they  can  find  them.  This,  as  I  take  it,  is 
the  effect  of  government  education  on  the  Protestant  churches. 
We  have  endeavored  to  take  precaution  against  such  causes  as 
afl:ecting  Catholics.  I  trust,  with  the  blessing .  of  God,  we  will  en- 
deavor to  keep  clear  of  it.  We  have  not  succeeded  entirely  ;  but 
we  know  very  well  it  is  an  unnatural  connection  for  the  State  to  step 
in  between  the  family  and  the  Church,  and  undertake  to  educate  the 
rising  generation,  except  it  be  in  conformity  with  the  feelings  of 
those  whom  God  and  nature  intended  as  their  legitimate  guardians. 
To  sow  the  seeds  of  science  in  a  soil  which  has  not  been  mellowed 
by  the  influences  of  religion,  is  to  give  promise  of  a  harvest  of  which 
no  nation  need  be  proud.  If  it  were  possible  to  institute  schools  on 
the  principle  of  State  appropriation  for  every  denomination,  but 
with  certain  universal  enactments  to  secure  the  legitimate  objects  of 
such  appropriations,  it  Avould  be  much  better ;  for  there  is  little  to 
be  hoped  for  a  nation  that  is  destitute  of  the  principles  on  which 
moral  conduct  is  founded. 

There  is  a  sagacity  in  the  Catholic  mind,  of  which  the  wiliest  un- 
Catholic  statesman  that  ever  occupied  the  woolsack  never  had  any 
conception  ;  for  the  Catholic  Church  finds  her  mission  to  take  charge 
of  interests  that  will  be  for  all  time  ;  to  harmonize  the  present  with 
the  future,  not  running  away  with  fine  ideas  and  speculative  theories, 
but  going  surely  and  slowly,  but  infallibly,  towards  the  great  end 
for  which  God  appointed  her.  Hence  the  Church  does  sometimes 
what  is  called  foolish ;  but,  notwithstanding  that,  the  wisdom  of  the 
Church  shall  survive  when  time  shall  have  swept  her  assailants  into 
oblivion.  There  will  remain  the  beneficent  wisdom  of  the  Fathers 
of  the  faith — the  result  of  the  folly,  as  the  world  calls  it,  of  the 
Sovereign  Pontiff,  and  those  subordinately  associated  with  him  in 
the  great  charge  of  souls.  I  look  on  the  institution  of  the  Irish 
Catholic  University,  at  this  time,  and  under  actual  circumstances,  as 
a  sign  and  pledge  that,  whatever  may  happen,  neither  the  Celtic 
race  nor  the  Catholic  religion  will  be  extinguished  in  the  British 
empire.  And  although  allusion  has  been  made  to  the  fall  of  that 
empire — which  I  don't  wish  to  hasten,  for  I  am  cautioned  not  to 
wish  the  destruction  of  the  sinner,  but  rather  that  he  may  be  con- 
verted and  live — yet  other  and  greater  empires  have  fallen  ;  and 
when  England  does  fall,  there  will  be  enough  of  the  Celtic  race  to 
sympathize  with  her  calamity,  and  to  commence  again,  under  their 
holy  religion,  the  reconstruction  of  society,  to  be  regulated  by  better 
l^rinciples  of  justice,  truth,  and  honor  than  those  which  have  pre- 
vailed in  that  country  for  a  long  period. 


SPEECHES.  751 


THE  NEBRASKA  IRISH  COLONY. 

/  A  LBCTURE  was  delivei'ed,  on  the  26th  of  March,  1857,  in  the 
Tabernacle,  New  York,  by  Rev.  Mr.  Tracy,  in  support  of  tlie  pro- 
ject for  the  establishment  of  Irish  settlements  in  the  Far  West — 
Nebraska  Territory  particularly — in  an  Irish  colony  known  as  St. 
Patrick's. 

At  the  close  of  the  reverend  gentleman's  address,  a  gentleman, 
in  overcoat  and  muffler,  rose  in  the  gallery  and  addressed  the  audi- 
ence. For  the  first  moment  or  so,  it  seemed  as  though  the  people 
did  not  recognize  him,  but  eventually  it  was  discovered  that  he  was 
the  Most  Reverend  Archbishop  Hughes.  He  said  he  had  a  word  to 
say.  He  had  been  referred  to  in  the  discourse  which  they  had  just 
heard ;  but  before  he  made  any  remarks  he  must  ajjologize  for  find- 
ing himself  there,  to-night,  because  he  was  not  in  the  habit  of  at- 
tending meetings  of  this,  or  any  other  kind. 

A  voice  here  shouted  :  "  Come  on  the  stand." 

The  Archbishop  replied  :  No,  he  should  not.  He  would  rather 
be  by  himself  The  gentleman  who  had  addressed  them,  had  called 
on  him  a  few  days  ago,  respectfully  introduced  himselfj  so  far  as  he 
(the  Archbishop)  could  judge — he  believed  then,  he  believed  now, 
respectfully.  He  was  a  clergyman  from  the  West ;  he  was  here  on 
business,  into  which  he  (the  Archbishop)  did  not  inquire.  He 
asked  either  by  himself  or  by  his  friend,  the  privilege  of  celebrating 
the  holy  mysteries,  whilst  he  should  have  occasion  to  remain  in  New 
York.  But  he  said  nothing  of  an  intention  to  call  meetings  and 
harangue  meetings.  If  he  had  then,  he  (the  Archbishop)  would 
have  met  him  with  a  refusal.  And  he  (the  Archbishop)  called  that 
a  want  of  faith  and  a  want  of  honor.  And  now,  his  apology  for 
being  here  to-night,  was  that  he  had  heard  to-day,  that  that  gentle- 
man had  called  a  meeting,  or  authorized  one  to  be  called  for  the 
purpose  he  had  just  explained  himself,  and  his  (the  Archbishop's) 
turn  of  mind  being  such  that  he  was  unwilling  to  believe  any  thing 
of  any  one,  and  especially  of  a  priest,  without  knowing  it  to  be 
true,  he  thought  that  he  himself  would  be  the  best  reporter,  and 
came  there  for  that  purpose,  so  that  no  man's  relation  of  what  had 
happened  should  mislead  him  into  error.  The  object  of  this  meet- 
ing (emigration  to  the  West)  was  one  with  which  he  had  nothing 
to  do.  He  had  been  in  the  ministry  above  thirty  years  ;  and  he 
had  ever  given  to  the  emigrant  who  came  in  his  way,  the  advice 
rather  to  seek  a  home  in  the  West  than  remain  in  our  cities.  But 
that  was  one  by  one,  in  the  natural  order,  not  by  an  artificial  com- 
bination of  men,  who  were  unfit  to  govern  a  township  if  anybody 
gave  them  one  ;  it  was  by  no  combination,  because  emigration  from 
Ireland  hither,  and  from  hence  westward,  was  a  natural  thing. 
The   man  who,  after  the  toils  of  his  initiation,  had  acquired  some- 


752  AECHBISHOP   HTGHES. 

thing,  was  the  master  of  it,  and  would  have  some  little  consolation 
in  having  made  acquaintances  and  friends.  But  if  he  chose  to 
break  up — if  he  chose,  as  had  been  expressed,  to  pull  up  stakes — he 
was  master. 

But  a  priest !  He  protested  in  the  name  of  the  Catholic  religion 
against  any  priest  turning  himself  into  a  recruiting  sergeant,  es- 
pecially when  the  trains  could  hardly  carry  the  emigrants  away 
westward  who  were  going  thei'e  in  crowds.  The  gentleman  had 
forgotten  his  vocation.  He  had  not  been  true  to  him  (tlie  Arch- 
bishop), because  he  had  not  told  him  that  besides  celebrating  mass 
he  wished  to  hold  meetings.  If  he  had,  he  (the  Archbishop)  would 
have  had  nothing  to  do  with  him.  True,  he  had  told  him  no  un- 
truth, but  he  had  concealed  what  was  the  truth  as  to  the  relation 
which  they  had  heard,  and  to  which  he  (the  Archbishop)  had 
listened  with  great  attention,  and  in  regard  to  many  parts  of  which 
he  had  not  a  word  of  contradiction  to  offer.  If  his  place  was 
healthy,  very  well.  But  he  had  never  heard  parties  interested  in 
the  sale  of  land  say  that  their  grounds  were  not  healthy.  He  did 
not  say  the  gentleman  was  the  owner  of  larnd,  but  he  supposed  he 
knew  those  who  were  the  owners  of  it.  The  gentleman  had  pro- 
duced a  map  and  described  the  country.  Let  every  man  have  re- 
course to  the  same  source  of  information,  if  he  desired  it.  Every 
man  had  the  ordinary  means  of  such  knowledge  within  his  reach. 
But  for  God's  sake,  let  not  the  sanction  of  those  who  had  land  to 
sell,  and  wanted  inhabitants  for  it.  Now,  what  was  all  this  great 
noise  about  the  West  ?  It  began  in  a  paragraph  written  by  a  gen- 
tleman (the  editor  of  the  American  Celt)  sitting  there,  who,  per- 
haps, had  nothing  else  to  write  about.  There  were  plenty  of  gen- 
tlemen who  thought  well  of  it,  for  they  had  more  land  than  they 
could  sell,  and  wanted  settlers  for  it.  But  that  project,  which  grew 
out  of  a  joke,  for  aught  he  (the  Arclibishop)  knew,  advanced,  and 
at  last  there  was  a  convention  in  Butfalo.  Well,  he  had  nothing  at 
all  to  say  about  that  convention,  except  this:  That  he  was  opposed 
to  every  thing  that  was  hollow,  and  he  saw  nothing  but  hoUowness 
in  that.  Yet,  good  men  were  of  that  convention — men  actuated  by 
disinterested  motives — men  prompted  by  the  highest  purposes  of 
humanity.  But  there  were  other  men  there.  To  his  knowledge, 
there  were  members  of  that  convention  who  had  land  in  the  West 
to  sell,  and,  under  the  pretence  of  aiding  the  Irish,  they  wanted 
emigrants  or  other  people  to  go  there  and  get  "  homes  for  them- 
selves."        , 

That  was  a  very  proper  thing,  whether  here  or  there  ;  but  in  all 
his  life  he  had  never  taken  upon  his  soul  the  responsibility  of  ad- 
vising a  countryman  of  his,  on  his  own  land,  to  forsake  his  home,  if 
he  could  live  there,  because  he  had  seen  too  much  of  the  miseries, 
physical,  moral,  and  religious,  that  followed  in  the  train  of  emigra- 
tion from  one  country  to  another ;  nor  would  he  take  it  upon  liis 
soul  to-day  to  advise  any  man  who  was  doing  moderately  well — 
who  was,  perhaps,  rising  little  by  little  in  worldly  comfort  and  esti- 


SPEECHK8.  703 

mation  of  his  neighbors,  to  go  out  into  the  country  and  begin  life 
anew.  Oh,  it  sounded  very  well  in  the  cities  to  talk  of  being 
"  owners  of  the  soil."  But  there  were  many  people  out  West  who 
were  much  poorer  and  worse  off  than  if  they  had  never  gone  there 
and  become  owners  of  the  soil.  He  knew  himself  from  experience, 
and  if  he  had  never  learnt  it  from  actual  observation,  he  knew  it 
from  those  in  whom  he  had  unbounded  confidence,  that  it  was  a 
risk  of  no  oi-dinary  character ;  and  it  was  a  question  of  grave  re- 
sponsibility for  any  man  who  had  a  conscience,  to  advise  a  brother 
man  having  a  home,  to  leave  it.  Let  the  other  act  of  his  own 
motion ;  let  him  choose ;  he  was  the  master,  and  had  a  right  to  do 
so.  And  for  his  (the  Archbishop's)  own  part,  although  it  had  been 
said  in  that  same  paper  which  originated  the  humbug,  that  the 
priests  and  bishops  of  this  part  of  the  country  were  afraid  of  the 
philanthropic  movement,  were  afraid  their  churches  would  be  de- 
serted by  favoring  it — was  that  the  way,  holding  up  a  great  portion 
of  the  Catholic  clergy,  united  as  they  were,  as  enemies  of  emigra- 
tion— was  that  the  way,  he  repeated,  to  promote  religion  ?  Bishops 
and  clergymen  in  the  West  would  doubtless  be  delighted  to  see 
flourishing  congregations  around  them. 

And  why  not?  The  bishops  in  the  East  had  no  reason  to  find 
fault  with  that — for  instance,  he,  himself,  if  he  had  ten  churches 
more,  which  he  wanted,  and  which  the  Catholics  of  New  York 
wanted — there  would  not  be  room  enough  for  the  people ;  and  it 
was  just  the  same  in  every  church  in  the  province.  How,  therefore, 
dare  any  man  say  that  the  priests  of  the  Church  were  opposed  to 
this  philanthropic  movement  of  the  gentlemen  of  Buffalo  ?  Now, 
how  could  this  go  on  ?  What  had  those  gentlemen  done  for  the 
emigrants?  Oh!  they  had  done  the  oflice  of^ — what  did  they  call 
it  ? — they  had  performed  the  office  of  sign-posts  and  cross-roads, 
but  they  had  done  nothing  else  themselves.  Was  there  a  priest  or 
layman  who  had  moved  West  himself?  Not  one.  But  some  of 
those  who  had  land  to  sell  were  the  promoters  of  this  project;  they 
had  a  bad  principle  at  the  bottom  of  it ;  there  was  not  truth,  there 
was  not  sincerity  in  it.  This  gentleman  (the  lecturer)  had  happened 
to  fall  on  a  portion  of  the  country  which,  according  to  his  descrip- 
tion of  it,  was  very  delightful.  He  (the  Archbishop)  was  very  glad 
of  that,  and,  probably,  if  persons  were  bent  on  going  West,  they 
might  go  to  that  settlement.  That  was  very  good.  But  it  was  not 
for  a  priest  to  come  here,  and  be  respectfully  introduced  to  the 
Archbishop — to  seek  the  privilege  of  celebrating  the  holy  mysteries, 
and  then,  without  his  (the  Archbishop's)  knowledge,  to  play — oh, 
what  should  he  call  it  ? — to  play  the  recruiter  for  the  Crimea  from 
the  fields  of  Ireland — to  play  the  fiUibuster  ?  These  were  low  com- 
parisons, but  when  he  considered  a  clergyman  turning  to  describe 
the  value  o^'  lots,  and  making  it  a  point  to  call  a  public  meeting  for 
the  purpose,  without  his  (the  Archbishop's)  knowledge — were  they 
not  deserved  ?  Oh,  if  he  had  come  and  said  his  business  was  to 
preach  emigration  and  describe  the  fertility  of  the  soil  and  its  healthi- 
VoL.  II.— 48 


'iO-i  ARCHBISHOP    HUGHES. 

ness,  to  describe  its  lovely  hills  and  its  beautiful  vales,  and  all  its 
other  natural  charms,  why  let  him  attend  to' that.  But  he  had 
asked  the  privilege  of  celebrating  the  holy  mysteries,  as  a  respectful 
priest  under  respectful  auspices.  He  knew  not  whether  he  (the 
lecturer)  had  had  an  authorization  to  preach  a  crusade  ;  but  he 
could  not  believe  it.  His  own  wish  now  was,  and  had  ever  been, 
that  a  man  who  was  not  doing  well  should  move  westward.  But 
the  descriptions  the  gentleman  had  given  were  fallacious.  They 
were  unnecessary.  The  men  who  had  succeeded  in  the  West  were 
men  who,  because  they  could  not  get  employment  here,  or  because 
their  families  were  too  large,  or  for  some  reason  of  that  kind,  felt 
it  to  be  a  duty  to  themselves  to  go  into  the  country.  But  they 
might  have  stopped  and  got  work  at  Albany,  or  further  still,  at 
Utica— or  they  might  have  gone  to  work  on  the  canals,  but  on  the 
Avay  they  were  getting  a  practical  education  for  a  home  in  the  West. 
Let  not  the  people  who  had  listened  to  him  be  deceived  by  this 
gentleman's  description.  An  Irish  emigrant  transported  there 
would  hardly  know  how  to  fell  a  tree,  because  he  had  gone,  by  a 
bound  as  it  were,  from  New  York  to  Missouri  or  Nebraska.  And 
alas  for  the  priest  or  bishop  who  would  encourage  poor  men  who 
were  doing  well  or  comparatively  so,  to  undertake  such  an  experi- 
ment as  this,  the  hardships  of  which  were  untold,  and  could  not  be 
foreseen — hardships  which  were  not  to  be  found  in  a  map,  but  which 
would  soon  bring  them  to  their  senses.  And  if  this  \Vere  carried 
out,  the  day  would  come  when  these  men  would  be  embittered  in 
their  hearts  against  those  who  had  disturbed  them  from  their  homes. 
As  he  had  said  before,  let  every  man  go,  poor  or  rich,  but  let  no 
man  go  under  any  system  sanctioned  by  him,  because,  although  his 
sphere  was  spiritual  and  not  pljysical,  yet  he  would  say  it,  that  he 
had  as  deep  an  interest,  himself  alone,  in  the  emigrant,  as  all  the 
men  that  ever  met  at  Buffalo. 

The  Archbishop  then  alluded  to  the  failure  of  certain  former  pro- 
jects, similar  to  that  under  discussion,  and  scouted  the  notion  of 
towns  strictly  Irish.  Talk  not  to  him,  he  exclaimed,  about  an  Irish 
town.  Five  and  thirty  years  ago  he  heard  some  of  his  countrymen 
buying  and  selling  in  the  streets  of  Pittsburgh  in  the  Irish  tongue, 
and  he  was  glad  to  hear  it,  for  it  revived  the  memory  of  the  few 
vords  of  that  language  he  had  learned  in  childhood.  But  suppose 
they  succeeded  in  forming  settlements  exclusively  Irish,  and  speak- 
ing Irish.  Why,  by  and  by  they  would  become  as  distinct  as  the 
Mormons.  Now,  the  Mormons  were  out  in  the  Far  West.  The 
gentleman  had  said  there  was  nobody  to  disturb  the  settler  there. 
But  had  that  been  the  fact  in  Kansas,  and  was  there  any  reason  for 
them  to  expect  belter  ?  Theories  were  good  for  nothing.  Every 
man  who  would  settle  in  this  country  must  trust  to  his  own  good 
conduct,  his  own  sobriety,  morality,  and  rectitude.  The  gentleman 
had  alluded  to  a  remark  of  his  (the  Archbishop's),  referring  to  one 
of  his  early  dreams,  by  which  he  imagined  that  he  might  associate 
a  number  of  worthy  gentlemen  in  an  undertaking,  from  motives  of 


SPEECHES.  755 

pure  philanthropy,  motives  of  Irish  patriotism,  he  might  call  it,  or 
at  least  a  love  of  his  country — to  buy  ten  or  twenty  thousand  acres 
of  land  in  what  was  now  precisely  called  Wisconsin,  and  that  they 
should  dispose  of  those  acres  in  small  lots  to  emigrants — that  is,  to 
those  who  should  know  how  to  use  the  axe,  and  even  the  plough,  in 
this  country  ;  to  have  always  cabins  in  advance  for  those  who  might 
come,  and  still  to  keep  it  working  regularly,  so  as  to  bear  its  own 
expenses.  That  was  the  theory,  but  when  he  had  spoken  to  a  gen- 
tleman of  means  and  intelligence,  they  said  it  was  all  nonsense. 

Now,  he  must  say  this  to  the  gentleman,  and  this  was  the  touch- 
ing point  of  the  question.  He  wished,  as  far  as  he  was  concerned, 
and  as  far  as  the  clergymen  of  his  diocese  were  concerned,  that  re- 
ligion might  not  be  debased  by  being  brought  into  questions  of  this 
kind.  He  wished  the  gentlemen  of  the  newspapers  to  attend  to 
their  own  business,  and  he  wished  priests  from  a  distance  to  attend 
to  their  business ;  when  they  came  here  they  were  always  to  be 
treated  as  priests  as  long  as  they  adhered  to  the  priestly  character, 
but  if  they  came  here  as  the  agents  of  land  speculators,  then  he 
was  sorry  for  them.  But  he  thought  that  if  they  could  do  no  ser- 
vice to  religion,  they  had  better  remain  in  their  proper  sphere. 

The  Aichbishop  then  proceeded  to  speak  of  the  discomforts,  the 
afflictions,  the  mental  and  religious  evils  which  were  frequently  the 
result  of  rude  Western  life,  and  concluded  by  disavowing  in  the 
most  emphatic  terms,  any  idea  of  approving  this  movement,  though 
he  begged  to  be  understood  as  not  objecting  to  individual  emigra- 
tion to  the  West. 

Rev.  Mr.  Tracy,  the  lecturer,  then  rose  and  disclaimed  any  inten- 
tion of  giving  offence  to  the  Archbishop,  denied  most  positively 
that  he  was  the  agent  for  any  land  speculations  or  agents,  or  that 
his  mission  here  had  any  thing  to  do  with  such  a  thing ;  asserted 
tiiat  he  had  not  got  up  the  meeting  at  all — that  he  merely  came 
forward  to  deliver  an  address  by  invitation,  and  explained  that  he 
had  not  told  the  Archbishop  what  his  business  here  was,  simply  be- 
cause he  was  not  lead  into  the  subject,  nor  thought  it  necessary. 

The  Archbishop  then  catechized  the  gentleman  with  considerable 
asperity,  declared  that  he  had  been  guilty  of  a  suppression  of  the 
truth,  which  was  sometimes  as  bad  as  the  spoken  falsehood  ;  that 
no  matter  what  his  intentions  may  have  been,  his  act  was  culpable, 
and  that,  in  fact,  the  explanation  did  him  no  good. 


756  AECHBISHOP   HUGHES. 


SPEECH  ON  ST.  PATRICK'S  DAY,  AT  CHARLESTON,  S.  C.  1860. 

[The  Most  Rev.  Archbishop  was  present  at  the  dinner  of  the  Hibernian  So- 
ciety, in  Charleston,  S.  C,  on  St.  Patrick's  Day,  and  made  a  speech  in  reply  to 
a  toast  to  his  health.     The  following  is  a  corrected  report  of  his  remarks.] 

Mk.  President  and  Gentlemen — I  have  lived  long  enough  to 
have  been  taught  the  propriety  of  not  being  surprised  at  any  thing. 
But  in  view  of  the  exceeding  complimentary  remarks  made  by  the 
orator  who  has  just  taken  his  seat,  I  may  say  I  am  less  surprised 
than  I  might  have  been  upon  other  occasions,  because  from  early 
boyhood  I  had  learned  of  the  hospitality  of  the  Southern  people  of 
the  United  States,  and  among  them,  perhaps,  the  foremost  specimen 
of  that  department  of  the  country,  in  the  State  of  South  Carolina. 
Nor  is  it  all  based  upon  history.  It  has  been  with  me  experience  on 
two  or  three  occasions  ;  so,  although  I  cannot  find  words  to  express 
the  feelings  which  inspire  me,  yet  I  can  say  I  am  not  surprised.  The 
reference  made  to  myself  has  been  dictated  by  the  congenial  senti- 
ment of  your  society.  I  would  not  pretend — though  I  may,  perhaps, 
have  the  feebleness  of  ambition  in  my  nature,  like  other  men — yet 
I  will  not  pretend  to  accept  it  literally.  It  is  for  me  to  make  vast 
allowances  for  the  deficiencies  not  alluded  to.  One  thing  is  certain, 
that  I  was  born  in  Ireland,  and,  like  many  othei"s,  circumstances 
brought  me  to  the  United  States ;  that  in  the  United  States,  as  far 
as  I  am  concerned,  I  have  never  encountered  any  thing  which  would 
inspire  regret  for  the  choice  or  the  circumstances  by  which  Provi- 
dence guided  my  lot  towards  the  West.  At  the  same  time,  in  the 
cycle  of  the  year,  whenever  this  day  turned  up,  I  have  not  been  un- 
mindful of  the  country  of  my  nativity  ;  although,  gentlemen,  I  may 
say  that  at  home,  in  New  York,  I  have  been  so  niggardly  that  I 
have  never  attended  a  banquet  like  this.  There  were  too  many, 
perhaps,  and  I  could  not  attend  them  all.  But  there  was  the  feeling 
in  the  heart,  and  as  far  as  I  could,  I  celebrated  it  in  the  right  spirit 
and  the  right  sentiment. 

The  remarks  of  the  orator  throw  one's  memory  backwards  towards 
the  olden  time,  and,  perhaps,  in  the  retrospect  awakened  the  circum- 
stances that  bear  upon  the  subject.  Ireland  is  a  country,  and  it  is 
yet  a  kingdom,  for  the  British  Government  have  not  yet  ventured  to 
blot  it  out,  otherwise  they  would  not  keep  up  the  fiction  of  a  vice- 
royalty  ;  and  her  Majesty,  when  she  signs  a  document,  signs  it  as 
the  Queen  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  for  the  kingdomship — or  the 
better  terra  for  us  is  the  State  sovereignty,  which  every  State  pos- 
sesses here.  The  sovereignty  of  Ireland  has  never  yet  been  extin- 
guished. It  is,  I  may  say,  kept  in  abeyance  for  some  happier  day  yet 
to  come.  I  would  say  that  if  the  government  under  which  they 
live  will  allow  justice — free,  frank,  impartial  justice — so  that  her 


SPEECHES.  757 

population  may  prosper  by  their  industry,  by  the  exuberant  riches  of 
their  national  intellect,  and  the  tilling  of  their  own  land,  I  care  not 
whether  Ireland  shall  have  another  king  or  queen  than  the  one 
which  now  holds  that  sovereignty  in  abeyance.  Because  the  happi- 
ness of  a  people  may  be  overturned  by  the  efforts  of  a  few  fanatics, 
whether  in  religion  or  politics,  to  alter  their  condition.  For  beyond 
the  memory  of  any  living  people,  such  fanatics,  under  miserable, 
blind  enthusiasm,  all  mixed,  have  done  more  injury  than  good  to  a 
national  cause.  Still,  the  people  of  Ireland  have  kept  up  the  recol- 
lections of  their  ancient  history.  I  am  aware  it  was  the  interest  of 
the  unprincipled  historian  to  destroy  every  honorable  fact  connected 
with  Ireland,  for  if  he  did  not  do  it  he  could  not  stand  high  with 
the  bookseller  or  prime  minister.  I  know  Ireland  has  been  found  a 
kind  of  "  diggings"  for  the  shallow  and  stupid  imagination  of  non- 
sensical novel-writers;  and  John  Bull,  a  respectable  old  gentleman, 
never  laughs  except  when  he  enjoys  himself  immensely  from  the 
jokes  thi-own  upon  either  the  national  character  or  the  lives  and 
manners  of  this  oppressed  people.  But  even  that  has  worn  out,  and 
•  the  "  diggings"  are  not  now  so  profitable.  There  is  a  kind  of  respect 
entertained  by  such  writers  just  in  proportion  as  Ireland  respects 
herself. 

Industry  is  on  the  increase,  and  education  more  generally  diffused. 
Even  universities  are  multiplied  and  mviltiplying  to  suit  the  demands 
of  tlie  people,  who  would  have  knowledge  in  spite  of  their  tyrannical 
rulers.  It  is  not  necessary  now  to  go  to  hedge-scliools.  They  have 
national  schools,  universities,  and,  what  is  more,  they  have  conceived 
the  idea  of  a  higher  standard  of  education.  Let  me  tell  you  one 
thing,  if  education  in  its  highest  sense  shall  at  anytime  be  engrafted 
upon  the  native  stock  of  Irish  intellect,  you  will  see  greater  men 
than  she  has  ever  yet  produced.  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  she  has 
not  produced  great  men.  Far  from  it.  I  know  that  she  has.  I 
know  that  her  i-ulers — I  would  not  say  her  tyrants,  but  her  rulers, 
the  government  that  holds  her  as  a  province — have  been  persuaded 
of  that  all  the  while.  For  you  will  remember  that  Ireland  at  one 
time  was  exceedingly  populous,  but,  by  the  laws  of  the  country, 
every  intellect  except  that  of  one-ninth  of  the  people  was  swept  away. 
Eight  men  out  of  every  nine  were  proscribed  tor  difference  of  re- 
ligion. Out  of  one-ninth  of  the  population  Great  Britain  took  to  her 
aid,  often  in  times  of  trouble,  some  promising  statesman  or  warrior. 
From  that  one-ninth  Great  Britain  has  illustrated  herself  or  her 
history. 

If,  tor  the  last  one  hundred  years,  or  beyond  that,  you  discriminate 
among  the  public  men  either  in  the  cabinet  of  England  or  the  field 
of  war,  you  will  find  that  Ireland  was  not  unrepresented.  Strike 
out  the  men  of  Ireland,  and  you  will  see  what  a  void  you  would  pro- 
duce in  that  page  which  is  considered  most  glorious  to  Great  Britain 
in  her  history.  But,  gentlemen,  is  it  England  alone  that  has  been 
benefited  ?  No ;  because  in  selecting  one  out  of  nine,  she,  to  use 
an  expression  familiar  to  newspapers,  "  crowded  out"  the  rest.     Cast 


758  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

your  eyes  over  the  civilized  world.  For  myself,  in  the  oraer  of  my 
duty  to  travel  abroad,  I  must  confess  that  sometimes  I  have  been 
proud  of  my  native  land,  for  I  hardly  went  to  a  country  in  which  I 
did  not  stumble  on  some  Irishman  who  was  just  next  the  throne. 

I  remember  an  Austrian,  a  venerable  man,  not  unlike  your  presi- 
dent (Mr.  Gilliland) ;  but  I  must  remark  that  twenty  years  have 
elapsed  since  I  saw  him.  His  name  is  Marshal  Nugent,  the  first  officer 
of  the  Austrian  army.  What  endeared  him  to  me  still  more  was 
that  in  his  speech  he  did  not,  like  some,  try  to  get  clear  of  the 
brogue  as  quick  as  he  could.  On  the  contrary,  he  had  preserved  and 
almost  cherished  it  as  a  peculiarity  in  his  speech.  Considering  his 
long  absence  from  his  native  country,  in  connection  with  this  pecu- 
liarity in  his  utterance  of  the  English  language,  his  delicate  brogue 
reminded  me  of  the  gold  which  fringes  a  cloud  when  the  sun  is 
setting,  or  tips  the  supreme  point  of  a  lightning-rod. 

Turning  from  Austria  to  France,  we  know  that  the  Duke  de 
Feltres,  under  the  first  empire,  was  no  other  than  a  Mr.  Clarke,  from 
County  Cavan,  Ireland,  probably  one  of  the  "  crowded  out." 

More  recently  we  may  speak  of  others.  You  can  hardly  imagine 
that  Field-Marshal  McMahon  derived  his  origin  or  his  name  from 
any  province  in  the  south  of  France.  There  is  his  contemporary, 
now  called  Niel,  but  whose  right  name  is  O'Neill ;  showing  that, 
among  the  bravest  of  the  brave  in  the  French  army,  the  "  Macs" 
and  "  O's"  of  Ireland  are  not  unrepresented.  I  wonder  where  the 
O'Reilly's  came  from,  theirs  being  a  name  which  figures  both  in 
French  and  in  Spanish  history  ?  If  you  go  even  to  Havana,  you 
will  find  one  of  its  best  streets  labelled  "  Calle  O'Reilly,"  where 
there  still  lives  Count  O'Reilly,  a  descendant  of  one  of  those  who 
were  "  crowded  out"  on  the  violation  of  the  treaty  of  Limerick. 
The  very  lighthouse  on  the  Moro  Castle  of  that  city  has  the  name  of 
O'Donuell  boldly  carved  on  the  everlasting  granite  of  which  that 
lighthouse  is  composed.  His  ancestors,  too,  were  among  the 
"  crowded  out ;"  and  Spain  has  not  been  able  to  find  a  braver  or 
better  general  than  he  is  who  takes  supreme  command  of  her  troops 
ill  Morocco. 

If  Great  Britain,  like  a  wise  government,  had  encouraged  the  cul- 
tivation of  the  national  talents  of  the  Irish  people,  and  had  done 
them  justice,  she  would  at  all  times  have  had  a  nursery  of  statesmen, 
generals,  and  orators.  If  she  had  treated  them  kindly,  and  admin- 
istered impartial  justice,  I  think  there  is  no  country  that  would  have 
been  so  prolific  of  great  men.  There  is  now  no  country  of  the 
world  that  has  equalled  Ireland  in  the  production  of  great  men.  I 
have  been  surprised,  and  felt  indignation,  at  the  efforts  of  pretended 
novel-writers,  by  false  and  lying  histories,  to  cast  a  slur  over  tlieir 
national  character.  My  feeling  of  resentment  is  towards  the  govern- 
ment of  England,  who  have  never  given  us  a  chance.  Every  beauti- 
ful picture  is  possessed  of  light  and  shade,  and  wherever  these  are 
not  fairly  distributed  there  is  discrepancy.  Too  much  light  will 
dazzle,  and  too  much  shade  is  offensive. 


SPEPXHES.  759 

Ireland,  unfortunately,  has  had  her  dark  portions  preserved,  and 
the  nations  have  filched  away  her  light,  either  by  stealth  or  by  the 
"  crowded-out"  system.  Yet  no  one  will  say  that  Ireland  is  alto- 
gether in  the  dark.  I,  in  my  advanced  age,  have  sanguine  hopes 
tliat,  witli  a  fair  administration  towards  the  people,  the  opportuni- 
ties of  education,  the  encouragement  of  industry,  art,  and  mechani- 
cal pursuits,  and  all  that,  I  have  no  doubt  that  the  original,  strong- 
minded,  superabundant  intellect  of  the  Irish  peasantry  will  break 
forth  in  a  light  brilliant  enough  to  eclipse  all  that  which  has  been 
taken  from  them.  That  is  my  idea  and  hope.  I  can  remember, 
when  I  was  a  boy,  ray  speculations  as  to  whether  anybody  lived 
beyond  the  outlines  of  the  mountains.  My  first  speculation  was 
whether  anybody  could  live  beyond  that  line ;  but  if  there  was  any- 
body beyond  that  line  I  pitied  them.  At  that  period  the  school- 
master was  abroad,  for  he  was  not  in  our  neighborhood.  But  I 
never  mentioned  my  speculations  at  that  time,  for  fear  of  being 
laughed  at.  I  pitied  anybody  who  lived  beyond  the  horizon.  Things 
have  very  much  changed.  Of  course  the  schoolmaster  came  back. 
But  now  there  is  not  a  section  of  the  parish  where,  if  the  people  are 
not  educated,  it  is  not  in  a  great  measure  their  own  fault. 

Let  the  Irish  people  become  educated,  let  them  preserve  the  vigor 
of  their  natural  character  and  intellect,  and  they  may  bid  defiance 
to  the  slang  of  pretended  novel-writers.  Their  position  already  en- 
titles them  to  the  admiration  of  impartial  and  enlightened  minds 
throughout  the  world,  I  trust,  therefore,  you  will  agree  with  me 
in  the  sentiment  which  I  am  about  to  propose,  as  being  the  most  ap- 
propriate to  this  festive  occasion  in  commemoration  of  Ireland's 
patron  saint.  I  propose,  gentlemen,  as  a  sentiment :  "  The  Land  of 
the  Shamrock.  No  one  born  within  its  borders  need  be  ashamed  of 
his  birthplace."  • 


VISIT  TO  mELAND. 

SPEECH  AT  THE  BANQUET  GIVEN  IN  DUBLIN  IN  1862. 
[From  the  Dublin  Freeman's  Journal.'^ 

Very  Reverend  Rector  of  the  first  Catholic  University  that 
Ireland  could  ever  boast  of,  your  Grace  the  Primate  of  all  Ireland — 
and  I  regret  that  the  Primate,  so  called,  of  Ireland  alone,  is  not 
present — and  you,  my  lords  and  gentlemen — After  the  testimony  of 
"  Auld  Lang  Syne"  to-day,  I  think  it  too  much  that  my  name  should 
be  mentioned  in  the  eulogistic  language  employed.  I  feel  the  com- 
pliment, and  if  action  through  a  long  life  always  corresponded  with 
intention  and  feeling,  I  should  not  feel  even  unworthy  of  the  unex- 
pected eulogy  pronounced  upon  me  by  the  rector  of  the  Irish 
Catholic  University.     I  have  said  but  too  feebly  what  were  the  senti- 


760  ARCHBISHOP  HUGHES. 

merits,  feelings,  and  convictions,  as  a  Catholic  and  a  prelate  of  the 
Catholic  Church,  I  entertained  since  the  first  day  on  which  our 
gracious  confessor,  and,  I  might  say,  martyr,  Pius  the  Ninth — when 
your  prelates  were  not  agreed — pronounced  with  his  emphatic  and 
supi'etne  voice,  even  in  exile,  his  caution  to  the  hierarchy  of  Ireland 
against  the  dangers  of  a  system,  plausible  enough  for  the  children  of 
this  world,  but  entirely  unworthy  the  children  of  life. 

The  discharge  of  the  episcopal  duties  imposed  on  me  in  another 
land,  and  the  efforts  that  must  be  made  to  protect  my  flock  from 
the  contagion  of  the  error  under  the  name  of  "  liberality,"  have 
made  me,  at  least  for  twenty  years,  perfectly  familiar  with  the  whole 
falsity  of  the  system,  embodied  in  connection  with  what  are  called 
the  Queen's  Colleges. 

In  New  York,  the  corporation,  having  the  privilege  to  increase  its 
numbers  from  fifty  to  one  hundred — that  is  what  was  called  a  "  close 
cori*oration" — it  might  be  called  in  your  language  a  "  rotten  corpo- 
ration." That  corporation  had  the  privilege  of  supplying  vacancies 
by  death  and  removal,  and  in  order  to  make  the  system  useful  and 
acceptable  to  every  man  of  every  religion,  they  would  add  one  or 
two  Catholics,  two  or  three  Unitarians,  and  half  a  dozen  Universal- 
ists;  and  then  they  would  come  before  the  public,  make  their  bow, 
and  say  :  "  There  is  no  sectarianism  here,  we  have  people  of  all 
religions.  Catholics,  Episcopalians,  Presbyterians, — in  fact,  every 
religion."  Even  then  I  thought  that  the  Catholic  emancipation 
corresponded  closely  with  this  system  ;  and  since  then  I  have  com- 
pared it  with  the  actual  condition  of  the  British  Parliament  since 
the  Catholic  emancipation,  and  I  cannot  see  much  diiference.  In 
the  council  of  the  city  there  was  a  discussion  for  sixteen  hours,  every 
member  being  present — even  the  mayor  of  the  city  was  present. 
They  came  to  a  vote  upon  the  question  before  them  ;  and  out  of  all 
the  aldermen  and  common  councilmen,  there  was  only  one  that  voted 
in  favor  of  the  Catholics.  The  result  was  that  the  Catholics  were 
determined  that  no  one  man  should  step  in  to  prevent  them  from 
the  enjoyment  of  their  rights.  The  matter  was  to  be  referred  to  the 
Legislature,  but  it  was  a  formality  to  have  it  before  the  Town  Council. 
At  the  next  election  every  man  of  those  who  opposed  the  Catholics 
was  left  at  home,  and  th«  man  who  said  he  was  in  favor  of  them  was 
elected  a  Senator  of  the  State ;  and  in  that  same  Legislature  the 
decision  of  the  Common  Council  of  New  York  was  reversed,  and 
they  gave  us  the  law  we  wanted — not  exactly  what  Ave  should  have 
asked,  but  still,  as  a  great  man  used  to  say,  it  was  a  "  great  instal- 
ment of  justice." 

Then  we  were  not  satisfied  respecting  our  rights  in  what  we  called 
the  Common  Schools  ;  we  wanted  a  little  university — a  university 
not  like  yours — yours  is  a  great  university.  We  proceeded,  and  no 
one  opposed.  Out  of  a  legislature  of  one  hundred  members  only 
three  oi)p()sed,  and  they  granted  our  charter.  And  so  in  that  State 
of  New  York — which  was  once  the  single  Diocese  of  New  York, 
and  which  has  now  370  churches — as  regards  Common  Schools,  we 


SPEECHES.  761 

have  Parish  Schools  attached  to  every,  or  to  nearly  every,  church. 
We  have  every  thing  that  reasonable  men  and  good  citizens,  being 
Catholics,  could  have  the  countenance  to  ask.  In  the  country  we 
have  at  least  ten  or  eleven  universities,  with  their  churches. 

It  is  by  accident  I  find  myself  on  the  old  sod  to-day,  and  you  will 
believe  the  Archbishop  of  New  York  when  he  says  that  his  earliest 
memory  was  of  the  "  Black  North."  As  a  child,  it  was  the  image 
of  what  the  poet  calls  "  the  curving  line  of  beauty."  I  imagined  that 
there  probably  might  be  people  living  beyond  the  hills ;  but  that 
if  there  were,  they  were  out  of  the  world.  My  school  days  were 
spent  among  my  neighbors,  who  were  not  Catholics  ;  but,  I  think, 
if  I  had  been  reared  in  the  most  Catholic  portion  of  the  island,  I 
could  not  have  been  surrounded  in  my  schoolboy  days  with  kinder 
or  more  gallant  friends  than  the  scholars,  of  whom  there  were  not  a 
dozen  Catholics.  Some  of  my  earliest  school-fellows  were  denounced 
by  their  neighbors  as  having,  during  the  interval  of  ray  absence, 
become  most  outrageous  Orangemen.  They  say  the  system  is  bad ; 
but  I  would  say,  as  far  as  my  experience  goes,  that  the  individuals 
who  comprise  that  society  are  much  better  than,  and  much  superior 
to,  the  principles  ascribed  to  the  combination  itself,  I  must  mention 
one  thing,  and  it  is,  that  if  I  cross  the  ocean  now  for  the  fifteenth 
time,  it  is  because  my  life  as  a  boy  was  saved  by  Orangemen.  I  do 
not  recommend  the  system — I  do  not  advocate  the  principles — I 
know  but  little  of  it ;  but  what  I  do  know  is  this,  that  when  five 
bayonets  were  presented  to  my  breast,  when  a  boy,  not  fifteen  years 
of  age,  the  Orangemen,  on  inquiring  who  I  was,  and  learning  who 
was  my  father,  sent  me  away,  saying,  "  We  know  his  father,  all 
right." 

Gentlemen,  I  will  not  say  a  word  of  America.  I  suppose  I  know 
as  well  as  if  I  were  born  there,  perhaps  better,  that  there  may  be 
found  there  the  weaknesses,  passions,  and  prejudices  that  more  or 
less  aflEect  mankind  in  general.  I  don't  advise  a  single  countryman 
of  mine  to  go  to  America,  if  he  can  do  well  at  home;  still  I  would 
say,  in  presence  of  these  venerable  prelates  and  these  devoted  clergy 
— who  have  all  consecrated  their  lives,  I  might  say,  for  the  protec- 
tion and  salvation  of  their  flocks — I  would  say  to  them,  "  Send  us 
none  who  are  drunkards — none  who  are  bound  up  with  secret  socie- 
ties in  this  your  land,  whether  Orangemen  or  Ribbonmen  ;  give  us 
good  men  ;  and  now  particularly  is  the  time  for  them  ;  men  who  will 
do  honor  to  their  country — men  who,  like  some  of  their  predecessors, 
may  stand  prominent  at  the  bar,  or  become  distinguished  in  medicine 
in  all  its  branches  ;  and  not  only  that,  but  generals  in  the  army  in  this 
unfortunate  hour  of  America's  calamity.  In  every  position  the  Irish- 
man wlio  is  educated  and  sober,  and  does  not  belong  to  secret  socie- 
ties, is  certain  to  attain  success  and  an  honorable  position  for  himself, 
and  at  the  same  time  to  reflect  credit  on  the  land  that  gave  him 
birth."  I  have  now,  in  conclusion,  to  apologize  for  the  length  of  time 
I  iiave  occupied  with  these  remarks. 


762  ARCHBISHOP   HUaHES. 

SPEECH  BEFORE  THE  CATHOLIC  YOUNG  MEN'S  SOCIETY. 
[From  the  Dublin  Freeman's  Journal.] 

[A  meeting  called  hy  the  Catliolic  Young  Men's  Society  took  place  in  the 
Round  Room  of  the  Rotunda,  Dublin,  on  Tuesday,  July  22, 1862,  for  the  purpose 
of  presenting  an  address  of  welcome  and  thanks  to  the  most  Rev.  Dr.  Hughes, 
the  illustrious  Archbishop  of  New  York. 

In  answer  to  the  address,  his  Grace  came  forward  and  said :] 

Ladies  and  Gentlemen — I  had  no  words  prepared  or  arranged 
when  I  entered  this  hall ;  but,  as  a  friend  of  mine  once  said,  with 
strong,  but  sincere  emphasis,  so  I  can  say — the  language  which  I 
have  heard  has  been  quite  sufficient  to  wake  a  dead  man  and  make 
him  eloquent.  I  was  not  at  all  surprised,  though  personally  taken  a 
little  unawares  by  the  eloquence  of  The  O'Donoghue.  Neither  was 
I  at  all  surprised  at  the  eloquence  of  that  promising  boy  on  whom  I 
had  the  happiness,  as  he  remembers,  and  as  I  have  not  forgotten,  to 
lay  my  hand  about  eleven  years  ago.  His  eloquence  has  not  sur- 
prised me — the  voice,  the  eloquence,  the  strength,  and  the  energy — 
(I  suppose  it  must  have  been  increased  since  he  came  to  Ireland) — 
really  have  been  more  than  I  could  look  forward  to.  Finally,  I 
might  say,  I  have  been  overwhelmed  at  the  address,  not  personal  to 
me,  but  to  the  venerated  prelates  who  were  present  at  the  act — the 
great  national  act  of  last  Sunday  ;  and  the  gentleman  read  it  with 
such  beauty,  and  delicate  and  distinct  emphasis,  I  really  thought,  if 
I  had  not  thought  it  before,  that  it  was  time  for  me  to  go  home ; 
otherwise,  in  the  growing  weakness,  and  sometimes  even  the  vanity 
— we  need  not  deny  it — of  old  age,  that  I  might  get  spoiled  under 
such  a  compliin'int,  as  if  I  had  been  somebody  in  the  world — that  I 
had  better  prepare  to  return  to  my  own  country,  where  such  com- 
pliments are  sometimes  attempted,  but  never  so  eloquently  expressed. 
I  will  take  with  me  the  flag  [holding  up  the  address]  ;  and,  if  I  had 
the  slightest  hope  of  such  a  result,  I  would  plant  it,  that  it  might  grow 
— not  so  much  for  the  eloquence  imprinted  on  its  surface  as  for  its 
color. 

Allusion  has  been  made  to  the  present  melancholy  circumstances 
of  the  country  which  received  me  at  the  period  referred  to  by  the 
eloquent  Dr.  Anderdon.  I  have  lived  in  that  country  nearly  half 
a  century.  It  was  a  country  united — substantially  united — but  with 
a  margin  of  a  generally  improved  difference  of  opinion  which  would 
not  permit  the  human  mind  to  stagnate  for  want  of  something  to 
agitate  its  power.  A  dead  ocean  would  not  be  healthy.  It  would 
require  a  little  breeze  to  agitate  it  and  disperse  all  the  latent  humors 
and  vapors.  There  has  been  enough  of  moral  and  mental  activity, 
as  well  as  of  religious.  That  country  is  certainly  to-day  a  sad 
spectacle  to  the  universe.     Some  great  powers  of  the  earth  are  en 


SPEECHES.  763 

deavoring  for  the  nonce  to  unite  an  old  country  which  hereditary- 
traditions  have  rendered  apparently  incapable  of  cohesion  ;  and  who 
knows — it  is  God  only  knows — whether  these  same  extraordinary 
powers  both  of  mind  and  physical  organs  may  not  be  employed  in 
dividing  another  country  that  was  always  united.  At  all  events,  if 
you  will  just  have  the  kindness  to  let  us  alone  on  our  side,  we  shall 
settle  our  own  affairs  quietly,  not  quickly,  but  they  will  be  settled  if 
you  will  just  keep  your  hands  off.  That  point  is  understood  per- 
fectly well. 

I  have  been  now  ten  months  absent  from  the  country  of  my  adop- 
tion ;  and,  although  I  had  no  immediate,  direct,  or  frequent  inter- 
course with  the  men  who  are  looked  to  as  the  oracles  of  public  senti- 
ment, I  know  perfectly  well  what  is  the  sentiment  of  that  country. 
When  I  left,  I  left  with  the  commission  of  peace  in  its  name — an 
office  of  peace  which  would  be  in  harmony  with  my  personal  charac- 
ter— still  more  with  my  ecclesiastical  character — and  I  have  en- 
deavored to  discharge  all  the  duties  that  were  imposed  upon  me,  or 
expected  of  me,  since  I  left  that  country,  and  I  trust  not  altogether 
without  effect.  It  is  bad  enough  for  a  country  to  be  involved  in  a 
civil  war — though  it  is  no  new  thing  in  the  world — but  it  is  terrible 
when  nations  are  provoked  to  rise  in  their  strength,  and  when  ad- 
vantage is  taken  of  a  domestic  quarrel  to  divide,  and  by  division  to 
prepare  the  way  to  rule  and  govern  those  who  never  will  be  ruled 
or  governed  by  foreignei-s — the  Americans. 

There  is  no  use  at  all  in  repining  when  things  are  inevitable — 
when  they  are  passing  rapidly  into  that  unchangeable  acquisition 
which  the  present  always  hands  over  to  the  past :  and  I  have  been 
sometimes  amused,  sometimes  saddened  at  witnessing  the  immense 
sympathy,  the  deep  emotion  entertained  at  this  side  of  the  ocean  on 
account  of  the  immense  slaughter,  the  apparent  want  of  order,  and 
almost  every  thing  that  would  touch  the  deepest  humanity  of  our 
humanitarians.  You  know  the  class  to  whom  I  refer.  At  the  same 
time  I  was  speaking  to  partisan  men,  who,  while  pretending  to  weep 
at  the  calamities  which  they  witnessed  in  the  fratricidal  contest  of 
the  Americans,  were  all  on  the  one  side.  But  let  that  pass.  I  ara^ 
as  I  said,  the  friend  of  peace.  I  would  be  unworthy  the  name  of 
Christian  Bishop  if  I  were  not,  and  my  peace  is  not  merely  the  peace 
of  two  neighboring  townships,  nor  of  two  nations,  but,  if  I  could 
accomplish  it,  the  complete  peace  of  the  nations  and  of  the  people 
throughout  the  whole  world.  I  fear,  however,  it  is  of  very  little 
use  for  individuals  to  philosophize  on  this  topic.  When  a  nation 
takes  up,  under  ihe  influence  of  passing  events,  the  idea  that  another 
nation  is  either  publicly  or  secretly  sapping  or  undermining  the 
foundations  of  its  prosperity,  there  will  be  a  gradual  accumulation 
of  resentment,  which  becomes  larger  and  deeper  every  day,  and 
there  is  no  single  voice  or  single  man  that  can  for  a  moment  resist 
the  torrent  of  feeling  which  will  pour  out  from  within  the  limits  that 
restrain  it. 

I  tell  yon,  gentlemen,  the  matter  having  been  alluded  to,  that 


T64  ARCHBISHOP  HUGHES. 

even  if  peace  was  restored  to  the  whole  country  of  America  to- 
morrow, the  people  would  scarcely  unbelt  themselves  until  they  had 
put  other  questions  right.  They  feel  sore — they  feel  that  their 
national  dignity  has  been  attacked  ;  that  in  the  moment  of  their  trial 
and  of  their  difficulty  an  ungenerous  attack  was  made  on  them,  and 
they  have  unfortunately  treasured  up  the  memory  of  that  attack 
with  a  feeling  of  revenge.  I  am  sorry  to  say  it,  but  it  is  what  I 
believe  in  ray  conscience  to  be  the  truth.  In  the  present  difficulty, 
it  would  be  entirely  a  waste  of  time  if  I  should  attempt  an  explana- 
tion of  how  this  is ;  it  is  a  fact  that  everybody  knows.  In  that 
difficulty  the  country  that  was  one  not  more  than  three  years  ago  is 
now  divided  into  two,  that  is,  on  the  battle-field,  but  not  two  in 
the  civil  order.  It  is  one  country  still,  and  must  and  shall  be  one. 
No  matter  what  may  occur,  no  matter  the  foreign  interference, 
whether  military  or  naval,  that  may  destroy  the  cities  round  the 
borders  of  that  country ;  no  matter  what  may  occur,  the  question 
must  end  as  I  have  described,  that  people  shall  remain  ;  and  if  the 
party  that  is  nominally  called  "  rebel" — the  term  I  don't  use  in 
respect  of  them  all — if  that  party  shall  triumph,  then  I  will  transfer 
my  allegiance  to  that  party,  not  as  a  party,  but  as  the  legitimate 
government  of  the  United  States.  The  newspapers  on  this  side, 
English  and  French,  and  sometimes  even  Italian,  repeat  each  other 
in  the  same  sense — that  the  war  is  carried  on  by  the  American  Gov- 
ernment at  the  expense  of  Irish  and  German  blood.  That  is  a  mis- 
take. Put  an  end  to  it.  The  writers  know  it  is  not  a  fact.  The 
Irish  and  Germans  mingle  in  it  scarcely  in  proportion  to  their  num- 
bers in  civil  life ;  but  the  army,  as  a  body,  is  composed  of  real 
thorough  Americans  from  generations  past,  and  the  Irish  come  in 
as  a  sprinkling,  and  the  Germans  not  much  more. 

There  is  another  thing.  The  Irish,  besides  discharging  what  they 
consider  their  duty  to  their  own  legitimate  government — and  they 
are  ever  loyal  if  you  give  them  the  opportunity;  besides  that,  the 
Irish  have  in  many  instances,  as  I  have  the  strongest  reasons  for 
knowing,  entered  into  this  war  partly  to  make  themselves  apprentices, 
students,  as  it  were,  finishing  their  education  in  this  the  first  oppor- 
tunity afforded  them  of  becoming  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the 
implements  of  war. 

Allusion  has  been  made  in  terms  so  complimentary  that  they 
would  almost  be  overwhelming  to  one  who  had  not  seen  so  much 
of  the  world  as  I  have,  to  ray  presence  on  the  occasion  of  laying  the 
corner-stone  of  your  Catholic  National  University.  Now,  it  is  a 
fact  that  there  are  things  which  I  would  not  attempt  to  describe, 
simply  because  the  more  I  would  describe  them  the  smaller  they 
would  become.  I  remeraber  three,  and  I  select  them  from  amongst 
others — three  objects  which  would  become  less  the  more  I  would 
describe  them,  or  any  one  else  attempted  to  describe  them,  the 
author  on  his  parchment,  the  painter  on  his  easel — one  of  these 
objects  is  the  Falls  of  Niagara.  When  you  see  the  Falls  of  Niagara 
let  no  one  be  near  you — let  the  world  and  its  thoughts  stand  aside. 


SPEECHES.  765 

and  look  at  and  think  only  of  the  Falls.  In  the  same  way,  when  you 
get  to  St.  Peter's,  in  Rome,  let  no  one  fritter  away  the  whole  im- 
pression which  is  made  by  the  full  spectacle  of  that  magnificent — I 
only  make  it  little  when  I  say  magnificent — temple.  And  last  Sun- 
day was  another  of  the  same  kind.  What  I  say,  gentlemen,  is  not 
a  figure  of  speech  ;  it  is  a  sentiment  that  rushes  for  utterance  to  my 
lips,  and  I  have  expressed  it.  I  will  not,  therefore,  dwell  at  all  upon 
it ;  but  it  was  so  to  me,  almost  unconnected  with  the  majesty,  un- 
connected with  the  enthusiasm,  and  with  all  that  appeared  to  the 
eyes ;  and  it  was  from  the  fact  that  the  old  nation,  which  others 
imagine  to  be  gradually  sinking  to  its  final  extinguishment,  has  had 
courage,  in  the  year  1862,  after  passing  through  so  many  ordeals  of 
trial  and  affliction  and  of  exhaustion,  to  think  of  the  Catholic  Uni- 
versity. From  that  simple  fact  I  would  infer  that  if  Ireland  is  not 
vigorous  she  is  at  least  filled  with  a  generous  and  impulsive  vitality. 
The  old  veins  of  this  Catholic  nation  are  now  filled  with  youthful 
blood,  and  she  will  go  forward  if  her  people  sustain  this  undertaking 
as  they  should  do ;  and  it  will  be  found,  when  they  thought  she 
was  dead,  that  she  was  only  sleeping  under  the  doses  of  opium 
which  a  government,  unworthy  of  such  a  people,  had  administered 
to  her. 

Education !  Oh,  what  a  troublesome  matter  to  have  launched 
among  the  people  !  It  has  made  mischief  in  Prussia,  where  was 
put  into  operation  this  late  modern  innovation  of  the  "  mixed 
system,"  believing  in  nothing — like  a  principle,  no  religion,  no  con- 
troversy, every  man  bowing  to  his  neighbor — on  the  same  ground. 
The  system  came  into  France,  and  this  indifferentisra  almost  ruined 
the  French  people,  even  after  they  were  recovering  from  the  injuries 
of  the  first  infidel  revolution.  In  the  United  States  it  has  made  a 
great  noise,  and  if  there  is  one  country  in  the  world  in  which  this 
system  could  thoroughly  succeed  it  would  be  there  ;  and  it  has 
succeeded,  in  a  great  measure,  the  diflference  being,  that  although 
it  gives  the  children  halls  almost  as  elegant  as  this  ;  supplies  every 
appurtenance  of  elementary  knowledge  ;  the  most  improved  maps, 
globes,  and  instruments ;  the  best  books  and  pens  and  ink  ;  I  must 
do  this  justice,  and  say  there  is  not  a  word  used  in  the  schools  pre- 
scribed by  the  system  that  could  offend  any  Catholic  conscience. 
Now,  I  have  felt  from  a  very  early  period  that  this  is  equivalent  to 
establishing  Atheism  as  the  basis  of  education.  No  argument,  no 
syllogism,  no  form  of  persuasion  is  required  to  make  an  Atheist. 
Keep  away  from  him  the  knowledge  of  revelation  and  Christianity, 
and  he  will  become  an  Atheist  by  himself  without  any  expensive 
education. 

This  is  the  principle,  of  course  I  may  present  it  in  an  exaggerated 
form,  but  the  tendency  is  as  I  have  indicated.  I  suppose  you  have 
felt  the  same  probable  consequences  of  the  system  in  this  country, 
because  I  can  hardly  imagine  how  a  nation  could  have  roused  itself 
up,  all  at  once,  to  the  exhibition  of  power  and  enthusiasm  that  I 
witnessed  ou  Sunday.    It  is  an  easy  matter,  to  be  sure,  to  excite 


766  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

enthusiasm  for  one  day,  but  I  am  satisfied  that  the  people  of  Ireland 
I  will  cling  to  the  Catholic  University  with  the  same  perseverance  as 
they  have  ever  clung  to  their  whole  faith.  If  a  government  dis- 
charges its  duties  properly  it  will  have  very  little  time  to  teach  boys. 
With  or  without  encouragement  from  government,  the  hopes  of 
Ireland  are  bound  up  in  your  new  Catholic  University. 

Since  I  attempted  to  gather  my  thoughts  a  little  together  in  view 
of  this  topic,  some  statistics  have  been  put  into  my  hands.  I  have 
found  that  in  Ireland  what  you  called  the  Queen's  Colleges  have 
already  cost  £500,000  sterling.  But  there  is  no  account  of  what 
they  have  done.  In  America  I  had  believed  that  it  was  some  of 
your  bishops  or  priests  that  had  given  a  distinguishing  appellation 
to  the  system  of  these  colleges,  but  I  find  it  was,  in  fact,  an  English- 
man who  did  so.  I  believe  he  was  the  member  for  Oxford,  and, 
probably,  he  took  alarm  at  the  policy  of  the  government  which  was 
to  break  down  every  thing — to  mix  up  every  thing.  He  knew 
Oxford  was  not  prepared  for  that  yet,  and,  as  I  am  lately  informed, 
this  gentleman,  in  his  place  in  the  House  of  Commons,  described 
those  institutions — the  Queen's  Colleges — as  a  gigantic  scheme  of 
godless  education.  I  am  very  glad  it  was  none  of  you  that  christened 
the  production ;  but  for  myself  I  must  say  that  this  gentleman 
employed  an  inappropriate  word  when  he  said  "  gigantic ;"  I  would 
call  it  a  "pigmy"  system  of  godless  education.  And  yet  there  is  a 
distinction  by  which  he  could  answer  my  difficulty,  and  it  would  be 
this.  He  would  look  at  the  cost — that  is  gigantic.  I  would  look 
at  the  fruit,  and  the  fruit  would  be  pigmy  indeed.  Altogether  I 
can  only  look  at  it  as  a  production  of  expenditure  bringing  forth  a 
tiny  mouse  of  education. 

Passing  from  the  subject,  I  trust  to  say  that  the  object  with 
which  I  came  here  this  evening  was  very  different  from  what  has 
occurred..  I  thought  I  should  meet  the  Catholic  Young  Men's 
Society,  to  congratulate  them  upon  the  good  which  I  have  been  told 
they  are  doing,  sustaining  each  other  in  piety  and  in  perseverance, 
giving  their  spare  hours  to  educating  and  improving  their  minds. 
This  was  my  object  and  attention,  and  I  had  no  other  purpose  or 
object  in  view  than  to  say  to  them  a  few  words  of  encouragement. 
I  intended  to  tell  them  how  their  countrymen  in  America,  of  the 
same  professions,  occupation,  and  condition  in  life,  also  labored  in 
works  of  this  kind  ;  and  I  wish  to  encourage  them  in  that  way — to 
tell  them  tliat  young  Irishmen  coming  to  America,  if  they  are  well 
inclined,  if  they  are  sober,  but,  above  all,  if  they  are  unshackled  by 
those — I  would  almost  call  them  infernal  bonds — secret  societies  ;  if 
they  keep  clear  of  these  things,  that  there  is  a  reasonable  chance  of 
success  for  them  in  America.  But  if  they  engage  in  secret  associa- 
tions, linked  in  membership  with  those  into  whose  purposes  and 
views  they  cannot  dive,  then,  I  say,  they  had  better  stay  at  home. 
In  America  every  avenue  to  eminence  in  this  life  is  open.  There 
may  be  more  or  less  of  prejudice  ;  there  may  be  a  joke  about  the 
brogue,  but  don't  mind  the  laugh.     There  is  not  an  avenue  to  pre- 


SPEECHES.  7b  J 

eminence  that  is  not  open  to  Irishmen  as  well  as  to  the  native  born 
of  the  land.  There  are  Uvo  exceptions.  The  President  and  Vice- 
President,  by  the  Constitution,  must  be  natives ;  but  none  of  you,  I 
suppose,  would  aspire  to  these. 

I  wish  to  correct  an  error  that  is  commonly,  and,  I  think,  inten- 
tionally, propagated  in  tliese  countries — that  the  Irish,  when 
they  go  to  America,  fall  off  from  their  religion  and  pass  over  to 
other  creeds.  That  is  not  true.  I  can  say,  and  I  am  responsible  for 
what  I  say,  that  in  all  my  life  in  America,  I  never  knew  an  educated 
Catholic  to  renounce  his  faith  and  embrace  another.  But  I  must 
say — and  I  say  it  as  the  communication  of  information  may  be  impor- 
tant, first  of  all,  as  regards  myself^ — I  would  not  take  upon  my  con- 
science the  responsibility  of  inviting  or  encouraging  any  young  man 
or  old  man  iu  Ireland  to  quit  any  home,  if  he  has  one,  to  go  to 
America.  That  is  not  my  vocation.  If  they  do  it,  it  shall  be  at 
their  own  responsibility.  Rei)orts  come  over  here  to  the  effect  that 
this  one,  that  one,  or  the  other  is  succeeding  and  becoming  wealthy. 
But  on  the  other  side — and  it  is  a  trait  peculiar  to  the  Irish — if 
after  they  arrive  they  find  themselves  disappointed,  they  find  it  is 
not  at  all  the  country  they  painted  in  their  imagination,  and  antici- 
pated finding — they  get  discouraged.  That  discouragement  breaks 
them  down.  That  breaking  down  is  followed  by  the  loss,  I  might 
almost  say,  of  self-respect,  which,  next  to  the  power  of  faith  and 
hope,  is  the  sustaining  principle  ;  and  they  sometimes — but  I  trust 
not  in  the  general  way  it  is  ascribed  to  them — they  sometimes  fall 
into  low  habits  of  drinking,  and  low  associations  amongst  those 
equally  unfortunate  as  themselves.  But  give  me  the  man  of  good 
healthy  constitution.  I  care  not  what  his  business  as  a  tradesman, 
what  branch  of  mechanics  he  devoted  himself  to  in  his  own  country, 
if  he  goes  to  America  and  attends  to  his  business,  and  keeps  regular 
hours,  I  will  venture  to  say — unless  he  has  the  bonds  of  some  secret 
society  dragging  him  out  of  the  straight  line  of  duty,  honor,  and 
prosperity — he  will  succeed,  and  may  become  distinguished  or 
wealthy.  If  time  permitted,  I  could  detain  you  for  hours  on  this 
topic,  showing  the  distinctions  between  the  reports  tliat  are  true  and 
those  that  are  not,  how  far  they  are  true  and  how  far  they  are  er- 
roneous. There  is  scarcely  one  of  them  that  is  not  true  under  some 
aspect.  But  in  the  main,  now  especially  that  churches  are  multi- 
plied, that  clergymen  are  more  and  more  numerous  to  take  into 
their  care  and  under  their  spiritual  guidance  the  members  of  the 
flock  that  come  to  our  shores  now,  we  could  compare  favorably  in  all 
these  industrial  departments — we  could  bring  out  our  Catholic  young 
men,  and  compare  them  favorably  with  those  of  their  condition  in 
other  countries,  I  care  not  what  country  you  choose.  If  I  were  to 
make  an  eiception,  I  would  hesitate  to  say,  and  would  fear,  that  they 
could  not  compare  for  perseverance,  prudence,  and  goodness  with 
the  members  of  the  Catholic  Young  Men's  Society  of  Dublin. 


768  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 


[Dr.  McSweeney  said  the  best  return  he  coald  give  to  the  meeting  for  their 
kindness,  was  to  announco  that  his  Grace  the  Archbishop  of  New  York  would 
speak  a  parting  word  to  them. 

His  Grace  the  Archbishop  came  forward,  and  was  received  with  tremendous 
cheering.     He  said  :] 

Gentlemen — I  suspect  it  is  a  very  dangerous  experiment  for 
any  one  to  multiply  last  words,  for  in  doing  so  he  cannot  tell 
where  he  may  finish.  I  begged  to  have  the  opportunity  of 
making  a  few  remarks,  which  I  owe  to  the  circumstance  of 
being,  I  will  not  say  a  stranger  in  Ireland,  but,  at  all  events, 
unconnected  with  the  political  topics  which  naturally  spring 
xip  in  your  minds  on  the  occasion  of  a  meeting  so  large  and  respect- 
able as  this.  I  came  here  this  evening  at  the  request  of  the  president 
of  the  Catholic  Young  Men's  Society,  and  it  was  simply  with  the  in- 
tention of  saying  a  few  words — at  home  I  would  call  them  a  few 
fatherly  words,  and  here  I  would  not  call  them  differently ;  but  on 
that  account  I  would  beg  leave  to  say,  that  whatever  was  not  within 
that  limit  is  something  I  had  not  anticipated.  I  respect  your  country. 
It  was  once  my  own.  I  love  the  people  that  are  still  allowed  to  oc- 
cupy its  green  soil ;  but  I  belong  to  another  land,  and  it  would  not 
become  my  character  in  my  profession  to  be  found  mingling,  as  it 
were,  in  topics  that  belong  exclusively  to  a  people  that  have  griev- 
ances to  complain  of,  in  the  presence  of  those  who  have  the  power 
to  redress  tliem  and  will  not  do  it. 

There  is  a  scruple  amongst  the  Irish  Catholics  of  America,  and  it 
is  this — you  know  what  the  law  of  God  is,  the  law  that  requires  the 
forgiveness  of  injury,  the  love  of  enemies,  and,  what  is  singular, 
they  can  do  it  towards  all  men  and  all  nations  except  England. 
And  it  is  on  that  account  that  it  is  said,  in  one  of  the  quarters  round 
Rome,  that  in  reference  to  any  Irishman  who  is  to  be  a  saint  from 
this  time  forward,  care  must  be  taken  before  his  canonization  to  have 
it  probable  that  he  had  no  ill-feeling  against  England.  There  is, 
however,  a  distinction,  and  I  will  point  it  out.  It  is,  that  although 
they  may  say  England  and  Englishmen,  they  don't  mean  any  one 
in  particular ;  and  for  myself  I  can  say  that  I  have  always  been  as 
free  from  any  thing  of  national  prejudice  as  any  one  could  be.  I 
doubt  whether  any  one  is  so  free  from  prejudice.  I  can  say,  too, 
that  I  know  Englishmen,  and  that  in  proportion  as  I  become  ac- 
quainted with  them  I  learn  to  appreciate  the  sterling  merits  of  their 
individual  characters.  They  have  always,  and  on  all  occasions, 
through  the  medium  qf  personal  acquaintance,  risen  in  my  estima- 
tion ;  and  if  others  could  make  the  distinction  to  which  I  refer,  they 
would  look  on  England,  not  in  an  individual  sense,  but  in  the  sense 
of  its  being  an  abstract  corporation  ;  and  it  is  assumed  we  all  know, 
as  a  matter  of  fact,  that  corporators  have  no  souls.  It  is  an  abstract 
distinction,  applicable  not  to  living  Englishmen — not  even  to  Premier 
Palmeraton,  because  he  is  the  inheritor  of  a  system  of  iniquity 


SPEECHES.  769 

which  he  could  not,  if  he  would,  break  up,  and  which  I  fear  he 
would  not  if  he  could.  He  belongs  to  that  corporation,  and  if  I 
were  an  enemy  of  his,  which  I  am  not  in  one  sense,  for  that  would 
be  unworthy  of  the  Christian  heart — if  I  were  an  enemy  of  Eng- 
land, 1  would  approve  of  her  conduct  and  his.  Our  religious  teach- 
ing says  that  we  owe  allegiance  to  the  superior  power  of  the  world 
that  protects  us — that  protects  our  rights  so  impartially  as  to  give 
us  no  reasonable  ground  of  complaint.  To  that  government,  no 
matter  by  what  name  you  call  it,  in  principle  we  owe  allegiance ; 
and  I  have  no  doubt  that  if  any  crisis  should  test  the  fidelity  of  Ire- 
land, so  lar  as  it  goes,  that  the  Irish  would  be  found  faithful  to  the 
principles  of  their  religion,  and  would  do  their  duty  to  the  govern- 
ment. But,  as  I  said,  if  I  were  an  enemy,  I  would  wish  them  to 
continue  so  as  to  make  the  Irish  people  draw  the  distinction  between 
two  kinds  of  loyalty — one,  the  loyalty  which  the  creed  of  Ireland 
inculcates  in  spite  of  the  injustice  of  the  rule  of  the  government 
that  oppresses  and  misrules,  and  which  is  the  loyalty  of  principle. 
The  ministry  is  indebted  for  that  loyalty  to  these  venerated  bishops 
and  tlieir  predecessors,  who,  from  duty  aftd  an  obedience  to  a  higlier 
law,  have  inculcated  it.  The  Irish  people  have  drawn  the  limit,  and 
when  they  get  to  the  line  that  marks  the  boundary  between  the 
loyalty  of  principle  and  the  loyalty  of  affection,  their  loyalty  is  of 
principle,  and  there  it  stops. ,  I  would  be  glad  if  England  would  do 
something  to  awaken  gratitude  in  the  Irish  heart,  and  to  rest  on  the 
loyalty  of  affection  alone ;  but  I  have  looked  around  and  cannot 
find  it. 

When  America  sent  her  charities  by  ship-loads  to  assist  the  starv- 
ing thousands  of  your  people — when  American  merchants  loaded 
vessels  to  the  water's  edge,  England  required  a  duty  on  the  bread  of 
charity,  and  that  for  the  principle  that  would  be  sustained,  in  my 
opinion,  by  every  political  economist ;  but  political  economists  are 
another  class.  On  the  ground  that  was  put  foi"ward  by  Lord  John 
Russell,  if  I  mistake  not,  that  principle  was  that  the  regular  channels 
of  trade  should  not  be  interfered  with.  Therefore,  when  I  give 
alms  to  my  suffering  neighbor  it  becomes  an  interference  with  the 
regular  channels  of  trade,  and  I  must  pay  a  duty  upon  it. 

1  intended  simply  to  observe  that  I  came  to  meet  a  society  of 
Catholic  young  men,  who  are  engaged  in  good  works,  and  that  there 
I  intended  to  stop.  However,  I  was  roused,  not  being  yet  c^uite 
dead,  by  the  eloquence  that  preceded  my  observations  ;  and  I  only 
hope  I  shall  not  be  obliged  to  add  another  last  word. 
VoL.II.— 49 


770  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 


SPEECH    IN    CORK    ON    PUBLIC    EDUCATION    IN    AMERICA— ENG- 
LAND'S   POLICY,  Etc. 

[From  the  Cork  Examiner,  August  1,  1862.] 

After  dinner  the  chairman  proposed  the  health  of  the  Archbishop, 
to  which  his  Grace  replied  : 

Mr.  Mayor  and  Gentlemen — I  should  be  somethincf  more  or  some- 
thing less  than  a  human  being,  if  I  could  sit  with  indifference,  listen- 
ing to  eloquence  for  the  great  jiart  expended  on  myself — eloquence  so 
complimentary  to  me,  which  I  have  just  heard.  More  than  human 
being  I  would  not  aspire  to;  less  I  could  not  submit  to  accept. 
But,  as  a  human  being,  who  has  all  the  failings  which  belong  to  our 
common  nature,  varied,  perhaps,  by  varying  circumstances,  through 
a  long  and  not  entirely  uniform  life  as  regards  the  associations  with 
ray  fellow-beings,  I  will  only  say  that  wliilst  I  disclaim,  in  all  sim- 
plicity of  heart,  a  very  large  portion  of  the  encpmiums  that  have 
been  passed  on  rae,  I  at  the  same  time  remember  vividly,  all  through 
the  course  of  my  life,  the  consciousness  of  a  desire  to  accomplish  the 
things  that  have  been  attributed  to  me  in  terms  far  too  flattering 
for  one  whose  head  might  not  be  so  well  balanced  by  the  prosperity 
and  perhaps,  sometimes,  the  adversity  of  common  life.  My  account 
is  well  balanced.  If  praised,  I  have  also  been  well  blamed.  And 
when  I  balance  the  one  against  the  other,  I  feel  I  ought  to  be  the 
humblest  man  on  the  face  of  the  earth.  I  thank  you,  Mr.  Mayor, 
for  your  kind  observations  towards  me  ;  and  I  thank  you,  gentle- 
men of  the  city  of  Cork — and  the  more  so,  precisely  because  of  that 
circumstance  for  which  his  Honor  the  Mayor  seemed  to  apologize, 
namely,  the  want  of  time  to  make  the  necessary  preparations  for  my 
reception.  The  reception  might  have  worn  the  appearance  of  being 
less  sincere  and  cordial  had  the  time  for  preparation  been  longer.  It 
came  promptly  on  the  first  notice  of  ray  arrival.  That  is  the  kind  of  re- 
ception I  think  most  honorable.  If  there  was  time  it  might  be  got  up 
with  machinery.  This  is  an  impulse.  We  have  heard  in  the  course 
of  the  evening  allusion  made  to  that  great  and  illustrious  assembly 
of  the  prelates  of  the  Catholic  Church  which  lately  took  place  iu 
Rome ;  and  a  circumstance  vvhich  renders  it  the  more  illuslrious  is 
the  fact  that  they  were  not  congregated  by  authority.  The  Holy 
Father  and  saintly  Pope — I  call  iiim  our  confessor,  living  martyr, 
not  dead,  for  I  consider  that  there  is  a  martyrdom  of  feeling  as  well 
as  of  physical  suffering — he  is  our  martyr,  and  with  that  meekness, 
to  which  the  Mayor  alluded,  he  did  not  order  us  to  assemble  in 
Kome,  but  he  merely  expressed  a  wisli  to  see  us  if  we  could  come. 
He  says,  "  If  your  duties  do  not  prevent,  I  would  like  to  see  you." 
I  could  not  hel[)  sympathizing  with  every  word  uttered  by  the 
Mayor  when  speaking  on  that  topic;  and  tlie  more  so,  not  only  be- 
cause he  is  the  chief  officer  of  your  ancient  and  historic  city,  but  also 


SPEECHES.  771 

because  he  is  your  representative  in  the  greatest  assembly,  if  not  in 
the  entire  world,  at  least  in  the  British  Empire.  Though  he  (the 
Mayor)  has  the  confidence  of  you  all  in  this  city  of  Cork,  he  is,  I 
must  tell  you,  still  belter  kno\vn  in  every  city,  in  every  town,  in 
every  village,  in  every  hamlet  of  the  United  States,  where  men  read 
and  wish  to  know  what  is  the  condition  of  God's  Church  in  every 
part  of  the  face  of  the  earth,  especially  the  trials  of  her  visible  rep- 
resentative. They  know  the  Mayor  of  Cork  better  by  his  book  on 
Rome  than  perhaps  by  any  thing  else.  But  I  will  be  allowed  to 
make  one  single  remark  in  reference  to  him,  and  it  is  this:  that 
whether  he  be  Mayor  of  Cork  or  representative  in  Parliament,  or 
not,  the  citizens  and  people  of  Cork  ought  to  be  proud  of  him  as  a 
countryman — if  he  were  never  heard  of  before — for  the  book  he 
wrote  on  the  Head  of  the  Church,  which  is  ascribed,  and  I  believe 
rigiitly,  to  the  Mayor.  Allusion  1ms  also  been  made  to  the  people  of 
Ireland.  It  is  not  for  me  to  occupy  your  time  on  this  topic.  I  have 
known  them  by  tradition,  in  early  lite — by  my  intercourse  and  ex- 
perience amongst  them  ;  and  since  then  I  have  not  ceased  to  know 
them  in  another  land ;  and  I  think  that,  bariing  the  habitual  earning 
of  a  low  recompense  for  prostituted  talents,  sometimes  of  Irish 
growth,  they  would  be  accounted  in  the  main,  and  in  the  opinion  of 
sensible  men,  the  first  nation  on  the  face. of  the  earth.  I  do  not  say 
any  nation,  but  people;  I  will  not  say  this  of  the  gentlemen  or  men 
of  Ireland  alone ;  but  if  you  take  one  delicate  point,  it  would  be 
enough  of  itself  to  redeem  all  the  other  failings  to  which  they  may  be 
liable.  I  mean  the  female  character — the  proud,  pure  character  of  the 
Irish  females,  which  they  carry  with  them  wherever  they  go.  Gen- 
tlemen, this  is  a  topic  which  I  would  not  choose  to  dwell  on ;  but  I 
will  say  this  much,  that  the  Mayor  of  the  city  of  New  York,  where 
I  now  live;  the  Mayor  of  Philadelphia,  where  I  lived  over  twelve 
years  as  a  priest,  and  all  those  connected  with  the  guardianship  of 
public  morals,  wei-e  not  prepared  to  hear  any  accusation  against  an 
Irish  female.  When  the  word  "  Irish"  went  before  the  word 
"  female,"  they  thought  any  accusation  laid  to  their  charge  was  false. 
And  if.  in  some  instances,  they  were  obliged  to  pass  the  censure  of 
the  law  on  them,  they  always  asserted  it  was  of  rare  occurrence  that 
a  charge  of  the  kind  should  be  brought  against  even  the  humblest 
daughters  of  Ireland.  I  have  seen  the  emigrants,  some  of  older,  and 
others  of  more  recent  transportation — I  might  call  it  so — than  my- 
self I  have  watched  them;  it  was  not  a  deliberate  study,  but  my 
duties  obliged  me  to  do  it.  I  may  repeat  what  came  under  my  ob- 
servation. I  saw  that  in  America  the  Irish,  as  a  class,  stand  not  in- 
ferior to  any  other.  There  have  been  moments  when  there  was  ex- 
hibited some  slight  leaven  of  that  evil  which  has  destroyed  this  land, 
and  when  parties  and  societies  were  formed.  At  one  time  it  was 
Mormonism,  at  another  it  was  Know-Nothingism,  at  another  it 
was  something  else;  but  the  people  outlived  all  these,  and  passed 
them  over.  Their  good  sense  allowed  the  tomfoolery  to  go  to  a 
certain   point,  and  then  with  one  scowl  of  the  public  opinion  they 


772  '  ARCHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

extinguished  it.  With  the  exception  I  have  mentioned,  the  Irish 
stand  as  liigh,  I  assert,  as  any  people  in  our  free  country.  When 
they  arrive  at  the  other  side  they  encounter  great  difficulties.  The 
language,  to  be  sure,  is  the  same ;  but  tliere  is  a  diiference  in  pro- 
nouncing even  those  words  which  are  spelt  in  the  same  Avay  here 
and  there,  which  makes  the  language  almost  different  from  that 
spoken  in  Ireland.  The  spurious  bad  literature  of  England  and  the 
suicidal  literature  of  this  country  has  made  its  way  to  America, 
and  has  tainted  the  minds  of  the  people  there  who  read  it.  But 
when  they  come  to  reflect  and  think  over  it,  they  encourage  merit, 
and  sustain  it  under  every  circumstance  with  an  eagerness  we  could 
not  expect  from  those  who  are  not  related  to  us.  We  often  hear  of 
emigrants  not  succeeding  in  America,  and  of  bad  accounts  coming 
home  to  this  country  in  consequence.  But  I  tell  you  that  if  the  emi- 
grant have  patience ;  if  he  be  a  person  of  sober  habits ;  if  he  be  a 
cool,  reflecting  person — industrious,  and  in  the  habit  of  rising  early 
and  minding  his  employment,  such  a  man  inevitably  succeeds.  I 
never*  knew  an  instance  to  the  contrary.  If,  however,  he  emigrate, 
and  carry  with  him  false  notions  of  things ;  if  he  be  a  person  who 
was  accustomed  to  i"ank  in  his  own  country,  and  expect  to  be  put  in 
a  place  of  rank  and  emolument  immediately  on  his  arrival,  he  is  sure 
to  be  disappointed.  And  this  first  process  and  trial  is  certain  to  be 
repeated  in  his  after  life,  "as  he  will  be  found  to  cling  to  his  own 
idea  until  he  expends  every  penny  he  has  in  the  world.  But  if  he 
succeeds  in  his  first  enterprise,  he  will  continue  to  succeed  more  and 
more.  I  will  give  you  an  example  of  this.  I  knew  one  man  who 
was  employed  as  a  porter  (as  he  is  called)  in  a  store,  and  had  to 
come  early  in  the  morning,  sweep  out  the  place,  clean  the  windows, 
and  go  on  messages,  I  have  seen  that  man  afterwards  at  the  head 
of  the  establishment,  and  knew  him  to  be  rated  at  half  a  million 
dollars.  I  have  never  known  a  man  of  industry,  of  perseverance  and 
determination,  to  fail  in  America.  On  the  contrary,  even  should 
such  men  fail  after  the  first,  second,  or  third  enterprise,  there  are 
those  who  are  ready  to  lend  them  a  helping  hand  and  receive  them. 
But  when  a  man  is  down,  shows  no  desire  to  rise,  returns  to  his  bad 
habits,  and  gives  way  to  drink  as  if  to  drown  his  grief  and  misfor- 
tune, he  most  certainly  will  not  succeed.  Such  a  case,  however,  is 
the  exception,  and  not  the  rule  in  America.  I  know  there  are  in 
this  country  what  are  called  plains  or  prairies,  where  the  cottages  of 
the  poor  man  were,  and  they  are  now  occupied  by  the  ox  and  swine. 
The  poor  man  is  not  there ;  but  where  is  he?  I  can  trace  him.  He 
is  in  the  west  of  the  United  States ;  and  he  is,  instead  of  being  the 
liumble  cottier,  afraid  of  having  his  cottage  taken  away  from  him, 
now  the  owner  of  his  section  of  land  in  America,  perhaps  of  three 
liundred  acres  or  more  of  what  was  until  lately  government  land, 
and  the  property  of  the  government ;  and  even  latety  he  was  the 
proprietor  of  it  under  the  government  protection,  allowed  to  do 
what  he  pleased  with  it.  So  that  between  the  ox  and  swine  which 
feed  in  the  spot  that  rises  in  the  verdancy  of  the  plains  by  the  luxu- 


SPEECHES.  773 

riousness  of  its  tillage — between  that  and  his  present  oecnpation  what 
has  befallen  him  has  been  to  the  cottier  a  kind  and  benevolent  Provi- 
dence. But  wherever  he  goes  from  Ireland,  if  he  carries  with  him, 
and  inherit  the  fate  which  made  this  island  so  distinguished  in  the 
earlier  period  of  the  Church — wherever  he  goes,  whether  it  be  to 
the  prairies  or  the  city,  he  carries  with  him  the  zeal  and  devotion  to 
his  Church,  by  which  he  can  raise  himself  in  the  respect  of  all 
who  know  him.  Gentlemen,  I  have  detained  you  too  long  talking 
on  these  topics.  You  will  permit  me  to  conclude  with  expressing 
my  sentiments  of  respect  and  gratitude  to  the  inhabitants  of  Cork, 
by  whom  1  have  now  the  honor  to  be  entertained. 

Amongst  others  to  whom  his  Honor  the  Mayor  alluded  as  being 
the  instruments  in  America  of  promoting  the  extension  of  religion, 
not  a  few  derive  their  origin  from  Cork.  And  in  that  hemisphere, 
though  they  are  not  all  in  the  United  States,  we  can  count  two  arch- 
bishops who  call  themselves  Cork  men,  and  they  were  and  are  an 
honor  to  Ireland,  and  ought  to  be  remembered.  The  Archbishop  of 
Cincinnati  is  a  Cork  man  ;  the  Archbishop  of  Halifax,  in  the  Biitish 
Provinces,  is  a  Cork  man ;  and  there  is  another,  who  lately  resigned 
his  office  through  ill-health.  Dr.  O'Connor,  of  Pittsburgh.  He  was 
a  Cork  man,  or  rather  from  the  county,  near  Cork — Mallow. 

And  be  assured  that  I  have  scai-cely  had  time  to  observe  tlie  pro- 
gress of  religion  in  my  own  dioceses.  Things  go  on  from  day  to 
day.  My  tliought  is  not  what  is  done,  but  what  is  to  be  done. 
Our  Catholic  people  of  New  York  have  made  exertions  to  secure 
for  themselves  and  their  children  Catholic  education.  Tiiat  is 
true.  The  Mayor  made  allusion  to  this  matter,  and  I  can  tell 
you  something  more  about  it.  There  was  in  the  city  of  New  York 
a  corporation  which  was  called  the  Public  School  Society ;  and  was 
formed  for  the  purpose  of  educating  all,  without  distinction.  They 
Avere  a  close  corporation  ;  and  had  the  privilege  of  having  one  hun- 
dred members,  in  order  to  make  a  good  appearance.  After  a  while 
they  lost  some  members ;  and,  at  one  time,  had  only  fifty-three  of 
their  own  creed.  To  make  it  look  honest,  however,  they  took  in 
some  two  or  three  Episcopalians,  a  couple  of  Methodists,  half  a 
dozen  or  so  of  Unitarians,  two  or  three  Baptists,  an  odd  Quaker,  and 
sometimes  a  couple  of  Catholics;  and  then  they  asserted,  "There  is 
no  sectarianism  amongst  us."  But  I  struggled  with  them  and 
brought  them  down. 

■  Afterwards  the  State  Legislature  professed  to  satisfy  us  Catholics, 
and  they  made  a  system  which  was  said  to  be  better.  We  tried  it 
for  four  years,  and  it  failed.  We  then  built  our  university,  and  we  built 
our  school-houses,  at  a  cost  of  from  £4,000  to  £5,000,  one  near  each 
church.  And  now  we  have  them  under  the  care  of  the  Monks,  Chris- 
tian Brothers,  the  Sisters  of  Mercy,  the  Sisters  of  Charity,  the  Com- 
munity of  theUrsulines,  the  Community  of  Notre  Dame — we  might, 
perhaps,  omit  to  mention  some,  but  these  Ave  remember  at  present. 
We  have  now  in  the  city  of  New  York  our  own  schools,  with  our 
books,  our  own  slates,  our  own   desks,  our  own   maps,  our  own 


774  AECHBISHOP   HUGHES. 

globes,  and  we  have  fifteen  thousand  Catholic  children  attending  the 
schools.  In  the  mean  time  we  have  to  compete  witii  the  other  sys- 
tem, which  is  under  another  name — that  of  the  established  schools. 
Still  we  are  not  discouraged  ;  and  from  this  time  forward  not  one  of 
our  children  shall  frequent  these  schools.  They  may  say  their  books 
will  not  contain  any  thing  offensive  to  Catholics,  and  they  may  pro- 
fess not  to  teach  religion  in  their  schools  ;  yet,  I  know  they  teach  by 
stealth,  and  when  they  get  the  opportunity.  I  cannot  help  con- 
demning their  duplicity  in  this  matter.  They  may  tell  us  they  do  not 
teach  religion  openly  and  by  word  of  mouth,  but  they  do  so  as  effect- 
ually, and  with  a  certainty  of  producing  the  required  effect  on  the 
children's  minds.  The  cards  hung  on  the  walls  of  the  schools,  with 
such  phrases  on  them  as  "God  sees  us,"  and  always  before  the  eyes 
of  the  children,  produce  their  own  impression  on  them.  We  know 
and  see  the  effect  of  the  teaching  at  such  schools.  The  children  be- 
come irreverent  and  profane  towards  their  parents,  and  hence  we 
have  cut  the  spot.  Gentlemen,  you  will  allow  me  to  conclude  by 
returning  you  my  sincere  thanks  for  this  impromptu  display  of  your 
feelings  towards  me  on  the  part  of  the  Catholic  population  of  Cork, 
and  in  particular  to  the  Mayor,  who  is  so  well  known  from  the  con- 
fidence placed  in  him  by  his  fellow-citizens,  and  still  more  by  the 
book  in  which  he  has  vindicated  the  rights  of  the  Catholic  Church, 
and  maintained  the  temporal  sovereignty  of  the  Holy  Father. 

Gentlemen,  I  am  supposed  to  be  what  is  called  a  law-abiding  citi- 
zen while  I  am  at  home,  and  that  implies  due  deference  to  authority. 
I  will  ask  your  permission,  therefore — laying  his  Honor  the  Mayor 
aside  for  the  moment — to  propose  a  toast.  If  I  did  not  proj)ose  it 
at  the  conclusion  of  my  former  remarks,  it  was  not  that  I  forgot  my 
duty,  but  it  was  because — as  bons  vivants  keep  their  bonnes  chases 
for  the  last — I  reserve  my  best  also  for  the  last.  I  will  propose  to 
you  the  health  of  one  of  whom  I  need  not  speak,  because  there  is  not 
a  gentleman  in  the  room  whose  approval  and  support  have  not  been 
the  indorsement  of  the  honorable  Mr.  Mayor.  He  was  kind  enough 
to  allude  to  a  calamity  in  my  country  (as  I  call  it,  in  a  civil  sense), 
owing  to  the  war  which  rages  there  with  great  violence  at  the  pres- 
ent moment.  It  would  indeed  be  a  strange  thing  if  either  bishop  or 
priest  were  insensible,  or  listened  without  feeling  to  the  remarks 
made  by  the  Mayor  on  this  subject.  I  feel  much  myself  at  the  con- 
tinuance of  the  war.  I  endeavored  to  prevent  it ;  but  when  I  found 
that  to  be  impossible,  I  endeavored  to  mitigate  its  horrors  as  much 
as  I  could.  I  pray  and  hope  that  peace  between  both  parties  may 
be  made ;  but  if  any  one  asks  me  how  peace  is  to  come,  I  find  it  im- 
possible to  give  an  answer.  I  trust  that  God  will  have  mercy  on 
us  ;  but,  when  matters  are  taken  out  of  the  circle  and  sphere  of  sim- 
ple justice,  and  an  appeal  is  made  to  the  decision  of  force  and  the 
arbitrament  of  sanguinary  war,  we  can  do  very  little.  We  can  pray, 
and  that  is  all  we  can  do.  I  hope  for  better  limes,  and  do  not  for- 
get the  aspirations  uttered  by  our  President  here.  It  is  certainly 
ray  opinion  that  the  same  feeling  ought  to  exist  on  both  sides  of  the 


SPEECHES.  775 

Atlantic.  Your  people  are  our  people  ;  and  the  time  is  not  far  dis- 
tant when  the  question  will  be  whether,  in  case  of  a  reunion  of  all 
the  Irish  at  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic,  it  would  be  better  for  those 
in  America  to  come  home,  or  for  those  at  home  to  go  and  join  thera. 
I  feel  and  know  there  is  a  kindly  feeling  existing  towards  the  Irish 
people,  and  I  am  aware  that  at  no  time  within  ray  recollection  did 
the  merchant  so  load  his  vessel,  pay  his  crew,  sink  the  vessel  down 
with  provisions,  as  when  sent  to  save  the  starving  people  of  this 
island. 

I  will  take  up  the  gentleman's  observation.  The  English  Puritan 
did  not  do  so.  I  will  say,  however,  that  the  English  people,  man  by 
man,  did  contribute ;  the  English  government  did  not.  I  say  this 
the  more  frankly,  because  their  interference  with  the  charitable  left 
a  bad  impression  on  my  mind.  These  very  provisions  which  were 
sent  to  the  relief  of  the  Irish,  were  charged  the  very  same  duty  as  if 
they  came  from  the  market  and  were  to  be  purchased.  The  charges 
were  made,  not  by  the  English  people,  but  by  Parliament.  I  have 
known  English  ladies  and  gentlemen,  and  I  entertain  for  them  very 
great  respect.  I  could,  therefore,  cast  no  imputation  on  them  as  a 
people ;  but  when  one  looks  at  the  different  manner  in  which  the 
two  countries  are  treated,  he  is  inclined  to  put  the  blame  some- 
where. Her  Majesty  the  other  day  sent  two  thousand  pounds  to  re- 
lieve the  distress  in  Manchester  ;  did  she  send  two  thousand  pounds 
towards  the  distress  in  Ireland  ? 

It  is  said  the  English  are  starving.  How  ?  On  beef-steaks. 
That  is  one  great  characteristic  of  Englishman  :  he  will  never  allow 
himself  to  be  starved.  It  is  a  fact,  however,  that  the  people  in  some 
districts  are  poor;  and  I  sympathize  with  them.  They  say  they  have 
no  cotton ;  without  cotton  there  is  no  work ;  and  when  there  is  no 
work,  what  is  the  consequence  ?  Why,  the  wealthy  man,  the  rich 
neighbor,  comes  in  and  gives  aid ;  and  it  is  a  matter  of  positive  fact 
that  the  operatives  of  Manchester  have  not  lived  better  for  a  long 
time  than  they  do  at  present. 

After  a  few  other  observations  on  the  state  of  things  at  present 
existing  in  America,  his  Grace  concluded  by  proposing  the  health  of 
the  Mayor.  His  Grace  then  resumed  his  seat  amid  repeated  bursts 
of  applause. 


APPENDIX. 


[The  following  documents  came  into  the  Editor's  hands  too  lato  to  be  inserted 
under  the  headings  to  which  they  belong  in  the  body  of  the  work.] 

THE  ENGLISH  AND  AMERICAN  PRESS  AND  THE 
ROMAN  GOVERNMENT. 

To  the  Editor  Courier  and  Enquirer : 

Is  tlie  Pontifical  government,  under  Pius  IK  and  his  advisers,  so  much  worse 
than  the  average  of  civil  governments  in  this  world,  that  it  deserves  to  be 
singled  out  as  an  exception,  and  by  the  universal  Anglo-Saxon  execration  ? 
If  not,  how  can  the  abuse  that  has  been  poured  out  recently  on  that  govern- 
ment be  justified  on  the  grounds  of  truth  and  impartial  judgment?  Why 
should  St.  Petersburg,  Vienna,  Berlin,  St.  James,  not  to  speak  of  the  minor 
despotisms  of  northern  Europe,  be  overlooked  and  allowed  to  escape  the  censure 
of  our  journalism  ?  Why  should  these  be  almost  forgotten,  whilst  the  whole 
stream  of  editorial  vituperation  is  directed  against  the  Pope  and  the  Cardinals 
of  Rome?  Are  they  alone  guilty?  This  will  not  be  pretended.  Are  they 
more  guilty  than  others  ?  This  is  not  asserted.  Why,  then,  are  they  singled 
out  for  special  and  almost  exclusive  denunciation  ? 

There  is  not  a  more  humane  prince  or  sovereign  in  the  world  than  Pius  the 
Ninth.  But  he  is  Pope.  Can  this  be  his  crime?  There  is  not  in  the  state 
offices  of  any  government  on  the  earth  a  more  unblemished,  more  moral,  more 
enlightened,  more  dignified  cabinet  coimcil  than  that  of  the  cardinals ;  and  yet 
there  is  not  one  among  them  qualified  to  bo  a  "  railway  king.'  They  have  not 
the  peculiar  genius,  nor  the  enterprise,  nor  yet  the  training  which  would 
qualify  them  to  keep  pace  with  the  progress  of  the  age  in  such  departments. 
Still,  place  them  as  a  body  side  by  side  with  our  own  Senate,  or  the  English 
House  of  Lords,  and,  as  regards  the  attributes  which  inspire  respect  and  confi- 
dence— moral  integrity,  intellectual  culture,  genius,  acquirements,  justice, 
honor,  and  humanity — they  Mill  compare  most  favorably  with  either,  whether 
by  individual  or  by  aggregate  comparison.  But  they  are  Cardinals  !  Is  that 
their  crime  ?    If  so,  why  not  state  it  at  once  ? 

I  do  not  say  that  the  civil  government  of  Eome  is  all  that  it  might  be. 
But  what  other  civil  government  is?  And  if  all  are  defective,  why  single  out 
one? 

What  sovereign  in  Europe  has  given  such  evidences  of  his  sincerity  in  en- 
deavoring to  ameliorate  the  condition  of  his  subjects  as  Pius  IX  ?  And  is  it  for 
this  that  he  is  abused  ?  If  his  people  had  been  as  true  to  him  as  he  was  to 
them,  the  disorders  which  have  occurred  in  the  Roman  States  would  have  been  , 
prevented,  and  the  condition  of  the  people  much  better  than  it  is  or  can  be  for 
some  time. 

I  admit  the  practice,  if  not  the  right,  of  the  press  to  discuss  and  decide  on  all 
questions  in  Europe,  Asia,  Africa,  and  America,  as  well  as  in  all  the  islands  of  all 
the  oceans.  Nay,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  I  am  compelled  to  admit  the  same  practice 
in  regard  to  things  in  heaven  above,  on  the  earth  beneath,  and  in  the  waters 
under  the  earth.     Hence,  I  have  no  objection  to  its  pronouncing  on  the  govern- 


APPENDIX.  777 

ment  of  Rome  witli  the  same  oracular  solemnity  as  if  the  question  at  issue  had 
been  tried  in  one  of  our  courts,  the  parties  duly  arraigned,  witnesses  examined, 
and  truth  sifted  out  from  falsehood  seeundum  artem.  But  in  such  case  I  should 
expect  the  press  to  remember  the  purity  of  its  judicial  ermine  as  well  as  the 
power  of  its  types.  I  should  be  sorry  to  see  it  selecting  the  government  of 
Rome  as  a  special  culprit  to  be  tried  and  condemned,  while  the  royal  and  aris- 
tocratic oppressors  of  our  race,  the  powerful  offenders,  are  allowed  to  pass  with 
only  a  threat  or  gentle  admonition  from  the  court.  Justice,  whether  in  the 
press  or  on  the  bench,  ought  not  to  poise  its  sentence  on  a  partial  centre,  nor 
hem  in  its  utterance  for  or  within  a  sectional  circle.  It  may,  and,  indeed,  must 
be,  diversified  in  application,  according  to  circumstances ;  but  in  its  essence 
and  principle  it  should  be  impartial,  identical,  universal,  like  the  daylight 
which  surrounds  and  embraces  the  world. 

As  a  Catholic,  I  have  no  more  partiality  for  a  bad  government  in  Rome  than 
elsewhere.  But  to  fasten  on  the  Pope  and  Cardinals,  and  hold  them,  and  them 
alone,  up  to  ridicule  and  contempt  in  the  public  press  of  this  country,  is  a  prac- 
tice which  may  mislead  Protestants,  which  will  not  enlighten  us,  Catholics, 
whilst  it  manifests  a  thoughtless,  or,  if  not  thoughtless,  a  wanton  contempt  for 
our  feelings  as  men  and  as  Americans,  not  unworthy  of  our  privilege,  who 
have  some  proper  measure  of  respect  for  ourselves  in  the  time  that  now  is,  and 
for  our  religious  convictions  of  faith  in  regard  to  the  results  of  that  eternity 
which  for  us  is  not,  but  soon  will  be. 

I  am  sure  I  shall  not  be  thought  extravagant  if  I  assert  the  proposition  that, 
as  regards  the  conditions  of  civil  life,  the  temporal  government  of  the  Pope  is 
about  as  good — if  you  take  an  average  medium  between  the  best  and 
worst — as  any  other  in  Europe.  Again,  then,  why  select  the  Pope  and  Car- 
dinals as  the  sjiecial  objects  of  vituperation  on  the  score  of  bad  government  t 

If  it  should  not  be  considered  out  of  place,  I  would  make  an  observation  on 
questions  of  government  generally,  viz.,  that,  with  the  best  intentions,  they 
cannot  at  any  given  time  accomplish,  with  all  their  power,  all  the  good  which 
they  would  wish  to  see  realized.  The  generations  that  have  been  are,  to  a 
great  extent,  morally,  if  not  actually,  the  real  governors  of  the  generation  that 
is.  This  is  true  of  all  times  and  all  nations.  Among  ourselves,  Washington, 
in  this  sense,  still  continues  to  live,  and  Jefferson  has  by  no  means  ceased  to 
exercise  dominion.  The  present,  with  or  without  design,  is  always  engaged 
in  throwing  out  claws  and  hooks  and  grappling-irons  on  the  future.  The 
present,  as  time  rolls  on,  fades  into  the  past,  the  future  comes  up  into  the 
present,  and  there  is  no  change  in  the  order.  This  law  does  not  apply  to  indi- 
viduals. Among  individuals,  one  may  go  to  bed  with  his  generation,  and 
awake  next  morning  twenty  leagues  "  ahead"  of  it.  But  then  he  will  have  to 
"  rest  on  his  oars"  twenty  years  till  it  comes  up  to  liim,  if  he  is  right ;  if  not, 
he  dies  next  day  as  a  mushroom  of  a  night's  growth.  Hence  no  government, 
not  even  our  own,  can  do  at  any  time  all  it  would  wish,  all  it  knows  to  be 
right.  The  hindrances  are  hereditary ;  the  past  has  grappled  them  to  its 
measures  and  its  history,  and  they  cannot  release  themselves  except  by  slow 
degrees,  or  the  lawful  convulsions  of  anarchy. 

Now,  the  past  of  one  nation  is  not  that  of  another.  The  past  of  the  United 
States  caimot  be  a  model  for  the  present  of  the  Roman  States.  We,  foreooth, 
are  "  Anglo-Saxons"  with  a  "  manifest  destiny"  encircling  our  brows.  This 
destiny  we  have  appropriated  to  ourselves,  as  lieirs  of  the  outward  prosperity  of 
Great  Britain.  This  destiny,  regarded  from  a  point  of  self-complacency  within, 
appears  to  us  an  arch  of  freedom,  tinged  ■v%-ith  all  the  blended  hues  of  heaven's 
covenant  of  peace  to  Noah,  after  the  deluge.  But,  like  all  other  rainbows,  it  is 
set  in  a  cloud ;  and  woe  to  the  weak  nation  that  stands  in  the  way  of  our 
"  manifest  destiny,"  heedless  of  the  furious,  but  not  quite  blind  elements  with, 
which  our  Anglo-Saxon  cloud  comes  up  freighted. 

But  is  our  British  and  American  legislation  or  government  all  that  it  should 
be  on  either  side  of  the  Atlantic  ?  Not  quite.  In  Great  Britain  there  is  a 
population  as  numerous  as  that  of  the  Papal  States  shut  up  in  the  prison-houses 
of  legal  charity.    In  Rome  no  human  poor-law  has  yet  been  found  necessity. 


778  APPENDIX. 

The  destitute  are  provided  with  food  and  clothing  by  the  spontaneous  charity 
of  their  brethren,  and  the  government  has  not  found  it  necessary  to  abridge 
them  of  their  right  of  health  and  exercise  in  the  open  air,  with  its  summer 
breezes  and  its  winter  sunshine.  The  subjects  of  the  Pope  have  never  been 
allowed  to  die  by  thousands  of  starvation,  or  escape  death  only  by  the  chari- 
table contributions  of  other  countries,  whilst  the  hounds  and  horses  appertaining 
directly  or  indirectly  to  the  national  government,  or  church  and  its  ministers, 
faretl  sumptuously  every  day.  The  Poj>e's  subjects  may  be  poor,  and  badly 
governed  in  many  respects,  but  there  is  no  instance  among  them  of  a  bishop 
amassing  in  a  few  years  a  fortune  of  a  million,  a  million  and  a  half,  or  even 
two  millions  of  dollars,  extorted  by  act  of  parliament,  under  a  constitution, 
from  a  starving  population,  not  one  in  twenty  of  whom  believed  a  syllable  of 
the  creed  which  he  would  have  preached,  if  there  had  been  hearers  to  listen, 
but  for  which,  nolens  vokns,  they  had  to  pay  so  dearly. 

And  as  for  our  own  country,  if  Rome  were  disposed  to  retort  our  crimina- 
tions on  her  bad  government,  might  she  not,  after  reading  our  abolition  statis- 
tics as  published  among  ourselves,  or  in  England  within  the  last  ten  years,  hint 
to  us  the  moral  about  those  who  live  in  "glass  houses  ?"  Might  she  not,  in 
that  courteous  phraseology  which  her  great  men  know  so  well  how  to  employ, 
and  to  which  her  humblest  citizens  are  so  weU  accustomed,  insinuate  delicately 
that,  at  a  distance  of  four  thousand  miles,  we  are  hardly  far-sighted  enough  to 
detect  the  mote  in  her  eyes,  v.ith  so  huge  a  beam  in  our  own  ? 

But,  no  ;  tliis  will  never  come  to  pass.  Rome  has  been  a  government  under 
the  Popes  for  some  twelve  hundred  years.  We,  as  a  government,  have  not  yet 
closed  the  first  century.  She  has  seen  much  more  of  the  world  than  we  have, 
and  on  that  account  is  much  more  likely  to  make  allowances  for  those  social 
and  civil  inequalities  which,  however  well  disixised,  governments  cannot  always 
either  remove  or  regulate,  except  gradually,  with  the  lapse  of  time. 

These  remarks  are  offered  only  as  a  remonstrance,  or  in  mitigation  of  sentence, 
when  the  press  here  arraigns  the  government  of  a  small  State  in  Italy.  If  any 
press  under  the  Roman  government  were  to  retaliate  on  us,  to  the  effect  that 
we  are  disqualified  from  reading  lessons  of  freedom  to  other  nations  so  long  as 
we  keep  a  population  almost,  if  not  quite,  as  numerous  as  that  of  the  Pontifical 
States,  native  American,  with  not  an  adopted  citizen  among  them— our  own 
fellow-countrymen,  bound  to  us  only  by  the  ordinary  tenure  of  property,  "estate 
real  and  personal" — I  should  not  know  how  to  repel  the  thrust,  except  on  the 
general  grounds  set  forth  in  this  communication.  But  are  not  the  Pope  and 
Cardinals  as  much  entitled  to  the  benefit  of  those  grounds  as  we  are  ?  After 
all,  it  seems  to  me  that  national  courtesy  should  ever  be  cherished,  as  it  generally 
is,  by  the  conductors  of  the  public  press.  But  if  it  be  judged  best  to  lash  the 
heads  of  States  in  other  countries,  very  well.  Let  us  begin  with  great  heads, 
who,  as  if  conscious  of  the  necessity  of  self-defence,  have  i)rovided  themselves 
with  the  sword  and  the  steam-press.  The  Pope  is  neither  a  warrior  nor  a  printer  ; 
and  it  is  not  worthy  of  our  greatness  to  keep  hurling  our  editorial  javelins  at 
him  and  his.  To  some  persons  it  might  seem  as  if  he  had  been  selected  for 
censure,  not  because  he  is  a  worse  sovereign,  as  the  world  goes,  than  others,  but 
because  he  is  the  Pope. 

Now,  this  word,  "  the  Pope,"  is  very  dear  to  some  two  hundred  millions  of 
every  tribe,  and  tongue,  and  nation  around  the  globe.  Even  in  these  United 
States — sometimes  designated,  unconstitutionally,  if  not  arrogantly,  a  Protestant 
country — this  word  is  dear,  very  dear,  to  at  least  three  millions  of  Catholics,  be 
it  said,  with  all  due  respect  for  our  best  almanacs. 

We  are  also  in  the  habit,  more  or  less,  of  subscribing  for  secular  ne^vspapers, 
just  as  is  usual  among  our  fellow-citizens  of  other  denominations.  It  is  very 
trying  to  have  our  feelings  outraged  unnecessaiily  by  the  very  journals  which 
we  contribute  to  support.  And  yet  the  only  remedy  left,  "  Stop  my  paper," 
is  apparently  mean  and  pettish.  I  would  as  soon  have  a  tooth  extracted  as  to 
part  with  my  old  newspaper,  which  I  have  been  in  the  habit  of  looking  at  for 
a  quarter  of  a  century. 

If  the  press  should  take  up  the  ferule  for  the  chastisement  of  foreign  govern- 


APPENDIX.  *  779 

ments,  let  it  go  round  the  whole  class,  and  deal  the  heaviest  blows  to  the 
strongest  culprits.  In  that  way  let  the  Pope  and  Cardinals,  as  civil  rulers  over 
the  States  of  the  Cliurch,  come  in  for  their  share  according  to  their  deserts. 

Fair  play  used  to  be  the  boast  and  motto  of  English  chivalry ;  and  1  think 
that  impartial  justice  to  all,  in  matters  of  public  opinion  as  well  as  law,  is,  or 
ought  to  be,  the  boast  and  motto  of  American  freemen. 

4.  JOHN  HUGHES, 

Bishop  of  New  York. 
June,  1S50. 


THE  COMMUNION  OF  SAINTS. 

SERMON  PREACHED  IN   ST.  MARY'S  CATHEDRAL,  HALIFAX,  N.  S., 
ON  SUNDAY  EVENING,  AUGUST  22,  1852. 

Luke  x,  8S-42.  "  Now  it  came  to  pass,  as  they  went,  that  He  entered  into  a  certain  town  ;  and  a 
certain  woman,  named  Martha,  received  llim  into  her  house.  And  she  had  a  sister  called  Mary, 
who  silting  also  at  the  Lord's  feet,  heard  His  word.  But  Martha  was  busy  about  mucli  serving. 
"Who  stood  and  said  :  Lord,  liast  thou  no  care  tliat  tny  sister  lias  left  me  alone  to  serve?  Spcuk  to 
her,  therefore,  that  she  help  me.  And  tlie  Lorfl  answering,  said  to  her:  Martha.  Mariha,  ihou  art^ 
careful  and  art  troubled  about  many  things.  But  one  thing  is  necessary.  Mary  hath  chosen  the 
best  part,  which  shall  not  be  taken  away  from  her." 

Odii  Divine  Saviour,  dearly  beloved  brethren,  has  by  this  answer  made 
known  to  us  in  brief  words  the  end  for  which  we  were  created.  He  has  also 
shown  us  the  significance  of  every  thing  which  does  not  affect  the  great  pur- 
pose which  God  had  in  view  in  calling  us  into  being.  These  sisters  both 
served  Him  ;  the  one  by  ministering  to  Him  as  the  rights  of  hospitality  seemed 
to  require — the  other,  in  the  apparent  forgetfulness  of  those  rights,  by  seeking 
to  improve  the  few  moments  of  blessed  opportunity  afforded  her  to  hear  the 
words  of  salvation  fronj.  the  lips  of  her  Lord  and  Saviour.  Christ  taught  her  in 
this  simple  conversation  what  experience  should  have  made  many  of  us  already 
acquainted  with  ;  namely,  that  in  our  earthly  career  we  may  employ,  put  to 
account,  and  waste  all  the  best  energies  of  the  soul  and  body  in  much  service, 
great  care,  unceasing  trouble,  and  perplexing  anxiety  for  which  no  necessity 
may  exist — at  least,  not  so  in  a  degree  which  absorbs  all  our  thoughts.  They 
may  be  expedient  in  weight  and  measure  according  to  our  duty — but  "  one 
thing  is  necessary,"  and  Mary — whose  name  is,  in  her  case,  one  of  reproacli,  as 
it  is  in  another  of  honor — Mary  had  chosen  the  best  part. 

It  is  impossible  that  the  reader  of  the  sacred  page,  whether  the  Old  or  New 
Testament,  should  not  have  been  struck  with  the  practice  which  seems  to  have 
prevailed  among  its  writers  from  the  commencement  to  the  conclusion  of  the 
narrative — whether  referring  to  the  prophets,  the  patriarchs,  the  polity  of  the 
chosen  people  of  God,  or  the  life  of  Christ — of  weaving  into  record  the  incidental 
biography  of  those  either  eminently  distinguished  for  their  virtues  or  piously 
detested  for  their  vices.  Both  these  classes  are  referred  to  in  that  book,  from 
the  teachings  of  which  so  much  of  instruction  and  edificatiou  is  to  be  derived. 
It  is  beyond  probability  that  such  frequently  recurring  reference  should  have 
been  made,  throughout  the  Old  Testament,  not  only  to  those  individuals  dis- 
tinguished as  the  chosen  servants  of  God  among  men  ;  but  to  the  subsequent 
patriarclis  and  people  of  the  Almighty  when  moulded  into  a  national  form  of 


TSO  APPKNDIX. 

w 

temporal  government.  That  the  names  of  the  prophets  ;  sketches  of  their 
history  ;  the  incidents  of  their  lives  ;  the  character  of  the  contest  in  which  they 
were  engaged  ;  the  injustice  of  which  they  were  the  victims ;  the  wickedness 
of  their  opponents,  should  have  been  recorded  for  no  other  purpose  than  to 
evidence  their  holiness — for  they  who  peruse  Holy  Writ,  replete  as  it  is  with 
instruction,  admonition,  and  caution,  will  ascertain  that  at  times  he  who  here- 
tofore had  been  distinguished  for  his  devotion  in  God's  service,  subsequently 
fell  from  grace  to  infidelity  ;  and  the  fall  is  recorded  as  a  beacon,  Avarning  and 
admonishing  the  Christian  to  avoid  his  errors.  So  in  the  New  Testament ;  the 
incidents  of  our  Saviour's  earthly  mission— what  He  said  and  did — the  whole 
comprising  what  might  be  compressed  into  a  few  pages,  is  expanded  by 
the  relation  of  circumstances.  So  with  the  apostles.  The  occupation  of  some, 
prior  to  their  assumption  of  the  cross,  has  been  related.  Characteristic  points 
in  their  several  characters  are  noticed  ;  thus  St.  Peter  is  exhibited  as  prone  to 
draw  the  sword — hasty  and  rash  in  action,  as  when,  trusting  to  the  conscious- 
ness of  his  own  fidelity,  but  forgetting  the  weakness  of  his  heart,  his  courage 
and  devotion  were  unexpectedly  put  to  the  test,  and  he  was  found  wanting. 
This  was  permitted  though  designed  by  Christ  to  be  the  foundation  of  His  eternal 
Church.  Repeated  reference,  therefore,  is  made  throughout  the  Scriptures  to 
the  incidental  biography  of  those  upon  the  tablets  of  whose  hearts  God,  with 
the  pencil  of  His  love,  had  engraved  those  living  truths,  a  copy  of  which  has 
been  transcribed  to  the  page  containing  His  word  and  precept. 

The  Church  has  followed  the  example  set  in  the  ancient  days  ;  from  the 
earliest  era  of  Christianity,  though  her  records  do  not  pretend  to  have  been 
inspired  from  her  own  perpetual  and  abiding  inspiration,  she  has  not  failed  to 
inscribe  upon  her  annals  the  virtues  of  her  distinguished  children,  that  they 
^might  prove  the  examplars  of  succeeding  generations.  Hence  the  regard  and 
honor  she  pays  to  the  memory  of  her  saints.  I  cannot  better  introduce  this 
subject  than  by  remarking,  in  anticipation,  that  sanctity  in  its  essence  is  pecu- 
liarly and  exclusively  the  attribute  of  God — that  in  the  infinite  fulness  and 
perfection  of  the  term,  Jesus  Christ  is  the  only  saint ;  and  that  if  there  be 
others,  they  become  so  only  upon  being  made  partakers  of  the  sanctity  of  their 
great  Head.  Let  none  imagine  that  the  Church,  in  encouraging  the  devotion 
of  the  saints,  does  it  at  the  expense  of  detracting  from  the  honor  which  of  right 
belongs  to  their  Head  and  Prince.  Let  none  be  misled — God  will  not  be  dis- 
pleased if  the  Christian,  awarding  no  divided  allegiance  to  Christ,  yot  honors 
some  faithful  follower  of  that  Saviour.  There  is  no  divided  allegiance — no 
division  of  heart  here  ;  nor  is  man  bound  to  avoid  the  saints,  as  some  maintain, 
lest  perchance  he  should  do  or  say  something  derogatory  to  the  Deity—  sub- 
tracting from  the  unbounded  adoration  which  the  creature  should  award  to  the 
Creator — for  the  saints  hold  close  communion  with  God,  having  been  raised  to 
this  glorious  elevation  through  no  intrinsic  merit  of  their  own,  but  by  the 
efficacy  of  Christ's  sacrifice.  As  St.  Augustine  expresses  it,  "  Christ  crowned  in 
them  the  effect  of  His  own  grace  which  He  gave  them,"  so  that  every  honor  the 
Catholic  pays  to  the  saints,  every  mark  of  reverence  he  awards  to  these  special 
objects  of  Christ's  regard,  everj'  species  of  lawful  devotion — if  I  may  so  speak — 
which  he  renders  to  them,  even  without  the  saving  clause  to  which  I  have 
referred,  is  but  paying  reverence,  honor,  and  devotion  to  God.  So,  by  celebra- 
ting the  triumphs  of  a  subordinate  commander  in  the  battle — who,  in  obedience 
to  the  rules  laid  down  by  his  chief,  has  aided,  under  his  direction,  in  obtaining 
the  victory — rather  than  derogating  from  his  glory,  we  proclaim  and  in- 
crease it. 

The  Church  does  not  command  her  children  to  pray  to  the  saints,  but  to 
admit,  acknowledge,  and  profess  a  belief  that  it  is  good  and  profitable  to  honor 
them  and  invoke  their  intercession  for  us  ;  beyond  this  she  goes  not.  Her 
children,  from  the  day  when  Christ  prayed  to  His  eternal  Father  that  they 
might  be  one,  even  as  He  and  His  Father,  have  understood  what  is  meant  by 
the  communion  of  saints.  That  union  is  not  temporal  but  eternal,  as  the  holy 
Trinity  in  the  undivided  nature  of  the  Godhead.    This  communion  death  haa 


APPENDIX.  781 

no  power  to  interrupt ;  the  Catholic  Church  knows  not  what  death  is  in  its 
usual  acceptation.  Its  comprehension  of  the  term  is  altogether  different  from 
the  signification  iisually  applied  to  it.  With  it,  death  is  not  the  cessation  of 
existence,  but  a  transition  state  ;  the  emancipation  of  the  soul ;  the  release  of 
the  cajnive ;  the  severance  of  the  ties  that  bind  a  spirit  to  the  earth.  Those 
who  die  in  the  peace  of  God,  with  the  radiance  of  His  divinity  beaming  full 
upon  them,  are  released  from  the  tempestuous  terrors  which  surrounded  them 
on  the  ocean  of  temporal  existence ;  they  are  redeemed  from  the  liability  to 
shipwreck  their  eternal  peace  before  reaching  the  haven  of  heavenly  security. 
They  enjoy  unspeakable  happiness ;  they  live,  and  are  not  dead. 

So  far  back  as  the  period  of  Origen,  in  a  work  entitled,  "  Exhortation  to 
Martyrdom,"  he  attempts  to  steel  the  Cliristian's  heart  against  the  furious  per- 
secutions of  his  oppre&sors  ;  even  whilst  the  hungry  lions  awaited  in  the  recesses 
of  the  Coliseum  the  victims  whose  mangled,  mutilated,  and  bloody  remains 
were  to  feast  the  eyes  of  the  heathen  multitudes,  he  exhorts  the  Christians  to 
be  prepared,  and  warns  them  against  indulging  alarming  ideas  touching  the 
death  to  which  they  were  exposed.  His  meaning  is  to  declare  that  death, 
whether  by  martyrdom  or  the  gradual  wasting  away  of  the  body,  until  the 
link  connecting  the  spirit  with  its  earthly  tabernacle  is  as  slender  as  the  tlireads 
of  a  spider's  web,  is  no  rupture  of  that  universal  and  eternal  union  sub- 
sisting between  Christ  and  the  members  of  His  Qhurch.  Those  who  have 
been  most  remarkable  for  their  fidelity  to  God  and  the  practise  of  Christian 
virtue,  have  never  failed  to  avail  themselves  of  the  advantage  of  multiplying 
intercessors  ;  understanding,  of  course,  from  whence  the  Divine  grace  was  to 
emanate,  and  feeling  that  in  directing  their  prayers  to  the  saints  they  were 
doing  an  act  which  could  not  but  be  pleasing  to  God  Himself.  Innumerable 
instances  are  recorded  in  the  Holy  Scriptures  attesting  the  efficacy  of  the  prayers 
of  certain  persons  on  this  earth  ;  why  may  they  not  be  equally  efficacious  when 
offered  up  by  those  whose  abiding-place  is  where  charity  is  perfect  and  union 
is  everlasting  ?  In  so  praying,  those  most  closely  united  with  God  tmderstood 
that  every  grace  and  blessing  descended  from  the  Fathtfr  of  life ;  and  that  from 
the  time  when  Christ  became  man,  he  had  organized  a  doctrinal  system, 
blending  many  spirits  into  one  communion,  the  binding  powers  of  which  were 
faith,  hope,  divine  love,  and  charity. 

I  wiU  not  attempt  to  answer  the  objections  urged  against  this  practice  of  the 
Church  ;  it  would  but  be  a  profitless  and  endless  task.  Some  have  gone  even 
so  far  as  to  deny*the  divinity  of  Christ  Himself,  and  some  have  propoimded  and 
attempted  to  prove  a  startling  and  awful  proposition,  denying  the  existence  of 
a  Supreme  Being  at  aU.  Were  I,  then,  to  answer  objections,  my  task  woidd 
be  ceaseless.  But  there  are  certain  popular  arguments  applied  to  the  belief  we 
entertain  touching  the  intercession  of  saints  ^^'ith  which  I  shall  deal.  It  is 
said,  "  How  can  saints  hear  us  ?"  Now,  my  brethren,  in  the  dealings  between 
God  and  man  the  word  how  should  be  used  cautiously ;  for  if  the  impossibility 
of  accounting  for  the  how  be  a  reason  for  the  rejection  of  any  doctrine,  we 
should  be  skeptics  on  the  most  common  of  subjects.  A  man  suppojses  he  lives 
— but  would  be  obliged  to  rqect  the  supposition  if  required  to  answer  how. 
He  supposes  that  his  will  is  capable  of  governing  the  movements  of  his  body ; 
the  legs,  hands,  muscles,  bones,  sinews,  are  all  obedient  to  its  mandates, — but 
how  it  operates  he  knows  not.  And  yet  this  weak  and  imbecile  creature,  who 
cannot  tell  how  a  blade  of  grass  shoots  from  its  parent  earth — how  the  leaf 
springs  forth  which  decks  the  tree  with  verdure,  who  knows  not  the  springs  of 
his  own  existence,  and  cannot  trace  to  its  home  the  lightning  of  his  will,  dares 
to  raise  his  head  when  God  has  made  a  revelation,  and  presumes  to  doubt  its 
truth  unless  the  how  is  explained  to  him  ;  when,  even  were  it  explained  to  lum, 
as  understood  by  God,  his  feeble  intellect  would  fail  to  grasp  the  idea  in  all  its 
magnificence  and  grandeur. 

It  is  not  for  the  Catholic  thus  to  doubt, — God  has  revealed  to  him  the  truth, 
and  you  may  multiply  your  how's  to  the  Day  of  Judgment,  his  faith  is  not 
shaken.  His  reply  is,  "  I  cannot  answer ;"  and  in  this  he  bears  testimony  to 
God's  infinite  knowledge,  and  owns  his  feeble  capacity.     But  we  may  conceive 


782  APPENDIX. 

that  the  saints  can  hear  us  without  appropriating  to  them  the  attributes  of 
Deity.  Ask  of  astronomy  the  number  of  planets,  besides  those  known  to  us, 
existing  in  the  regions  of  indefinite  space.  Millions  upon  millions  will  be  the 
reply  ; — and  you  will  be  told  that  the  earth  you  inhabit,  in  comparison  with 
them,  is  as  a  grain  of  sand  ;  shall  it  then  be  argued  that  the  God  who  gave 
existence  to  this  mighty  universe  could  not  endow,  with  the  power  of  hearing 
the  prayers  of  sinners  on  earth,  those  whom  he  lias  called  unto  the  heavens, 
without  decreasing  by  one  drop  the  volume  of  the  infinite  ocean  of  Divine 
knowledge  ?  But  how  can  they  hear  ?  The  Scriptures  inform  us  that  there  is 
joy  in  heaven  among  the  angels  when  a  sinner  does  penance  ;  it  being  the  only 
compensation  of  heart  satisfactory  to  the  Godhead  which  humanity  can  make. 
But  how  can  they  rejoice  without  knowing  ?  As  to  the  manner  of  the  communi- 
cation, it  is  not  for  us  to  inquire ;  enough  that  God  has  spoken,  and  most 
childish  is  it  for  those  whose  course  through  life  lies  between  two  dark,  im- 
penetrable mysteries,  to  seek  information,  which,  when  obtained,  they  are 
unable  to  comprehend  by  the  rules  of  their  limited  experience  or  the  exercise 
of  their  feeble  faculties  of  sense,  sight,  hearing,  or  touch.  Oh  !  most  absurd — 
most  impious  to  seek  to  penetrate  the  mysteries  of  the  invisible  world  by  the 
powers  of  their  hazy  intellects ;  to  say  that  because  man  is  not  ubiquitous, 
because  the  human  eye  cannot  see,  the  human  ear  cannot  hear  the  human  voice 
beyond  a  fixed  distance,  that  the  angels,  the  saints,  cannot  see  the  sinner  and 
hear  his  supplications.  This  is  most  absurd — stupid,  as  well  as  impious.  Nor 
is  it  less  foolish  to  suppose  that  God  could  not  bestow  on  the  meanest  and 
lowest  being  now  in  immortal  bliss,  the  faculty  of  hearing  the  prayers  of  those 
on  earth,  and  yet  leave  him  at  an  infinite  distance  from  the  boundless  ocean  of 
Divine  knowledge.  It  is  on  this  account,  therefore,  that  the  Church  not  only 
permits,  but  encourages  devotion  to  the  saints. 

Again,  it  is  the  custom  in  the  world  to  ask  the  prayers  of  those  who  may 
be  pleasing  in  the  sight  of  God.  The  devout  mother,  day  after  day,  at  early 
morn  and  the  close  of  eve,  lifts  up  her  voice  to  the  throne  of  grace,  asking 
God's  blessing  and  protection  for  her  children ;  asking  that  He  may  guide  and 
strengthen  them  in  the  way  of  truth  and  purity,  and  at  last  bring  them  to  a 
glorious  and  happy  eternity.  This  is  the  prompting  of  maternal  love,  but 
touched  and  quickened  by  the  fire  of  Divine  charity,  and,  of  consequence, 
elevated  and  purified.  Can  it,  then,  be  pretended  that  the  God  whose  attentive 
ear  listened  to  the  mother's  prayer,  will  refuse  a  hearing  to  the  supplications 
of  angels,  of  those  who  surround  His  throne  and  have  intimate  and  endless 
communication  with  Him  ?  His  first  desire  is  our  salvation,  through  the  teach- 
ings of  religion  ;  and  the  prince  of  angels,  even  in  heaven,  is  represented  by  St. 
Paul,  seated  at  the  right  hand  of  God.  How  occupied  ?  Interceding  for  us. 
If  this,  then,  be  Christ's  occupation  at  the  right  hand  of  His  Father,  why  can 
there  not  be  between  Him  and  His  servants,  crowned  with  glory,  a  sym])athy  of 
will,  a  similarity  of  employment?  Why  may  not  these  spirits,  themselves 
secure  in  their  eternal  inheritance,  join  with  Christ  in  preferring  their  petitions 
to  the  Almighty  on  behalf  of  their  brethren,  still  tost  on  the  tempestuous  ocean 
of  human  life  ?  Faith  ceases  with  life  ;  hope  has  no  office  beyond  the  grave  ; 
but  then  meek-eyed  charity  comes  down  from  heaven,  and  finds  a  home,  on  its 
return,  in  its  own  original  seat.  It  is  this  which  binds  the  glorious  circle  of 
spirits  around  their  great  centre  ;  and  in  this  doctrine,  beautiful  and  touching, 
enough  exists  to  vindicate  the  Church  in  permitting  and  encouraging  her 
children  to  seek  the  intercession  of  saints  in  their  behalf.  It  is  in  harmony 
with  the  very  first  dogma  of  the  Christian  faith— a  necessary  consequence  of 
the  communion  of  saints. 

We  know  that  with  beautiful  and  divine  wisdom  the  Church  has  blended  a 
portion  of  the  Scriptures  into  the  lessons  of  every  day ;  and  with  it  has  also 
combined  incidents  in  the  life  of  some  distinguished  martyr  or  some  holy  con- 
fessor, who  was  not  a  martyr  merely  because  the  cruelty  of  his  persecutors  did 
not  extend  to  the  shedding  of  his  blood.  Tliis  is  done  to  evidence  to  you  that 
the  holy  divine  law  reqiures  nothing  impossible.  Nothing  will  more  certainly 
conduce  to  eternal  condemnation  than  the  belief  that  the  requirements  of  God's 


APPENDIX.  TS3 

law  being  so  perfect  we  cannot  comply  with  them.  The  saints  were  but  men  and 
women  like  you ;  of  your  condition  and  age  ;  subject  to  the  same  passions,  uifirmi- 
ties,  and  temptations ;  they  triumphed  over  sin  and  persecution  by  fidelity  to  the 
grace  of  God  ;  and  itwouldbeblasphemy  foryouor  metosay  that  wecannot  avail 
ourselves  of  that  grace.  I  do  not  mean  to  assert  that  a  man,  after  long  and  obsti- 
nate perseverance  in  sin,  instead  of  rising  gloriously  from  the  first  fall,  nerved  and 
purified,  has  gone  on  until  sin  has  become  interwoven  in  his  very  being,  it 
would  not  be  miraculous  for  him  to  conquer  his  passions,  and  rise  from  the 
slough  of  degradation  into  which  his  evil  habits  had  plunged  him  ;  but  with 
the  example  of  the  saints,  some  of  whom  were  criminal,  and  yet  recovered, 
none  need  despair.  The  Church  encourages  the  practice  of  reviewing  the  glo- 
rious annals  of  her  conquering  sons  in  ages  gone  before  ;  as  the  soldier  on  the 
eve  of  battle  calls  to  mind  the  memory  of  the  departed  warriors'  achievements 
to  stimulate  him  and  nerve  his  soid  while  the  carnage  rages  around  him,  so 
the  Church,  fighting  Christ's  battle  upon  earth,  opens  up  to  her  sons  the  all- 
conquering  devotion  of  her  departed  saints ;  thus  inciting  them  to  the  fulfil- 
ment of  God's  law  by  the  contemplation  of  their  heroic  and  self-sacrificing  ac- 
tions ;  by  setting  before  them  every  day  some  beautiful  example  of  the  practical 
fulfilment  of  the  law  of  God  ;  teaching  that,  though  ages  may  serve  to  mark 
epochs  in  human  afiairs,  time  has  no  power  to  dissolve  the  ties  uniting  Christ's 

We  should  be  encouraged ;  and  nothing  is  more  calculated  to  encourage  us, 
especially  if  we  have  some  deadly  enemy  of  the  soul  to  conquer,  than  the  Festi- 
val of  the  Assumption  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary  into  heaven — the  highest 
known  to  the  Church,  except  those  more  immediately  connected  with  Christ  — 
which  is  marked  by  the  reading  of  that  portion  of  the  Scriptures  from  which  the 
text  is  taken.  The  Mary  there  mentioned  is  supposed  to  be  none  other  Uian  that 
sinful  woman  to  whom  allusion  is  made  elsewhere  in  the  Scriptures.  The  Spirit 
revealed  to  her  the  hideousness  of  her  nature,  and  under  the  influence  of  God's 
grace,  regardless  of  the  sneers  lavished  upon  her,  she  descended  to  the  foot  of 
the  guests  at  the  Pharisee's  table,  and  there,  heedless  of  all  human  opinions, 
she  stoops,  and  in  silent  prayer,  bathes  our  Saviour's  feet,  and  then  with  her 
hair  wiped  them — nor  spared  the  precious  ointment,  but  poured  it  forth  for 
Him. 

The  Pharisee  began  to  depreciate  the  character  of  Jesus,  knowing  the  woman 
who  thus  acted  to  have  been  sinful ;  but  Jesus,  divining  his  thoughts,  read  him 
a  lesson  which  should  have  taught  him  sometliing  of  the  unbounded  spirit  ot 
mercy — the  special  attribute  of  Deity.  She  had  been  a  sinful  woman — all  knew 
her  history  and  character;  but  then,  as  though  in  her  example  the  divine 
Saviour  would  bring  out  the  hope  which  all  might  have  who  would  forsake 
their  sins  and  believe  in  God,  from  that  time  forth  He  permits  her  to  rank  with 
the  cliosen  ;  and  when  the  disciple  of  love,  John,  had  disappeared,  there  stood 
around  the  foot  of  the  cross  three  persons,  this  sinful  woman — sinful  now  no 
more,  for  while  she  washed  His  feet,  by  the  merit  of  His  love  He  cleansed  her 
soul — exhibited  a  fidelity  to  her  Redeemer  as  devoted  as  that  shown  by  the  im- 
maculate Mother  of  our  Saviour  herself;  she  was  also  the  first  to  visit  the  sep- 
ulchre. Keep,  then,  the  memory  of  the  saints  bright  in  your  hearts  as  models 
and  examples  by  which  your  conduct  should  be  guided.  If  you  are  placed  in 
the  high  stations  of  life  ;  if  you  be  the  dispenser  of  honor,  riches,  and  power, 
among  them  you  will  find  those  who,  so  circumstanced,  used  that  power  to  the 
advancement  of  His  honor  and  glory,  perseveringly  bearing  the  cross  to  the 
grave. 

But  above  all  the  saints,  why  not  direct  our  prayers  to  the  Mother  of  our 
Lord — the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary  ?  She  was  not  distinguished  by  the  possession 
of  any  of  those  adventitious  benefits  which  are  possessed  by  the  great  of  the 
earth.  Humble,  obscure,  unknown  ; — but  then  she  was  the  purest  of  human 
creatures  ;  so  much  so  that  she  attracted  the  attention  of  God  Himself  to  become 
the  Mother  of  Him  who  was  to  be  the  Saviour  of  all.  He  deputed  an  angel 
from  His  throne  to  panegyrize  her,  who  said  all  when  speaking  the  words, 
"  Hail  Mary,  full  of  grace,  the  Lord  is  mth  thee,  blessed  art  thou  among  wo- 


7S4  APPENDIX. 

men."  It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  God  excepted  her  from  the  scenes  of  sin  to 
wliich  we  are  exjxeed  ;  nor  that  she  was  shielded  round  about  from  the  trials 
to  whfth  others  are  subject. 

The  meaning  of  the  Scriptures  is,  that  the  grace  of  God,  freely  tendered  to 
sinners,  was,  in  no  instance,  rejected  by  her ;  hence,  she  is  spoken  of  "as  full  of 
grace  :"  and  in  consequence  of  her  purity,  holiness,  devotion,  and  fidelity,  she 
was  selected  by  the  Almighty  to  become  the  Mother  of  the  Incarnate  Son  of 
God :  from  her  pure  flesh  and  blood  came  the  body  of  tliat  Saviour  which  hung 
upon  the  cross — a  victim  atoning  for  the  sins  of  the  world.  But  when  a  certain 
person  cried  out  in  the  hearing  of  our  Saviour,  "  Blessed  is  the  womb  that 
bore  thee,  and  the  paps  that  gave  thee  suck,"  He  answered,  "Yea,  blessed  arc 
they  that  hear  the  Word  of  God  and  keep  it ;"  importing  that  the  honor  con- 
ferred npon  the  Virgin  Mary  consisted  not  so  much  in  having  borne  the  corpo- 
ral body  of  our  Lord,  as  having  been  thought  worthy  by  God  of  that  high 
honor.  Therefore,  the  Catholic  rejoices  to  celebrate  the  festival  of  her  a^^sunip- 
tion.  No  one  need  inform  us  that  she  is  not  God ;  we  thoroughly  understand 
her  relation  to  her  Saviour  and  Creator.  A  creature  ;  but  the  purest  of  crea- 
tures ;  the  glory  of  a  fallen  race ;  the  pride  and  honor  of  stricken  humanity  ; 
the  source  of  hope  and  confidence  to  man ;  the  spotless,  pure,  faithful,  obedient, 
long  and  deep  suflFering  martyr,  marked  out  for  the  singular,  unequalled,  incon- 
ceivable distinction  of  being  the  Mother  of  the  Eternal  God  ;  elevated  above  all 
saints,  angels,  cherubim  and  seraphim.  She  was  faithful  through  life  in  all 
things ;  bearing  a  relation  to  the  future  of  Him  Avhom  we  adore  as  God  and 
man ;  and  by  that  relationship,  elevated  in  dignity  above  any  creature  God 
has  created ;  or  that,  if  I  can  say  so,  without  blasphemy,  God  could  create. 
Hence  it  is  that  Catholics  entertain  a  devotion  consoling  and  most  ardent. 
This  devotion  has  existed  in  the  Church  from  time  immemorial ;  and  it  is 
remarkahle  that  in  the  time  of  men  of  letters  and  science,  that  when  a  certain 
infecundity  of  genius  overtook  them,  they  had,  in  many  instances,  been  in  the 
habit  of  addressing  tlieir  devotions  to  the  Virgin  Mary,  when  the  mists  that 
previously  clouded  their  intellects,  and  impeded  expression  of  their  inward  con- 
ceptions, vanished  under  her  soothing  influence.  All  plead  to  her  for  interces- 
sion with  the  Father— magnifying  her  name  beyond  what  was  warranted,  see- 
ing that  the  very  first  miracle  performed  by  our  Lord  was  done  in  answer  to 
the  intercession  of  His  Blessed  Mother.  Scholars  and  poets,  commanders  and 
princes — men  who  have  left  their  mark  on  the  age  of  their  existence — have  all 
honored  her  and  prayed  to  her,  notwithstanding  the  clamor  of  the  incredulous 
or  the  scoflfe  of  the  impious.  The  practice  began  with  Christianity,  and  will 
end  only  at  the  final  consummation  of  all  things. 

Witness  the  ravages  with  the  faith  of  those  who  reject  the  prayers  of  the 
saints,  and  refuse  honor  to  the  Mother  of  God.  Scarcely  had  they  repudiated 
this  universal  doctrine  than  they  began  to  refuse  credence  to  the  assertion  that 
Christ  was  God  ;  their  incredulity  next  led  to  their  refusing  assent  to  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Communion  of  Saints,  and  finally  taught  them,  in  some  instances, 
to  doubt  the  existence  of  the  Godhead.  I  know  that  a  class  of  men  exist  who 
denominate  themselves  Christians  long  after  denying  every  principle  of  Chris- 
tianity— who  regard  Christ  as  a  pre-eminent  philanthropist.  Some  of  these 
men,  by  hundreds  and  thousands,  are  now  the  blind  devotees  of  a  superstition 
far  more  absurd  and  improbable  than  the  idolatrous  worship  of  the  heathen.  I 
allude  to  the  Spirit  Rappings,  wliich  have  so  imposed  upon  those  whose  in- 
credulity led  them  to  reject  the  pure  teaching  of  the  Gospel ;  that  fathers 
learned,  become  bereft  of  sense  under  the  superstitious  belief  of  some  mystical 
evil  impending  over  them,  revealed  by  successful  impostors.  Such  fanatical 
foolishness  seems  to  be  the  retribution  of  a  just  God  :  a  terrible  punishment 
put  upon  those  whose  hard  hearts  refuse  to  ackno^Xledge  the  saints  raised  to 
glory  by  God — erecting  to  themselves  a  deity  in  the  bright  region  of  their  own 
intellects  and  swinging  the  censor  of  self-adulation.  We,  dearly  beloved  breth- 
ren, believe  it  to  be  our  high  pri\ilege  to  address  our  prayers  to  the  saints  in 
heaven,  and  especially  to  the  holy  Virgin  Mary,  whose  glorious  reception  in  the 
regions  of  heavenly  bliss  we  this  day  celebrate.    I  need  not  say  that  it  would  be 


APPENDIX.  785 

a  mockery  to  pray  to  the  saints,  if,  witli  their  bright  example  before  us,  we 
should  not  act  as  they  did  whilst  on  earth.  You  will  remember,  that  whilst  I 
address  you  on  one  topic,  all  the  remaining  portions  of  our  religion  are  to  kept 
in  mind  by  you,  and  that,  therefore,  your  prayers,  without  imitating  their  vir- 
tues, will  be  useless. 

I  will  conclude  Avith  a  few  words  of  exhortation.  I  wish  you  to  understand 
the  full  force  of  the  expression  used  by  our  Saviour  in  the  text.  You  may  take 
much  trouble  and  have  great  care  for  many  things,  but  do  you  attend  to  the  one 
thing  needful  ?  Do  you  reflect  that  God  created  you  for  eternal  happiness  ?  I 
care  not  how  successful  be  your  course  through  life.  Wealth,  honor,  power, 
and  glory— you  may  gain  them  all ;  but  experience  will  teach  you  that,  after 
having  exhausted  the  stores  of  this  world,  or  drunken  to  the  dregs  the  cup  of 
pleasure,  even  while  in  the  full  and  flowing  tide  of  your  power,  a  void  will  ex- 
ist in  the  heart,  a  craving  for  something  more  enduring,  more  suitable  for  the 
Godlike  foculties  which  the  Lord  and  Giver  of  life  has  bestowed  upon  you. 
Without  this  desire  be  satisfied,  the  more  successful  in  worldly  affairs  you  be, 
the  more  perfectly  wretched  will  you  become.  You  are  created  under  God's 
benign  law,  with  a  capacity  for  love  in  your  hearts,  which  can  embrace  your 
fellow-creatures  with  the  saints  in  glory ;  but  the  fountain  of  that  love  must 
overflow,  unless  you  lavish  it  uix)n  your  God.  Hence  it  is  that  St.  Augustine 
says  :  "  Thou  hast  made  us  Thyself,  0  God !  no  heart  can  rest  witli  thee." 
There  "is  one  thing  necessary;"  and  if  we  reflect  how  fleeting  is  time — how 
enduring  eternity,  we  should  certainly  accept  the  grace  of  God  which  speaks  in 
our  hearts,  and  act  in  accordance  with  its  dictates.  You  should  remember  that 
it  is  your  high  destiny  to  be  one  of  the  millions  on  earth  and  in  heaven  who 
make  up  the  Church  of  Christ.  Let  your  lives  be  such  as  to  make  you  worthy 
of  such  an  honor  ;  and  then,  when  death  shall  come— whether  it  be  by  linger- 
ing disease  or  sudden  accident — it  will  possess  no  terrors  for  you.  You  wUl  hail 
it  as  the  emancipation  of  your  immortal  spirit,  which  \vill  fly  back  to  the  pres- 
ence of  the  God  that  gave  it — forever  happy,  forever  blessed  in  being  permitted 
to  mingle  its  voice  with  those  of  the  saints  in  eternal  anthems  of  praise  to  the 
Almighty  Father  of  life,  and  light,  and  happiness. 


REPLY  TO  AN  ADDRESS  FROM  THE  CATHOLICS 
OF  HALIFAX,  N.  S.,  IN  1848. 

Gentlemen — Allow  me  to  express  to  you  my  deep  sense  of  the  honor  wliich,- 
the  Catholics  and  Irishmen  of  Halifax  have  conferred  upon  me  by  the  cordial 
welcome  and  kind  sentiments  in  my  regard  embodied  in  their  address,  as  well 
as  by  the  courteous  manner  in  which  it  has  been  presented. 

In  my  feeble  efforts  to  promote  the  interests  of  religion  and  of  education,  I 
am  conscious  only  of  sincere  convictions  and  upright  intentions.  But  I  sliould 
be  vain,  indeed,  if  I  considered  myself  entitled  to  the  merit  which  your  par- 
tiality has  ascribed  to  me.  As  regards  my  feelings  towards  the  land  of  my  na- 
tivity, I  trust  they  are  not  unworthy  of  the  sacred  character  with  which  I  have 
been  invested  by  the  Church  of  God.  The  heavy  blows  that  have  lately  fallen 
on  Ireland,  alternating  from  famine  to  pestilence,  and  from  pestilence  to  civil 
war,  have  fixed  upon  her  condition  the  pitying  gaze  of  every  civilized  people  on, 
the  globe.  Her  children  who  would  secvire  for  tliemselves  a  home  and  a 
country,  have  been  obliged  to  seek  them  under  strange  skies  and  in  foreign 
lands.  How  can  they  be  insensible  to  her  condition,  when,  after  having  been 
wasted  by  famine  and  disease,  they  behold  the  mighty  hand  that  could  and 
should  have  protected  her  more  efficiently  against  both  last  year,  which  should 

50 


786  APPENDIX. 

have  soothed  and  sustained  her  after  her  aflliction,  armed  and  uplifted  to  strike 
down  the  remnant  of  her  liberties,  and,  if  need  be,  of  her  people.  Humanity 
becomes  impatient  and  indignant  at  witnessing  such  a  spectacle. 

It  is  with  difficulty  that  such  feelings  can  be  even  partially  suppressed 
among  the  generous  people  of  the  United  States,  and  it  would  be  almost  im- 
natui-al  if,  in  such  circumstances,  /could  remain  silent  and  unmoved. 

It  is  made  a  subject  of  reproach  to  the  Catholic  religion  that  its  doctrine  of 
submission  to  the  constituted  authorities,  for  the  sake  of  law  and  order,  on  the 
one  hand  secures  impunity,  and  affords  encouragement  for  a  tyrannical  use  of 
that  authority ;  whilst,  on  the  other,  it  is  calculated  to  depress  the  people  from 
the  rank  of  citizens  into  that  of  slaves. 

If  illustrations  were  taken  from  the  history  of  Ireland  for  nearly  two  hun- 
dred years  past,  mucli  apparent  evidence  might  be  deduced  to  prove  this  false 
and  unmerited  reproach.  The  Church,  indeed,  is  an  efficient  preacher  of  order 
and  peace  ;  but  she  has  no  doctrine  of  blind,  passive  obedience — she  inculcates 
no  dogma  or  precept  binding  the  conscience  of  a  nation  to  submit  with  eternal 
patience  to  wTongs  which,  without  resistance  at  some  period,  are  likely  to  have 
an  endless  duration. 

In  her  code  the  duties  of  rulers  are  as  strictly  defined  as  those  of  subjects. 
The  obligations  of  both  are  founded  on  a  common  basis — the  public  weal. 
When  a  government  rules  by  just  and  wise  legislation,  and  by  a  strict,  impar- 
tial, and  humane  administration  of  the  laws,  it  has  a  right,  on  the  grounds  of 
public  interest,  as  well  as  by  the  laws  of  conscience,  to  claim  fidelity  and  obed- 
dience.  When  a  people  are  thus  governed,  allegiance  will  be  the  just,  but  at 
the  same  time  voluntary  tribute  of  the  nation's  lieart.  It  will  not  be  the  hy- 
XKJcrisy  of  allegiance  and  submission,  such  as  a  prisoner  renders  to  his  jailor, 
and  such  as  Ireland  has  felt,  and  now  feels,  towards  her  foreign  rulers. 

Her  rulers  themselves,  of  all  parties,  admit  that  Ireland  has  been  most  sadly 
governed  since  she  came  under  imperial  legislation.  How,  then,  can  they  ex- 
pect from  the  Irish  people  cordial  fidelity  and  true  allegiance  ?  If  they  sow 
misery,  or  neglect  to  remove  it,  they  must  be  prepared  to  reap  disaffection — 
that  treason  of  the  heart  in  which  the  icill  waits  only  for  the  power  to  over- 
throw them.  Men  do  not  gather  figs  from  thorns — Irish  discontent  may  be 
trampled  down  for  the  present,  but  it  will  be  sure  to  grow  again.  No  doubt 
the  government  must  enforce  order  and  vindicate  the  laws,  so  long  as  they  are 
able.  Recent  events,  however,  prove  that  the  strongest  governments  are 
sometimes  overtaken  by  moments  when  the  ability  to  do  so  changes  sides  and 
passes  from  them.  But  how  much  wiser  and  how  much  safer  would  it  be  to 
alter  the  laws  when  necessary,  and  to  make  them  so  just  and  so  equal  that  in- 
surrection would  have  nothing,  at  least  in  the  statute-book,  to  feed  upon,  in- 
stead of  goading  the  people  to  madness  now  by  their  inequality  and  injustice, 
and  anon  by  their  total  suspension  1 

I  have  made  thes  3  remarks,  gentlemen,  as  explanatory  of  my  own  conduct 
on  a  recent  occasion,  to  whicli  you  have  alluded.  They  are  the  convictions  im- 
pressed on  my  mind  by  the  theory  of  British  and  the  practice  of  American 
freedom.  I  believe  that  no  other  nation  on  the  globe  would  have  submitted  so 
long  and  so  patiently  to  their  calamitous  condition  as  the  Irish  have  done.  I 
believe  the  Irish  would  not  so  have  submitted  had  it  not  been  for  the  influence 
of  their  religion  and  their  clergy.  But  I  have  no  idea  that  from  aU  this  the 
inference  is  to  be  drawn  that  the  Catholic  religion  is  an  influence  which  tyranny 
may  wield  to  promote  its  own  selfish  ends  by  paralyzing  the  moral,  or,  in  ex- 
treme cases,  the  physical  energies  of  a  trodden-down  people,  struggling  to  par- 
ticipate in  all  the  benefits  of  the  constitution  under  which  they  live.  It  was  not 
thus  t)iat  the  great  charter  of  English  freedom  was  won  by  Catholic  bishops 
and  barons  at  Runnymede,  and  bequeathed  to  an  ungrateful  posterity. 

Having  said  this  much,  I  am  free  to  add,  what  is  well  known  in  the  United 
States,  that  I  have  deplored  the  course  of  those  who  have  recently  been  re- 
garded as  guides  and  leaders  of  the  Irish  people.  It  was  easy  to  foresee  that 
their  policy  must  eventuate  as  it  is  now  likely  to  do,  or  else  in  a  useless  effusion 
of  blood. 


APPENDIX.  787 

If  tlie  Englisli  legislature  cannot  govern  Ireland  except  in  the  direction  of 
prospective  ruin  to  both  countries,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  icill  not  allow  the 
Irish  to  govern  themselves,  under  the  crown,  I  see  no  remedy  for  them  but  to 
wait  till  they  grow  stronger  or  wiser,  or  both  together.  But  Britain  herself 
would  despise  them  if  they  continued  toluntary  slaves,  and  consented  to  their 
degrading  condition. 

At  all  events,  it  is  quite  certain  that,  as  the  English  jjeople,  including  the 
government,  have  sympathized  with  Sicily  in  her  recent  struggle,  so  the  Ameri- 
can people,  with  rare  exceptions,  would  sympathize  with  Ireland,  by  whatever 
misrule  on  one  side,  or  ill-ad\'ised  resistance  on  the  other,  a  violent  collision 
between  her  and  Great  Britain  might  have  been  brought  on. 

It  would  be  strange,  as  I  have  already  remarked,  if  I,  a  native  of  Ireland, 
living  in  the  midst  of  such  a  people,  sharing  equally  with  themselves  all  the 
privileges  of  their  free  government,  as  if  I  had  been  born  on  the  soil,  should 
form  an  exception,  and  feel  nought  but  indifference  as  to  the  result  of  such  a 
contest. 

Thanking  you,  gentlemen,  for  the  unexpected  compliment  which  you  have 
paid  me ;  vdshing  you  and  those  whom  you  represent  every  temporal  and 
spiritual  blessing,  allow  me  to  assure  you  that  I  shall  ever  preserve  most  pleas- 
ing recollections  of  your  fair  and  hospitable  city,  and  of  its  inhabitants  of  all 
classes  with  whom  it  has  been  my  good  fortune  to  have  become  acquainted. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be,  gentlemen. 
With  sincere  respect. 

Tour  obedient  servant, 

^  JOHN  HUGHES, 

Bishop  of  New  York. 


INTRODUCTION  TO  "RELIGION  IN  SOCIETY." 

The  work  of  which  these  volumes  are  a  translation  has  been  very  exten- 
sively read  and  much  spoken  of  in  France,  where  it  was  first  published.  It 
passes  under  review  a  great  variety  of  interesting  topics,  bearing  on  i-eligion 
and  society,  which  the  author  has  arranged  in  an  appropriate  order,  and  dis- 
cussed Avith  more  than  ordinary  tact  and  ability.  His  labors  in  the  Catholic 
cause  are  not  unworthy  of  being  placed  next  to  those  of  Moehler  and  Balmez. 
It  has  not,  indeed,  the  metaphysical  depth  of  the  one,  nor  yet  the  tranquil 
scientific  spirit  and  arrangement  of  the  other.  But  for  the  masses,  as  a  popular 
manual  against  the  discordant  but  numerous  errors  of  the  day,  it  is  perhaps 
superior  to  either. 

It  bears  in  the  original  the  stamp  of  French  national  genius,  which  will  not 
take  away  from  its  interest  in  the  translation.  No  country  in  Europe  has 
exhibited  so  desperate  and  protracted  a  struggle  between  truth  and  error,  as 
that  which  has  been  going  on  in  France,  T\'ith  almost  unabated  earnestness, 
during  the  last  seventy-five  or  eighty  years-  In  no  other  country  have  errors 
of  almost  every  description  found  such  able  and  enthusiastic  advocates.  But, 
on  the  other  hand,  no  nation  besides  has  furnished,  during  the  same  period,  so 
brilliant  an  array  of  great  and  glorious  men  engaged  in  the  defence  of  truth. 
Every  error,  whether  against  faith  or  morals,  against  society  or  humanity,  has 
been  taken  up  as  soon  as  broached,  examined,  exposed,  and  triumphantly 
refuted. 


7s  8  APPENDIX. 

Wlioever  has  paid  any  attention  to  the  more  recent  wanderings  of  the  human 
mind,  must  have  observed  that  within  the  last  quarter  of  a  century  the  system 
which  the  spirit  of  error  had  i)reviou8ly  adopted  in  making  war  on  truth  has 
been  entirely  changed.  Formerly  its  advocates  were  in  the  habit  of  appealing 
sometimes  to  Scripture,  and  at  all  times  to  human  reason,  in  support  of  its  de- 
structive theories.  But  the  defenders  of  truth,  pressing  closely  on  its  march, 
possessed  of  equal  ability,  and  a  better  cause,  had  exposed  its  fallacies,  and 
made  it  clear  that  both  Scripture  and  reason,  with  one  voice,  repudiated  its 
bad  principles  and  false  doctrines.  Hence  the  change  of  tactics.  At  present 
the  appeals  to  Scripture  and  to  reason  are  few  and  feeble.  The  advocates  of 
error,  who  would  regard  it  as  a  merciful  dispensation  if  religion  were  once  for 
all  banished  from  the  thoughts  of  men,  have  learned  to  disguise  their  enmity, 
and  to  speak  of  religion  with  affected  hypocrisy  and  expansive  hollowness. 
To  attack  the  Holy  Scriptures,  they  have  discovered,  would  be  to  sound  the 
alarm.  To  appeal  to  reason  for  support,  would  be  to  expose  the  threadbare 
condition  of  their  hopes,  as  well  as  their  cause.  Hence  the  actual  phase  which 
the  spirit  of  error  presents  at  this  moment,  in  its  mode  of  warfare  against  God 
and  man,  is  different  from  any  thing  that  it  has  hitherto  exhibited.  It  now 
stoops  to  cajole,  to  flatter,  to  enlist,  to  conciliate  and  bring  into  coalition  with 
itself,  tlie  mere  sensual  faculties,  susceptibilities,  and  passions  of  our  ]X)or  fallen 
nature.  Having  lost  its  cause  before  the  high  tribunal  of  public  reason,  to 
which  it  had  formerly  appealed,  it  would  now  accept  a  favorable  verdict  from 
the  low  animal  feelings  and  propensities,  by  which  man,  especially  when  he 
indulges  them,  is  most  nearly  assimilated  to  the  brute  creation.  It  elevates 
the  sentient  faculties  above  the  intellectual,  the  lowest  attributes  of  our  nature 
above  the  highest,  which  it  treats  with  indifference  or  affects  to  ignore.  It 
confines  its  zeal  to  the  condition  of  man,  in  his  present  state,  and  adjourns  the 
question  of  his  eternal  future.  It  sheds  bitter  tears  of  sympathy  over  the 
miseries  to  which  God  (that  is,  if  it  admits  such  a  being),  in  the  actual  economy, 
has  left  him  exposed.  It  insinuates  and  proclaims  aloud,  where  it  can  do  so 
with  impunity,  that,  in  providing  for  the  temporal  well-being  of  man,  religion 
has  proved  recreant  to  its  mission,  and  society  has  abused  and  betrayed  its 
trust.  In  contrast  with  the  actual  inequalities  and  sufferings  which  afflict  our 
race,  it  spreads  out  before  us  its  embellished  and  tempting  theories  of  society 
organized  on  new  and  imaginary  principles.  The  family,  the  school,  the  guild, 
the  State,  the  Church,  all  and  each  must  be  remodelled  in  strict  accordance 
with  the  wants,  the  wishes,  the  complex  tastes,  the  sympathies,  the  varied 
susceptibilities  and  special  aptitude  of  men  and  women,  individually  considered, 
as  they  shall  be  found  in  this  "  Paradise  Regained,"  which  the  spirit  of  error  is 
preparing  for  the  future  abode  of  "  humanity." 

Yes,  all  "  humanity,"  no  Divinity.  A  God,  a  Christ,  redemption,  revelation, 
grace,  sacraments,  a  blessed  and  beautiful  connection  between  man's  present 
condition  and  his  future  state — these  the  spirit  of  error  treats  in  the  present 
day  with  the  courtesy  of  silent  indifference,  or  ill-disguised  contempt.  It  does 
not  quarrel  with  its  dupes  for  believing  and  hoping  in  them  all.  To  do  so 
would  be  at  variance  equally  with  its  policy  and  its  politeness. 

But,  to  mitigate  the  strictness  of  human  and  Divine  laws,  to  build  palaces  for, 
the  future  abode  of  the  working  classes  where  hovels  now  stand  ;  to  hold  out 
to  them  gilded  promises  of  warm  clothing  in  winter,  and  light  dresses  in 
summer ;  to  abridge  their  hours  of  labor  and  augment  its  compensation  ; 
to  economize  thus  abundant  leisure,  during  which  "humanity"  may  play 
on  the  piano,  and  improve  itself  by  reading  reviews,  novels,  and  ^newspapers; 
to  anticipate  and  provide  for  a  broad  margin  in  domestic  and  social  manners, 
on  the  central  and  dividing  line  of  which,  like  shall  meet  like  by  a  sympathetic 
affinity  and  mutual  attraction  ;  in  short,  to  dazzle  the  eye  and  seduce  the  hearts 
of  the  suffering  portion  of  our  race,  by  a  cruel,  because  visionary,  exhibition  of 
such  results,  which  cannot  be  realized,  and  which  in  many  respects  would  be 
execrable  if  they  could,  is  the  latest  and  actual  system  of  warfare  against  both 
God  and  man,  which  is  now  being  proclaimed  and  carried  on  by  the  spirit  of 
error  and  its  living,  speaking,  and  writing  agents  and  advocates. 


•  APPENDIX.  T89 

There  is  much  low,  mean  cunning  in  this  system.  It  erects  humanity  into 
the  idol,  and  calls  upon  men  to  reverence,  worship,  and  adore  their  own  fallen 
nature.  It  does  not  mention  the  fact,  that  in  this  worship,  the  priest  and  the 
deity  are  one  and  the  same.  The  former  swings  the  censor,  it  is  true,  but 
the  fragrance  of  the  burning  incense  reaches  only  his  own  nostrils — for  he  is 
"  humanity." 

God  and  revelation,  the  Church,  Scripture,  and  even  reason,  though  not 
specially  prescribed,  are  left  out,  or  considered  as  topics  of  sheer  indifference, 
in  this  new  complex  heresy,  emanating,  not  so  much  from  the  wandering  of 
the  human  mind,  as  from  the  passions  of  the  human  heart.  It  is  known  in 
different  countries  by  different  names  ;  and  the  several  schools  into  wliich  its 
advocates  are  divided  are  contending  as  to  which  wiU  have  the  honor  of  giving 
it  ultimate  stability  of  shape,  form,  and  dimensions.  So  far  as  it  is  yet  known 
in  the  United  States,  its  minor  degrees  may  be  all  comprehended  in  its  aggre- 
gate term — transcendentalism.  Its  oracles  have  invented  for  its  communica- 
tion to  the  world,  a  special  but  very  indefinite  style  of  their  own.  They  em- 
ploy accurate  Anglo-Saxon  terms  to  express,  whether  in  speech  or  in  writing, 
the  abstract  sentimentalities,  vague  aspirations,  and  imjointed  affections,  which 
they  offer  to  the  public  as  substitutes  for  those  permanent  convictions  by  which 
mankind  have  been  held  tog^her  so  long,  but  which  are  now  to  be  removed 
and  overthrown.  Their  expositions,  it  is  true,  of  the  new  system  are  a  com- 
pound olHhe  sublime  and  ridiculous,  in  equal  proportions.  They  are  sublime, 
inasmuch  as  the  people  to  whom  they  are  addressed  wonder  at  their  eloquence, 
whilst  they  can  only  catch  feeble  and  evanescent  glimpses  of  their  meaning ; 
ridiculous,  because  the  authors  themselves,  as  to  their  o^vn  meaning,  are  pre- 
cisely in  the  same  predicament. 

StUl,  whether  such  exhibitions  are  sublime  or  ridiculous,  or  both  together, 
the  progress  of  the  doctrines  which  they  are  intended  to  propagate  cannot  but 
be  productive  of  serious  damage  to  the  cause  of  religion,  in  all  its  good  in- 
fluences on  society.  Some  of  the  grounds  on  which  this  conclusion  is  founded, 
are  obvious  to  all.  Protestantism  is  drifting,  or  rather  has  drifted,  in  all  direc- 
tions, from  its  primeval  and  central  moorings.  True,  it  still  professes  to  cling 
to  the  Bible,  as  its  anchor  ;  but  thread  by  thread  and  twist  by  twist,  its  friends 
have  been  undoing  the  cable,  by  the  strength  of  which  it  supposes  itself  riding 
in  safety.  The  Bible,  among  Protestants,  has  been  made  a  common  anchor  for 
religious  error  as  well  as  for  religious  truth.  Accordingly,  when  we  reflect  on 
the  success  with  which  ^lormonism,  ilillei-ism,  and  other  extravagancies  have 
recently  appealed  to  Protestantism  for  sympathy  and  sustenance,  we  are  forced 
to  conclude  that,  so  far  as  the  truth  of  revelation  and  religion  are  concerned, 
the  Protestant  mind  has  been  weakened  by  the  successive  shocks  which  it  has 
had  to  imdergo,  and  is  wearing  down  by  the  dailj-  abrasions  and  attritions  to 
which  it  is  exposed,  between  the  bold  enunciation  of  religious  errors,  claim- 
ing a  Biblical  sanction,  on  one  side,  and  the  ambiguous,  timid,  and  stammering 
defence  of  religious  truth  on  the  other.  It  began  its  own  unhappy  career  by 
rejecting  the  "  cloud  by  day,"  and  having  thus  violated  the  condition  on  wliich 
the  privilege  of  guidance  was  vouchsafed  to  man  by  pitying  heaven,  the  "  pillar 
of  fire  by  night"  has  equally  disapjK^ared  from  its  \'ision. 

If  the  Protestant  mind  be  itself  thus  debilitated  and  defenceless,  how  can  it 
protect  Christianity  against  the  stealthy  and  subtle  approaches  of  the  passion- 
god,  whicli  the  sjiirit  of  error  is  now  introducing  among  men,  to  be  worshipped 
under  the  name  of  "  humanity  ?" 

But  the  children  of  the  Catholic  Church  themselves,  although  they  have  the 
Rock  of  Ages  to  stand,  and  the  pillar  of  truth  to  lean,  ujwn  for  support,  are  yet 
not  beyond  the  reach  of  danger  from  the  rising  heresy.  Already  we  have 
observed  unmistakable  symptoms  of  the  new  infection,  in  the  speeches  and 
writings  of  some  who  still  call  themselves  Catholics.  Their  religious  health 
must  have  been  already  unsound,  or  the  poison  could  not  have  taken  such  pre- 
eocious  effect.  One  of  the  worst  signs  of  their  malady  is  that  they  labor  with 
desperate  zeal  to  inoculate  with  its  virus  all  who  come  within  the  reach  of 
their  influence.    "We  would  recommend  them  to  procure  a  brochure,  published 


790  APPENDIX.  • 

by  our  author,  and  whicli  attracted  much  attention  at  the  time,  under  the 
title  of  "  A  Cure  for  the  Bite  of  the  Black  Herpent." 

Whether,  then,  as  enabling  Protestants  to  preserve  those  doctrines  of 
Christianity  to  -vvhich  they  still  cling,  as  "  fundamental ;"  or  as  enabling  the 
Catholic  to  stand  forewarned  and  on  his  guard,  not  for  his  Church  or  its 
doctrines,  but  for  himself ;  the  work  which  is  now  offered  to  the  American 
public  in  an  English  dress,  is  one  which,  in  my  opinion,  cannot  be  too  widely 
circulated.  It  treats  of  many  errors  besides  that  to  which  special  attention  has 
been  directed  in  these  introductory  remarks.  I  mean  that  vague,  misshapen, 
and  as  yet  indefinite,  heresy  of  the  passions,  which  is  now  springing  forth,  and 
is  daily  giving  signs  of  dangerous  and  increasing  vitality.  When  originally 
published  in  France,  this  work  was  hailed  with  general  approbation  as  equally 
able  and  opportune.  I  cannot  doubt  but  that  in  its  new  di'ess  it  will  be  received 
in  this  country  with  similar  tokens  of  approval.  The  translation  has  been 
accomplished  by  one  highly  competent  and  in  every  way  qualified  for  the  task. 
It  is  not  a  little  difficult  to  give  a  good  translation  of  such  a  work,  and  yet,  it 
will  be  acknowledged,  that  it  has  been  executed,  in  this  instance,  with  taste, 
judgment,  and  fidelity.  These  volumes  will  come  to  the  American  reader  with 
pleasing  freshness  and  novelty.  They  will  take  their  place  amongst  our  stand- 
ard works  of  literature,  and  both  the  gifted  and  accomplished  translator  and 
the  spirited  publishers  will  have  merited,  and  I  trust  will  receive,  the  sincere 
thanks  and  liberal  patronage  of  the  Catholic  and  literary  public. 


SPEECH    AT    THE    MEETING    FOR    THE    INDE- 
PENDENCE   OP    IRELAND, 

AT  VAUXHALL  GARDEN,  MONDAY,  AUGUST  14Tn,  1848. 

It  being  known  that  Bishop  Hughes  was  present,  he  was  vociferously  called 
for.    He  came  forward  amid  tremendous  cheering,  and  said : 

In  the  few  remarks  I  am  about  to  make,  I  shall  be  obliged  to  the  meeting  if 
they  will  not  manifest  either  their  feelings  of  approbation  or  disapprobation 
now  at  what  I  shall  say.  I  did  not,  until  quite  recently,  expect  to  address  you 
at  all.  I  have  no  preparation  for  doing  so,  and  any  interruption  on  the  part 
of  the  audience  might  materially  disturb  the  current  of  my  thoughts. 

From  the  moment  I  heard  the  news,  however,  brought  by  the  last  arrival,  I 
made  up  my  mind  that  if  there  should  be  a  meeting  to-night  I  should  attend 
it.  Not  that  my  presence  can  have  the  slightest  effect  one  way  or  the  other 
upon  the  momentous  question  which  is  now  opened  on  the  other  side  of  the 
water,  but  at  the  same  time  there  may  be  a  crisis  in  the  history  of  a  nation 
which  will  authorize  and  almost  require  one  in  my  station  to  dei^art  from 
what  may  be  considered  the  ordinary  and  legitimate  routine  of  his  official  du- 
ties. I  think  that  such  a  crisis  and  such  a  period  has  arrived  in  the  history 
of  Ireland. 

By  the  last  news,  it  appears  that  the  oppressor  and  his  victim  stand  face  to 
face.  The  same  news  that  brought  us  this  intelligence  taught  us  also  that  the 
oppressor  had  the  weapon  of  destruction  ready  lifted  ;  but  as  to  the  defence,  or' 
the  means  of  defence,  on  the  part  of  the  victim,  the  news  said  nothing.    This, 


APPENDIX.  791 

tiien,  is  a  solemn  period  in  the  history  of  the  Irish  people.  This  is  not  a  mere 
])assin<r  feeling,  or  an  ebullition  of  passion,  but  it  is  a  momentous  question  for 
liberty,  for  Ireland,  for  humanity. 

Liberty,  Ireland,  and  humanity  are  at  stake  ;  and  if  liberty,  Ireland,  and  hu- 
manity have  friends  on  this  side  of  the  ocean,  now  is  the  time  for  them  to  stand 
forward.  I  come  among  you,  gentlemen,  not  as  an  advocate  of  war.  It  would 
illy  accord  with  my  profession.  I  come  not  as  a  disturber  of  the  peace  of 
nations.  My  office  is  properly  to  be  a  peace-maker,  when  it  is  possible ; 
but  I  come  in  the  name  of  what  is  dearer — in  the  name  of  sacred  humanity  ; 
and  I  come  to  offer  my  feeble  might  between  the  executioner  and  his  \-ictim. 
I  come  not,  if  you  will,  to  put  arms  iuto  the  hands  of  men  by  which  they  may 
destroy  the  lives  of  others ;  but  I  come  to  give  my  voice  and  my  mite  to 
shield  the  unprotected  bosoms  of  the  sons  of  Ireland.  It  is  not  for  me  to  say 
any  thing  calculated  to  excite  your  feelings,  when,  as  you  perceive,  I  can 
scarcely  repress  my  own.  That  crisis  is  pending.  It  is  not  by  multitudinous 
assemldages  alone,  it  is  by  the  force  of  the  soul,  that  spirit  of  sacrifice  which 
marks  the  coarse  of  men  who  are  energetic  and  in  earnest,  that  you  may — 
even  from  these  remote  shores,  from  this  hall — aid  the  cause  of  your  loved 
country. 

It  is  unnecessary,  gentlemen,  and  is  surely  from  me,  that  you  should 
hear  any  tiling  of  the  antecedents  of  this  awful  contest.  It  is  enough  that  Ire 
lund  is  nominally,  and  only  nominally,  a  subjugated  nation.  This  is  enough : 
that  in  all  such  relations,  the  first  duty  is  on  the  part  of  the  Government  to 
protect,  give  good  laws  and  just  government ;  and  when  these  are  withheld, 
will  you  teU  me  that  nation  is  bound  to  allegiance  ?  Not  at  all.  Allegiance  is 
a  reciprocal  attribute ;  it  is  a  part. — and  it  is  a  part  which  ought  to  correspond 
with  another  part  which  England  has  A\'ithheld — good  government,  just  laws, 
and  the  protection  of  life ;  and  if  I  stood  in  the  presence  of  my  God,  it  would 
not  change  my  opinion  at  this  moment,  that  the  Government  of  England  is 
justly  responsible  for  the  death  by  starvation  of  one  million  of  Irishmen.  Then,  if 
that  be  the  case,  and  if  they  had  it  in  their  power  to  protect  their  j^eople — for  a 
Government  is  not  an  iron-hearted  corporation — it  shotild  have  a  human  heart 
somewhere,  and  with  that  human  heart  look  upon  its  subjects  or  citizens  as  be- 
ings which  it  should  protect  with  both  paternal  and  maternal  care.  So  long  as 
England  hoarded  up  that  food ;  so  long  as  she  allowed  the  men  who  cultivated 
that  soil  to  die  by  the  roadside  with  starvation — while  Lord  John  Russell  sent 
Ills  charity  box  found  the  world  to  keep  the  Irishmen  from  starving — all  allegi- 
ance was  forfeited.  But  while  the  Government  itself  thus  treats  its  people,  it 
will  put  the  bayonet  to  their  throats  if  they  aspire  to  the  privilege  of  freemen. 

Now,  gentlemen,  I  present  myself  here  not  as  a  bishop  of  the  Catliolic  Church  ; 
I  present  myself  here  not  as  an  Irishman,  for  I  am  a  citizen  of  the  United  States, 
and  I  would  do  nothing  contrary  to  the  laws  of  the  country  which  does  protect 
me  ;  but  whatever  those  laws  may  be  in  the  abstract,  and  however  statesmen 
may  define  their  limits,  I  know  something  which,  perhaps,  they  do  not  know.  I 
know  that  there  is  a  something  in  the  human  breast  wliich  knows  nothing  ol 
their  codifications ;  there  is  a  responsive  feeling  in  the  human  breast  which, 
wherever  it  sees  reluctant  men  liowed  in  slavery,  then  that  sentiment,  which 
never  studied  national  law,  is  waked.  Whatever  calls  it  forth  in  this  mannei 
brings  with  it  the  most  earnest  and  deepest  emotions  of  the  human  heart. 

This  I  know.  It  is  in  this  feeling,  that  at  this  moment  blood  may  be  flowing  in 
torrents — that  the  butchering  soldiery  are  revelling  in  telling  each  other  how 
they  executed  exploits  that  would  disgrace  the  Indians  of  our  backwoods.  And 
who  is  responsible  for  this  ?  They  say  it  is  the  Irish,  of  course.  They  plant 
thorns — they  put  thistles  in  the  bed  of  the  people  ;  and  if  the  people  complain, 
if  they  are  not  as  tranquil  as  an  obedient  child,  they  exclaim  what  dreadful 
subjects  you  are !  They  will  not  allow  the  people  who  sleep  upon  the  bed  the 
privilege  of  making  it.  It  is  this  which  marks  the  already  incipient  decay. 
Yes,  I  contend  for  it,  that  a  nation  so  regardless  of  the  laws  of  God,  of  the  laws 
of  justice  ;  a  nation  so  devoid  of  the  feelings  of  humanity  as  England  has  proved 
herself  to  be,  must  be  a  nation  already  waning  towards  its  sunset ;  and  who  can 


792  APPENDIX. 

tell  wlictlier  the  crimson  of  tliat  sunset  may  not  be  deep  and  bloody  as  that 
whicli  they  have  prepared  for  many  a  land  ? 

Gentlemen,  I  may  have  given  sway  to  my  feelings  somewhat.  It  does  not  be- 
come me  to  speak  in  the  language  of  passion. 

I  would  state  to  you  now,  briefly,  the  nature  of  the  subjects  under  your  con- 
sideration. There  is  no  possible  groxmd  on  which,  except  on  the  construction 
of  partisan  judges,  to  accuse  the  Irish  nation  of  rebellion  ;  and  I  assert  that,  for 
the  reason  that  the  violation  of  former  treaties  had  left  them  free  at  any  period  at 
which  the  Irish  thought  it  possible  to  throw  off  their  allegiance  and  resume 
their  national  independence.  But,  can  any  one  say  that  the  Irish  nation  has 
rushed  into  this  contest  ?  The  oldest  man  among  us  well  remembers  that  their 
pleadings  on  their  tnees  are  older  than  he.  It  was  only  yesterday,  as  it  were, 
since  they  allowed  the  greater  portion  of  their  subjects  in  that  country  the  privi- 
lege  of  worshipping  their  God  alfe  their  consciences  directed.  Since  tliat  period 
you  have  perceived  how  one  great  and  immortal  leader,  with  a  patience  worthy 
of  a  Fabius  of  old,  waited  year  after  year,  in  order  that  Britain  might  do  Ire- 
land justice.  You  have  perceived  how  his  hopes  were  disappointed — how  he 
was  laughed  at,  because  he  fought  \vith  words  and  not  with  bayonets — so  that 
alternative  has  been  left ;  and  now  that  the  crisis  has  come,  I  take  my  stand 
with  the  unfortimate  and  oppressed.  And  I  %vill  say  that  the  policy  that  has 
precipitated  this  issue  on  our  side  would  not  have  been  my  policy.  I  believe 
that  all  the  powers  of  reason  had  not  been  exhausted.  I  am  a  man  of  peace, ' 
not  a  man  of  war.  I  believe  in  the  efficiency  of  other  means.  But,  be  that  as 
it  may,  all  that  is  now  passed  ;  and  to  speak  of  counsel  this  moment  would  ha 
to  speak  in  Paris  when  the  Regency  Avas  offered — too  late.  What  then  remains, 
gentlemen  ?  It  remains  that  the  friends  of  the  three  great  departments  I  have 
spoken  of,  with  the  friends  of  liberty,  of  Ireland,  and  of  humanity,  that  they 
shall  rally  to  sustain  the  struggle  of  a  few  brave  and  noble  spirits  against  the 
most  corrupt  jxiwer  that  ever  desolated  a  Christian  land.  How  we  can  aid  them 
I  know  not.  You  have  pronounced  on  that  question.  You  have  selected  men 
to  be  your  agents,  and  in  them  you  have  unbounded  confidence.  Let  no  man 
have  the  temerity  to  shake  the  confidence  of  another  man  in  that  Directory,  be- 
cause it  is  only  in  absolute  confidence  that  there  can  be  success.  This  point 
being  settled,  aid  them  as  you  can. 

My  contribution  shall  be  for  a  shield,  not  for  a  sword ;  but  you  can  contribute 
for  what  you  choose.  Now,  gentlemen,  it  is  not  for  me  to  speculate  on  the 
chances.  If  I  were  to  speak  my  own  opinion  I  fear  I  should  damp  the  ardor 
with  which  your  hearts  are  throbbing.  I  look  upon  the  die  as  cast.  I  look 
upon  it  that  many  a  brave  and  gallant  man  of  Irish  birth,  and  who  loves  Ireland 
as  you  do,  shall  bite  the  dust  before  this  contest  is  over.  That  is  my  anticipa- 
tion ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  I  dare  not — I  shall  not  forestall  the  issue  of  events 
which  a  mighty  Providence  holds  in  its  own  hands. 

But  one  thing  I  do  know,  that  if  the  men  of  Ireland  of  this  day  are  worthy  of 
their  fatherland,  they  will  do  two  things :  one  is,  that  in  battle  they  will  he  as 
brave  as  their  nation  ;  the  other  is,  that  after  the  battle  is  over,  they  will  be  as 
humane.  Let  them  be  brave  in  battle  ;  but  before  and  after  it,  let  them  be  as 
gentle  as  if  the  heart  of  woman  throbbed  in  their  bosoms.  Let  them  sustain 
themselves  but  four  weeks,  until  the  news  of  this  struggle  shall  have  spread 
abroad,  and  then  gold  will  flow  in  upon  them  from  the  four  quarters  of  tho 
globe. 

But  I  speak  not  of  all  parts  of  the  world  at  the  same  time.  I  speak  of  our 
own  country ;  for  unhappily,  in  tinles  past,  owing  their  origin  to  British  in- 
iquity, the  page  of  fiction  and  the  page  of  history  colored  against  the  Irish,  prej- 
udices against  that  nation  have  existed  here.  But  whatever  it  may  be  in 
other  respects,  the  American  people  cannot  bear  the  idea  of  being  starved  to 
death  ;  their  bounty  proved  that.  Yes,  gentlemen,  and  I  speak  not  in  the  spirit 
of  flattery,  the  monument  of  generosity  erected  by  the  American  people  during 
the  last  year,  is  enough  to  atone  for  one  thousand  years  of  prejudice  and  big- 
otry. Think  you  that  the  nation  which  could  not  slumber  at  night  while  kin- 
dreid  beyond  the  waters  was  dying  for  want  of  food ;  think  you  that  that  nation 


APPKXDIX. 


793 


which  has  erected  the  highest  and  preserved  the  best  institutions  of  liberty 
would  be  more  patient  seeing  the  same  image  of  God  trodden  down  by  an  irre- 
si^onsible  government  ? 

Perhaps  the  talk  of  international  law  may  restrain  them  somewhat ;  but  even 
then  the  American  feeling  will  leak  out.  It  will  manifest  itself.  Let  Ireland 
once  go  to  housekeeping  for  herself,  and  then  answer  me  if  the  American  peo- 
ple mil  not  come  up  to  the  work  as  though  they  had  all  been  born  within  gun- 
shot of  Tara  Hall.  I  know  something  of  human  nature,  though  nothing  of  poli- 
tics, and  I  know  that  tliis  nation  will  give  out  its  money  as  the  mother  gives 
out  her  milk  to  the  suckling  on  her  bosom.  I  do  not  know  what  is  to  be  done. 
I  have  unbounded  confidence  in  your  Directory. 

What  yov  have  to  do  is,  however,  constant,  persevering  action,  and  if  all  the 
people  of  Ireland  are  swept  off  the  surface  of  the  land,  commence  to  raise  a  bet- 
ter generation,  and  then  we  shall  see  if  proud-bloated  England  will  stiU  i)erse- 
vere  in  keeping  her  foot  on  the  neck  of  her  oppressed  sister. 

What,  then,  do  we  expect  of  Ireland?  AU  that  I  expect  is,  that  since 
the  British  power  has  brought  the  crisis  to  the  door  of  the  Irish,  they 
shall  act  worthy,  that  there  shall  be  no  cowards  among  them,  that  they  shall 
fight  Uke  men,  brave  as  the  lion  in  the  battle,  and  gentle  and  humane  as  the 
dove  after  the  battle  is  over. 

In  the  language  of  the  poet : — 

"  When  other  stars  shall  sink  in  the  eye  of  night, 
Hers  shall  begin  to  peer  ever  bright, 
As  it  were  the  lamp  of  God  Himself." 

These  are  observations  which  I  have  not  intended,  but  which  have  presented 
themselves  to  me  wliile  speaking. 

My  object  in  coming  here  was  to  show  you  that  in  my  conscience  I  have  no 
scruples  in  aiding  this  cause  in  ev^ery  way  worthy  a  patriot  and  a  Christian. 
And  having  shown  this,  at  the  same  time  that  I  disclaim  being  a  man  of  war, 
and  at  the  same  time  that  I  assure  you  that  that  part  of  the  question  is  one  in 
wliich  I  did  not  sympathize,  until  all  else  was  deemed  to  be  exhausted,  I  take 
my  stand  as  an  American  citizen,  and  give  my  contribution,  humble  as  it  is, 
for  that  cause  in  which  I  regard  Liberty,  Ireland,  and  Humanity  to  be  vitally 
concerned. 


THE   QUESTION  OF  IRELAND. 

[Frotn  the  Freeman^ s  Journal.'] 

The  condition  of  affairs  in  Ireland,  as  far  as  known  to  us,  gives  but  little 
hope  to  the  friends  of  freedom  of  any  immediate  emancipation  from  the  thral- 
dom and  oppression  which  have  so  long  weighed  down  the  energies  of  the  Irish 
people.  The  high  hopes  that  had  been  held  out  in  such  bold  and  emphatic 
language  by  the  leaders  of  Young  Ireland,  have  been  succeeded  by  much  and 
bitter  disappointment.  It  is  hardly  worth  while  to  speculate  upon  the  causes 
of  this.  Our  own  opinion  is,  that  those  ardent  and  enthusiastic  gentlemen 
persuaded  themselves  that  the  people  at  large  felt  as  they  did,  and  were  ready 
to  execute  what  they  recommended.  It  appears,  however,  that  in  all  this  they 
drew  inferences  which  were  not  warranted  by  antecedents.  Hence,  one  vie^v 
of  the  subject  implicates  the  leaders  as  rash,  improvident,  short-sighted,  and 
altogether  unfit  to  discharge  the  duties  of  the  oflBce  which  they  had  arrogated 


794r  APPENDIX. 

to  themselves.  K  this  view  be  correct,  the  people  at  large  were  perfectly  right 
in  refusing  to  commit  themselves  and  the  destiny  of  their  country  to  the  gui- 
dance of  such  men.  Another  view  is,  that  the  people  failed  in  the  hour  of  peril  to 
support  those  leaders  whom  their  previous  enthusiasm  had  encouraged  to  risk 
the  terrible  issue  of  battle  against  the  oppressors  of  their  land.  The  charge 
containing  this  latter  view  is  by  no  means  sustained,  and  it  is  far  more  prob- 
able that  the  leaders  of  Young  Ireland  calculated  upon  the  spontaneous  up- 
rising of  the  people,  and  tlirew  themselves  into  the  breach  as  the  signal  for 
the  contest.  On'e  thing  appears  to  be  certain,  that  there  was  no  organization, 
no  plans  matured,  no  scheme  of  combination  and  concert — and  this  alone  would 
be  sufficient  to  destroy  confidence  in  the  capacity  of  those  who  urged  on  the 
crisis,  but  who  were  unfit  to  meet  it  when  it  came.  Our  first  feelings  on  read- 
ing the  recent  news  from  Europe  would  naturally  be,  as  they  have  been, 
feelings  of  indignation,  and  almost  contempt,  for  what  would  appear  to  us  the 
evidence  of  cowardice,  im worthy  of  Ireland,  or  of  any  country  that  wishes  and 
deserves  to  be  free. 

But,  on  second  reflection,  we  perceive  that  it  would  have  been  madness,  in 
the  actual  state  of  the  case,  for  them  to  have  presented  themselves  to  the  British 
forces  as  a  defenceless  herd  to  the  slaughter.  Assuming  this  as  true,  we  cannot 
coincide  Avith  those  who  involve  the  Catholic  clergy  of  Ireland  as  causing  the 
failure  of  the  projected  rebellion.  If  things  were  in  the  condition  which  we 
have  just  described,  and  every  additional  report  goes  to  show  that  they  were,  it 
was  a  duty  which  the  clergy  owed  to  their  people,  on  every  ground  of  religion 
and  hvmianity,  to  interpose  and  prevent  them  from  being  uselessly  sacrificed  ; 
for,  in  such  condition  of  aflfairs,  not  only  would  they  be  put  down,  but  in  addi- 
tion to  the  butchery  that  would  have  heen  committed  by  the  well-disciplined 
troops  who  were  on  the  siwt,  there  would  have  been  scenes  of  devastation  and 
ruin,  the  effect  of  wliich  would  extend  to  future  and  distant  times.  The  harvest 
not  abundant,  hardly  sufficient  for  the  support  of  the  population,  was  to  be 
gathered  in.  Without  it,  the  bravest  men  that  might  have  rallied  to  the 
standard  of  their  country  would  have  been  left  in  a  short  period  destitute  of 
food  ;  the  British  troops  themselves  could  fire  and  destroy  the  ripening  fields 
as  they  have  done  frequently  before.  The  destruction  of  whatever  remnant 
of  prosperity  may  still  be  found  in  the  country  would  be  complete,  and  the 
yoke  of  oppression  would  be  thus  fastened  in  perpetuity  on  the  feeble  survivors 
of  a  nation  made  desolate  by  a  powerful  and  disciplined  army  on  one  side,  and 
an  incoherent,  unled,  and  disorganized  insurrection  on  the  other.  We  think, 
therefore,  that,  in  such  circumstances,  the  clergy  of  Ireland  would  have  been 
faithless  to  their  obligations  of  religion  and  of  humanity  if  they  had  not  inter- 
posed, seeing,  as  they  must  have  seen,  the  certain  and  inevitable  consequences 
of  a  movement  so  nobly  conceived,  but  so  miserably  conducted,  as  that  of  the 
late  attempted  struggle  in  Ireland.  It  is  true  that  some  of  her  most  devoted 
sons  arc  likely  to  be  sacrificed  in  consequence  of  its  failure.  But  for  this  the 
case  allOAved  of  no  remedy, — and  whilst  we  regret  the  issue  most  deeply  as 
regards  them,  we  cannot  acquit  them  of  utter  incapacity,  and  of  great  raslmess, 
in  bringing  upon  themselves,  imprepared  as  they  were,  so  melancholy  a  destiny. 
Still  the  case  is  by  no  means  hopeless ;  the  haters  of  English  misrule  are  as 
numeroiis  as  they  were  before.  This  sad  lesson  may  render  them  wiser,  and 
impress  upon  them  the  necessity  of  caution,  foresight,  and  organization  on  a 
more  practical  basis,  should  they  still  persevere  in  the  legitimate  purpose  of 
freeing  their  enslaved  country. 

As  regards  the  efforts  that  have  been  made  among  ourselves  to  aid  and  en- 
courage them,  it  is  perhaps  not  expedient  that  we  should  express  very  fully  our 
opinions.  The  matter  is  at  present  in  the  hands  of  gentlemen  in  whose  pru- 
dence and  integrity  we  have  every  confidence,  and  they  will,  no  doubt,  proceed 
wisely  in  the  course  which  the  circumstances  of  the  case  will  point  out  as  the 
best  to  be  followed.  There  is  no  doubt  that  a  vast  amoimt  of  money  has  been 
received,  and  a  great  deal  of  it  from  the  poorer  classes  of  Irishmen  in  this 
country,  within  the  last  few  years.  So  far  we  do  not  perceive  that  it  has  aided, 
in  any  sensible  manner,  the  great  object  for  which  it  was  contributed.    Wo 


APPENDIX.  795 

fear  that  much  of  it  has  been  absorbed  by  real  or  supposed  expenses  of  its 
collection  and  transmission  to  Ireland.  We  fear  that  of  the  amount  which 
reached  that  country  much  has  been  absorbed  by  numerous  oflBcials  laboring 
in  the  cause  of  patriotism,  as  if  it  were  a  profession  from  which  pecuniary  re- 
compense was  to  be  derived.  All  this  is  bad  enough  and  sufficiently  discourag- 
ing to  deter  men  from  contributing  of  their  scanty  means  for  so  bootless  a 
purpose.  But  we  think  that  it  has  been  attended  with  consequences  of  another 
kind,  which  we  cannot  but  regret  and  deplore.  We  refer  now  particularly  to 
the  frequent  meetings  which  have  been  held,  to  the  enthusiastic  and  inflam- 
matory ai)peals  which  are  constantly  addressed,  not  so  much  to  the  reason  as 
to  the  national  susceptibilities  and  passions  of  those  who  have  attended. 
Orators  of  all  descriptions— some  with  characters  and  some  without — have  in 
assemblies  an  opportunity  of  addressing  the  meeting,  and,  unhappily,  in  many 
instances,  urging  projects,  and  even  crimes,  on  excited  multitudes,  which  are 
contrary  to  religion  and  calculated  to  debauch  the  moral  principles  of  right  and 
wrong.  Two  instances,  found  in  some  of  the  newspaper  reports,  are  particularly 
within  our  recollection  :  in  one  case  the  orator  volunteered  to  assassinate  Lord 
John  BusseU,  and,  if  report  be  true,  so  far  from  the  proposition  being  received 
with  horror,  it  was  heartily  cheered  by  the  meeting  ;  in  another  instance  the 
value  of  a  pike  was  estimated  by  its  fitness  to  send  Englishmen  to  hell.  Speak- 
ers are  not  accountable  for  the  newspaper  reports  of  their  speeches,  and  this 
language  may  not  have  been  used  in  either  case  ;  but  if  it  was  used  and  received 
with  approbation,  we  do  not  consider  that  all  the  funds  subscribed  for  the  re- 
lief of  Ireland  would  compensate  for  the  damage  done  to  the  moral  feelings  of 
an  audience  which  could  respond  to  it  with  applause.  In  short,  if  Ireland  will 
show  a  disposition  and  determination  to  engage  in  the  struggle,  we  would 
urge  every  lover  of  freedom  and  mankind  to  aid  her  manfully  and  promptly 
in  the  contest.  But  if  tkrough  weakness,  disunion,  cowardice,  or  interest,  the 
Irish  are  compelled  or  choose  to  remain  as  they  are,  it  does  not  appear  to  us 
either  wise  or  proper  to  keep  up  an  excitement  on  their  account  which  is  in- 
jurious in  its  effects,  which  is  carried  on  in  another  country,  and  at  a  distance 
of  3,000  miles  from  the  place  where  it  might  be  useful.  Hence,  therefore,  we 
regard  the  formation  of  clubs,  the  practice  of  the  rifle,  and  such  other  extrava- 
gant organizations,  not  only  as  foolish  but  also  as  dangerous  and  wicked.  We 
suppose,  of  coui-se,  that  if  Ireland  now  settles  down  into  the  tranquillity  of 
forced  submission,  these  things  wUl  gradually  die  away.  But,  in  the  mean 
time,  we  would  exhort  our  Catholic  brethren  to  be  on  their  guard — to  know 
the  persons  to  whom  they  give  their  money — to  have  a  reasonable  assurance 
that  it  will  be  rightly  applied.  We  think,  also,  that  the  frequent  calling  of 
meetings  and  attendance  at  them,  not  to  speak  of  the  dangerous,  and  some- 
times immoral,  language  in  which  addresses  are  made  at  such  assemblies,  ought 
to  be  discountenanced.  We  think  that  the  abuses  of  designing  individuals 
which  have  continued  to  be  carried  on  for  the  last  five  or  six  years  by  un- 
authorized and  irresponsible  persons,  whether  on  the  rostrum  or  through  the 
press,  ought  to  be  brought  to  a  close.  As  a  trade  it  may  be  profitable  to  them, 
whilst  it  is  injurious,  both  in  purse  and  morals,  to  those  who  make  it  so,  and 
of  no  practical  benefit  to  the  unfortunate  country  in  whose  name  their  confi- 
dence has  been  so  frequently  abused. 

J.  B.  N.  Y. 
September,  1S18. 


796  APPENDIX. 


CHRISTMAS   VESPER    HYMN. 

Depakt  awhile,  each  thought  of  care. 
Be  earthly  things  forgotten  all ; 
And  speak,  my  soul,  thy  vesper  prayer, 
Obedient  to  that  sacred  call ; 
For  hark  I  the  pealing  chorus  swells ; 
Devotion  chants  the  hymn  of  praise. 
And  now  of  joy  and  hope  it  tells, 
Till  fainting  on  the  ear,  it  says  ? 

Gloria  tibi  Domine, 
Domine,  Domine. 

Thine,  wondrous  babe  of  Galilee ! 
Fond  theme  of  David's  harp  and  song, 
Thine  are  the  notes  of  minstrelsy — 
To  thee  its  ransomed  chords  belong. 
And  hark !  again  the  chorus  swells, 
The  song  is  wafted  on  the  breeze. 
And  to  the  listening  earth  it  tells — 
In  accents  soft  and  sweet  as  these — 
Gloria  tibi  Donoine. 

My  heart  doth  feel  that  still  He's  near. 
To  meet  the  soul  in  hours  like  this. 
Else — why,  oh,  why,  that  falling  tear, 
When  all  is  peace,  and  love,  and  bliss  ? 
But  hark !  that  pealing  chorus  swells 
Anew  its  thrilling  vesper  strain. 
And  stiU  of  joy  and  hope  it  teUs, 
And  bids  creation  sing  again 
Gloria  tibi  Domine. 


^ti^ci 


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